One More Time

“Guys against girls? I can dig it,” Tommy said.

“Oh, we went to all these beautiful little shops. I picked up this necklace made with shells this woman and her daughter had collected on the beach. And a disposable camera Ana and I used to take pictures at this lagoon we found. I figured I could develop them, take pictures of those pictures, and put them all over my blog post dedicated to the island. Oh! And did you know the locals here cook their food in the massive leaves of the trees that grow in the forest? I had this sweetened rice mixture while we were walking around the shops. It tasted. So. Good.”

I watched Chanel light up as she talked about walking through the little island town. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile kept growing. Her cheeks flushed with excitement, and the more she talked, the more her hands waved in the air. It warmed my soul to watch her light up like that and be so animated and so passionate about something. That was another thing I enjoyed about Chanel. Everything she did, she did with the whole of herself. She never held anything back, and if she enjoyed it, you would always know it.

It was why sinking into the depths of her body was so mesmerizing. Because when she writhed against me, she held nothing back.

Which was why I worried about why she was lying to me about her morning.

“Sounds like a hell of a trip,” Tommy said. “Ana, did you get any souvenirs?”

“This cute little dress, a pair of lace-up sandals, and I had my caricature drawn on the street,” Ana said.

“Not nearly as animated as Chanel, but I’ll take it,” Tommy said.

“Sorry. If you want Chanel-level shit, then go to Chanel,” Ana said.

“That’s okay. I like the Ana-level shit just fine,” Tommy said.

The two of them migrated to the other end of the pool table as Chanel made her way to me. She bent over and ran her pool cue right into the wrong ball and then fell apart with laughter. I watched as she gathered herself and tried again, but her giggles kept throwing off her posture.

“Would you like me to help?” I asked.

She cleared her throat and reared up and then shook her head lightly.

“I’m okay. I’ve always sucked at pool anyway. I came for the rum punch,” she said.

“Would you like me to get you one?” I asked.

“Eh, I can get it myself later.”

She was acting odd, and it was making me nervous. She was having trouble looking me in my eyes, and her posture was turned away from me. I scanned the room, trying to see if anyone was making her uncomfortable, but Tommy and Ana were off in their own little world as they made out against the pool table we were standing at.

“Yum,” I said.

“I don’t know why I expected anything else,” Chanel said.

“Wanna get out of here?” I asked.

“Nah. I’m okay here. The view’s nice, and I’m kind of tired of being yanked around.”

“Chanel, are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“You know I can tell you’re lying.”

“That more of your SEAL training?” she asked.

“Are you having second thoughts? About what we’re doing? Because all you have to do is say so.”

I watched her sigh as she leaned her pool cue against the table. She walked over to the couch that lined the wall and flopped down. I resisted the urge to follow her, wrap my arm around her, and pull her close. It felt like she needed the space, but everything inside of me was screaming to not leave her side.

The only thing was, I didn’t know why. All I knew was I had been trained to follow my gut when I didn’t have all the pieces in play.

So, against my better judgment of Chanel, I went and sat by her on the couch.

“No,” she said. “I’m not having second thoughts.”