Chapter Eight
A few hours later,feeling refreshed after suffering my very own orgasm coma, we are ready to meet Nisha and Calum for dinner. Dressed in more suitable clothes for the warm evening, I am wearing a pink, floor-length, maxi dress and flat sandals. The guys are dressed down in linen shorts and t-shirts. Max is even wearing flip-flops and looks like a real ‘surfer dude’ now. I’ve piled my hair up in a loose bun on my head and slicked some lip glosson.
When I walk into the front room, Max’s jawdrops.
“Bloody hell, Icy. You lookhot!”
“Why, thank you,” I say with a wiggle of myshoulders.
“What was that?” Hudson asks, mimicking the movement I just made. He gives me a cheekygrin.
“What, this?” I say, wiggling my shoulders again. “This is something I do when I’m feeling free andeasy.”
“Free and easy? What do you mean? Oh…” Bryce says, his eyes trailing to my chest, realisationdawning.
“No bra, silly. It’s so freeing. You don’t know how much of a pain it is to have to wear one all the time. In this heat, and wearing this dress, I decided notto.”
Bryce strides over to me and pulls me in for a kiss. His tall frame and strong arms make me wish we weren’t going out for dinner after all. His hand smooths over my arse. When he realises I’m not wearing any knickers either, he sucks in abreath.
“Are you trying to give us all a heart attack?” he asks with agrin.
“Not a heart attack, a hard-on maybe,” I say, my facedeadpan.
Max and Hudson burst outlaughing.
“Baby, I don’t know about these two here, but around you I’m always hard,” Brycesays.
I laughdelightedly.
We make our way to the beachside restaurant, lit with dozens of fairy lights and candles. The sun has already set, the last trails of light leaving a swathe of purple across the horizon. A gentle breeze ruffles the loose tendrils of my hair, and the air smells of seafood and citrus fruits. I can see Calum and Nisha chatting quietly at a table as we approach the restaurant. She looks luminous with happiness. I’ve never seen her more content. Calum is good for her, like my men are good for me. Wearing a simple, white, knee-length cotton dress she looks stunning when she turns to me and smiles ingreeting.
“Hey, Lou, you look all… glowy,” shesays.
“Funnily enough, so do you,” I say, giving her a peck on the cheek. We both know why we are glowing. Good sex, love and a huge dose of happiness can do that to agirl.
Behind me, Hudson pulls out my seat and I sit down. Ever thegentleman.
“Evening all,” Calum says. “I’ve taken the liberty of ordering us some sparkling water and white wine. I think my choice will go well with theseafood.”
“Perfect, Cal, thanks,” Max says, slapping him on the back. “We’ve worked up quite theappetite.”
Nisha laughs. “Ibet.”
After a couple of minutes discussing the resort and the beauty of our surroundings, the waitress takes our order. Deciding on sharing a platter of different types of sea food, we settle back and wait for it to arrive. The men’s conversation turns to Thai boxing and soon they are calling the maître d’ over and finding out where they can go and watch a match. A feeling of utter contentment settles in my belly as I watch them talk animatedly about which of them would win in a fight. Nisha leans over and touches me on thearm.
“Got a minute?” she asksme.
“For you, always,” I reply, giving her hand asqueeze.
“You girls okay?” Bryceasks.
“Yes, Nisha and I are just going down to the shore. We won’t be a moment. Let us know when the food’s ready,” I say as we bothstand.
“Sure thing, baby,” Hudsonresponds.
Nisha leans over and kisses Calum delicately on the lips. “Be back soon,” she says, before stepping back and reaching for my hand. I take it, and we walk down the steps of the decking and onto the soft sand below. We both slip off our sandals, leaving them on the sand, then make our way to the water’s edge. Above us the stars are beginning to emerge, one by one lighting thesky.
“What did you want to talk about?” I ask as we reach the water’s edge. The water is warm still, the heat of the day lingering as it gently laps against ourtoes.