He heard the pause at the door and turned back to look at her and felt his own anger shoot up a notch as he saw the roses in her hand. They were full and gorgeous and sure as hell cost a sweet little penny. And when he saw the silent question in her eyes, he wanted to kick his own ass for having to tell him they weren't from him; however, he had one guess as to whom. When she was in the shower, he saw her phone blow up with texts. Some of the names he knew, but then he saw one from Alexa, followed by three from Mike. He was more than tempted to take the card and tear it up, but she had a right to know.
Although, as he told her who and handed her the card, her eyes took on a look of disbelief and anger. Which, he would say he agreed with. This was a cheap shot to try and sooth something and sadly, every guy knew that, no matter the relationship you had with the female. But, he really hoped she didn't fall for it, and he couldn't quite put a finger on the why.
Sure, he didn't want to say goodbye to her, but he wasn't sure he could do a relationship quite yet. And he did not have the heart to ask her if they could have a friends with benefits deal, not when she just had to deal with that. And besides that, she deserved way better.
He frowned, his thoughts all over the place and he was just not certain what to do. Of course, there was still two days left on this boat and no matter what, he was going to make the most of them with her. Maybe she would bring up what she would like and they could discuss it further.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with these?" He raised his eyes to hers and lifted his brow in a silent question. "We leave this boat in a few days, it's not like I can take them with me on a plane. And I can't freakin' dry them up and press this many roses. Hell, it was hard to make sure I could save yours." Odd as it maybe, something made him gush over the fact that she kept his simple rose but had every intention of tossing those, although, it was sad to see something like that get tossed.
"It's not ideal, but you can ask the florist if there is anything they can do." She sighed as she nodded, looking around for a place to set them, although, quite a bit of areas were covered up by her things, which caused her to laugh at.
"Sorry for the mess."
"Wasn't on my mind when we came in the room, and it still isn't." I looked up at him and smiled, watching as he took the roses and tossed them over some clothes and then cupped my cheeks, pulling me in for a kiss. "Is it wrong I want another round?" he asked as his lips left mine and moved along my neck.
"No, but you and I both need to eat," I muttered as I ran my fingers through his hair. God, his lips and teeth on my neck were driving me insane.
"Ah, you mean for stamina." I tugged his hair which earned me a low moan and I shivered.
"As much as I want you and want to fuck you again, it might be wise to eat." He pouted as he pulled away and I had to laugh at the image. He honestly looked like a little kid who was being denied his favorite treat. And sad to say, it was fucking sexy as hell. "Hell, no pouting. I didn't say no, just said not right now."
"You can't blame a guy for trying when he had something this delicious standing before him."
"I'm not blaming you. Now, go sit while I grab this," I told him as I made my way back to the door, really hoping this was the food.
-----
Two hours later I rested against Howie as we sat in the chairs and watched the ocean, both of us silent and lost in our own thoughts. And though it was quiet after the talking during the meal, it was also very pleasurable and nice.
"You know, if I wouldn't get sick of the water, I could live on a boat."
"You don't live by the ocean, Theresa?"
"No. I make some pretty decent money, but not enough to afford those houses." I pulled back and looked at him. "What about you?" He blushed slightly and my mouth dropped.
"My backyard is the beach."
"God, I hate you Howie."
"You should come check it out some time." And just like that, the bomb that the future dropped. He hadn't meant to say it, was just teasing and he hadn't thought. He would look like an utter ass if he tried to take it back now. I pulled a bit back to look even more at him and then I smiled. It wasn't meant to be said, I knew that. And hell, I wasn't ready to even go there with him yet. So, I just nodded and smiled even more.
"Yeah, maybe I will, Howie." Leave it there for now, that would be best. I curled back up to him and enjoyed having his arms around me.
"Are we going to spend all day in your room, Theresa?" I laughed and lifted a brow.
"Are you telling me you would object to that if I said yes?" His eyes traveled over my body, his gaze lingering on the exposed globes of my breasts and shook his head.
"Only a fool would object and my mom did not raise a fool."
"Good to know. How about we go do some shopping, go do what you need at the casino and see what happens after that?"
"I think that sounds good." We both stood up and moved the dishes outside. "Since tomorrow night is our final night here, would you care to join me for a special, fancy night?"
"Are you asking me on a date?"
"As much as I can on a boat."
"Sure, that sounds great. Maybe I'll buy something from one of the stores."
-----
We walked up to the casino and over to the cashiers desk, smiling at the woman as she smirked at us.
"You left rather fast last night, Mr Dorough. Thank goodness you had us put everything under your room number."
"Uh, yeah, something just came up." She handed Howie a paper and he quickly signed it, taking the cash from her. "Thank you."
"You are welcome and congratulations." We walked away and Howie paused, counted the cash and then gave me half.
"That should be 1900 for you." My eyes opened wide and I stared at him.
"How the hell did we win that? I wasn't even paying attention."
"You were in a sex haze; so was I. I had to keep my composure when I signed the paper." We both laughed and I stuffed the money in my back pocket.
"Maybe being in such a sex haze isn't a good thing." He slipped his arm around my waist and brought me up against his side.
"Oh, you know damn good and well that you enjoyed it." I shrugged but laughed; I had to admit, that casino was fun and after the first few minutes of being on the slots, I wasn't even thinking of anything other than tormenting Howie. He stopped, which caused me to stop as he looked in the window. I wrinkled my brows, trying to see what caught his eye.
"Howie, what is it?" He glanced at me and then smirked.
"Wait here, I need to get something." My brows wrinkled even more as I watched him walk into the little jewelry shop. He definitely had my curiosity peeked on this one. Did he see and find something for his ex? Was he really thinking of going back to her, even knowing the flake she was? I shook my head, thinking he would know better. But, maybe he found something for his mom, which caused me to laugh at myself. Look at me, getting jealous and pissy when I had no damn room to be. I turned my head, my eye catching a red dress in the store across the way and figured if I was spending my final night with him, I was going to make sure I was going out with a bang.