Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

***THEO***

T heo pushed the food around on his plate with his fork, the beautiful morning lost on him as he tried to wrestle with the guilt and shame that came with the rising sun. "That's not a look I expect to see on my guests' faces," Max said, sitting down next to him. "Is there something wrong with the food?"

He looked down at his plate, then pushed it away. "No, I just don't have much of an appetite this morning," he said, shaking his head. "I behaved like an idiot last night, and I'm not sure what, if anything, to do about it."

"I see," Max said, making himself more comfortable. "Would you care to elaborate?"

He looked over at his friend. "I kissed someone last night that I shouldn't have," he said. "I lost control; couldn't stop myself; that hasn't happened to me… well, since I was a teenager. Now I feel like a creep, and I don't know whether I should just pretend it didn't happen or apologize."

"If you want my opinion, pretending it didn't happen never works out well," Max said. "As to the question of whether or not you should apologize, I'd say that depends on what the someone you kissed thought about that kiss."

Just thinking about Eden's response made his body begin to tingle and tighten. "It doesn't matter what she thought about the kiss; I shouldn't have done it. I took advantage of her," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean to do it, but she was dressed in a skimpy tee shirt and this black pair of lace panties, I did my best to keep my distance, it just didn't work…she was scared and upset…"

"Okay, hold on, I think you'd better go back and start at the beginning, you lost me somewhere," Max interrupted. "And it might help if I knew who you were talking about."

He hesitated. "Eden Bishop," he finally said. "And before you say it, I know that I'm too old for her. She's just a kid. That's part of the reason I feel like such a jerk."

Max studied him for a second. "I wouldn't call her a kid; she's going to medical school in the fall," he finally said. "But now I really want to hear the whole story. Come on, spill it."

"There was a gecko in her bedroom, it scared the hell out of her, and she started screaming," he said, then sighed. "I heard her and went to see what was wrong. I didn't even think about getting dressed, I just ran out of my cabin. She didn't think about getting dressed either I guess, all she was wearing was a tee-shirt and those damned black panties. She threw herself into my arms when she saw me, and that's when it started."

"Ah, now I see," Max said, a grin on his face. "Sounds like a hard thing for any man to resist."

"I could almost forgive myself if I'd kissed her then, I could have blamed it on the heat of the moment," he said, shaking his head. "Instead, like an idiot, I went into her cabin. I thought I could control myself, I'm thirty years old, after all, and she even put on her robe. But one thing led to another, and before I could stop myself, I was kissing her. I warned her I was going to, not that it helped any. The worst part is, she kissed me back, the kind of kiss a man doesn't forget. It was all I could do to walk away from her."

Max was silent for a second. "Why did you?" he asked. "I mean, if she was willing, why walk away?"

"As tempting as it was, we're a bit old to be behaving like that, and she is just a kid, I don't care what you say," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm at least eight years older than she is, and there's something innocent about her. I can't explain what I mean, but I could feel it when I kissed her."

"Eight years isn't that much," Max said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's just a vacation romance, anyway. I don't think it makes that much difference, I mean, if she's willing."

"It's not a question if she's willing," he said, shaking his head. "She's not the kind of woman you have a fling with, she's……worth more than that……I guess."

"Then it sounds like you have a problem," Max said, then shook his head. "I never thought I'd be having this conversation with you. The Theo I used to know wouldn't have cared about something like that, he would have taken what he wanted."

"Yeah, well, that guy was a bit of a jerk," he said. "I've grown up a lot since college, Max. I should be able to control my impulses, but just to be on the safe side, I'm going to stay away from her."

Max burst out laughing. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?" he asked. "You're on an island, my friend. You're going to run into her, whether you want to or not."

"Well, I don't have to talk to her, I don't have to look at her," he said, giving his friend a dirty look. "You act like you're enjoying this. Frankly, I don't appreciate it. I'm trying to do the right thing here."

"I'm sorry," Max said, wiping the smile off his face. "I'm just not used to seeing this side of you. It's going be highly entertaining watching you try to do the right thing for the next two weeks."

***Eden***

Eden sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the piles of clothes around her, then over at Barbie, who was ripping things off the hangers in the closet and throwing them over her shoulder. When she turned around with a huff, Eden winced, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment, and wondered if it had been a good idea to let her new friend look through her clothes after all.

"Oh, Eden, don't look like that, I'm not disgusted with you. None of this is your fault," Barbie said, sitting down next to her. "I'm angry with your mother for making you walk around dressed like this. You're an attractive young woman, you should show off what you've been given."

"My mother says that fashion is a distraction," she said, staring down into her lap. "She says that makeup is a waste of time, time I could spend studying or volunteering at the hospital."

"I don't want to know what your mom thinks, I want to know what you think," Barbie said. "You're a grown woman, you're entitled to a few of your own opinions."

She looked at the heaps of clothing scattered around the room, then over at Barbie. "Well…I wouldn't mind dressing a little differently," she finally said. "I've been dressing like an old woman all my life. It might be fun to try something different. "

Barbie grinned at her. "Then we need to go shopping," she said, jumping up from the bed. "I bet I can arrange to have a boat take us back over to the main island. We'll buy you a whole new wardrobe and give you a full makeover, haircut, makeup, the works."

"Hold on, I don't know about all that……" she said, shaking her head. "First of all, I can't pay for all that, and secondly, I couldn't take any of it home with me. My mother would have a fit."

Babie only hesitated for a second. "I'll pay for everything, Eden. It won't even make a dent in my allowance," she said, shaking her head when she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't try to talk me out of it. I want to do this; you deserve it. I can't think of a better use of the money my parents keep throwing at me to make up for not being a part of my life."

She was tempted but afraid that she'd already pushed things too far. "I don't know, Barbie," she finally said. "I know that there's no way we'd get caught, but well…"

Her phone began to ring on the table next to the bed, and the sound made them both jump. "Now that's a sound I haven't missed," she said, then sighed. "We shouldn't have been talking about her."

"Is it your mother?" Barbie asked, her eyes wide. "You'd better answer it."

Taking a deep breath, she connected the call. "Hi, Mom," she said, keeping her voice light. "I'm sorry I haven't called."

"You should be sorry. I've been worried sick. I never should have let you go on that trip," her mother said. "I want you to pack your bags and come home right now."

"Mom, you promised, remember," she said. "I need this time off, I'm burned out. I have to have some time to decompress before I start medical school, even the doctor said so."

"Well, I don't know why you couldn't have done that at home," her mother said, a hard edge to her voice. "You never listen to me, Eden. I told you over and over that this was a mistake and that you would be miserable."

"But I'm not miserable, I'm having a great time. The island is beautiful, it's peaceful and quiet," she said. "I'm not coming home, Mother, I'm staying for the whole summer, just like we agreed."

There was a long pause. "Let me speak to your companion. I can't remember her name," her mother said, her voice cold. "Just put the woman on the phone. She must not be watching you close enough. You've never spoken that way to me before."

She started to panic, and wondered for a second if she could disguise her voice, but a second later, Barbie grabbed the phone out of her hands. "Hello, this is Mabel," she said. "I'm so pleased to finally get a chance to talk to you. Cell reception on the island is terrible. Eden has been trying to call you since we got here."

"Oh, well……" her mother's words trailed away. "Eden tells me that you're having a good time."

"Oh, my yes," Barbie said. "You've raised a wonderful daughter, Mrs. Bishop. You should be very proud."

"It's Dr. Bishop," her mother said curtly. "Eden is going to follow in my footsteps."

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry," Barbie said, rolling her eyes. "Please forgive me, Dr. Bishop."

"Yes, well, I suppose it's okay this once," her mother said. "Now, I have some concerns I believe we must discuss……"

Barbie held the phone away from her ear. "What's that?" she asked. "I can't hear you."

She put the phone back up to her ear. "I still can't hear you; I think our connection is going bad," she yelled. "Hold on, let me go outside. "

Instead of heading for the door, Barbie stared at the phone for a few seconds, then hit the end button and disconnected the call. "There, that should buy you some time," she said, then grinned at Eden. "I hope you don't mind. I could hear every word she was saying."

Overwhelmed for a second, she could only stare at Barbie, then reached out and gave her a big hug. "You're the best friend I've ever had," she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, but you do realize that you're going to have to talk to her again, right?"

A big smile spread across Barbie's face. "I'm looking forward to it. I always wanted to be an actress," she said. Now let's go spend some of my parents money, something I'm really good at."