| Gabby was very happy today; today she was in Cancun. Away from the draining rat race of work, she had every reason to smile. She sighed feeling the joy that the warm morning air had bestowed upon her. She looked for a spot to throw down the quilt among the other bodies. She took in the sweet scent of tanning oil and salt water. �Hey, hey!� Arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Her spirits involuntarily dropped. �David, hey baby,� She said, trying to force enthusiasm. It didn�t work. �That doesn�t sound like a very warm welcome.� He sounded like he was pouting. She felt annoyance prickle her skin, and she pushed it away. David walked beside her. �I�m just tired. That�s all,� she said tightening her grip around the quilt. David laughed, jabbing her in the side. �Yeah, last night wore me out too.� He was talking about the sex� She was talking about the jet lag. She forced a smile and put her arm around her fianc�e�s shoulders and tried to laugh. �Let�s throw it down here,� he said snatching it from her grasp before she could tell him that she didn�t like the spot. �Sure,� she said watching him spread it out. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down on the quilt, planting a kiss on her unprepared lips. She pulled away shocked; he looked into her pretty blue eyes, and played with a strand of her long brown hair. �You�re so beautiful,� he murmured. She had never realized how gray his eyes were� so dull and blank. She closed her eyes feeling his lips on hers again. She was glad to feel a slight spark as her mouth opened to his. Mark squirted more of the tanning oil onto his opened hand, before sliding both of them across his shoulders and the muscles of his chest and abs. 'This is nice�' He thought, putting on his black sunglasses and leaning back. The sun was warming him already. He was glad he�d finally turned off his cell phone; his agent had been calling him all day. Ironically, his agent had been the one that sent him on this vacation in the first place. He thought of what the other guy�s were doing right now. Scott was in Colorado at a resort with Hilaree and Jagger. Phillips was in the Bahamas. Mark smiled, hearing women and girls walking by and talking about him. 'And I�m here�' He sighed, relaxing more. 'They don�t know who I am here�' He was glad about that. He felt himself drifting away a nap would be nice. 'Does he ever shut up? God! Why won�t he quit complaining it�s all he�s done the whole freaking trip! If I don�t get out of here soon, I�m gonna just-' �I�ll be right back.� Gabby said hastily as she stood from the dinner table. �What�s wrong?� David asked looking up from his steak that was about the size of his head. �I need some air.� She said dropping her cloth napkin on the table and pushing in her chair with shaking hands. �Want me to come?� he asked taking another bite. �No!� she exclaimed much too quickly. �Fine.� David whispered, but she was already halfway out the door. 'Calm down� Gabby, calm down right now�' She gave herself a pep talk as she cried in her hands. 'What the hell is wrong with me?' She asked herself. �I�m supposed to love you,� she said, looking at the diamond engagement ring on her finger. �You are?� a deep male voice asked from her far left. Gabby looked up quickly and felt as though she�d been slapped. �Oh-uh, um� No, yes�um-� She cut herself off realizing she sounded like a complete idiot. It was only slightly embarrassing to be seen crying in front of a stranger, but he wasn�t just any stranger, he was a gorgeous stranger. And He was walking to her. 'About 6�3� Solid muscle, good Lord look at that tan�' �I�m sorry to interrupt you, you just seemed like you needed some humor� Which I don�t think I can provide much of actually.� He smiled apologetically at her, his perfect white teeth and dimples were adorable. 'I love guys with goatees,' she thought as she wiped her eyes and adjusted her dress that seemed to be crawling up her legs. 'He probably thinks I look like a total slut.' �My name�s Mark,� he said, shaking her hand and immediately looking in her eyes. �Gabriella,� she returned, uttering the words softly as she gazed into his eyes. They were like dark green hazel gems. �Mind if I call you Gabby?� He asked, still holding her fingers with his. �I�d prefer it.� She said, not moving her hand from his. She felt so much electricity between them. His fingers touched her ring, and he glanced down. �You�re engaged,� he stated, removing his hand from hers gently. She could feel him mentally pulling away from her. His eyes suddenly became distant� and politely uninterested. She wanted to cry again. �Yeah, I am�� �I should go, let you get back to�crying I guess.� He said looking beyond her. He smiled� she could tell it wasn�t forced, as his eyes looked into hers. �It�s been nice talking to you,� she said blinking and breaking his hold on her, she looked down. �See you around.� He turned and walked. She looked up, watching the way his dark clothes clung to his well-built body. She licked her lips convincing herself that it was because they were dry. She stood and looked at her ring again she couldn�t even form a thought. She only thought about his eyes. Gabriella woke up with a smile on her face; she pulled his warm body closer to her, breathing in his scent. She felt warmth of the sun tingling her skin awake. She could feel a cool breeze blowing in from the bedside window that was opened. �Mark,� She whispered under her breath. �What�s that, honey?� David�s voice asked from the other room. Gabby�s eyes opened suddenly. A pillow had replaced Mark�s body; she let go of it glumly. She closed her eyes and wanted to groan. �You awake pumpkin�?� David asked, she could tell he was leaning over her. "Hmmm? Just barely,� she whispered opening her eyes groggily. �Well, hurry up so we can go to breakfast. It�s better than those crappy continental ones.� She blinked several times and rubbed her tired eyes. �You know what? I don�t really feel up to it,� she said. He stared at her oddly. �Okay, I�ll be back in an hour or so,� he said, sounding unsatisfied. When the door closed, Gabby jumped up from the bed happily. She was smiling. 'An entire hour! Alone!' she thought joyously. Gabby couldn�t believe how great she felt, absolutely elated. She could smell the tropical smells from the bar that was nearby. She actually skipped once as she turned a corner, suddenly she had run into something that felt like a brick wall. �Oh!� She gasped blinking in surprise. She saw a cell phone smack the ground, she and the man bent over to pick it up at the same time. As she crouched, so did he. They both looked at each other. �Mark.� She said amazed at how close they were her body buzzed. �Gabby, hi,� he said, brushing his hand with hers as he picked up his phone and stood. She stood as well and absent-mindedly dropped her wallet as she looked at the white wife beater he was wearing. 'Those arms are delicious,' she thought spacing out they both went down for her wallet, bumping into each other. Mark laughed, as did she and he handed it to her. They stood and she adjusted her pale pink sundress. Mark nodded towards the bar that was just around the corner. �You want to�?� �Absolutely.� |