CLAIRE (FIVE)

“She’s fine. You don’t have to worry about your mom since she never worries about you at all.”

He stopped me before I could leave the balcony.

“I don’t want you to get into trouble like we did in the lounge. Your mom will be mad at you if you disturb her sleep.”

He was right. Mom never even worried about me, so why should I bother worrying about her?

“Okay. We should go to the beach now. I’ll wait downstairs.”

I waited for Raviel while wringing my hands together nervously. I made a mistake by agreeing to Raviel's idea of ​​going to the beach with him. I should have rejected his idea and stayed away from my stepdad, but it was too hard to say no. I couldn't forget the lustful look he gave me in my bikini on the balcony. I couldn't be wrong if I saw something like a spark of desire in his eyes. I recognized the signs because I was taking a psychology program. Studying human nature and body language was something I did every day in class.

"Hi, are you alone?"

"Hi. No, I'm here with my parents."

"Sorry, I thought you were alone. I saw you daydreaming."

I raised my eyebrows as I looked at the two strangers. They seemed to be about my age. They looked like beach guys who spent more time out in the sun than indoors. They had great, well-toned bodies, though not quite like my stepdad’s, whose muscles bulged beneath his shirt. Ugh... Just thinking about Raviel’s muscles made me want to bite into them.

“What’s your name? I’m Charles and this is my cousin, Dave. We live around here.”

As expected, they weren’t one of the resort guests.

“I’m Claire. I’m from LA.”

“We’re going to the beach to surf. Want to come with us?”

 “Umm… I would love to go to the beach with you guys, but…

“She’s going to the beach with me.”

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my shoulders. Raviel pulled me closer to him possessively. My breasts pressed against his hard, muscular torso. He was wearing nothing but a pair of very tight swimming shorts. This was the first time I’d seen my stepdad’s half-naked body. God! He was amazing. My mother was damn lucky to have Raviel as her husband. His skin was perfectly tanned with hard muscles underneath his toned skin. And his abs! Damn. I wanted to grind my nails into the perfectly sculpted muscles on his abs. How could I have never realized my stepdad was this great?

"Oh, okay. I saw her sitting alone earlier, so I thought she was alone."

"No. She's with me."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Claire. See you later."

I wanted to say the same thing to Charles, but it seemed like Raviel would prefer that I not say anything to him. They seemed nice though. Maybe I could learn to surf with them and explore the interesting things in Hawaii since they lived around here.

"How can those kids hang around this resort if they're not staying here?" Raviel grumbled.

“Maybe they’re surf instructors and one of their clients lives here. Who knows?” I shrugged slowly.

“Don’t be fooled by their looks. They might drag you to bed after they’ve managed to get you to the beach under the pretense of having fun.”

“Why not? I’m single. No one would be mad if I dated someone.”

“But you’re a virgin.”

My body stiffened. Raviel knew I was still a virgin! It was mortifying. Mother must have told him. I had always kept that embarrassing fact a secret from everyone, even my college friends; I used to claim I’d had one-night stands, even though I didn’t have a boyfriend.

“Please take your hand off my shoulder.”

I lowered my head as tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t dare imagine what Raviel was thinking about me. He must think I was abnormal, since most women my age had at least slept with a man once.

“I’m a normal woman.”

“What? What happened to you?”