“Stella.” I scold her because how the fuck is she going to get naked in front of me and not let me fuck her?
“Oops.” She flatly calls from the closet. After lacing my shoes, I take a couple of steps in her direction, but she stumbles out of the closet. Already changed into a short sundress, pale blue with white flowers and ruffles on the thin straps.
“You look good.” I look her up and down, and she rolls her eyes, poorly hiding a smile beginning to surface. She has white Prada platform sandals in her hand, and she sits on the steps of the tub to put them on. I watch as she does, not sure why I can't take my eyes off her— besides that she’s fucking hot.
“What time are we meeting for dinner?” She looks up as she buckles the second sandal.
“Eight.”
“Shit.” Her brows go high, and she walks over to her gray duffle bag between the two sinks.
“Are you hungry now?” I check my watch that’s not set to Hawaii time to see it's 9pm in LA. That means we’ve definitely skipped a couple of meals during our travels all day.
“I can order some snacks until then?” I suggest, and she nods, pulling out a large bag of what looks to be skincare. I laugh and turn to exit as she calls after me, “Make sure you order snow crab!” And I give her a thumbs up in response.
It’s almost eight o’clock, and we’re headed down the elevator with Barker. We walk through the pathway to the lobby, and then I hear someone familiar.
“Wait for me!” Jack calls, his Vans smacking on the sidewalk to us.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as we’re met by the rest of the security team.
“I’m staying in this hotel.”
“I arranged it with him.” Barker pipes in to clarify, and I lift my chin to acknowledge him.
“Can I ride with you guys to the restaurant?”
“Yeah!” Stella answers for me, and I wish she hadn’t because I would prefer to spend the most time alone with her as possible. Jack is so fucking clueless sometimes; it’s a miracle he’s doing so well in his role. We cross through the lobby and outside, where the sun has already set, and the stars are beginning to shine through the clouds. We load into two separate cars, though Jack still chooses to ride in ours, and we drive to the restaurant up the coast.
It's an all wooden restaurant, which reminds me of an old beach town, with booths lining the walls that look out to the ocean. We get a corner booth, and Jack orders us drinks that I’ve never heard of— which is pretty surprising considering my vast array of experience. I could basically be a bartender at this point.
“How did you know what that was?” Stella asks when she sees even I’m confused.
“I was born here. Visit every year. My grandparents still live here too. On the big island.” The waitress slides us our drinks. I take a sip as everyone orders. It’s strong, with a hint of coconut and hibiscus. The waitress looks at me, and I order surf-n-turf— simple and easy.
“I’ll have that right out.” She taps her pencil on her notepad and heads back to the kitchen. The dinner comes out quickly, probably because at eight o’clock, it’s well-past normal dinner time. But it all tastes great, and we end up getting additional drinks before splitting and heading back to the hotel.
We say goodnight to Jack as he enters his elevator, then head up to our room. Security checks the space as usual before we step inside, and remain outside the doors on rotation for the remainder night.
After we’ve changed into pajamas, I suggest watching a movie, and Stella agrees. I'm not confident why, but Stella grabs a blanket for us and cuddles up next to me. I wrap my arm around her and pull her as close as I can. No overthinking. Just want her near, and I don’t care to consider the reasons.
She picks Pride and Prejudice, which I’ve never seen but had to read in high school. After about thirty minutes in, she’s drifted to sleep and is curled up on my lap. I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open, so I turn off the movie and pick her up, carry her to the bedroom and tuck her in.
She doesn’t wake. I knew she wouldn’t. She’s a deep sleeper. Found that out when I spent the night last night. I sleep on the furthest side of the bed, keeping my distance, so she doesn’t get angry with me in the morning that I shared a bed with her without asking.
Sleep overcomes me quickly, and by the time I wake up in the morning, we’ve both shifted to the center of the bed— my arms are around her from behind. I’m about to pull away when she stirs and turns over.
“Good morning.” She smiles with sleepy eyes, and I do the same — mostly because I’m happy she didn’t punch me in the face for touching her.
“Morning.” I whisper back, “Ready to go four-wheeling?”
She yawns, confusion slowly spreading across her face as she sits up.
“Really?”
“Yep. Four-wheeling on the beach at 11 am.” She looks at the clock at the bedside.
“It’s already nine!”