I high-fived him, but I chewed on my lower lip, feeling uncertain about the whole thing. “I think maybe I should have waited,” I admitted.
Mark laughed. “Would you ever give a girl five dates back in New York?” he asked.
“No, of course not,” I said, laughing a little. “I don't even date girls back in New York. I pick up girls and take them home from wherever we are. I can't even think of when the last time was that I bought dinner for a girl.”
“So, see?” Mark said, shrugging a little. “You bagged her. And now it's on to the next girl, right?”
I sighed. “That's the thing,” I said, chewing on my lip again. I shook my head. “This is totally not the way that I operate, right? But for some reason, I want to see her again.”
Mark raised both eyebrows at me. “She was that good, eh?” he asked. He snorted. “I bet, with the amount of time it's probably been since anyone gave her five dates, that her pussy is as tight as a fucking vice.”
I shook my head. “It's not even that,” I said. “She was great in bed, but it wasn't about that. She just leaves me wanting in ways that I don't even know how to explain. No girl has ever managed to string me along like this before.”
Mark laughed. “Oh wow,” he said. “Those Hawaiian girls, huh?”
“How did things go for you last night?” I asked suddenly, surprisingly curious. Mark was just my driver; it wasn't like we were friends or anything. Once I left Hawaii, I doubted I would ever hear from him again.
“Yeah,” Mark said, grimacing. “It was shit. I don't even think she believed that I was staying at the Golden Palm. Nothing happened. Wasted chance.” He shrugged. “Bitches.”
“Ouch,” I said, shaking my head. “Sorry to hear that, man.” And the surprising thing was, I genuinely was sorry to hear that. I'd have to think further on that one at some point.
For now, I raised a glass to him and took a drink.
“But seriously, no deflection,” Mark said, grinning at me as though he knew exactly what I had been up to with asking about his own conquests. “You like this girl, right?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess so,” I admitted. “I wouldn't say I like her so much as I'm intrigued by her. She isn't like other girls.”
“I can try to find out more information for you if you want,” Mark offered. “She's a local girl; there must be some good dirt on her somewhere on this island.” He shrugged. “I don't know most of the people in her circle of friends, but I think one of my good girlfriends is friends with Gretchen's friend Mina, who runs the shop next door to her. I can put out some questions.”
I shook my head. “Nah, man,” I said. “The thing is, the night didn't end that well. We had sex, and then she kicked me out.” I laughed a lit
tle. “I'm used to being the one ushering the girls out, but not this time.”
“Oh, man,” Mark said, shaking his head as well. “You must have fucked it up.”
“I don't even know what I did wrong,” I told him. “I just treated her like she was any other girl. I don't know what the problem was. She definitely orgasmed, so it's not like-” I broke off, suddenly realizing that I was sharing all of these details with a guy who I barely knew. I wasn't usually like this. It wasn't like I needed Mark's advice or anything like that. It might be nice to have him look into her whole story since she was maddeningly closed-mouthed about all of it and since he was just another dude there on the island.
“Hey man, chill,” Mark said, holding up both his hands. “I get that. But you're Christian Wall. She's probably just playing with you, trying to make sure that you take her out again. I've got some recommendations, and she is going to be putty in your hands.”
I grinned at him. “That's good,” I said, taking a decisive bite out of my food. I didn't know what my thing was with her, but it was good to think that I probably could fix things with her. And despite Mark's inexperience, I trusted him to lead me straight. He did know the local girls, after all.
Even if we weren't friends, I had to trust that.
Speaking of friends, I was surprised to see Paul calling me as I walked back to the resort an hour later, full of the best breakfast I'd had in a while. I smiled a little to myself and picked up the call.
“Hey man, how are things going?” I asked him.
“They've been good,” Paul said, sounding contented. “How are things going with you?”
“Really good,” I admitted. I shook my head, kicking some sand off the edge of my balcony. “I mean, like, really good.”
“Still in Hawaii?”
“Yeah, I might stay here until I'm ready to come back home,” I told him. “It's beautiful here, and the girls are just gorgeous.”
Paul laughed. “Yeah, I bet it's a lot nicer than New York City is now.”
“Oh, definitely,” I said, nodding. “Less girls to run through.”