Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

***SIMON***

S imon was in his element, a pretty girl on each arm, and for the first time since he'd left for his trip to Heart of the Ocean, everything was finally going his way. He knew that he'd have to decide at some point which one of them he was going to take back to his cabin, but he was enjoying himself too much to make the distinction yet. Experience had taught him that he'd have to handle it carefully. No woman took rejection easily, a lesson he'd learned the hard way, and he didn't want any tears or screaming at the end of the night.

"Well, ladies, normally at this point in the evening, I would suggest we get a bottle of wine and have some dinner, but as you know, that's out of the question," he said. "So, how about we just go get some food instead? I've heard wonderful things about the grill."

Mandy looked over at Sarah, then back at him, "Oh, well……the thing is, we kinda already made dinner plans," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "These two really cute guys we met this afternoon invited us for a picnic on the beach. "

For a second, he wasn't sure that he'd heard right, "We're really sorry," Sarah said, slipping out of his arms. "I guess we should have told you sooner, but we didn't really think……I mean……you're……"

Her words trailed off, but he didn't notice at first. He was still trying to process the fact that they'd turned down his invitation for dinner to meet someone else. He'd been so sure he'd reel them both in, had even had a flicker of hope that he might be able to sleep with both of them, but now they were ready to slip away from him without even a backward glance.

"Umm……" Mandy said. "Maybe we should get going."

"Yeah, we don't want to be late," Sarah said. "We'll see you around. It was fun talking to you, hope you enjoy your vacation."

They started to turn and walk away, and he felt a burst of panic shoot through him, desperate to keep them there, afraid of what it would mean if they walked away from him. He searched his mind for a way to keep them there. "Wait, what were you going to say?" he asked, then wished he hadn't when the girls exchanged a look. "I mean……we were getting along so well; we were really hitting it off."

Mandy looked over at Sarah, who shook her head, then looked anywhere but at him, "Well……the thing is, you're a little too old for us," Mandy finally said. "It's nothing personal. We're just into younger guys."

This time his mouth popped open, and all he could do was stare at them for several long minutes, making the girls begin to shift guiltily from foot to foot. "How old do you think I am?" he finally asked, bracing himself for the answer.

"I don't know, thirty-five or forty," Mandy said. "I'm not very good at that kind of thing."

He winced and staggered back a step, " You've got to be kidding," he said, feeling as if he'd been physically attacked. "I'm only thirty, I'm not that old."

This time when Mandy looked over at Sarah, she gave her a dirty look, "We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Simon," Sarah finally said. "It's just……well, we're only twenty-one, thirty seems kind of ancient to us."

"Ancient," he repeated, unable to believe what was happening. "You just called me ancient."

"Well……. you're not really ancient," Mandy said, giving Sarah another dirty look. "She didn't mean that, you're just……older than we are, that's all."

Just then, a couple of young men walked up to them, "Hey, there you two are," one of them said, holding up a picnic basket. "We're all ready if you are. We've got the food, a blanket, and a couple of flashlights."

"I'm sorry, Simon, we have to go," Mandy said. "It really was fun talking to you."

"Yeah, I bet there's some older woman here who would love to have dinner with you," Sarah said, then slapped her hand over her mouth when Mandy elbowed her in the ribs. "I didn't mean old, I meant……mature. No, I didn't mean that either……never mind, we have to go."

They walked away before he could say another word, but he heard one of the guys ask, "Who was that?"

"Oh, just some old guy who was trying to hit on us," Mandy said. "I think he was going to try and sleep with both of us."

"Gross," the young man said, then looked over his shoulder. "Guys like him give men a bad name."

Feeling like he was going to pass out from the shock, he stumbled over to a chair and plopped down in it, his head reeling, the words he'd just heard repeating over and over in his brain. He was ancient, an old gross guy hitting on young girls. The bottom had just fallen out of his world, his life was over, and nothing would ever be the same. Unable to even hold his head up, he sat there, feeling sorry for himself, not sure what he was going to do with the rest of his life if his playboy days were over.

***Kira***

Kira sat studying Simon, almost feeling sorry for him as she tried to hold back the giggle that tried to surface but kept silent, sure that he didn't know she was there. It somehow seemed fitting that she'd witnessed his humiliation, but she was also embarrassed for him, and felt a little unwanted empathy for what he'd just been through. Then she remembered their conversation on the boat over to the island, and it disappeared. He'd only gotten what he'd deserved, and it was nice that someone besides her had delivered it this time.

But as she watched him, she realized just how devastated he was by the whole thing, and the empathy returned twice as strong. Wishing she could just slip away instead of witnessing Simon being human, she sat there for a few more seconds, then quietly cleared her throat so that he'd know she was there. He lifted his head and looked over at her, his eyes full of pain and confusion, then narrowed them at her.

"How much did you see?" he asked, then held up his hand. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Those girls were a little harsh with you," she said. "They could have been a little nicer about the whole thing."

"But they were right, I'm past my prime," he said, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter how the message was delivered; I heard it loud and clear. I'm ancient, I'm mature, and I'm an old man. One of those little punks even called me gross, can you believe that?"

She didn't say anything at first, didn't want to add insult to injury, "I'm not sure what to say," she finally said, wondering why she was trying to spare his feelings. "I'll just say this. Most of us reach an age when we want more than just meaningless one-night encounters. If you're not there, well, that's okay, but you might want to turn up the age dial the next time you go hunting."

"Hunting?" he asked, clearly offended. "You're saying that I hunt women?"

"Well, don't you?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "That's what it looks like to me. You find a pretty woman you want and set out to get her into your bed, then once it's over, you move onto a new kill."

"Wow, that's harsh. You don't know me, you don't know what I do," he said. "The women I sleep with know the score from the very beginning. I never promise them anything but the best night of their lives, and I'll have you know that I deliver."

"I'm sure you have a long line of satisfied customers," she said, wondering why she'd felt sorry for him. "And I'm sure you'll find some willing victims on the island, so I'll let you get back to the hunt."

She got to her feet, grabbed her bag, and started to walk away, but Simon jumped up and pulled her to a stop. "I don't hunt women, they come to me voluntarily," he said, then let go of her arm when she pulled away. "I'm not a predator, I'm just a guy who loves women, lots of them, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Tell yourself that all you want," she said. "But deep down, I think you know the truth, you just don't want to face it. You live a shallow, empty life, Simon."

"My life is just fine, thank you very much, so mind your own business," he said, glaring at her. "I don't need your sympathy or your advice, so just leave me alone."

"Now that's one request I can grant you," she said, then turned and stomped away .

She fumed all the way back to the cabin, climbed the ladder still muttering under her breath about what a jerk he was, stomped into the cabin, then collapsed onto her bed. The jerk had ruined her perfect night, and it was her own fault. She should have just gotten up when he sat down at her table, but like an idiot, she'd stayed there feeling sorry for him.

It would never happen again, she promised herself. The man would never change, he was a wolf at heart. Men like that spent their lives chasing women, avoiding real connections. She's already tangled with someone just like Simon, and she wasn't about to do it again. Edward had left her broken and devastated, then tried to take the only good thing that had come out of her terrible mistake away from her.

He and Simon were not that different. They both used their money and good looks to charm women into their beds, the only thing that separated them was the wife that Edward had hidden from her. Simon at least seemed to be upfront about what he wanted. That didn't make him any better, but at least he was honest. Realizing the path her thoughts had taken, wondering how she could even be thinking about Simon, she got up from the bed.

It was time to forget about the man, time to let it all go and enjoy her vacation. The next time she saw him, she was going to get as far away from him as she could. He had no place in her life, she had no interest in what he was offering and never would. All he did was frustrate and annoy her. Let him chase all the women he wanted, it didn't matter to her, and if she never saw him again, that would be fantastic.