Burning Moon (Wattpad Version)

Damien POV 8

I was secretly glad that the space at the back of the tuk-tuk was so small, not in a pervy way (Ok, maybe just slightly) but I hadn't been in such close proximity to her before, and like this, she smelt even better. She smelt of that sweet Jasmine, or maybe it was roses, and t-shirt smelt of powdery fabric softener and her hair, like hairspray. 

And I know what hairspray smells like because back in the day when Jess and I were trying to be super-cool, we used to make out hair all spiky and vaguely mohawk and then down it in hairspray. There was so much hairspray in our hair, we should have probably had a sign around our necks warning others of our potential flammability. I would borrow Jess' black eyeliner and put some on, then the two of us would lurk in the shadows on the dance floor, throwing around some pretty embarrassing moves and acting all hard-core.  

"Owe!" I winced a little as we went over a bump and Lilly's elbow smashed into my thigh. If it had been a couple of inches up, this ride would have suddenly gotten very unpleasant. 

"Sorry." She turned away, looking embarrassed as hell. And then it was my turn to get embarrassed, as another bump forced me to bump against her rather ample chest.

"Sorry." I pulled away just as she had. This was getting awkward and I wondered if she was regretting inviting me on her honeymoon, she probably was. Of course she was, right now she probably wanted her husband to be sitting next to her, and not some stranger she met on a plane. 

I wondered what the hell kind of idiot would leave her at the altar? Clearly it was his loss. And, even though I felt bad for thinking this, I was secretly happy that she was unattached. 

We finally pulled up to the hotel and climbed out. 

"Impressive," I looked around. It was one of those typical places that you would come on honeymoon to. It screamed romance and tranquility and relaxation, down to the flowers floating in the ponds and the white sand covering the entrance hall floor.  

"Yes my fiancé..." she quickly corrected myself, "My EX fiancé likes to splash out. He always said, the more expensive something is, the better."

"Ja, my parents are like that. They always fly business class and refuse to stay in anything less than a five-star-plus hotel."

"Really?" Lilly swung round and looked at me. Her eyes gave me the once, twice, over and she tilted her head to the side as if she was considering something. Of course knew exactly what she was trying to figure out. 

How could someone with wealthy parents be walking around Thailand without any money, a backpack that was falling apart and holes in his clothes?

"Um..." I could hear she was trying to sound casual, it wasn't really working though. Damn, she was cute. "Um, so where do your parents stay...um?" 

"They live in Camps Bay." I said. truthfully they didn't just 'live' in Camps Bay, my dad practically owned it. For the last ten years he'd been buying up property around us. As if a massive 8 bedroomed house, built into the slope of a mountain, perched over the sea with an actual helipad wasn't enough for him. 

Since my sister's death my father had just thrown himself into work even more and my mother had just thrown herself into spending his money. She had probably redecorated the house three times and changed her car at least five. I think she did everything she could to distract herself, if she had something new to look at each day, or drive maybe she would think about something else for 10 minutes. It never worked, though, hence the fourth round of interior decorating she was now doing. 

Our family had been close before my sister's death, but now it was an 'each-to-their-own' scenario. No one talked about their feelings and everyone just went about living their own life in the best way they knew how. My mother had once commented that she would love a grandchild and then I remember the look that swept over her face as she looked at me. And I could see in that moment that she was disappointed. I hadn't really turned out the way she had wanted me too. I wasn't thinking about a career, and marriage and kids and all the things that were so important to her. Instead, I was out traveling, jobless and penniless and was never going to meet the right girl like that...

I followed Lilly into the reception area, I'd tried to be all chivalrous by carrying her bag, and now I was wondering if she really had packed the kitchen sink, my arm was breaking. 

"Welcome to the White Sands Hotel and Spa." A pretty, petite woman said from behind the counter. 

"Hi, I'm checking in. The reservation is under the name..." Lilly hesitated. She swallowed hard, as if bracing herself. "The name Edwards. Edwards." I could see how difficult it had been for her to say that surname, what would have been her surname I guess. 

The receptionist fiddled on the computer and then looked at us with a massive smile. "Mr and Mrs Edwards. Congratulations on your wedding."

Lilly jumped in immediately. "No, no we're not..."

What was she doing? She wasn't seeing the bigger picture here? I quickly put her bag down and wrapped an arm around her. I pulled her close. 

"Not able to keep our hands off each other," I turned to her and flashed her my version of a doting smile,  "Isn't that right honey-bunny-sweet-cheeks?" 

"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed at me under her breath. 

"Ssshhh, go with it. In places like this they bring you all sorts of free stuff like champagne, especially when you're on honeymoon."

"Come with me please, I'll show you to your room," the woman said, stepping out from behind the desk and walking past us. 

We followed her, me still with my arm wrapped around my "fiance"- if only my mother could see me now. 

When we walked through the hotel gardens all the way to the beach. The honeymoon suites were separate from the rest of the hotel and built right on the waterfront. The air was hot and I was starting to perspire, I looked over at the sea, it was a silver color from the moon that was hanging so low now. In a few days time, that moon would be red.  

Suddenly Lilly crept out from under my arm and stopped walking. I turned to look at her; her chest was heaving up and down as she breathed fast and loud. Her hands were clenched by her sides and I could see she was fighting back anger... no, tears. A mixture of both. 

 "Are you okay, Lilly? You look pale."

 "I'm fine. I'm fine." She brushed past me and started walking again. Only, I could see she wasn't fine. Very far from it in fact. 

We finally arrived at our suit. We walked up four small stairs and onto a wooden deck. There was a plunge pool on the deck and I was dying to jump into it and wash the day off me. The receptionist stopped and handed me the keys.They fell into my hands with a jingling sound and Lilly's head whipped around and looked at them. 

I bet she never imagined a stranger holding the keys to her honeymoon suit in his hand? 

"I hope you'll be happy here. I'll get someone to bring your bags and some complimentary champagne and snacks." The woman turned and walked away. I decided to try and make light of the situation, it was the only thing I could do. So I gave her a gentle poke. 

"Told you. Free stuff." 

It was obviously working because despite her previous mood, she gave me a smile. So I continued. 

"I hope you don't mind if I don't carry you over the threshold?"

"Not at all. I'm probably too heavy anyway, considering the amount of food I've sucked down in the past twenty-four hours." The smile on her face was gone now as she straightened her shirt, as if she was trying to hide something unsightly under it. 

Did she think she was unattractive? If she did, she was totally fucking mad. Without giving it much thought, weighing up whether it was even an appropriate thing to say (which it wasn't), I just said it. 

"Nonsense. You look great."

*Freel Love- Depeche Mode