Closer to the Whispers

Past and Present

The rooms were beautiful overwater bungalows with thatched roofs, and the water just beyond the patio was a crystal clear blue that looked unreal.

"It never gets old. It looks like there are two bedrooms, so Leo and I will take the room on the right, and you guys can take the other room." Stacy said authoritatively, immediately going into the bedroom and taking her luggage, which had magically appeared before us.

"I'm not sleeping with Marie. She snores!" Jasmine complained, finally getting off her phone to look around and take everything in.

"That's your problem now," Stacy said with a triumphant smile back to her usual itchiness.

"I have something I have to handle. I'll be back in time for dinner." Leo said, not paying the slightest bit of attention to us and instead focusing on his phone.

"McCaliber, stay here, will you? Don't let her out of your sight." Leo said to the guard, who was leaning against a wall and trying to blend in. He was a very built and tall black guy with a happy smile that never seemed to fade.

"Of course, Mr. Grande."

Stacy's jaw dropped, and she stopped mid-pulling out a tiny bathing suit.

"He left a bodyguard just for me? I told you it's love, Marie." Stacy said when she finally recovered, her whole aurora bright and triumphant.

Of course, he wanted to protect her and sleep with her. My child and I were just a mistake to him. They clearly had some sort of connection if he was going to such lengths to keep her safe.

I put away my bag and got out my sunglasses, the only real beach gear I had.

"I'm going to the beach." I said, hurrying back out to the beach and ignoring Stacy's fake voice yelling 'so you're not joining us for snorkeling then?'.

The beach was free and even though it wasn't as amazing as snorkeling on the private boat I watched them board, the sand was pristine and clean and I felt my anger subsiding slightly just listening to the soft waves rolling up the beach slope. Before I knew it, the sun was setting and the most beautiful splashes of orange and red appeared across the sky.

"I guess it's just me and you buddy." I said after a while to a small crab that was making a home in the sand bringing me balls of sand.

"You came all the way to the Maldives just to make friends with a crab?" Leo said, surprising me as he came and sat beside me. He was in a white undershirt and black shorts and was still dry, so he clearly hadn't been with Stacy.

"Well, I'm certainly not spending 1500 on snorkeling. That's insane." I said trying to hide my smile that seemed to come so naturally with him.

"Of course not. I would pay for you. I'm a gentleman, and I'm hardly going to let my girlfriend pay for her own tickets." He said with a short laugh as if the very notion that I would pay was Ludacris.

"Girlfriend? And what of Stacy? Aren't you spending the week with her? You hardly corrected her when she said she was sleeping with you." His eyebrows shot up, and he mumbled a soft curse under his breath.

"Of course she did. Look, Izzy. I have had girls throw themselves at me since before I even hit puberty. It's exhausting dealing with them becoming obsessed and creating this alternate reality where I'm theirs. It happens nonstop. To be honest, I just tune it out and don't really pay attention anymore. Stacy gets tuned out more than most girls because she's extra annoying." He said truthfully, playing with the sand with his toes.

"I can have any women I want. You re the only women that's ever made me do a whole dance to convince you to date me. It's very humbling." He continued, smiling gently at me, his dark eyes surprisingly bright.