Page 13 of Charming
“Oh please. Stop talking like you’re some old woman that’s been married for twenty-five years and just got divorced. It’s time to party again, live it up, have fun, make some memorable mistakes that you can learn from later.”
Laughing, I can’t help but find myself intrigued at the prospect. “I wonder if Asher Charming is single,” I ask jokingly. Okay, maybe not so jokingly.
“According toSexy Talkmagazine he’s one of the top ten sexiest bachelor’s in the world right now.”
“Oh god, I forgot if anyone would know it would be you. You’re such a celebrity gossip whore.”
“Yes, yes I am,” she says with no shame.
We walk into another store that has a ton of pottery pieces to choose from. I gravitate toward large chip and salsa bowls and look through the stack. “This would be a cool souvenir.”
“They’re cute, and practical,” Katie agrees and she helps me pick out a beautiful bowl that’s hand painted bright yellow, red and orange. It’s vibrant and fun. And the little shop gives it to me for only fifteen dollars.
“Anything you want to do for your last couple days here. I can’t believe time has already gone by and you’ll be leaving soon,” I tell Katie. Since Katie could only stay a week I fully intended on returning home when she did, but Katie talked me into reconsidering and taking some time for myself. I was hesitant, not wanting to be in a foreign country on my own, but the resort is safe and some time alone does sound nice.
“Let’s go out to dinner tomorrow night. That restaurant on the property looks like a good choice. All the windows facing the ocean, the water running around it and all the candles they have lit at night. It looks beautiful.”
“I like that idea,” I agree. “We can get all dolled up too, it will be fun. What about tonight?”
“I’m game for whatever. We can hit the pool or maybe hang out by the fire pits.”
Later that evening, with my brand new throw blanket in shades of ocean blue, teal and white, thrown over my lap, Katie and I sit on a couch next to a fire pit that’s only steps from the sand. With the breeze coming off the ocean, it’s a little chilly, but between the blanket and the fire, we’re comfortable. Each with a glass of merlot, we sip our wine happily while staring into the fire. I’m not sure if it was all of the walking earlier or the ambience, but we are quieter tonight. I’ve been a bit pensive, my thoughts straying from introspection, to reflection, to contemplation. The world is really my oyster, as the saying goes, if I choose. I stop all of my wandering thoughts and try to absorb the atmosphere around me and just live in the moment.
The resort is full of people, but it’s not at all crowded tonight. There are other people around the pit too, but it isn’t loud by any means. Rather people speak in low voices and quiet whispers. Husky laughter drifts on the air to my ears making my toes curl. My eyes roam looking for the source and rest on none other than Asher Charming across the lick of the flames. He’s sitting next to a guy and they’re talking and laughing about something. The sight of him makes a thrill run through me, and my heart skips a beat. He’s simply gorgeous. I feel like a stupid love struck fan, but who could blame me? It’s impossible to look away from how the wind is blowing his hair and how the light of the fire manages to both light up one side of his face, while casting the other side in shadow. It’s breathtaking. Or rather he is. He looks both approachable, and mysterious.
“You know…talk about the perfect way to jump back into singledom,” Katie tells me following my gaze to Asher.
“Oh yeah right. BecauseTheAsher Charming, action actor extraordinaire, one of the sexiest men alive, would totally want to hang out with some random chick on vacation from New York.”
“Hey, stranger things have happened you know,” Katie says. “And hell, just think about the stories you would be able to tell your grandchildren some day.”
Her comment makes me laugh and I’m surprised when suddenly Asher’s eyes meet mine across the fire. I wonder if somehow my laugh managed to have the same effect on him. Don’t I wish. I can’t help but smile softly at the thought and I swear that his lips twitch with amusement back at me before I move my gaze away.
Not long afterwards, Katie and I decide to head back to our room and I swear I can feel his gaze burning into me as I walk away. Likely wishful thinking.
Wiggling my hips, I slide my dress for the night up and pull the zipper into place at the side. Spinning to face the mirror, I do a quick inventory. My blonde hair is loose around my shoulders, flowing in soft waves. I went with a smoky eyed look on my lids that makes my gray eyes look striking, soft pink colors my cheeks, with pale lips to finish off the look. My gray maxi dress is cut low in the front and the fabric crisscrosses under my breasts before it flows down to my feet. Slipping my feet into nude sandals completes the look.
Katie and I stick to our plans of yesterday and made reservations to eat dinner at the restaurant located here on the resort this evening. We heard some guests at the pool raving about it today and that confirmed our choice. We’ll critique it for ourselves. It has a semi-formal dress code, but I’m glad we chose to go to the trouble because damn, I look good tonight. I can’t help but smile at my reflection in the mirror. Dressing up has made me feel confident and beautiful which is a nice feeling given my low self esteem lately after everything with Jeremy - or as Katie has started calling him, ‘fuckwad’.
Walking into the bathroom, Katie stands next to me and slides lip gloss over her lips. I admire how beautiful she looks in a flowered bohemian style sundress that falls off one shoulder and belts at her waist. The hi-low dress emphasizes her curves and she looks fantastic. She smacks her lips when she finishes glossing them and turns to me. We each give the other a thorough evaluation and smile. “Beautiful darling,” I tell her with a wide smile.
“Oh, no, no, no,youare beautiful darling,” she replies as we giggle and air kiss.
“Til we’re old and gray?” she asks me.
“Until we’re old and gray,” I confirm. “We’re going to be the sexiest old ladies in the nursing home.”
“You know it!”
“We’ll rob everyone blind at bingo because they’ll be too busy looking at us to pay attention to their boards.”
She laughs, “We’ll be the queens of bingo.”
“You ready?” I ask glancing at my phone to verify the time before putting it into my small clutch. I’ve been carrying mine wherever we go because I have international service. Katie brings hers for the camera, but we left my number with her family and my assistant in case of emergency.
“Ready.”
We head out of our room and down the hall toward the main part of the resort. We don’t have far to walk, the restaurant is located smack dab in the middle of the property, all the rooms surrounding it in a semi-circle. We arrive just in time for our reservation, and smile as we’re escorted to our table, passing lit candelabras on the way. The décor is all dark wood, which works strangely perfect against the light backdrop of the sand and ocean. The part of the restaurant where diners are seated is a half circle with floor to ceiling windows all around. We luck out and get a table that sits us mid-center of the large window, with access to a magnificent ocean view. Additionally, we’ve arrived just in time to see the sun begin to set, casting colors of gold, yellow and orange throughout the sky that reflect off the water making it look like it’s on fire. It’s breathtaking and before we even glance at our menus, we spend a few minutes silently taking in the view and taking a few photos.
