The Fling

80

The treadmill hit the five mile mark so I pressed stop, stepping to the sides as it slowed down. I took a long drink from my water bottle and toweled the sweat off my face.

The run helped me blow off steam, just like Abigail suggested it would, and I'd used the time to work through my emotions. With each footstep, I realized that I'd overreacted and that my love had every reason to be hurt by my lack of trust. It was justified to be bothered by the photo of her and Bert, but once she'd explained it, I should have let it go. Unfortunately, I was still struggling with the jealousy I harbored for her ex. He'd had everything I wanted, while my future with Abigail depended on the decision looming over me. Despite my internal issues, I needed to try to fix things with my girlfriend. This was only the first full day of our trip, so plenty of time remained to reconnect and enjoy ourselves.

I wiped down my machine, tossed the towel in the laundry basket, and exited the gym. Our room was on the opposite end of the resort, and as I passed the café, I popped in and grabbed some gluten-free avocado toast, which I consumed while navigating the winding hallways.

Once I was in our suite, I took a shower and changed into my swim trunks before putting on my sunglasses and Birks. I was filled with dread as I made my to the pool since I wasn't sure how receptive Abigail would be to making up. When I saw her lounging on the exact same chaise she'd been on last year, wearing the same black bikini, my mood improved a bit. Surely she wouldn't have gone to the trouble of recreating the scenario if she didn't want me to join her.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked.

The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. "No."

I spread out the towel I'd grabbed at the entrance and laid down. "Reflection time?"

"Yes. Much needed, too."

"I just did some reflecting in the gym, but it can't hurt to do a little more."

She removed her sunglasses and I noticed that her eyes were red from crying. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Looking around, I saw the pool wasn't crowded, and we were very isolated under the trees, so no one could hear us. "Yeah, I'd like that. Can I start?" She nodded so I continued, "I'm really sorry, honey. I let my jealousy get the best of me, and I hate that I hurt you."

"I appreciate that and I forgive you."

"Seriously? Just like that?"

Abigail placed a hand on my shoulder. "I thought about how my actions made you feel. I don't think what happened with Bert was bad, but I understand why it upset you. You're in a particularly hard situation because my ex is part of my life and always will be, whereas you don't see or interact with yours, so I'm never put in a situation to experience that level of jealousy."

"Thanks for looking at it from my perspective."

"That's a big part of being a couple, right? Or at least it should be."

I kissed her hand. "Yes, and I promise to work on that. Are we good or do you want to talk about this more. I'm willing to dig deeper if you think we need to."

"We both seem to have landed in the same place with this, so let's move on. I reflected on something else, though."

I felt much lighter and hoped that whatever she was going to share didn't bring me back down. "Oh?"

"The next day that we have a big block of free time, we're going to go get my tattoo altered. There's an artist downtown who has a five star rating and maybe if you make the call, she'll squeeze me in."

I gasped in mock horror. "Are you suggesting that I use my celebrity status to get an appointment?"

Shrugging, she replied, "Just this once."