Caught Up In Reality
Blind to Love
"Well, I think that I'm going to take advantage of the beach while we are still on land." Sydney ended the stifling silence. "Anyone care to join me?" She looked to her father first, who shook his head in a definite no. Irina opened her mouth to say that she'd join Sydney, but a look from Jack silenced her. With everyone's attention now directed at Vaughn, smiled and nodded his assent.
"Sure, I'll go with you. Just let me get my suit..." He headed back into the room to change, leaving Sydney out in the hall with her parents.
"You know... You and Agent Vaughn would make a very cute couple."
"Irina!" Jack growled. Sydney could feel the color rising in her cheeks as she stammered out some incoherent phrases and left to get her suit on. Irina looked at Jack who rolled his eyes and went back into their room. She followed, closing the door behind them.
"Jack, you can't be blind to it forever."
"Blind to what?" He fumed, turning to face her.
"Blind to love. It's not fair to let our past get in the way of their future."
"What future? What future could they possibly have? With The Alliance, Sloane? I will not let some handler's crush put my daughter at risk for a relationship that will never amount to anything." Jack concluded his rant with a leer that dared Irina to challenge him on the subject. Irina was about to speak when Jack's pager began to beep. He immediately went to call back, but not before giving Irina a look indicating that the conversation was far from over.
"This is Bristow... Yes, I've taken the necessary precautions... Yes... Has it been confirmed by Langley? I'll tell the others." He hung up his phone. "That was Kendall."
"So I figured."
"It seems Sloane visited a number of small islands during his stay, one of which we will pass on the first day of our cruise. It's possible he hid the information on that first island, but I doubt it. We're to check anyway."
"So what do we do now?
"Well I was thinking that all of us could go to a restaurant for dinner tonight."
"That still leaves us with five or six hours to kill, Jack."
"Hey, I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas."
"We could always visit the shops near here; I could use some tourist clothes. The CIA didn't pack much, apparently I only need three outfits." What kind of tourist only packs three changes of clothes? She thought.
It took some poking and prodding, but Jack finally agreed to go shopping with Irina.
"But don't be trying anything. One wrong move and I'll make sure you never see the light of day again."
Vaughn walked down the sandy beach in his bare feet, his face tilted up to meet the sun's warm rays. He closed his eyes, basking in the golden light. Suddenly a shadow passed over his face and he stopped abruptly, opening his eyes to see a pair of hands covering them. He turned around to see Sydney, sporting a light blue bikini and a sarong about her waist. It would have been enough to turn any mans head, but it made Vaughn want to gather her in his arms and kiss her, right on this sunny strip of beach. It didn't help that she was smiling so that her dimples came out. When she smiled like that, there was no going back.
Luckily a cell phone ring cut through the air between them. Sydney went over to the blankets she had laid out for them and got her phone out of the bag.
"Dad? Is something wrong?"
"No, but Kendall called with some new intel, I'll tell you over dinner at six tonight. Your mother and I are going to get a few things; we'll be back in a few hours."
"Okay, see you at dinner." She hung up. It was then that she spotted the volleyball.
"Oh no. I don't play volleyball. No way." Vaughn protested, watching as she went to retrieve the ball.
"C'mon Vaughn, stop being such a baby. Look, there's even a volleyball net we can play on. It'll be fun!"
"No." He stood firm. Until she gave him the puppy dog look, that is. "Okay, fine. We'll play volleyball. But I get to serve first, and we get to go swimming in between games."
"Deal."
Two and a half hours later, Sydney was just finishing kicking Vaughn's ass in volleyball.
"See, this is why I don't play this game."
"Why, 'cause you always lose?" She teased.
"No, because everyone else always wins." He deadpanned, earning himself a smile from Sydney.
"Hey, did you want to grab a bite to eat? I know that two-forty-five is a little late for lunch, but I'm starving nonetheless."
"Yeah, sure. I'm hungry too. That airplane food doesn't do much for me."
After changing out of their bathing suits at the hotel and walking around Nassau for a while, Sydney settled on a quiet little outdoor café where they would be able to talk without much risk. After ordering some beverages from the waitress, they began to peruse the menu.
"This is nice." Vaughn said, looking up from the choices of entrees to gaze into Sydney's eyes.
"What?"
"Being with you. In public, I mean."
"Yeah. It's nice to be able to talk to you about something other than work." Sydney said as the waitress returned with their drinks, a virgin strawberry daiquiri for Sydney and just ice water for Vaughn. The last thing they wanted was to show up for dinner with Jack and Irina when they weren't entirely sober.
"Are you ready to order?"
"Um, I think we could use a few more minutes. Thanks." Vaughn replied. After she left they resumed looking at the menu. Vaughn decided on the steamed grouper with a side of fried plantain, while Sydney ordered the conch fritters. As they ate they shared stories of places they'd visited, people they'd met, and crazy things they'd done. Vaughn was surprised to find out that Sydney couldn't stand sitting on the aisle seat on airplanes. It was funny actually, because he didn't like being seated near the window.
Sydney was relating to Vaughn the story of her high-school karaoke days when she checked the time.
"Oh my god, Vaughn. Its six already! We were supposed to meet my parents for dinner! My dad's going to kill me." She dug in her handbag for some cash and left it on the table as they scrambled out of the café.
Meanwhile, Jack and Irina were already seated at the restaurant for dinner. They had been for about twenty minutes, and Jack was starting to worry.
Thanks for reading this, guys. And please, PLEASE keep the reviews coming in. You have no idea how happy it makes me to go to my email and see that someone took the time to write a review. See that little menu at the bottom left of the screen? The one that says 'submit a review'? Yeah, well click on it already. Go on!
The next chapter should be up by Monday or early Tuesday.