Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

***SIMON***

L ater that evening, Simon found Max down on the beach getting ready for the crab boil. He was so distracted shouting out orders and overseeing the unpacking of the live crabs that he didn't notice Simon at first. When he finally looked directly at him, he did a double take, then stood staring at him for a few seconds before shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Every time I see you, you look different," Max said. "I'm having a hard time keeping up."

He laughed, "A good haircut and some clothes that fit made a world of difference," he said, grinning at his friend. "It doesn't hurt that I had one of the best days of my life today."

Max let out a long sigh, "You must have finally gotten Kira to sleep with you," he said, clearly disappointed. "Congratulations."

He tried not to be annoyed with Max. That would have been the only thing the old him would have cared about, "We didn't sleep together; we went to an outdoor market, had the most amazing lunch, did some shopping, danced in the park, and rode the bus twice."

A look of surprise appeared on Max's face. "Well, how about that? A leopard really can change its spots," he said, then studied him for a second. "So, you've given up on sleeping with her?"

"Well, I didn't say that; I mean, I am a man, after all," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But that's not the only reason I want to spend time with Kira. She's special, Max. She makes me feel things I haven't felt since……for a long time. I hope she'll sleep with me eventually, but if it never happens, that will be okay too; in fact, she's having dinner with someone else tonight, and I'm not even throwing a fit."

Max studied him for a second, then narrowed his eyes at him, "Okay, who are you, and what did you do with the old Simon?" he finally asked. "Not only do you look different, you're acting different. I'm not sure what to make of the whole thing."

"I've decided not to fight it, not to think about when or if I'll get the old me back," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just taking life one day at a time right now. Eventually, I'm going to have to figure out what the future holds for me. My father isn't going to change his mind about the money, I know that. I'll have to get a job, have to find a way to support myself, but right now, I'm just enjoying feeling things again."

There was a long silence as Max studied him again, then he shook his head, "You meant every word of that," he finally said, a smile breaking out on his face. "Welcome to the real world, Simon."

"Thanks, Max," he said, smiling back at him. "Now, what can I do to help?"

"Well, if you really want to help, I'm sure Montgomery could use some help digging the fire pit," Max said. "He's really not a bad guy, Simon, and he's the best sailor in the islands. I was lucky to get him to agree to work for me."

"I was the problem, not Montgomery," he said. "I'll be happy to help him."

When he met back up with Max an hour later, the sun was just beginning to sink in the sky and the beach was filled with people. No one wanted to miss the feast. Guests and staff mingled happily with each other, their laughter and conversation filling the night, the ocean in the background all the music they needed. They stood together watching as the torches buried in the sand up and down the beach were lit, and the flame was put to the fire he'd helped lay in the pit.

"I think we're ready to go," Max said, a pleased look on his face. "Before we boil the crabs, we're going to dig for some clams, you up for it?"

"You bet, but I have no idea what to do," he said. "I've never dug for anything in my life."

"Using a shovel isn't that hard," Max said, grinning at him. "Even you should be able to handle it."

He opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by the sound of laughter and shouting as a group of six young men came walking up. "Where are the crabs?" one of them shouted. "I want the crabs."

The rest of the group burst into loud laughter, and he heard Max groan, "That is the last bachelor party I'm ever hosting on the island. Those guys have been a problem since the moment they got here," he said. "They've been harassing the other guests, being rude to the staff, and I'm sure they smuggled some alcohol onto the island in their luggage. They're going home tomorrow, but that means we still have to put up with them tonight. If they don't calm down, I'll kick them off the beach."

He watched the men for a second, then realized that one of them was Corey, "Kira is supposed to sit with one of those jerks at dinner tonight," he said, pointing him out. "I'm not sure that I'm so good with this anymore. Do you think I should warn her?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Max said. "But be careful. She's going to think that you're jealous."

"I am jealous," he said. "Which is a new thing for me, but that's a totally different discussion. I'm going to go find Kira, wish me luck."

***Kira***

Kira and Mary Beth hurried down the beach, afraid that they were the last ones to arrive, "I can't believe you didn't wake me up," she said. "Now we're late and it's all my fault."

"Will you stop worrying? You must have needed that nap," Mary Beth said. "So what if we're late? I'm sure we didn't miss anything; you just want to see Simon."

She groaned. "Remind me never to tell you anything else ever again," she said, feeling a blush spread across her cheeks. Besides, I'm supposed to sit with Corey tonight. I don't even know if I'll see Simon."

"Well, I do," Mary Beth said. "He's headed our way right now; at least, I think it's him. He's looking pretty good. I wouldn't mind sitting with him at dinner if you're not going to."

A surge of jealousy stole her breath for a second, and she gave her friend a dirty look, "Don't you have Max?" she asked before she could stop herself. "Sorry, gut reaction, don't mind me."

"A little jealous, are we?" Mary Beth asked, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "That's very telling."

"Will you stop? He just kissed me once……well, maybe twice, that's it," she said. "I don't have anything to be jealous of, we're j ust friends."

Mary Beth looked over at Simon who was almost to them, "I don't have very many friends that look at me the way he looks at you," she leaned over and whispered. "I'm going to go find Max and leave you two alone."

"That's not……" she started to argue, but Simon was standing in front of them.

"Hey, Simon, looking good," Mary Beth said, grinning at him. "I was just going to go find Max. I'm sure we'll run into each other later."

"Thanks, Mary Beth," Simon said. "Max is over by the crab pots getting in the way. Maybe you could go rescue those poor people so they can do their jobs."

When Mary Beth was gone, Simon turned back to her and took a second to let his eyes roam over her, and to her horror, her body responded by starting to hum with desire. "You look amazing," he finally said. "I know I shouldn't stare at you like that, but I can't help myself sometimes."

She felt herself blushing, "I don't mind as much as I used to," she said, keeping her voice light. "You look pretty amazing tonight, too; that purple shirt is perfect with your eyes."

"Why, thank you, sweetheart," he said, then looked around at everyone on the beach. "Are you still planning on eating with that Corey guy?"

"I haven't changed my mind, Simon," she said, a little annoyed that he'd brought it up again. "I said I would, and I'm not backing out just because things between us have changed."

"Relax, Kira, I wasn't going to ask you to," Simon said. "I just wanted to warn you that he and his friends have been drinking. Max is sure that they smuggled alcohol onto the island."

She studied Simon for a second and decided he was telling the truth. Her annoyance evaporated. "Thanks for warning me," she said. "But all I agreed to was eating with him. I'll find you as soon as we're done."

"That's a deal," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "Maybe we can take a walk on the beach or something."

"That something sounds pretty good," she said, enjoying the look on his face and the desire that blossomed in his eyes.

"Just promise me that you'll be careful with that guy," he said. "I don't like the looks of him."

"I'm sure he's perfectly harmless," she said, then realized there was genuine concern in his eyes. "But I'll be careful."

"That's all I ask," he said, then leaned down to kiss her but was interrupted by Corey calling her name.

"Hey, there you are," he said, practically shoving Simon out of the way. "They're about to start digging for clams. We have to go get our buckets. Let's go."

Before she knew what was happening, Corey had grabbed her hand and was pulling her away from Simon. "Hey, slow down," she said, yanking her hand free. "I agreed to have dinner with you, not go clam digging. You should have asked instead of just assuming I wanted to go with you."

"Oh, dang, Kira, I'm sorry, I was just excited," Corey said. "I kind of lost my head for a second there. Will you be my partner for the clam digging?"

She hesitated for a second. She really didn't want to be with Corey, but when she looked over where they'd been standing a few minutes before, Simon was gone. "Okay, I guess that would be okay," she said. "Let's go get our buckets."

Armed with shovels and metal buckets, they headed down the beach with the rest of the crowd a few minutes later. "Come on, let's go further down the beach, away from everyone else," Corey said, taking off in front of her. We'll have better luck if we have some space of our own, and I want to win the prize for the biggest clam."

When she finally caught up to him, he was already on his hands and knees digging in the sand, "Come on, this is fun," he said, grinning up at her. "Just like being a kid again."

They dug in silence for a while. The only sound was the clams falling into their buckets, then Corey sat back on his heels, pulled a flask out of his pocket, took a long sip, then put it back. "This is boring," he said, looking around. "I thought it would be more exciting. Let's go do something else."

"I guess we could head back," she said, looking into her bucket. "I've got about a dozen. How many did you get?"

"It doesn't matter, this is stupid," Corey said, jumping to his feet. "This trip cost a fortune. We shouldn't have to dig for our dinner."

He pulled the flask out of his pocket and took another long drink, then looked over at her, "Oh, shit, I didn't offer you any," he said, holding out the flask. "Not very gentlemanly of me."

She waved it off, "Max doesn't like alcohol on the island," she said. "You better hope he doesn't catch you."

"Then we'd better hide," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her into the trees. "And as long as we're here, we could have a little fun."

Before she could stop him, he pulled her into his arms, slammed his mouth down on hers, and started kissing her. She was too shocked to fight back for a second, and he instantly became bolder and started running his hands over her body. She started to fight, but Corey was holding her so tightly it wasn't doing much good, and panic flooded her system. Forcing herself to calm down, she let her body go limp and managed to slip out of Corey's arm, then turned and ran for the beach.

She could hear him right behind her, cursing her as he chased her down, and knew that she couldn't outrun him, but saw the metal pail gleaming in the moonlight. Changing directions, she headed straight for it, scooped it up off the ground, and with all her strength, launched it at Corey. It hit him in the middle of the forehead with a loud clang, but he didn't go down like she'd hoped. Instead, his eyes filled with rage, and he charged toward her.

"You little bitch, you're going to pay for that," he yelled, reaching for her. "I'm going to drag you back into those trees and make you sorry you ever crossed me."

"I don't think so," Simon said, stepping in front of her. "The lady isn't going anywhere with you."

Corey stopped short, then started laughing, "And you think you're going to stop me?" he asked. "Back off looser, you're just going to end up hurt, or maybe you want to watch, you know, get a few tips from a real man."