Love on the Malecon (5 page)

He couldn’t believe how much he wanted to
tell her that she didn’t have to worry about paying another bill
for her entire life. Trying to take his mind off of that thought,
he looked at his watch and asked,
“
Shall we go to
dinner?”

“Yes, I’m so excited to try this restaurant,”
she responded,
“
I’m in Mexico, but my father swore this was
the best Italian food he had ever had.”

“He wasn’t wrong. You’re going to love
it.”

Nicole loved the look of the restaurant. It was right
on the Malecon and as they approached, she saw numerous couples
waiting outside. She was starving, but figured it would be worth
the wait. Keeping her hand in his, Derek greeted the little hostess
and kissed her cheek. Her face brightened and Nicole realized she
would need to get used to that happening while they were together
in Mexico. Derek was so handsome; any woman would be excited to get
attention from him.

Though there seemed to be quite a wait, the
hostess walked them upstairs to a table with a perfect view. Nicole
stopped and absorbed the ambiance of the little place. She could
see why her dad had loved it. The walls were white with green vines
woven all along the wooden rails on the staircase and the walls.
There was a tiny bar in the back that seemed to be used by the
servers more than guests. It looked as if the ivy crept around the
bar as well.

The sun had completely set and the lights
along the Malecon were shining brightly. There were people
everywhere. Sitting up on her perch, she watched couples walking by
hand in hand. There were families with children and groups of
teenagers all taking in the night life. The teenagers looked like
locals and Nicole wondered if they had any idea that they lived in
such a gorgeous city. She wasn’t naive enough to think they lived
as the tourists did. She knew that their homes were far from the
luxury of the hotels. But there was still that gorgeous view they
got to see every day. That didn’t cost a thing.

She brought her attention back to the
restaurant and noticed Derek had been watching her with a smile on
his face. Again, the same question went through her mind. What was
she doing? She knew her situation with Andrew was rather unknown at
the moment. Still, she had never done anything like this before.
And Derek seemed too good to be true. There was a comfort level she
felt with him in three days that she had not reached with Andrew in
three years. Was it the excitement of a vacation romance? She had
meant to start reading those relationship books, but just hasn’t
been able to crack one open yet.

“Can I order us some wine?” he asked.

“A glass of red would be great.” She opened
the menu and began searching for what she would like to eat.

Nicole knew a bit about wine from her
waitressing days and was taken aback when Derek asked for a bottle
of Chateau Lafite Rothschild. She wasn’t up on all the vintages,
but she knew certain years could run over a thousand dollars. She
figured there was no way he was ordering one of those and went back
to focusing on the menu. She remembered her fathering saying that
he could never figure out how they could make something as simple
as a Caprese salad so amazing. It only had four ingredients: fresh
mozzarella, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and basil, yet they had
somehow perfected the proportions. Her heart melted when she saw it
on the menu.

Just as she was about to tell this to Derek,
a man walked up to the table. It turned out he was one of the
owners. As Derek said his hellos, Nicole wondered how often he
visited Vallarta; he seemed to know quite a few people. Before she
could think too hard on the issue, she was surprised to hear Derek
say,
“
You know your regulars quite well. This here is Bill
James’ daughter.”

The man’s face lit up and he grabbed Nicole’s
hands to lift her up from the chair. He took her into a full-body
hug and commented on how beautiful she was. He sprinkled in a few
more things in Spanish that she didn’t understand, but ended with,
“
How is your father?”

How to answer that question? Tears came to
her eyes as she took a deep breath. Derek didn’t even know the
specifics yet. Since the funeral, she hadn’t talked out loud about
the situation and honestly, she didn’t want to ruin the experience
of the night. She wanted this to be a celebration of his life.

“He was in a car accident. I’m here to
celebrate his life and this was his favorite restaurant. We’d love
to start with the Caprese salad. It was his favorite,” she said it
quickly and hoped that it didn’t lead to a full conversation.

“
Mi amor
! I am so sorry. Yes, of
course we will celebrate your father tonight. Anything you want,
you get,” he kissed her cheeks and held out her chair. Nicole was
thankful that the wine had just arrived and that Derek had such a
sweet look on his face. How could someone look like they want the
kick someone’s ass and make love to you all at the same moment?
Derek approved the wine and they were each poured a glass.

“To your father,” Derek raised his glass.
Once again he knew not to push the subject. She had a feeling that
when she needed to break down and deal with reality, he would be
there to comfort her. But this was not that night. She raised her
glass and took a drink. She could not imagine a better way to start
this experience. The wine was the best she ever had. Maybe it was
one of those thousand dollar bottles. At least it tasted like it
could be.

“Nicole, thank you for letting me experience
this with you,” Derek said sincerely,
“
We’ll talk about it
more later. For now, let’s enjoy the night.”

She loved that idea. That was fine with her;
it was a night to remember the good times. They talked mainly about
her life this time. She told funny stories and he asked so many
questions. He seemed to truly be interested in hearing all about
her childhood with her father. It really felt like a couple out on
a date night. He would occasionally reach his hand across the table
to hold hers. She loved how rough they were, a feeling that could
only have come from being a fighter.

At one point, Derek took a work call. Since
he didn’t excuse himself from the table, Nicole could tell that it
must be pretty important in his company. He sounded like a boss
talking to a subordinate- not rude, but giving directions and
making decisions. She liked that he had both brawn and brains. He
had to send a few text messages as well, but took care that she
didn’t feel ignored. He checked the messages quickly, replied, and
immediately put his phone away.

The evening was perfect. The food was
delicious; she could see why her father had loved it so much. She
promised the owner to come back before she left. As they walked
back out onto the Malecon, a little black car drove up. Derek led
them to it. Nicole was surprised to see Hector driving. He hopped
out of the car with as much enthusiasm as he had when he showed her
to her room. He held the door open for her as she got into the
backseat. As Derek slid in next to her, she whispered,
“
What
is going on? Why is Hector picking us up?”

“He’s become my driver while I’m here. I get
places quickly and he gets some extra cash,” he winked and wrapped
his arm around her,
“
Should we have a drink at the bar?”

She couldn’t believe the words that came out
of her mouth,
“
Let’s grab a bottle in the market next door
and go up to my room. I have a balcony.”

“You heard the boss, Hector. Drop us off at
the market, please.”

“Yes, of course,
señor
.”

Within minutes, they were back to the
Romantic Zone and pulling up to the market next to her hotel. They
wandered through the small aisles and again Derek kept her hand in
his. There was a protectiveness about him that she loved. Feeling
such strength so close to her was quite the turn on. She couldn’t
believe that she wasn’t nervous. She was by no means a virgin, but
she had met Derek two days ago. And she had every intention of
sleeping with him tonight. Dinner was about her father, tonight was
about them. Tomorrow, she would think about everything else.
Perhaps after spending the night with Derek she would know what to
do about Andrew. So for now, she pushed Andrew out of her head.

Derek stopped by the hotel bar and got two
wine glasses and a wine key from the bartender. While they were on
the short ride in the elevator, Nicole could barely look in his
direction. Now it was hitting her. She stared at her feet and
prayed for the doors to open. Next thing she knew, she was leading
him through the door of her room. Nicole walked into the bathroom
to check out how she looked. She stared back at her reflection- a
little black halter-top sun dress showing off her bare shoulders,
blond hair long down her back, her face and shoulders tanned from
the past two days. She gave herself a reassuring look. She was
doing the right thing. Nicole could hear Derek opening the wine as
she walked back into the room. It was a basic room, but there was
space for a king bed and loveseat and a nice view of the water.

He handed her a glass of wine and had one
poured for himself.

“Should we sit outside, love?”

“Have I told you how much I love that you
have a little pet name for me?” She took the glass and headed
toward the balcony.

“No, you haven’t. I’m glad you like it. It
suits you.” He hadn’t realized he had given her a nickname. He
always did like how everyone in Mexico referred to women as
“mi
amor
”. It must have rubbed off on him. He leaned against the
balcony and watched her as she sat down.
“
Are you thinking
about your Maybe Boyfriend back home?” he asked.

“I’m trying not to. I’m focusing on you
tonight.” She set her wine glass down on the table and walked over
to him.
“
This doesn’t feel wrong. That has to mean
something, right?” she asked him, not really expecting an answer.
“
I want this to be about us, not him. I’ll worry about him
tomorrow.”

He wrapped his hand behind her neck and as he
pulled her to him, he whispered,
“
I want it to always be
about us. You never have to worry again.”

This time when he kissed her there wasn’t the
desperation they felt the first time. They had all night to linger
and discover each other. Nicole felt like she was in a fantasy. It
didn’t feel real; he didn’t feel real. She couldn’t wrap her head
around how he felt about her. The things he said, could he really
mean them? She was surprised how much, in this moment, she wanted
them to be true.

Sex with Andrew was good. Not great, but
good. Sometimes, when she wasn’t feeling inspired, she would
imagine them in a different situation. She didn’t fantasize about
other men, just that they were living a different life. This wasn’t
going to be an issue tonight. She was living the fantasy. There’s
no way her imagination could come up with something more exciting
than this.

Derek’s kiss was slow but strong. His tongue
searched all over her mouth. He kissed her lips, her chin, her
neck, all as if he was trying to absorb as much of her as he could.
He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

“Let me take you inside,” he whispered.

Nicole could barely speak. She nodded her
head and the next thing she knew, he reached his hands down to the
backs of her thighs and picked her up off the ground. She
instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried back
into her hotel room. Derek supported her back as he laid them both
down onto the bed. He was looking down at her and his breathing had
quickened.

“What are you doing to me?” he asked her and
this time he waited for an answer.

“I can’t explain this,” was all that she
could think to say. It seemed to satisfy his curiosity because he
lowered himself on to top of her and took her mouth in his again.
And her fantasy continued. The night before, she had been in this
very bed, imagining what it would be like to have Derek there with
her. Now here he was, his weight on top of her exhilarating.

He took his time kissing her. Nicole wasn’t
hugely into foreplay, but she enjoyed that he didn’t seem rushed to
get to sex. She grasped the back of his shirt and lifted it up
enough to feel the strong muscles along his back. A raspy moan came
from his mouth and he began kissing lower on her neck. The style of
dress didn’t give him full access to her breasts, so he slowly
inched it from her thighs to her waist and over her chest. She
lifted her arms for him. He pulled it off of her and tossed it
across the room. Then he reached under her and unhooked her little
black bra. That sailed through the air as well. Then she pulled his
shirt off and there they were, him in linen pants and her in her
little black thong.

She could see more tattoos and her heart
skipped a beat again. He had some hair scattered across his chest.
Even though it had a tint of grey to it, it was still extremely
sexy. His chest was tanned from his trip and very muscular. He had
big tattoos covering both shoulders, one on his chest, and a few
that trailed down his biceps. She wanted to know what each one
meant to him. Her tattoos were all meaningful to her and she wanted
to know the stories behind his.

He leaned back over her, but this time began
kissing the side of her breasts. He took her hands and held them
both over her head and sweetly kissed the tip of her nipple. Then
he put it in his mouth and it instantly hardened against him. His
mouth was so warm. She pushed her head back into the pillow, taking
in the sensation.

His head came back up and found her mouth
again. She loved kissing him. She could feel that he was ready. She
freed her hands from his and searched for his pants, working
quickly on his button and zipper and pulling them down over his
hips. She had long enough legs to hook a foot on the waist of his
pants and boxers and push them the rest of the way down to his
feet. He lifted his head and smiled at her little trick. Now that
they were eye to eye, he began kissing her again, whispering sweet
things to her between kisses. He talked about how beautiful she
was, that she hadn’t left his mind since the moment he saw her.