Emma's POV
Corsica
Three months ago
After a month long planning and bouts of excitement surrounding this trip, it was the day we finally reached Corsica to celebrate the birthdays of two of the closest people in my life.
It was the first blush in the morning when we arrived. The dawn's early light felt like a golden blissful vision, and a sense of positivity blanketed my wary instincts. I wished so strong that this vacation would embark new beginnings, and somehow, something assured me that the inevitable was bound to happen.
We were a group of seven friends, including Nate, Niki, myself, two of Nate's hostel roommates - Jared and Austin, Niki's upstate neighbour friend Jessica and her younger sister Sansa. Acquainted with all the others, I was close only to Nate and Niki.
The idea of travelling across the globe with my boyfriend alone made my heart flutter. More so, because I saw this trip as the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with him.
Ever since he moved to the city, our relationship had hit a rough patch. We hardly spent time or talked to each other; gradually, we became distant.
I knew of the blue skies behind the hounding grey clouds, and I wished the sun broke through the darkness of distrust, and helped me restore the charm that our relationship unknowingly lost.
We have had some really memorable times together, and I wasn't ready to give up on us.
We reached our resort and were provided with our room keys. I was sharing my room with Niki, while Jessica and Sansa shared one, Austin and Jared shared the other and Nate was staying alone.
Worn out by our long journey, we all decided to take some rest and regroup at noon to begin our week-long holiday.
When we met at the reception, we were all there except Nate and Jessica.
"Hey Niki, did you see Nate? His phone is going straight to voicemail?" I was totally unaware of my boyfriends' whereabouts.
"I don't know. Never saw him after we reached here." Niki shrugged.
"Sansa, how about Jessica? Where is she?"
"I don't know ya, must be somewhere. I ain't her babysitter." Sansa retorted indifferently, without looking up from her phone.
I rolled my eyes at her peculiar behavior, and started waiting for the two of them. After waiting for almost an hour, they both arrived at the same time, apologising for the delay and hurrying us up so that we could reach the beach soon.
I looked at Nate, but he dodged eye contact, and suddenly I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach. Something didn't seem right; I was just unable to put a finger on it.
When we reached the beach, I tried to talk to Nate, but the guys decided to play voleyball instead. Soon the girls joined the boys in the game too. Niki being a pro, was the first one to volunteer.
I gave the game a pass. My mind was at several other places, drifting my attention away from the enthusiasm that flowed through the group.
I walked down alone. The soft golden sand beneath caressed my bare feet. I sat close to the shore with my knees to the chest, the earthly scent of the ocean filled through my nostrils, and the mellow sea breeze started to put my mind at ease.
Suddenly, I was jolted, and I snapped out of my trance to a sharp pain below my left shoulder.
I got hit by a volleyball. I looked around to see where it came from; and almost immediately, I caught sight of a bare torso running towards me.
A guy close to our age or maybe a couple of years older drenched in water with only a pair of white shorts on, came running towards me.
As if his six-packs outlined by his strong muscles were not enough, because the moment my eyes trailed through his toned mascular body up towards his face, I was speechless.
How could someone be this good looking?
On getting a closer look, I realised how gorgeous this guy really was; with dark brown hair, perfect jawline and beautiful blue orbs, he walked towards me.
"I am so sorry; I did not see before hitting the ball so hard in your direction. Are you hurt?"
I was in awe.
"I hope it didn't hurt you? Are you ok?" He asked again, breaking the awkward silence between us.
After a long pause, which felt like a lifetime, I finally gained some grip and replied, "I am fine, thanks. Just be a little careful next time, you even have few kids running around here. I am sure you don't want to hurt them."
"Trust me. I don't. My name is Jake by the way, and I am here with my friends". He extended his hand for a friendly shake, and while I nervously responded, touching his skin sent shivers down my spine.
"My name is Emma, and I am here with my best friend and boyfriend", I stuttered, pointing in their direction.
His expressions suddenly changed, and he now looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, good to know. Well, see you around", he muttered with a small smile, as he walked back to his friends.
My eyes were piercing his back. Part of me wanted him to stay a bit longer, hear him talk, and admire the aura he emanated.
While the other part of me was bought back to reality, as I heard Niki scream my name. She was waving at me, and without any further ado, I left Jake and my thoughts near the shore to go back and join my friends.
The rest of the day was eventful, we all warmed up over fun games and interesting chats. It was late in the evening when we reached back at the resort.
I was exhausted and yet a little shaken by the odd encounter I had with a total stranger today, and my mind could not help but kept going back to his icy blue eyes.
Shrugging the thought away for the millionth time, I decided to take a quick shower and changed into my nightwear before hitting the bed.
***
Morning came sooner and I couldn't believe myself as I woke up from a dream where I was vividly close to a guy who I had met for five precise minutes. I dreamt about Jake.
Jake... who the hell was he? And why did he have to affect me like this?
I felt Niki's hands gripping my shoulder before she jerked me out of my thoughts.
"Earth to Emma! Where the hell are you so lost?"
"Ouch! What the hell Niki, God! you are strong."I looked at her annoyingly as I rubbed my palms softly against my shoulders.
"I have been screaming your name from the shower to hand me my dress laying on the bed. You were totally zoned out. What were you thinking? Come on, reveal."
"It's nothing, chill. Just something random." I tried to walk past her to the shower, but she pulled me back on the bed and looked into my eyes "Tell me what is bothering you? You seem nervous."
"Nothing. I just had this dream."
"What dream? Did you see something terrible? Did it scare you?"
"No, not like that. It was just... an intimate dream." I confessed as my cheeks turned deep red, but before I could complete, Niki interrupted me "Oh crap. Sorry, I asked. For the first time I don't want details. I cannot hear how you got down and dirty with my brother in your fucked-up head", she laughed hysterically, making me feel more embarrassed.
How do I tell her that the guy in my dream was not her brother but a man who I just saw yesterday and knew nothing about, except for the fact that he looked like a Greek God?
Niki had a good laugh for the next couple of minutes, and when she calmed down a bit, she continued, "well, when you already have your hormones breaking lose in the middle of your sleep, why don't you just get over with it? I am sure, all you have to do is ask". She winked.
"First of all, I am not having this conversation with you. This is getting weirder than I thought and after I tell you what I am about to tell you, promise me, you will leave me alone to get ready for our day. No more teasing or poking."
"Ok promise, now shoot," she jumped excitedly.
"Umm, I have decided to you know, to consider taking our relationship to the next level, tonight, after your birthday party," I cooed shyly.
Even though we had been dating since four years, I was still a virgin. Nate and I were intimate, yes, we kissed and made out many times, but never went too far.
"Aww. Look at that, my sweet innocent Emma. I am so happy. I know what this means for you. Wow. I can already picture you as my future sister-in-law." She squeezed me in a tight hug.
"Control your horses, Niki. Before you start planning my wedding, will you please get out and let me get ready?" I almost pushed her out of the door.
As soon as I was alone in the room, I headed to the shower and took a long warm bath. The untamed meaningless fantasies about a total stranger had to stop.
Nate's my boyfriend, and I love him with all my heart.
I wore a short red dress, perfectly fitting the shape of my body. I let my hair lose, put my favourite natural colour lip gloss, grabbed my bag and made my way down to join everyone else.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and tonight it was Nate and Niki's pre-birthday party at one of the fanciest beachside clubs here. We were going to ring in their birthdays at midnight.
We were heading out of the resort when suddenly I felt a hand snaked around my waist. I turned around and saw Nate giving me a loving smile.
"Hi, there. Someone is looking hot today". He winked with a shred of mischief on his face.
I was relieved. This was the first normal and alone moment we both had ever since we got here and having Nate's arms around me made me feel relaxed and at ease again.
Nate looked handsome in a basic blue t-shirt paired with black jeans. "Somebody isn't looking bad either, and I am glad somebody has finally found some time for me." I wrapped my arms around his neck and giving him a peck on his cheek.
"I am happy to be with you here, Emma. Let's just have a good day today. I want to make it special and unforgettable for both of us". It only took a string of soft words from his mouth to reinstill my fading faith.
Hand in hand, like an adorable couple, we went around the city. We saw museums, monuments and street markets before we settled to dine for lunch in one of the authentic speciality restaurants in the heart of the town.
We chatted and explored, the day passed in a blink, and soon we were driving back to our resort. Everybody headed to their rooms, and we decided to meet at the reception at eight pm to go to the club together. I was heading to the elevator when Nate asked me to stay back while Niki went ahead to our room.
He held my hand and asked me to follow him. He pressed the button for 14th floor, that's where he was staying. Rest of our rooms were on the 13th floor. I felt nervous, but none of us uttered a word.
As soon as we reached his floor, the elevator's beep got me out of my thoughts, and when we stepped out, Nate without leaving my hand, made us walk to his room.
A guy likely from guest services was cleaning up his room when we entered. He warmly greeted both of us and left the room, closing the door behind us.
Once inside, I turned around to look at Nate.
"Hey, what are we doing here?", but before I could complete, Nate came closer, cupped my face in his hands, and leaned in to kiss me. His lips met mine, and soon his tongue slid in, as his hands gently stroked my back.
At first, I was taken aback, but then I kissed him back with the same passion, my hands in his hair at the back of his head.
After a deep long kiss, his lips slid down slowly to my neck, and his hand slid up my dress, softly caressing my inner thigh.
I was feeling dizzy and lost, and for a moment, my heart gave in to his soft touch. As much as I wanted him, I did not want this to happen like this, not before I talked to him and cleared our misunderstandings.
"Nate, please stop," I murmured.
He was too involved to listen as he continued to kiss me. I repeated, but a bit loudly this time, "Nate, please stop baby. I need to talk to you first."
He stopped with an agitated look in his eyes, "Come on, Emma, what do you want to talk about now?"
"I want this too Nate, trust me, I do. But we have some unresolved issues. Last few months have been very concerning. Let's talk for a bit first, please?"
"What issues Emma?"
"It felt like you were ignoring me, you have been so distant lately. We hardly talk or meet. I don't know what happened Nate, but I missed you." I finally collected all my courage and let it out.
"We both were at different places Emma! I almost had a new life, bigger and better lifestyle and an elite group of friends. I needed my time to settle in, and I could not do it by hanging with you all the time. I wanted some space, thats it". He looked angry, he was pacing up and down the room, his hands running in his hair.
"Nate? What do you mean? I understand that..."
"No, you will never understand any of this, because in your head you are still stuck in that small neighbourhood". His words felt like a sharp knife.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and before I could muster the strength to reply to his uncalled remark, he stormed out of his room, leaving me alone. I broke down on the couch as his toxic retort replayed loud and clear in my head.
Nate was no longer the same, or was I no longer good enough for him?