"Leaving so soon?"
Gideon dipped his head at the crook of my neck before his lips brushed against my jawline, teasing.
"It's been so long, beautiful, seductive dance." I could barely make out the words he breathed against my skim as my senses we're ignited under his touch.
"Gideon."
My breathy whisper seemed to snap him out of his trance. He pulled back abruptly, his dark eyes filled with wild rage.
"So you rejected me just to dirty dance in a shoddy club in Driftwood? Is this your idea of a better life?" Gideon says and Cara doesn't answer his question.
" The last time I pulled you against the wall, you kicked me in the balls, Cara. What? All the salt from the sea breeze dissolved your spunk?"
*Deep breaths*
" W-what are you doing here?"
"Does my presence here irk you? Is that why you had to move out of town?"
His voice was dangerously low as he towered over me menacingly. He had me so backed up against the wall that the bricks were beggining to graze my skin.
Gideon's eyes were narrowed and cold. His lenthal graze sent shivers down my spine, all the way to my toes.
Yet I wasn't afraid.
Don't do it, don't do it.
But my heart refused to listen to my brain as I reached out for his face.
All the rage in his eyes evaporated immediately. He leaned in to my touch, as if it was the thing he craved most in the world.
This was the Gideon I knew.
"Don't. You just moved away without telling anyone. You didn't even give me a chance to get mad at you. So f*ck you, Cara." he leaves
The next day.
At bar.
CARA'S POV
Gideon is here....? I said no. He asked if I loved him and I said no. So why does it feel as if I was waiting for him to find me? Why did my heart gravitate towards him the moment I saw him? Why does if feel as if this one month didn't happen and I was back to Cara Black who was engaged to him? Cara, will you make up your mind? I.....might not see him again. He sounded really pissed last night. Maybe he already left Driftwood. Why does that make me sad?
.....
"You okay there, mia bella?" says Marco.
And they both start flirting. Means Marco flirts with Cara.
And just beside the bar, Gideon and Smith are sitting, waiting for there order.
"We have an open bar at resort, Gideon. What are we doing in a booth at local beach bar?"
" To check out the local competition." says Gideon.
" Can we get some shrimp poppers and fries here?" Gideon orders.
" This was not my idea of a vacation. We should be sipping scotch by the poolside of a luxurious resort.... How do we even know if the bartender here is any good?" and Smith gets up to see the bartender, and he sees Cara. Smith is shocked and Gideon is guilty.
"That's Cara Black!!!!!" Gideon tells Smith to shut up, but he, "You bought us here because you knew she was working here?! What gives? That woman left you to pick up all the mess after she ran off!! Please don't tell me you're still hung up on her. I mean she's already flirting with that sexy Italian right there.'' says Smith.
"What?!" Gideon gets up to see.
They both see it.
"She does not look comfortable. That dude needs to know when to back off." Gideon says.
" I'm not comfortable with this! She broke your heart, dammit! What the f*ck are you doing?! Please don't tell me only agreed to stay because you knew she was here? Come to your damn senses!" says Smith to Gideon.
" Fries and shrimp poppers coming up!" says Kai.
And as the dish comes to his table, Gideon takes the shrimp and throws on the Italian man.
He gets shocked and Cara starts laughing at him.
"Who did that?!?! Who threw that gamberetto at me?!" asks Marco.
Gideon also laughs as he sees Cara laughing.
" You're the CEO. You have thousands of employees under you. You manage at least 10 offices worldwide. Did you really just throw a. shrimp at that guy?" and as Smith says, Kai comes and stands besides Gideon.
She is angry at them, they both get surprised to see her standing there.
And after this, Kai brings them both in front of Marco.
Cara is surprised to see them both.
" So you're the loser who threw a shrimp at me?" asks Marco.
" And you're the loser who wouldn't take no for an answer?"
" Says the guy she said "no" at the altar..." Smith whispers.
" I'll have you know. I'm the head manager of Drift Bay Resort! Nobody messes with me! Yes, be afraid! I can sue the pants off you two bozos!" says Marco.
" Head manager, huh? Well, I'll have you know that I'm the - " Cara stops him as he says, " Can we talk?"
Now they are at beach, alone.
" Are you here because of Drift Bay Resort's opening? Does a Clemonte have a part in it? " she asks.
" For the past month, I've been waiting like a fool for you to call me back. Even a text would have been enough. But nothing. You don't know how many times I had to stop myself from begging you to come back to me. I waited like a fool, Cara! I blamed myself for what happened! But you just decided to up and leave! I had to bury myself in work to forget about you, to forget about the f*cking pain! Do you know how hard that was!" but she doesn't say anything to him.
" Then I wondered what would you say if we got see each other again. Some sad part of me prayed that you'll say you're sorry, that you made a mistake. Instead I got 'What are you doing here.' 'are you here because of Drift Bay Resort?' I was so pathetic that I had to convince myself that you'd be miserable without me, but that obviously not true! And you know what the worst part is?"
Still she doesn't answer, but her eyes are filled with tears. She is just close to cry.
"I'm furious as hell but the moment I saw you last night. I just wanted you in my arms! I'm a f*cking idiot, aren't I?" he says, faking laugh.
" Gideon..."
" No. You know what?" he deep breaths. "Thank you. I think this was what I needed." he says.
" I'm here to find out the truth about what happened that day. If none of you had lied to me, maybe I wouldn't have to be here."
He deep breaths
" Have you heard about the story of the loneliest whale in the world? It sings a unique song, but it's so unlike others that the other whales can't hear it. So it had to wonder in the vast ocean alone."
" So you're trying to say that I'm a whale...?" as she says Gideon gets annoyed and leaves.
At hotel,
Gideon comes angrily and lays on the couch.
"Gideon Alexander Clemonte, I am disappointed in you." says Smith.
" Sorry, mum." he replies.
" What do I do with you? She said "no", Gideon. In case you misheard that, the hundreds of guests and the repeated telecast would prove you otherwise. You have to let her go."
" Got it, mum. We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
" We should have left yesterday, its my fault."
" You know what would make me feel better right now?"
" Mr Clemonte! Khatijah told me you wanted to see me? I sincerely apologise for being absent during welcome ceremony! If I could, I would have took you on the tour on our resort personally. You are our most distinguished guest." says Marco and then he sees me Clemonte is none other than the loser who threw shrimp at him.
"You wanted to sue my pants off....?"
Cazzo.
At bar.
" Are you alright, Cara? You haven't been yourself. Does it have anything to do with the shrimp man? You seem to know him." asks Kai.
" It's all in the past. I don't want to talk about it."
" Is it related to your incident? The one you've been trying to solve. Naia and I are very sorry we couldn't help you. Your family visited the beach during the vacation season, the one time all the locals would shun the place. Nobody here seems to know anything about it."
" It's alright, Kai. I'll find the truth someday."
" Hold up! Your friend just reminded me of a regular we used to have at the bar, Oliver! He's a homeless man who lived in one of the caves on the beach. He used to come here to pick up at our customer's leftovers and throw whatever was on the plate at anyone who stared. He completely slipped our mind because it's been years since we saw him! But if you're looking for a local who was at the beach at that time, he might be your best bet! Your ruffian of a friend came into handy after all!"
Cara is shocked and just taking some time to digest all of this.
..
GIDEON is walking by the pool at resort.
"Mr Clemonte! Are you about to take a night stroll along the beach?"
" I'm going for a jog." he says.
" I heard what happened at the bar. He's always making inappropriate advances towards our female staff and when we call him out for it, he would throw his weight around since he's the head manager. We tried to raise this issue to our higher management but nothing was done. So we're really thankful for what you've done." says Khatijah.
" It's my duty to protect all my staff. But I'll definitely have a word with the higher management about this as well. In the meantime, how would you feel about taking over his position?"
" I don't think....I can't. I appreciate the offer Mr. Clemonte. But I didn't go to college and they say...."
" Nonsense. A college degree doesn't mean anything. I've seen you work and you're definitely more than capable enough to take charge. I see a bright future for you. I'm sure you're going to do a great job!" says Gideon.
" But Mr Clemonte!"
" Please, call me Gideon. And it's settled."
" Thank you so much! I will not disappoint you!" she starts crying.
Gideon goes for a jog.
"Wait! Mr Clemonte!"
He gives her that look.
" I mean, Gideon. It's just a silly tale the locals like to tell, but apparently there's a little girl ghost who drowned by the sea. And if you stroll around the beach at night, you might still hear her cries of help." says Khatijah.
...
At night.
Cara is Stripling around the beach. Around the sea shore.
She is searching through the caves with at torch.
"Oliver? Are you there? I heard you really like our oceans special so I got some takeout for you! I come in peace! I just need to ask you a quick question about something that happened eight years ago...?"
" Oliver?"
*rustles*
" Oliver? Is that you?"
She walks ahead.
" Hello? Is anyone there?"
*rustles*
And she sees a rabbit.
She gets scared and falls down.
"Ow. Stupid bunny."
Gideon is jogging aside the beach.
He runs out of breath.
" Help....."
"What the fuc....?!"