His Secret Bodyguard

Part 21

I sighed, letting my gaze fall back to the ocean.. "You don't have to trust me.. I'm just curious." He said, his eyes still on me.

"He had anger issues.. And once I saw that side of him.. I tried to leave. Each scar, is for every time I tried to leave him." I explained, leaving out a lot of other abuse I suffered in that relationship. Emotional and Physical.

"How'd you get away?" He asked. I watched as the waves crashed in front of us. "It was hard.. I went away to school, and so he wasn't around as often. And I met this guy, who was a law student at my school. He helped me file a restraining order against him. I haven't seen him since." I replied, finally looking over at him. He was watching the ocean now..

I picked up my drink, finishing it. I grabbed my bag, getting my t-shirt out of it, and pulling it over my head. "I'm gonna go. I need food." I said, standing up. He looked up at me, slowly making his way to his feet. I picked up my towel, shaking all the sand out. He shook the sand off his shirt, then threw it over his shoulder. "Alright, so where are we eating?" He asked, and I laughed, shaking my head.

I put my bag over my shoulder, walking up the beach's boardwalk.. He stayed next to me, looking up restaurants on his phone.. I stopped at the outdoor beach shower, and set my bag down. I wasn't going anywhere covered in this much sand..

I pulled my shirt off, tossing it onto my bag and turning the shower on. It was cold water, which felt amazing against my newly sun-kissed skin. He was still scrolling through a list of restaurants, and I let the water run through my hair, getting all the sand out.

Once I felt like I didn't have anymore sand on me, I shook my towel out one more time, and dried off. I could feel Harry's eyes on me, but ignored it, focusing on how hungry I was..

We ended up going to a fairly touristy place, and sat down at a table in the back. He had to put his shirt back on, and I had to get dressed too.

"Was that the last guy you dated?" He asked. I looked at him. "Harry.. I don't want to talk about all this. Any of it. It was years ago." I said. "Okay.. Well, I'd talk about myself, but you already know everything." He commented. I laughed. "That's true. But, I'm still not talking about myself." I replied.

"Oh come on.. Tell me about your family." He stated. I shook my head, then looked over as our waitress came up to the table. "Hi, my name's Lauren. Can I get you two some drinks?" She asked, taking out her notepad. Harry ordered off the specials menu from the bar, and I stuck with a water.. "You should learn to live a little. Get a real drink." He commented. "I prefer to alternate my drinks, with water in between each one. Lessens the hangover, and keeps you hydrated." I replied.. He nodded, thinking about it..

"Alright, so your family. Where are you from?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. "I don't see how that's your concern." I stated, watching the waitress as she came back over and set the drinks down. She took our orders, then walked off. Harry was watching me intently. I looked over at him. "Why are you staring at me? Stop." I commented. He smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry, you just.. Never mind." He said, and I sent him a confused look.

"What?" I asked. "No, it's nothing." He replied. "Ok." I said, going back to watching the people in the restaurant. I had to make sure no one was recognizing Harry and taking pictures..

I could still feel him staring at me. "Stop it." I stated, not looking back over at him. "Did he hit you? Your ex-boyfriend." He asked, and I glanced in his direction. "What?" I asked. "Did he ever hit you?" He questioned. I sighed, running a hand through my still-wet hair. "Does it matter?" I asked. "Yes, it does actually. 'Cause I think he did.. You don't like being touched, and now I know you don't like being stared at." He commented. "No one likes being stared at." I replied.

"Brynn." He stated, and I looked over at him. "Did he hit you?" He repeated. "Harry, I get that you're curious. And that's great. But not right now, and not ever. Just.. Leave it alone." I said, standing up and going into the bathroom, which was a few tables down from where we were sitting..

I splashed some water on my face, drying it with a paper towel, and then looking at my reflection. I had a very slight sun burn, but it would be gone by tonight. I sighed, putting my hair up into a ponytail. It was difficult, cause my hair was wet, but I managed..

I sighed, washing my hands out of habit, and then walking out of the bathroom.. Harry was still at the table. I went and sat back down. He looked at me. He opened his mouth to say something, when the waitress came back over, placing our food in front of us.....

***

Harry ended up inviting himself to stay at my hotel, saying how my job is to take care of him. But, I told him that he had to get his own room. "So, why aren't you coming on the rest of my tour?" He asked, following me into my room.. "Well, since these dates are technically add-ons, I'm not required to be there. Jeff's rules." I explained, setting my bag down. I could feel my wet bathing suit under my t-shirt, and was already uncomfortable with it..

"So are you just going to stay here then?" He asked, looking out the window at the sunset. "No." I replied, getting tired of having the wet shirt on. I pulled my shirt off, dropping it on the ground. "So then where—" He turned around, stopping. "What're you doing?" He asked.

I looked over at him. "What?" I asked, confused. "Why.." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing over at the wall. "Is there a problem?" I asked, grabbing another shirt from my bag. "No. Um, there's not. I'm gonna go to my room." He said.

"Okay. You do that."