Apple Martinis

Chapter 4

Piper

Iawake to my phone ringing and vibrating on the nightstand. Raising up slowly, I blink rapidly until I can see the clock on the wall clearly.

Not even looking at the phone, I swing my feet to the floor.

It’s probably just Ben calling again for the thousandth time. He’s called nonstop since the last time that I spoke to him right after catching the bastard cheating.

Before I can head to the bathroom, the phone starts ringing yet again.

With a sigh, I glance at it and see that it’s actually someone that I do want to talk to.

“Hey, you!” I answer, putting the phone on speaker.

“You didn’t text us until late last night. What have you been up to down there? Have you met any sexy guys while there?” Bianca asks excitedly.

“As a matter of fact...” I giggle when she gasps.

“Really? And when exactly were you going to let your friends know this? Tell me everything!” She demands.

“Don’t you have to be at work soon?” I ask, glancing once again at the clock.

“I have a doctor”s appointment this morning so I’m going in later.”

“Doctor’s appointment? Is something wrong?” I ask anxiously.

“Nothings wrong. It’s just time for my birth control shot. Now, tell me about this guy you’ve met. Is he handsome?”

“Oh my God, yes. Very handsome!” I gush, laying back down across the bed with a sigh.

“Come on! Tell me more! Have you kissed him yet?”

“Sort of.” I think about the soft kisses he gave to me yesterday during our outing.

“Sort of? How the hell do you sort of kiss him?”

“It wasn’t a very passionate kiss really. It was...sweet, soft.” I close my eyes remembering it.

“You have it bad, girl!” She giggles. “Where did you meet?”

“At the bar next door to our condo. He’s a bartender there. I walked up on the veranda the first evening that I was here and there he was behind the bar serving drinks. He made the girl that was standing there in front of me believe that I was his girlfriend.” I laugh.

“Hmm.” She says and I raise back up on the bed.

“Hmm? What does that mean?” I ask.

“Just that you shouldn’t get attached to him. He’s okay for a fling but guys like that probably have flings every single night.”

“I’m not looking to marry him, Bianca.” I roll my eyes.

“I know. I’m just saying. I don’t want you to get hurt again. He may be a really nice guy. I don’t know but it’s likely he’s not looking for anything long term.”

“I need to go. We’re going boogie boarding today.” I announce, changing the subject.

“Go. Have fun, for as long as it lasts.”

“You’re a real bitch sometimes, you know that?” I shake my head.

“Yes but you love me anyway.” She says with absolute sincerity.

“Bye chick.” I laugh.

“Later!” She says, hanging up.

I grab my clean clothes and head into the bathroom to get dressed for the day. I’m supposed to meet Rome at the beach in an hour and I’m looking forward to it.

Thinking back over what Bianca said, I shake my head.

There’s no way that Rome is like that. If he just wanted to sleep with me, he’d have tried more than a chaste kiss on my lips.

Instead, I feel as though he is romancing me in the most gentlemanly way a man could romance a woman.

A guy like Rome is rare in today’s society. Most guys would have been trying to get into my pants that very first night out on that beach.

Once I’m dressed, I pull my hair up in a ponytail and go without any makeup. Not that I wear much of that most days anyway.

It doesn’t take me long to get to the beach where Rome asked me to meet him and I scan the area looking for him among all the other people on the beach.

I don’t spot him until I see a figure further down waving his arms in the air. With a smile, I head in his direction and he meets me halfway, giving me a kiss on the cheek as a greeting.

“Ready for some fun?” He grins down at me.

His face is so handsome but becomes even more so when he smiles like that.

“Yes, I’m ready.”

“Here’s a wet suit for you. There’s a bathroom over there so you can change into it.” He points me in the right direction and I hurry over to it to get ready.

I’ve never boogie boarded before. It’ll be a completely new experience for me but I welcome it. I want new experiences.

Since the breakup, I’ve thought more and more about what I want for a change. I think over the coming months there’ll be a lot of changes in my life and I can’t wait!