#DelenaisEternal
When my cell phone alarms softly, I reach over and turn it off because I don't want to wake Elena up yet. Covering my eyes with my forearm, my thoughts return to what happened between us last night. After going as far as we did, I don't understand why she wouldn't take her shirt off to let me see her breasts? I know, for whatever reason, she has issues related to her body image. What darkness is she hiding from me? Did some jackass hurt her physically or emotionally or perhaps both? She's completely beautiful and it's not just on the outside, it's what's inside of her too that beautiful beyond words. I hope she can learn to trust me enough to share her fears with me. Until then, I'll just have to be as supportive of her and not force her into doing something that clearly makes her uncomfortable.
When I feel Elena starts to stir, I very softly caress her back in hopes that she'll sleep a little while yet. When I hear the name 'Elijah' escape her lips, I stop what I'm doing and carefully get out of bed. Trying to be really cautious so as not to wake her, I gingerly sit up, put my leg on and go into the bathroom.
After turning on the shower head, I sit down on the toilet to take my leg off. Once I do, I grab hold of the safety bars so I can get myself into the stall. Pressing my palms against the shower stall, I struggle to maintain my balance because my head is spinning with everything Elena. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that she's the type of girl who would use me to fulfill a need when her heart belongs to someone else but...
Despite that, my gut twists knowing she whispered his name after being with me just hours earlier. Shaking my head at myself, I carefully step out of the shower, sitting on the toilet seat as I dry myself off. After pulling my shorts on, I affix my prosthetic to my stump and walk out of the bathroom just as she opens her eyes.
"Morning," she utters, stretching her arms over her head.
"Morning," I reply tersely. I look at her for a moment, watching as her smile fades.
"Is something wrong?" she asks, her eyes confused.
"Nope," I reply then get up and walk out of our room.
Ric and I go down into the shark cage this time. The water is crystal clear today. I can see quite a distance. I grab Ric's arm when I see a big ray soaring through the water. Since the depth of the ocean is deep here, I see nothing but water when I look below. I can't help but smile when I see all the marine life swimming around even as I keep my eyes peeled for a shark. It feels like my eyes widen to the size of saucers when a whale shark appears. Elbowing Ric to get his attention I point to it as it swims closer. They're huge and beautiful and I've only seen them a couple of times. It swims around in our line of sight for several long minutes before finally swimming away.
Ric gives me a thumbs up as we watch it disappear. As we're focused on the whale shark, we startle when the cage jars. My heart stops when I turn around and find myself staring right into the black eyes of a great white shark. It's so close I can touch it and so I do. It continues circling the area for quite awhile. Because our oxygen tanks are running low, we're going to have to chance it.
Using my thumbs, I give Ric the signal to go up but he shakes his head no motioning for me to go up first. I stare at him for a few seconds then nod and begin swimming up and out of the cage. When I see the dorsal fin break the water, I swim as quickly as I can till I'm at the side of the boat, I grab ahold of the ladder and pull myself up. Fortunately Ric is right behind and we both make it back on the boat safely. Raising my palm I give him a high five before he pulls me into a guy hug.
"That was close," Ric mentions, shaking his head.
"Talk about an adrenaline rush!" I add, laughing.
"Obviously you guys are okay?" Matt mentions giving my shoulder a squeeze.
"Don't scare me like that again, little brother," he scolds, playfully chastising me.
"It was either chance it or drown," I tell him matter of factly. With a shudder, he shakes his head at me comically and walks back to help Brady bring up our shark cage. A chill runs through me as the adrenaline starts to wane. I sit down to take off my wet suit. I can't help but notice Elena staring at me from the corner of my eye. Brushing it off, I take off my swim leg and put the correct one on. Since I don't want to get burnt to a crisp, I walk to the stairs to go below and get a tee shirt.
Once I get back on deck, Elena rushes past me to go downstairs. I suppose I should talk to her but I'm still feeling the sting of her saying another man's name. I don't want to yell or act like a child so it's just best that I keep my distance for now. A big part of me thinks she's nowhere near emotionally ready to be in a relationship. I shouldn't have pursued a relationship with her till I got to know her better.
When I'm ready, I'll talk to her about ending it before anymore feelings are hurt. She's going to be with my group for a several more weeks. We have to work together and I don't want either of us to feel uncomfortable around each other. Once the summer is over, we can go our separate ways without any hard feelings. That's my hope at least.
Yet seeing her run away like that hurts inside too. I know I've never felt such a connection with any other woman. No one has completely discombobulated me the way she has either. I'm at a loss as to what to do. Shaking my head, I walk over to Matt.
"Do you want to take the little boat and see if there's anyway we can make landfall on the island?"
"Sure, why don't you take Ric or Brady with you? I think one of us should stay with the girls, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do," I reply. Nodding, I walk over to those two to see if one or both of them want to go with me.
"I think you should take Elena," Matt adds as he steps beside me. "She's supposed to be learning the ropes."
"She went down below. I'll go get her."
"We'll make sure the boat is ready. Hop to it," Ric adds, nudging me forward.
Sighing, I go below to find her. Knocking on our door, I wait till she says 'come in' before opening the door.
"Hey. Um.. Are you okay? I mean, I saw you run down the stairs like gangbusters."
"I'm fine. I just got a little sea sick. I used to have to take 'Dramamine' if we went on long car rides. I should've gone to the drugstore to buy some more before we left San Diego. I ran out of them yesterday," she explains. Looking at me curiously, she continues, "Did you want something?"
"Um.. yeah. We're going to take the smaller boat so we can go and scout the island I told you about. I thought you should go along unless you're sea sick that is?"
"No, I want to come. Just let me brush my teeth and use the bathroom first, okay?"
"Sure. I'll wait up top for you," I reply, meeting her eyes before turning around and walking out of the room.
Once Elena gets back up, I offer her my hand to help her into the smaller boat safely. Everyone is on board already when I get in. Caroline is staying on the boat with Matt and Brady. They are going to follow us but they'll have to stay in deeper water so our big craft doesn't get hung up on the jagged rocks. Ric is coming along with Elena and me in the smaller boat. After giving my brother a one armed hug, I get in just as Ric is firing up the engine.
We skim over the surface of the ocean heading to the island's coordinates. Fortunately Ric loaded our scuba gear so we can do a little diving if the sea isn't too rough. Scanning the ocean behind me, I see that Matt is doing a good job keeping close to us. A good hour later, the cliffs on the island appear on the horizon.
"Over there," I say to Elena, pointing straight ahead.
"Wow, it's really lush and green," she says, standing up to get a better look.
"Be careful, I don't want you to fall overboard. I don't even know your next of kin?" I tease although I am serious. I don't know that I could ever forgive myself if something were to happen to her.
"I just have an older brother. He lives near Puget Sound in Washington state," she reveals.
"You never told me that?"
"You never asked," she says nonchalantly.
"Don't be like that," I pout, pulling her into my arms. I swore I wasn't going to till we talked but I just can't help myself. I want to touch her and to hold her and to make love to her again. Still I do need to bite the bullet and have a word with her sooner rather than later. I don't want something that's probably completely innocent to split us apart before we even have a chance to make something worthwhile.
As we get closer to the island, the sea becomes more choppy and almost violent as the waves start to crash against the sides of the boat, tossing us around as if it's nothing more than a toy. I get on my walkie talkie and tell Matt to stay back because it's just too dangerous. The wind and the now dark clouds are stirring the sea up even more so Ric turns us around to head back to sea towards Brady, Matt and Caroline so we can find a safe place to dock the boat till the storm passes.
Suddenly Elena is white knuckling the boats edge as she heaves violently into the water. Immediately I go to her, pulling her hair out of the way. I rub the back of her neck till she collapses on one of the seats. When she drops her head between her knees as the drive heaves continue, I know she's terribly sea sick. Since it's already got holes in, I take off my tee shirt and stick in the water to get it wet. After wringing it out, I gently place it on the back of her neck.
Raising her head momentarily, she looks at me, whispering thank you before resuming her previous position. It takes us about an hour to catch up to Matt and Caroline. After Ric tosses him a rope, he uses his mastery of knot skills and ties us onto the bigger boat. I help Elena to stand up first. She sways a little and the sea remains rough. Just as we all get into the other boat, a crack of thunder roars at the same time the sky opens up and rain begins to pour down.
"Are you dizzy?" I yell, as I'm practically supporting all of her weight. She's still green and pale when she nods slightly. I help her down the stairs and into the bathroom so she can get some dry clothes on. I run a hot shower for her as she's shivering.
"Do you want me to help you?" I ask her, full of concern.
"No, I can do it myself," she says as she drops onto the toilet to take her shoes off.
"I'm going to go back on deck to help get everything secured. I'll be back when we're done."
"Okay. Thank you," she says softly.
"You're welcome," I tell her, press a kiss to the top of her head than step out of the bathroom.
Brady and I stay up top to help steer us through the storm. After several harrowing hours, we pull into port in Cabo San Lucas. It's a beautiful resort town. I'm certain Elena will be able to get her sea sick pills at a drug store here. Once we secure the boat at a dock and after paying the dock fees, we're all exhausted. Yawning deeply, I tell Brady goodnight and then go below deck to check on Elena. She's sound asleep by the time I get back to her.
Feeling as wiped out as she did earlier, I shed my clothes except for my boxers and slide into bed alongside her. Unable to keep my eyes open, I snuggle in next Elena, wrap an arm around her middle and close my dreary eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.
Since we're in Cabo, far be it from me to miss out on a chance to do some clubbing. With our boats secure in the marina, the six of us take off for the beach. Elena wanted to do a little shopping at some of the little shops and cabanas. She wants to find something for her brother and for a couple of friends of hers.
"That is really pretty," she mentions when she points to a mother of pearl pendant.
"It's very pretty," I tell her, putting an arm around her neck. I pull her towards me and press a kiss to her temple.
"Mam," I speak, trying to get the clerk's attention. "Can you box up that pendant?" I ask, pointing to the one that Elena has her eye on.
"Damon, no. You don't have to." she protests.
"I know I don't have to, I want to," I tell her, letting her go to pull out my wallet and pay for the piece. Rather than box it up, I have her turn around. She lifts up her hair so I can slip it around her neck. I kiss the back of her neck and then secure the clasp of the necklace. She drops her hair, turning back around.
"It's perfect. Thank you," she tells me, wrapping her arms around my neck to give me a hug. Brady and Ric decided to hit the bar early while Matt and I tagged along with Elena and Caroline till they had their fill of shopping. She bought herself a cute little yellow sundress that I can't wait to see her in and a couple more pieces of jewelry. The way she and Caroline would squeal every time they found something they wanted, I'm surprised that my hearing is still intact. We walk back to the boats to let the girls change clothes and stow their packages so we didn't have to carry them into the bar with us.
"As if it wasn't obvious, the two of you look lovely," I remark, earning a kiss from both.
"Where's mine?" Matt asks, joking. Caroline plants a torrid kiss to his lips while Elena gives him a light hug. Once we're done swooning over each other, we take off to join Ric and Brady. Once we get to 'Baja Cantina', we walk inside. There's quite a crowd but somehow we work our way through without too much trouble. I finally see Brady waving his arm. When we get to the table, I'm surprised to see that Bonnie and Jenna are here. Then I remember that Ric mentioned that the two of them were going to fly down here to spend the weekend with us. Since we're a day late arriving in Cabo, the guys will probably only get tonight to spend with them.
"Hi guys," Bonnie greets us when we finally get to the table. Fortunately, the booth is big enough to seat eight people.
"Hey Bonnie, Jenna. I forgot that you planned to join us. I'm sorry we were late arriving. We ran into quite a storm yesterday," I tell them, while turning my head to signal to barmaid to bring us some drinks.
After placing our orders, she brings over a pitcher of margarita's and some salt-rimmed glasses. "To successfully breaching you know where," I say, raising my glass to clink with the others.
"I really like the variety of margaritas they have here. I would never have thought of a watermelon one," Elena mentions, tipping the glass to her mouth to take another swallow.
"I like the mango ones myself," I tell her, tilting my glass back to take another sip. Needing to use the bathroom, I stand up and walk back to the men's room. I go in and do my business and come back out. I walk up to the bar to ask for another couple of pitchers of the flavored margaritas. As I'm standing there waiting, someone bumps into me hard, sending me into the edge of the bar. I slam into it so hard, I get the wind knocked out of me. Shaking off the stupor, I turn around to see who crashed into me.
My jaw drops when I see that it's Nick with Jules hanging on his arm.
"What the hell, Nick?" I ask, ready to throw a punch.
Smiling like the Cheshire cat, he chortles, "It was an accident, mate."
"I bet it was," I seethe, pulling my arm back, ready to give him a knuckle sandwich.
"Damon, stop," I hear Elena say as she walks over to me, Elijah behind her. I'm too stunned to say anything when I see her with him again, I turn around in an effort to keep my composure. If I don't, I'll say something to her that I don't mean.
"If it isn't the lovely Elena. How are you love?" Nick asks, goading me further.
"I'm fine Nick, now if you'll excuse me," she says, pushing him aside to stand by me.
"Ignore him, let's rejoin the others okay?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. After she gives Nick a disgruntled stare, she takes a hold of my hand.
I stare at her for a long moment before nodding. I lace my fingers with hers and together we walk back to the table to join our group. We have a few more drinks before deciding to call it a night. Ric and Brady go back to the hotel with Bonnie and Jenna while the rest of us go back to the boat.
Feeling the buzz of the alcohol, I pull her into my arms, stoop over slightly and press a languid kiss to her luscious lips. I let go and go into the bathroom to put my sleep shorts on. When I get out, Elena, although still in her clothes, is sound asleep. Shaking my head, I take off her shoes and maneuver her enough so I can cover her up. A big yawn escapes my mouth too so I climb in the other side of the bed, roll onto my left side and close my eyes. Although I'm tired too, my mind is restless wondering what the odds are of finding Elijah in the same bar that we went too? I lay there thinking about it and how he's connected to Elena for a long time. Finally I close my eyes as the lapping of the water against the boat lulls me to sleep.
Thank you so much Eva. I love and appreciate you so much. Today is my youngest son's birthday.. They grow up much too fast.. Thanks to all of you for your reviews. They always put a smile on my face.
Title: 'Surrender' by 'Cheap Trick' (Love them)
I will be updating 'What if I Was Nothing' and 'Rainy Days and Mondays' over the weekend. Please do give those a look see. I'm very proud of both of those stories.
Remember to click that review button. I'll keep writing as long as there are people around to read. I don't want the DE fandom to fade away. I don't want to say goodbye to them.
As always, stay safe and have a fun weekend. Again I thank you for supporting my stories. Love you all. Until next time.