26. No Sleep

“Too bad I can’t have you right now,” Blaze murmured, glancing around conspiratorially before stealing a kiss—and then another, his hands roaming boldly. It was reckless, thrilling, and the man he used to be took whatever he wanted. He seemed to have vanished when he was near her. He’d always been careful, always loyal. But this was about love, love for one woman, Charlize, and he wanted to break all the rules if it meant he could be with her.

But it was dark, and the only thing you could see was the stars reflecting off the water.

“Wait, wait, babe,” Charlize mumbled, smiling, while his lips still moved hungrily against the soft skin on her breast.

“Mm...” Blaze mumbled as his lips gradually stopped moving until they reached hers, lightly pressing against them. He opened his eyes and saw the stars and moon above.

He smiled softly, pecking them again, then backed up and took her hand, sliding it up her inner thigh. Charlize squirmed as she took hold of his fingers and surprisingly smiled at him.

“Oh wow! I’m sorry, Charlize, I don’t know what got into me.”

“It’s okay. Maybe we have had too much to drink. A little tipsy.” Charlize grinned, thrilled to death that she could turn him on in this way. At times it was still hard for her to believe and accept that someone so good-looking was into her and always wanted her like this.

He took her hand, his thumb tracing circles across her skin. “Tell me, Charlize—will you choose me? Or do I have to keep trying to win you over?” he teased, but there was real hope flickering in his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Charlize said bashfully.

“Girl, you don’t know. How? After all the hot stuff we did. No...no way.”

Before Charlize could formulate a sentence, Blaze was back nibbling on her neck and earlobe.

Charlize moaned softly, feeling the pressure inside her building.

“Please, give me my heart’s desire,” Blaze whispered in her ear, and just when she was about to form a word, the tip of his warm tongue danced around the inner workings of her ear.

Charlize bit down on her bottom lip, moaning but trying to moan as softly as possible. She pressed her hands against Blaze’s chest.

She kissed him on his cheek and jawline as her lip grazed down his long, thick neck. She moved one hand up his neck and along the side of his face. Charlize moved back and just gazed into his face.

He looked impossibly handsome in the neon glow—so much so that Charlize blurted, “I won’t go on any more dates. Not with anyone else.”

At her words, Blaze crashed his lips to hers in a kiss that felt like a promise. When they finally broke apart, breathless, he forced himself to let go and moved to program the boat to dock as reality crept back in.

“We will be docking in 5 minutes.”

“Laze?”

“Yes, Charlize?” he asked, looking at her longingly.

Charlize had to shake it all off at the end of each date. Returning to her bungalow alone after each fantastic date made her more sexually frustrated. Mentally and emotionally, it was like she had to take an eraser and wipe her heart and mind clean. Finally, Charlize got to bed around 1 am., feeling pretty tired and looking forward to sleeping. It was the only relief she got in this contest for love.

But after only 3 hours of sleep, Charlize’s brain woke up and wouldn’t shut down. Her mind raced with worry, preventing her from returning to sleep right away. No sleep. She woke up at 4 am. And she was thinking, what should she do? Then drifting back to sleep. But still no sleep. She woke again at 4:30 am, then again at 5:45 am.

Charlize exclaimed. “Why can’t I sleep?!”

She got out of bed and walked over to the desk, standing there thinking, ‘Since I can’t sleep, I guess I should put what’s going on in my head on paper.

But Charlize was feeling emotionally drained. It isn’t easy to write when you’re emotionally depleted. So why was she getting emotionally zapped? She sat at the desk, holding her head in her hand.

A little fear set in because Charlize realized why she was having this sleepless night. ‘I wish they knew how difficult they have made this for me, yet I fear hurting them. These men are so vital to me. If only I could help them see how much they have changed and inspired me. When Charlize looked at the clock, it was almost 6:45 am. She climbed back into bed, hardly able to keep her eyes open. She was mumbling as she buried her head in her pillow. Charlize finally woke us around 3 pm. But she didn’t just wake up! She jumped up! Charlize got up, went to the bathroom to wash up, and got herself something to eat.

“I don’t have a date to go on.

I hope they give me more time to think about everything. I don’t know who I’m going to choose. All the guys have been everything a girl could dream about. Even without going all the way physically, they have been great. But, of course, some are a little more than others. So many times, I wanted to tell them, “Take me! Take me now!’ 

Charlize thought, laughing to herself.’ Each time, she wanted to kiss their lips right off their faces! It’s been a whirlwind of emotions that words can’t even explain.

She had never thought of some of them in a romantic way before! But now, she can’t stop thinking about them in that way. Each experience has potential and is deeply significant. Charlize can see herself falling in love and giving all her heart to each of them.

But the question is, who has stolen her heart?

She’s all confused and tied up in knots. But she’s trying to be fair. She’s tried so hard on each of these dates not to let herself go. She always kept in the back of her mind that she had another person to go on a date with each night, and that she needed to leave room for a decision. Yet with all that effort, she still can’t choose. 

Later that evening, she left a note under her door. Charlize realized it was time to awaken from her dreamland! It’s time for you to make the final decision. Charlize collapsed back down on the bed. She hurriedly opened the note. It read.

“There’s only one more requirement for you to follow. Tonight, all the men would like to meet with you. So tonight, you must select the winner and your king.”

‘This is driving me crazy! What am I supposed to do? These handsome, sexy, funny, charmingly cute men. Oh my goodness! I have to re-evaluate everything. It’s no longer just thinking about simple things. Like, who’s the best-looking? Which has the best body type? Who do I like looking at the most? Who kisses the best? Or who’s the sexiest?’ She thought.

Then she starts pacing back again. ‘Diamante will probably be fabulous with my friend Sonya, who loves nightclubs. I got to think about more serious things, because one of these guys may be the one! I need to think about whose conversation was the best. Who made me laugh the most? Who’s the most romantic and made me feel comfortable? Whose lifestyle fits my dreams and goals? Wait! I will be here. This will be my new life. I will no longer live in the city or have to go to the lab to work. What will I be doing here on the island? What will be my duties as queen of Pleasure Paradise? I never thought about any of that. Will I be just a babymaker? I need more time to answer these questions. I had been so caught up in all the romance that I hadn’t thought about what I would be sacrificing or giving up for good.

Which man would let me do whatever I want here? What man would be best for me? 

Charlize had to figure out her next move if she was to select Mr. Right or even Mr. Wrong. All these thoughts were going around in her mind. It worried her, and she became a nervous wreck.

~~~

The guys, on the other hand, entered the meeting conference room. Of course, they could not discuss their dates with one another, but they had to plan tonight’s celebration party. But you could feel the friendly male competitive spirit amongst them as they all greeted one another. 

They looked at one another with half-smiles and smirks as they performed their duties. Yet everyone kept a calm demeanor. Charlize felt confused. She didn’t know what the conclusion would be. She smiled one moment, then tears filled her eyes. Charlize realized she had to get dressed and prepared. She would have the power over these men’s future. It was time to select someone to be her husband tonight. 

“Will I be happy no matter what?”