Aaron
My mission to set things right with Gabby after our kiss didn’t go well. She told me everything was fine, but it isn't. I can feel that things aren't right between us. She has every right to be pissed at me about tonight, about the fact that I kissed her and then said I was thinking about someone else, but she won't even talk to me about it. In fact, it seems like she can't wait to get away from me. Whatever is wrong between us is bigger than tonight, I'm realizing now. I can't understand why she seems to be putting distance between us, but she is. She's shutting me out. I'm losing her. I'm losing my best friend, and I have no idea what I did, or how to change it.
Getting to sleep takes longer than it should as the day replays on repeat in my head. Eventually, though, I finally nod off.
The lamp in the corner of the street casts no light as snow pours down onto the deserted street. I shiver as I stand in my t-shirt and boxers, my teeth chattering from the cold and hunger clawing at my stomach. Suddenly, a path appears in front of me, winding its way up to a red brick house.
I tentatively knock on the door, but there’s no answer. I look around and see that the door has vanished, in its place a foggy window. I bang on the glass and, when I stop, a table appears with a family of four: two dark-haired children, one faceless man, and Gabby.
Relief floods through me as I take in her familiar face. I can almost taste the food that looks so appetizing, smell the warmth of the house. The hunger becomes unbearable, and I rap urgently on the window.
Gabby stands up. Is she finally coming to get me at last? She leaves the room for a moment then returns with a baking dish. The man's voice floats up to me: "Lasagne."
"I know it's your favourite meal," she says softly before setting it down on the table in front of him and cutting him a piece.
Lasagne is my favourite meal. And who is this assclown she’s cooking for? Why is he getting lasagne, and I'm not?
"Gabby," I call, banging on the window again.
She ignores me. It’s as if she doesn’t know I'm here. Or she simply doesn’t care.
The man wraps his arm around Gabby's waist, pulling her onto his lap, and then he dips his head and kisses her.
"Gabby," I call again, banging on the window with both fists now. "Gabby, let me in. Gabby!"
She said we’d both move on, that we’d have different priorities, but I can’t believe she’d forget about me completely. That she’d ignore me. My life means nothing without her in it - she’s everything to me.
"Aaron!"
Gabby is standing over me when I open my eyes. "Bad dream?"
More like a nightmare.
"I was hungry."
She nods. She is the only person who knows how much I fear being hungry again, how being hungry reminds me of days when I felt helpless and abandoned by my parents. I sit up, and she comes around the back of the couch, putting her arms around my neck from behind. She rests her chin on my head, giving me comfort in a way no one else has ever been able to. I place my hand over hers, grateful that this feels normal, even if everything else between us isn’t right now.
I can't recall the last time I felt so low, so depressed. Following yesterday's events and the realization that my friendship with Gabby is at risk, my subconscious is confronting my deepest fear. I'm now dreaming about her mystery man as a faceless dude who keeps her from seeing me. I hate feeling like I'm on the outside looking in, watching her with him.
"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" she asks.
I stand up. "Breakfast on Heaven is something you have to experience. Come on, let’s get dressed."
If I'm going to fix what's wrong between us and prove no one will ever come between us, I need to work harder at putting our friendship back to how it used to be. Kissing her made everything worse, but she was already keeping secrets from me before we got here. Hopefully, spending some time together will help her remember how great we are as friends, how her friendship means everything to me. I should probably avoid touching her too, since that ended disastrously last time. Meaning, we’ll have to pretend to be together without the public displays of affection.
Once we're ready, we walk downstairs together. Breakfast is served in the dining room, but the doors leading into the ballroom and onto the terrace are open, and tables and chairs are set up outside. I smell the salty sea breeze rolling in off the ocean as I guide her to the long buffet table laden with everything one might desire for breakfast.
Gabby surveys the spread of cooked breakfast, pastries, and fruits, contemplating where to begin. We load our plates and gratefully receive steaming mugs of freshly brewed coffee from one of the servers. Seated at a table on the terrace, we enjoy a view of the early morning sun casting its golden glow on the water when we turn to the side. If I turn around, I'm greeted by the majestic mountain range behind me.
"Mmm, these are good." Gabby says after biting into a chocolate-filled croissant. "Here, try some."
Before I can stop myself, I imagine licking the gooey chocolate off her fingers, before conducting a more thorough examination of how she tastes all over. I want to hear her moan into my mouth the way she did last night when I kissed her, but that’s not going to fix our friendship, is it? I'm supposed to be keeping my hands off her. My heart races as I accept the piece of chocolate-filled croissant from her hand, fighting to suppress the overwhelming desire to taste her. Exercising control over my instincts, I allow her to withdraw her hand. When she licks the chocolate off her fingers, however, my groin floods with heat.
She frowns at the plate in front of her. "I wonder how many calories are in these things."
"Who cares? You're on holiday, and since when do you worry about calories?"
"Since I'm eating this for breakfast."
I narrow my eyes at her. "You're not one of those women who worries about everything she eats."
“I know.” She shrugs and looks away. “But I want to be in good shape when I join Carly's agency."
I would laugh if she didn’t look so serious. “Most women would kill for your shape, Gab. And if a guy doesn't like you the way you are, he's not worth it.”
Her eyes flick up to mine, and her forced smile has my gut knotting. I suddenly know exactly where these insecurities stem from. This mystery man of hers - the one she won’t tell me about - has left her full of self-doubt, and if she ever tells me who he is, I might just wring his damn neck.
"You didn't need the makeover," I tell her.
"Carly and Bernadette think I hide behind my clothes - that I don't let myself stand out."
My hands clench as I think about them telling her something like that. She's always been stunning. Just because she's comfortable in casual clothes and doesn't flaunt her body all the time doesn't mean she's hiding.
"Well, I'm a guy, and I don't think there's anything wrong with what you wear."
She shrugs. "They're right, I don't stand out. I've never worried about trying to make guys see me, but…"
"Now you are," I finish, trying to tamp down my irritation.
She nods.
"Because of this mystery man of yours? Because he didn't see you?"
"No," she says, looking away. "He didn't see me."
The hurt in her voice cuts right through me. I'm really beginning to hate this asshole she's fallen for.
"If I can have your attention," Edward announces. "Please take the morning to enjoy the island. Lunch will be served at midday, and you will be briefed on the afternoon's events from there."
Once Edward finishes speaking, I try to shift the conversation away from her unknown man, knowing it's the best move. Although I'm still itching to learn his identity, I don't want to cause further conflict between us. I just want to enjoy the time we have together right now.
I sit back, interlinking my fingers behind my head. "What do you want to do this morning?"
Gabby gazes down at her empty plate before frowning and looking in the direction of the beach. "Jog and a swim?"
"Jogging?”
I haven't gone jogging since Gabby was on her health kick a few years ago and she made me run with her.
"It's a great way to see the beach. But if you're worried you can't keep up…" she teases.
"I can keep up," I reply, unable to refuse when she challenges me like that.
Her eyes twinkle with mischief. "So you say."
My mood lifts when she grins at me. "Oh, I most definitely can keep up, Gabby."
The words are laden with innuendo, and she stops smiling. Her eyes widen before darkening, sending an electric jolt of lust to the pit of my stomach. She leans forward slowly.
"Why don't you prove it to me?"
I have to remind myself that she isn't inviting me to bed with her. Unfortunately, my body doesn't get the memo.
"With pleasure," I croak out.
She stands up. "Come on then."
I can't stand up right now without demonstrating just how much I want to "keep up" with her, which will not solve our friendship issues.
"I'll be right out," I say, feigning further interest in my coffee.
"I'll be waiting for you."
Gabby
What was I thinking, I wonder as I head back to our room? I’m supposed to be getting over him, moving on, and letting my heart heal. Yet I flirted with him shamelessly over breakfast. Idiot! Did I not learn all the lessons I needed to last night?
I slip my running shoes on and start lacing them up when Aaron walks into the room. He doesn't say a word as he removes one shirt and puts another on.
"Ready?" I ask him, grabbing the drink bottle I brought with me to the island.
"I'm ready."
We make our way down to the beach in silence, stopping at the large industrial-sized kitchen to fill my bottle up with filtered water. After some gentle stretching, I turn to him. "Try and keep up."
I shoot off down the beach, and Aaron takes off after me. We jog for a couple of kilometres in companionable silence.
"Race you?" I say after a while.
"Where to?"
I point to a rock formation that juts out onto the sand, five hundred metres or so down the beach.
"On the count of three?" I ask him.
He nods.
"One, two-"
I never say three, I just sprint. Aaron races after me. I have a head start, but his legs are longer. He runs past the rocks just before I do. We both stop to catch our breaths.
“Told you I could keep up,” he says with a cocky smirk.
“You win. I guess I should give you your prize now.”
Aaron stands still as I walk up to him, run my tongue over my bottom lip, lean forward and squirt him in the face with my water bottle before taking off running again. He chases after me, and when he catches up with me, he wraps an arm around my waist and lifts me up. The drink bottle falls out of my hand and lands in the sand.
“You know, Gabby, you’re all hot. I think you need to cool down.”
I squeal as he throws me over his shoulder and runs toward the water.
“Aaron put me down!”
“As you wish.”
“Aaro-”
The rest of his name is swallowed by the splash as I plunge into the water. I surface, coughing and thrashing. Aaron laughs, offering me his hand, but I just scowl at him and clamber onto my feet unaided. Taking a moment to wring the water from my ponytail, I turn to face him.
"You're an arse," I grouch, putting both my palms against his chest in an attempt to push him into the water.
"That's what you get for cheating, Gabby," he retorts, hooking his foot around the backs of my ankles and trying to sweep my legs out from under me.
I grip his shoulders for balance, but he quickly snatches me around the waist and dunks us both beneath the surface. As we break the surface again, his arm still around me and my hands still clinging to him, time ceases to exist. All I can hear is the deafening beat of my heart echoing in my ribcage as his gaze meets mine. Something unfathomable passes between us. When his eyes finally drop to my lips, it feels like the most natural thing in the world to close my eyes and lean into him - but instead of granting me the kiss that I yearn for, he pries himself away abruptly.
"We should get back," he says roughly.
My voice is laced with bitterness as I reply: "Of course. I'm sure you want to get back to Jenna-Lee," feeling utterly humiliated.
I start walking out of the water, but not before Aaron catches the look of hurt on my face. He grabs my arm, swinging me around to face him.
"Jesus, Gabby. What's going on? What am I doing wrong?"
"Nothing," I say, not looking at him. I pull my arm out of his grasp. "We need to get back for lunch."
I pick up my drink bottle and try to keep it together. I've just made a complete fool of myself. From the way he practically pushed me away, he finds the idea of kissing me without an audience completely unappealing. But then why would he suddenly be interested in me now? Our kiss last night messed with my head even more than I thought it did. I mean, I just stood there and wished for him to kiss me.
I begin jogging back to our room, hating the feeling of my wet sneakers on my feet. Aaron falls into place beside me, and I wonder if there is any way to save my heart from evisceration while I'm trapped on this island with him. If he doesn't know how I feel about him now, it will be a miracle.
I no longer know how to continue playing my part in this foolish game without giving everything away. And when the truth comes out, it will destroy everything. Is there any way to prepare for the fallout?