Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (17 page)

“
Just enjoy it,” he said. “Enjoy this moment. Right here. Right now. Whatever happens after, just let it happen. Don’t worry about the consequences. If you live only for the future, when are you ever going to enjoy yourself?”

“…
Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

I could feel Dante moving closer to me. His face was drifting towar
d mine. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wasn’t sure of what I was feeling. But I wasn’t pushing him away.

He placed his hand upon my thigh and slowly moved it up my leg. I sighed as my eyelids began to flutter. I was losing focus on the ocean.

What are you doing, Alice? You can’t…

I turned my head toward him and Dante was there to greet me. I closed my eyes the rest of the way and his lips fell upon mine. I exhaled a deep breath through my nose as our lips smacked.

Alice!

I opened my eyes and jerked m
y head away from him. His hand fell off of my leg and he looked at me surprised.

“
What’s wrong? Are you all right, Alice?”

“
I’m fine,” I exhaled a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Yes. It’s just…”

“
I’m sorry. Was I being too forward? I should have asked if there was someone else. You have a boyfriend back home—”

“
No. No, I don’t. And you’re not being too forward. It just… It just feels like it’s all happening so fast.”

“
It
is
happening fast. We’ve only known each other for a few days.”

“
I know. I’d like some time to think about it, that’s all. Before we go… any further.”

“
I understand.”

Dante shifted in the sand a few more inches away from me to give me some space. The thoughts were racing through my head. My heart was pounding and I was trying to c
atch my breath.

“
I guess it’s no surprise at this point but I might as well say it. I’m really attracted to you, Alice. I… I like you.”

“
I like you, too. I enjoy your company. But I’m not sure—”

“
You don’t have to explain anything to me. We can just lay here in the sand and enjoy ourselves. That’s more than enough for me.”

“
Thanks.”

I could feel my heart beating easier. Dante didn
’t seem as upset as I was expecting him to be. Instead, he laid back in the sand and looked up at the sky.

“
Listen, Alice. There are only a few days of the conference left. I don’t know what you’re thinking or what you want to do. All I know is that I probably won’t ever see you again after this. But we’re here now. And I want to enjoy this time.”

I didn
’t say anything. I laid in the sand next to him and looked up at the sky. The moon was waning and the stars were bright. It wasn’t any different from the sky I was used to back home. But there was something about it that made me feel like I was somewhere else.

Dan
te and I laid there in silence. He reached his hand over to mine and held it. I didn’t pull it away.

There were only a couple of nights left in Hawaii. I wasn
’t sure how I was going to spend them. But something inside of me kept telling me to enjoy these last few moments. There wasn’t enough time for me to sort out my feelings but I knew that I had to do it soon.

Chapter 17

I spent the next night with Dante just the same. We laid there on the beach and enjoyed the atmosphere. The drunk college students were as loud and rambunctious as ever but we were a picture of calmness.

We didn
’t do much else. Doing nothing but lying in the sand left me alone with my thoughts. And there was a lot for me to think about.

I kissed him. I didn
’t believe it happened. Even though I enjoyed it, at the same time, it didn’t feel right. I had only been a few days away from Rafael but it felt like an eternity.

It didn
’t make any sense. There were times when he would be stuck in his office and I would be in mine. When we would finally see each other in one of his penthouse suites, we would relieve our stress together. I told myself that this was no different.

But it didn
’t work. We were in a different place. We were under different circumstances. And there wasn’t someone like Dante back home to tempt me.

I was torn. Dante
’s reasoning was sound. I could indulge in this moment. Just once. Things wouldn’t change between Rafael and me or anyone else. It was just a thing. We would all be back to our normal lives and Hawaii would be just another memory. I didn’t know what to do.

After finishing the last set of presentations I was scheduled to attend, I let out a huge sigh of relief. The last night of the conference was here. I knew that I had a lot of work ahead of me. I had to organize all o
f my notes and come up with a report as soon as I got back. But for now, I could enjoy the luxuries of Maui one last time.

As I exited the conference room, Dante was there to greet me. I wanted to run up to him and jump into his arms because I had made it
through the tedium of it all.

“
You look happy,” he said with a smile.

“
I am. That’s the last workshop.”

“
That’s good news. Now you have all this time to yourself.”

“
Yeah. But it also means that the week is pretty much over and—”

“
Hey. Don’t talk like that now. You should be happy that the worst part is over.”

“
I am,” I said as I laughed. “I’m
real
happy.”

“
Good. I’m pretty much done myself. I think I spoke to nearly every executive in this building. If I missed one, they’re going to have to find me.”

“
Maybe you should hide from them.”

“
Maybe,” he said with a smirk. “Speaking of which… There’s a special celebration happening tonight. Out on the beach. They’re hosting a luau.”

“
Is it for the conference?”

“
Does it matter? We’re going to be out there anyway, right?”

“
True. So…”

“
Meet you on the beach in an hour? Unless you want to spend dinner in the banquet room with all of the other people attending the conference.”

“
I’ll see you out there on the sand.”

Dante and I headed toward our rooms
. I was excited about finally getting through all of my work but the festivities of tonight made me more excited to get out near the water. I didn’t know what was going to happen exactly. But I wasn’t thinking too much about it. I was just going to enjoy myself.

* * *

I stripped my clothes off then washed away the remnants of a hard day at work. After my shower, I felt invigorated. I sorted through all of the swimsuits to wear tonight then picked one of the bikinis up. As I tied the top around my back, I looked down and saw something sitting there on the edge of the bed. Scattered away from the pile of bikinis I’d brought with me was the tiny thong bottoms Danica had convinced me to buy. I picked it up and held it in the air. I started laughing as I examined it.

“
What was I thinking?”

I tossed the thong back onto the pile of swimsuits. As I looked at it, something came across my mind. I was suddenly considering it.

“It
is
the last day of the conference…”

I remembered everything Dante said to me. After tonig
ht, Hawaii would just be a memory. I could just enjoy myself and forget about the consequences for a moment. Even if that included potentially embarrassing myself by wearing something skimpy. But I didn’t want to wear it just to wear it. I knew that Dante would appreciate it.

I picked the thong back up then put it on. The outfit seemed to be more revealing than I remembered. I looked at my reflection in the mirror then turned my back. My entire ass was on display. It didn
’t look nearly as bad as it did in the store since I had a tan from a day in the sun. But it left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

As I examined myself and became more enthused about actually wearing it out tonight, there was a knock at the door. I rushed toward a towel then quickly wr
apped it around my waist.

“
Just a second.”

The door opened from the other side and I was surprised to see my boss standing there, only because I hadn
’t seen him in so long.

“
May I come in, Alice?”

“
Of course.”

We smiled at one another as he closed the door
behind him. He walked forward into my room and glanced at the swimsuits scattered on my bed. Then he turned around and looked me up and down. It wasn’t any different from our usual encounters in hotel rooms. He was still in his suit and I was half-naked.

Without saying another word, he rushed toward me and began kissing me passionately. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me forward in his embrace. I tied my arms around his neck and opened my mouth. I wanted to consume him.

“I missed you,” I moaned into his mouth.

“
I know,” he sighed. “It’s just… I’ve been… busy…”

“
I know…”

I had to be reminded of what it felt like to be this close to him. He knew exactly how to make me feel.

“Come here,” I whispered to him, tugging him toward the bed.

“
I… I can’t…”

“
Please,” I moaned. “I want to fuck…”

“
Alice, I have a meeting tonight… I don’t have time…”

“
Just real quick…”

I reached down and began massaging him through his pants. His thickness was straining against the side of his leg. I stroked him softly as I pulle
d him closer toward me. I sat upon the couch and the towel slowly fell from my waist.

“
I have to go,” he sighed.

“
I know… Just let me—”

“
Alice.”

He placed his hands on my arms and pulled aw
ay from our kiss. I looked up at him as he breathed heavily. I had never seen him restrain himself like this before. I took my hand away from him and the desire I felt inside of me started to dissipate.

“
Why did you come here then?” I asked him.

“
I just wanted to see you, that’s all. It’s been so long. Even when we’re working back home, I see you in the building sometimes. There are board meetings when we don’t speak but I know you’re there. I wanted to apologize. I’ve had to talk to a lot of people—”

“
You don’t have to apologize to me. You’re working. I know that.”

I looked down at the ground away from him. No explanation he could give me was good enough to not make me feel disappointed. I rested my palms on the bed and leaned back with a sigh.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said.

“
About what?”

“
Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were enjoying yourself. I know that I put a lot on your schedule.”

“
It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“
I know. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some time to yourself. This is your first time out here. Asking you to stay in the hotel every day isn’t fair to you.”

“
I’m here to work. So are you. Besides, you gave me a day to enjoy the sun. And I’ll still have tomorrow.”

“
Yeah. Yeah, I suppose you do.”

I looked up at him and he
stood there calmly. He had his hands in his pockets and didn’t seem like he was moving.

“
Is that a thong?” he said with a smirk on his face.

“…
Yeah,” I said sheepishly.

“
I’m… sorry I’m not going to see you model it out on the beach.”

“
Yeah…”

He didn
’t say anything more. I looked up at him and saw the smirk on his face disappear. I swallowed nervously then remembered what Cheryl said to me.

“
I had dinner with your friend the other night,” I said. “Cheryl and I were alone.”

“
I know. She told me.”

“
She did? What else did she tell you?”

“
That’s it,” he said with a shrug. “She just said that you two enjoyed dinner and got to know each other a little better.”

“
She didn’t mention anything else?”

“
No, she didn’t, Alice.
Is
there something she didn’t tell me?”