Page 90 of Savior
Dean shakes his head, as if to clear it, then changes the subject. “Shall I take you back to the hotel?”
“Will I be able to convince you to stay with me?” I bat my lashes at him. “Or at least agree to hurry back?”
A slight smile finally twitches at the corner of his lips. “You can try.”
“Make sure you lock up before you go to sleep. I don’t like leaving you here alone as it is.” Dean says when we get back to our hotel room not far from the club house.
“We’re on the second floor. Nobody is going to come in through the balcony. I just want to listen to the waves. Come on, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been anywhere near the Ocean.” I pout at him.
I can tell he’s fighting to keep that stern expression from faltering under my powers of persuasion.
“Damnit.” He finally mutters under his breath. “Alright. Just, stay in the room. I’ll be back in two hours, max.”
I give him a satisfied smile and inch up on my toes. Dean leans and presses his lips to mine once more for a parting kiss, before closing and double checking the door locked behind him.
Giving him a few minutes to make his way down to the lobby and depart the lot to head back to the party, I take my time in the bathroom. Brushing my hair, I tie it back in a ponytail so the breeze from the ocean won’t have me looking too windblown by the time I sneak back into the hotel room, hopefully before his return. He owes me beach time in Myrtle Beach anyway, after the fiasco of our last trip down here together. At least, that’s my excuse if I get caught.
I change into a tank top before grabbing a towel off the shelf and a bottle of water from the mini fridge, and make my way downstairs. The back doors of the lobby open up to the pool and patio, and the boardwalk that will take me out to the sand along the ocean shore.
Tonight, the moon is nearly full, brightly lighting my journey across the weathered, sun beaten boards. They clunk beneath my feet on my trek to the sand. Crashing waves beckon me as I hurry along, wrapping the towel around my shoulders. The cool breeze blowing across the ocean gives me an exhilarating chill, and I can taste the salt as I deeply breath in the fresh ocean air.
I’ve missed this.
Reaching the end of the boardwalk, I pull off my socks and sneakers, carrying them with me as I jog out towards the crashing waves, black water glittering beneath the moon. Glancing around, it appears that I’m the only one out here, though the sound of laughter and music drifts on the wind. Looking back towards the hotel, I notice balloons tied to a balcony railing, the shadowed figures of people together, laughing and dancing. It must be a hotel party for someone’s birthday. I suppose I could always tell Dean they were too loud for me to sleep, and so…
I giggle to myself, placing a hand over my barely there bump, where Ace grows. “You really should listen to your Daddy.” I tell him.
Not wanting to push my luck too much, I lay the towel down across the cool sand and sit down where I am, halfway to the water a few yards out, to enjoy what time I have. Closing my eyes, I listen to the rhythmic sound of that crash and fizzle as the dark ocean waters roll in and out. The call of some nocturnal sea bird cuts across the night.
“I hope you’ll love the ocean as much as I do.” I whisper to Ace, lying back on the towel to stare up at the starry night sky. “I hope you’ll look for shooting stars, but that you’ll never have a reason to wish for happiness, or safety. Because your father and I will always do whatever we can to help your dreams come true, and to always keep you safe.”
Inhaling another deep breath of ocean air through my nose, I catch the faint scent of a cigarette lingering on the salty sea breeze. It must be drifting from a hotel balcony somewhere.
“And don’t you ever take up smoking.” I smile inwardly at Ace. Closing my eyes once more to focus on the soothing sound of the waves, I allow myself a good forty-five minutes, before deciding I’ve pushed my luck enough for one night, and sneak back towards the hotel.
As I step off the board walk onto the cement walkway that leads towards the back doors of the lobby, I spot a black rose laying on the ground. It must have fallen from that party three stories above. Picking up the rose to admire it, I’m surprised to discover it isn’t a silk flower. The petals are actually real. Impressed, as I’ve never held a living black rose before, let alone seen one, I place the stem inside my half empty water bottle, and bring it back to our room.
Dean isn’t back yet, and it’s a good thing, because I left my cell phone on the night table. I quickly place the water bottle-turned-vase, down beside my phone before I snatch it up, immediately checking for missed calls or texts. There aren’t any. I let out a sigh of relief. Dean expected me to go right to bed. I suppose I lucked out that he didn’t call and chance waking me.
Toeing off my sneakers, my next stop is the bathroom to brush the wind out of my hair, just in case, before changing and getting into bed for real this time. I choose the side of the bed nearest the balcony, and open the sliding door, pulling the screen slider in place. The party above rages on, but it isn’t so loud that I can’t still hear the waves in the distance.
Crawling under the covers, I catch a glimpse of the pretty black rose, before reaching over and turning out the light.
Oh, Vanna… What ever will I do with you, and your reawakening rebellious nature?
When I stepped into our hotel room, I was greeted by sandy foot prints on the carpet, and a sand encrusted water bottle sitting with a mysterious rose on the night table beside her sleeping form beneath the covers. It’s evident my little rebel ventured out on her own.
I’m not thrilled about it. Not by a long shot. I should have expected this, however. Leaving Vanna within walking distance of the ocean, is like leaving a kid unsupervised in a candy shop. Shit’s gonna go down. Part of me, the small, lighthearted part of me, finds her inability to resist the temptation, rather adorable. I decide to let him win tonight, for her sake. For the sake of allowing her the rest she needs. There’s a party going on above us that she’s sleeping right through, and so she must be tired.
As I kick off my boots and strip down to my boxers, my eyes shift from her sleeping form, huddled under the covers, to that black rose on the night table. I wonder where that thing came from? I can’t imagine she’d flaunt a gift from another man in my face like this. That ain’t Vanna’s style. She wouldn’t play with me like that. She’s no fucking Lucinda. I’ll just ask her about it in the morning.
Carefully lifting the covers, I slip into the bed beside her. She barely stirs when I wrap an arm around her, placing my hand over Ace as I settle against her back and rest my head on her pillow.
I can’t help but smile as I breathe in the ocean air lingering in her hair. Did she really think I wouldn’t know exactly what she did tonight?
“Naughty little peony.” I whisper, before joining her in sleep.
