3: 3
Nicholas's parents had originally planned a trip abroad.
Then he suddenly announced the whole family was going to Miami instead.
He even messaged my account:
*Baby, let's finally meet in person in Miami, okay?*
I kept putting him off:
*We'll see.*
In the airport lounge, a pair of crocodile-leather shoes stepped into my line of sight.
A gentle voice reached my ear. “Sherry?”
I looked up, and there was Earl Morton, the old high-school heartthrob, giving me that signature smile of his.
“It really is you.”
Running into him here was a happy little surprise. A handsome man is always easy on the eyes, after all.
And the more, the better!
“Earl?!”
He and I fell right into all the old stories, and I couldn't stop laughing.
My phone kept buzzing.
It was Nicholas, off checking us in:
*Baby, missing you. What are you up to?*
*Calling baby, calling baby!*
*Where'd you go? Off cheating with some other guy?*
I was too busy talking with Earl to bother answering.
Earl said, very much the gentleman, “Your boyfriend? Better answer him. Don't keep him waiting.”
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, embarrassed. “Not my boyfriend. He's……”
A hand clamped down on my wrist.
“Her husband.”
Nicholas had come back at some point, out of breath, forcing on a calm face.
Earl took the hint and nodded. “Oh, I see. Then I won't keep the two of you.”
He turned and walked off.
Right by my ear, Nicholas said in that mocking tone, “I was gone three minutes and you're already cheating again?”
I reminded him, “Don't forget, we're a fake couple. Ease up on the possessiveness!”
The second it was out, I regretted it a little……
His face went white in an instant.
His eyes darkened again. “Whatever else, in front of my parents we put on the act, and we make it look real!”
When we reached the resort hotel, they'd put us in one room, with his parents right next door.
Nicholas opened his suitcase and started unpacking.
I lay sprawled on the bed, licking a popsicle and cackling at a variety show.
Then a little box slipped off of Nicholas and hit the floor with a smack.
He and I looked at it at the same time, and we both froze.
He quickly tried to kick the thing under the bed, but it was a solid-base bed.
The condom came flying back at a bizarre angle and landed right back in our line of sight.
Nicholas looked absolutely defeated.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and gave me an awkward smile. “You know how it is. Guys have needs.”
Me: “Understandable, understandable……”
But my heart was pounding.
Nicholas went into the bathroom and messaged me:
*Baby, I even brought condoms. You really don't want to try it with me?*
And at the very moment I got the message, I actually spotted Penny Carver, strolling along the beach!
