He gave us each another shot of tequila on the house and we did our swallow, salt, lime routine in expert tandem.
The handsome guy that sent us drinks in the restaurant came over with a few of his friends.
“You ladies were amazing. That was incredible.” He was smiling and it was obvious in his face that he was being sincere and it wasn’t part of his pick up line.
“Thank you, it was so much fun!” Sienna responded and I smiled. We were both on a post show high. It had been so long since I felt the familiar rush that I almost forgot what performing could do to me. We talked for a while and found out that the boys club wasn’t actually in Hawaii for a rugby tournament or an underwear commercial shoot, they were there for a bachelor party.
“Wow, that’s some bachelor party.” I said to our new friend Tyler, the guy that bought us drinks in the restaurant.
“Yeah, the best man is loaded and is throwing the whole party. We have the penthouse for the week. Some of the guys are staying and others are going back in a few days. It’s pretty sweet.” I actually felt, rather than saw, the green eyed man return. I was positive that he was standing right behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and check. “Speak of the devil.” Tyler pointed behind me and I slowly turned, finding the green-eyed god standing ridiculously close to my back staring down at me.
“Hi again.” My words came out as a whisper. I could feel the heat radiating off his body and it was playing tricks on my brain that was swimming in tequila.
He looked down at me and smiled, but made no attempt to move. He was tall, probably a good eight inches taller than my 5’6 frame. His shoulders were broad and his dark green polo pulled slightly to contain his girth. His shirt fit his athletic frame as if it was made for him, and his jeans hung low on his narrow waist.
“Your voice is beautiful.” His voice was deep and he spoke to me in low controlled words, even though we stood so close, surrounded by what I assumed were his friends.
“Thank you. So are you.” Holy shit, did I just say that out loud? I was glad that we were outside so that he couldn’t see my face turn red; I blushed so deeply at my words that not even my tan skin could conceal my embarrassment. I was thinking it, but I didn’t mean to say it. Another dangerous side effect of the tequila shots.
He smiled and raised his eyebrows in surprise. I turned my back to him to allow myself to catch my breath. Tyler took it as an opportunity to offer to buy me a drink.
Just as I opened my mouth to respond, the green eyed man responded for me. “No thanks, I’ve got her next round.” I watched in shock as his friend took the hint and walked away smiling.
I whipped around and looked up at him, a bit unsteady on my feet from the tequila. He still hadn’t moved and was standing in my personal space. It was almost a possessive stance, the way he hovered above me and made his size known. “What if I wanted him to buy me a drink?”
“You don’t.” He said in a low voice and straight face. Was he joking or being serious?
“How do you know what I want?” I could feel the tension between us rising.
Sienna walked over oblivious and interrupted our little heated exchange. She was still giddy from our singing and her smile and happiness brought back such great memories. “What are you two chatting about all quietly over here?” She hung one arm around my neck and I was pretty sure that she was using me to maintain her balance.
“I was just telling your friend how beautiful her voice is.” He spoke to Sienna but his eyes never left me.
Sienna smiled. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” She extended her hand.
“I’m Sienna.”
The green-eyed god took her hand in his and held it; I was relieved that his focus had finally left me. “Jack. Nice to meet you Sienna.” He quickly turned his eyes back to me. “And you are…”
Sienna quickly intervened, slightly slurring as she spoke. “Her name is Jill.” I looked up at her like she was crazy and then she winked at me. She made no attempt to hide her blatant lie and I wasn’t quite sure if it was because she was drunk or if she was playing a game. I knew that she was trying to subtly remind me of our earlier conversation at dinner, encouraging me to have a nameless, unattached fling. Of course, Sienna may have tried to do subtle, but her lack of experience at subtlety made her words and actions come across as glaringly direct.
“Jill, huh?” Jack looked at me suspiciously.
I smiled. “I guess so, Jack.”
“What brings you to Honolulu, Jill?” He said with an emphasis on Jill, knowing full well it wasn’t really my name.
“Well, I’m on my honeymoon Jack!” I thought my answer was hysterical in my drunken state. Sienna must have too, considering she spit her drink out and almost choked on it, as she joined me in laughing at my statement.
For a split second, I thought Jack may have looked angry, but then he must have realized that we had been teasing. Sienna and I laughed our asses off, but Jack didn’t seem to find our joke as funny as we did. When we finally regained control of our giggling, Sienna looked up at Jack, who was clearly waiting for an explanation, smiled, then turned and went back to Jack’s friends.
I looked up at Jack and he was watching me, his face showed signs of his patience slipping. “It was supposed to be my honeymoon, but we broke up two months ago. The honeymoon was already paid for, so I decided to take Sienna and make it a vacation instead.”
Jack smiled, apparently content with my answer. He reached forward to the bar to grab two bottles of water. His fingers brushed mine as he handed me one, sending an electric jolt that made me pull my hand back. I looked up at him confused.
He leaned down to my eye level and looked me straight in the eyes, briefly searching for something. “I felt it too.”
***
A few hours later we were in the resort’s bar partying with the bachelor party and had made some new friends. The bachelor, Robert, turned out to be a nice guy, who apparently was totally whipped by his fiancé. He spent most of the night getting teased and harassed by his friends, most of who were all still single. Jack played host to the rowdy crowd and most of the staff seemed to have known him by name already.
Sienna was getting cozy with Tyler as the last of the bachelor party said goodnight, leaving just the four of us. The bartender told us he was getting ready to leave and asked Jack if he wanted the keys to lock up later. “Do you work here or something?” I asked confused as he accepted the keys.