Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (65 page)

“
I...uh...”
Truth was, Morgan was starving, and she had no idea if Sasha, whoever
she was, had remembered lunch. Morgan also wasn't entirely sure of
the last time she'd shaved her legs.
I wasn't exactly
expecting this. Think. Think.
“I'd
love to, I'll just go grab my bags and...”

“
Nonsense.”
Gil walked to the side of the room, to a small metal box on the wall,
and pushed a button before speaking. “Leo, fetch the bags from
the back of the car, and bring them to the spa.” He turned back
to Morgan, “what would you like to drink?”

“
You
don't have Moscato, by chance?” Morgan was still trying to
figure her way out, but Gil was making it nearly impossible.

“
It's
all Lisa will drink.” Gil flashed Morgan another smile, then
turned back toward the intercom. “Sasha, bring a bottle of
Moscato, please.”

Morgan
fidgeted slightly in her seat, and glanced up again at Gil as he
stepped toward the water. She still had no idea how she would get out
of his offer to swim, and her hand instantly moved to her hair as she
pulled her long bangs down to cover the bruising. Gil let out a long
sigh as he changed course and walked to Morgan. He grabbed another
chair that was close, and pulled it to sit directly across from her.
Gil put his hands on the outside of her knees and held her between
his long legs.

“Morgan,
Julianne told me about the crash.” Morgan looked up quickly,
but Gil shook his head. “No, don't say anything. I know you
want to move on, and forget it ever happened, and I'm willing to try
and help you.” Morgan's eyes remained fixed on Gil's handsome
face as she processed the new information. “But if you want my
two cents on the matter,” he smoothed her bangs to the side of
her face gently, “I think you should allow yourself a few days
to grieve, or yell, or get drunk. Anything.. just don't stop feeling
life. Okay?” His fingers circled Morgan's chin and she smiled
weakly. “And, let that bruise heal a little more so that you
won't feel like hiding that beautiful face.” He leaned in and
kissed her forehead sweetly. She barely knew the man, but the gesture
felt personal, as if it were coming from someone that she had
feelings for. Morgan cleared her throat, and Gil smiled again as he
grabbed a single tear from falling down her cheek.

Chapter
Nine

Morgan
leaned her head back against the towel that she'd rolled into a
pillow. The hot water and milky bubbles hugged her body in the way it
always had, and it was exactly what she needed.

Gil
had been insightful enough to realize that Morgan was most likely
denying herself a good old fashioned cry fest, and she intended to
make proper use of her time. The day was coming to an end, and she
finally allowed her tears to fall freely across her cheeks, and drip
slowly into the awaiting hot water. She wasn't sad, nor was she
feeling any self pity, but her soul truly needed to mourn for the
last lives on the plane.

Yes,
she thought, life was meant to be enjoyed but at times it was best to
step away from it all to regain much needed strength. She sniffed
loudly and finally reached for another towel beside the tub and wiped
her eyes. Morgan hated crying, even if she actually needed it to
cleanse her soul. Just as she made a second swipe of her face with
the towel, her phone sounded from the back pocket of her jeans on the
floor. “I don't want to. Whoever you are, just leave me alone
for a little while.” She tried to position her head back
against the
pillow
, but her phone's ring nearly echoed in the
large bathroom and it was too much to ignore. “Alright!”
She reached over, splashing droplets of warm water on the tiled
floor, and grabbed the nuisance. “Hello!”

“Damn,
Stick! Don't yell at a bitch!” Morgan let out a long breath,
and apologized for snapping at him. “Is that water? Are you
naked? Send me a naked selfie!” Morgan almost smiled, and Angel
almost let her off the hook. “Are your titties naked? I need
titties! I need titties!” Morgan held off the smile until she
heard PoPo yelling as well. Of course, it sounded as if he were
saying
I pee kitties,
and Morgan couldn't help but laugh.
“Hang up, snap a peekie poo of your fun bags, and send it to my
ass.”

“He
hung up! He actually hung up on me!” Morgan stared at her
phone, and laughed again. “Fun bags?” She shook her head
and sunk further into the bubbles until her entire head and face were
underwater. Her hand, still holding her phone, was the only part not
submerged. When she came back up, she pushed her hair back and
laughed again.

Checking
the status of her
fun bags
, she decided they were covered
enough by bubbles to take a picture. She smiled wide, held her phone
high, and took a selfie of her bathtub enjoyment. “There.”
Morgan sent it to Angel and waited.

Four
minutes later, Angel replied with a selfie of his own. He had
obviously been washing pans, since he never put those in the
dishwasher, because he was standing in front of a bubble filled sink.
He'd turned his back to the counter, put two balls of bubbles for his
own
fun bags
on his shirt, and dabbed a few places on his
face. With an added glob of bubbles to the top of his head, his
selfie was complete. Morgan laughed out loud at the picture, then
sat up and held the phone to her heart.

“Oh,
Angel. How am I supposed to cry it out if you're making me laugh?”
She smiled at the image again, and finally put her phone back on the
floor and quickly finished her bath.

Morgan
stepped out and wrapped a large thick red towel around her warm body.
The bath was perfect, and so was her friendship with Angel. She
grabbed her phone again and carried it to the bed where she fell in a
soft heap against two stacked pillows.

“I
love your titties.” She spoke the words that she typed in
response, and giggled when he quickly replied.

I
love your titties, too. And Stick, you're still beautiful.
Morgan's laughter immediately ceased as she looked at the photo that
she'd sent to Angel. The bruise on her forehead was even more
pronounced by her wet face, and all she could do was hope that it
faded over the next day or two.

Beautiful?
No, she answered herself. “But lucky. So very lucky.” Her
whisper was the last sound she made before closing her eyes and
drifting straight to sleep.

*****

“She's
in a hotel. She was too sad, and too uncomfortable to be pushed into
anything.” Gil sipped his coffee and waited for Julianne's
response. He didn't know that Morgan simply wanted a few days to
herself, and that she wasn't filled with a complete sadness as he'd
assumed, but it was all he knew to tell Julianne.

“Yes,
I understand she's sad... but I don't want her dwelling on the crash.
She's just been through too much lately.” Julianne had already
explained her feelings to the man, and had asked the favor of him in
helping Morgan to get past the ordeal. Gil, on the other hand, wasn't
so sure that her technique would work.

“I
still think she should feel comfortable, and not thrown into a new
situation to get past something else. She needs to feel like herself,
something she's used to, if you expect her to move forward.”
Gil normally wouldn't have gotten involved with any of it, but
Julianne was a personal friend of his and he took that seriously.
Besides, he smiled to himself, Morgan was an amazing woman with looks
that he couldn't ignore. He was grateful to have been chosen, and
happy that Julianne trusted him enough to ask for help. “Look,
I'll take care of her. You just get back to your life and leave it to
me. Okay?” Julianne hesitated, but under the circumstances, she
had no other choice.

“Keep
me posted. And, Gil? Thank you.” Gil ended the call and
finished his coffee before taking a shower. Morgan would most likely
be awake soon, and he planned to make a visit to his soon-to-be date
for the week.

Morgan
was, in fact, waking up on the other side of town in her hotel room.
She'd slept hard, and it took a few moments to gather her thoughts
before pushing herself out of bed. “Fuck me in the morning.”
She ran her hands through her hair and finger combed the mass on her
way to the bathroom. The pain medication that she'd taken before her
bath the night prior had proven to be far too strong when taken on an
empty stomach. “I need food.” She yawned loudly as she
pulled a brush through her hair. Her stomach agreed loudly by the
time her teeth were clean, face was washed, and fresh paint had been
applied. “Good enough.” Morgan went back into the room
and grabbed the hotel menu. She may not do much that day, but she
planned to at least make herself presentable. If anything, it was an
easy way to lift her mood. “Yep, I'm all girl.” Angel,
she smiled to herself, would have agreed that a cosmetic was the best
medicine for just about anything.

Thirty
minutes later, Gil was dressed and driving to Morgan's room. He
smiled down at his attire, and was reminded of days that were more
carefree. He knew that Morgan was impressed with his home, but he
also knew that it wasn't something that she was accustomed to. It was
one of the reasons that he didn't put up a fight about her getting a
room for a few days. It was also the reason that he chose a pair of
jeans and a simple black tee shirt to wear that day. Although, his
simple outfit cost more than most people earn in a week, it still
worked in showing Morgan that she could simply be herself. The
Ferrari, that was something that he couldn't hide, and couldn't even
bring himself to try.

He
handed the keys to a smiling young valet. “If you take her for
a ride, be careful.” He smiled when the look of shock came over
the young man's face, then the realization that the driver had just
given him permission to take the car around the block before parking.

“Yes
sir!”

Morgan
was already on her second cup of coffee, but hadn't made up her mind
about breakfast yet. She liked the idea of ordering in, but she also
didn't want to spend her very first early morning in Belize City
sitting on her bed. “Screw it, I need to see the beach.”
She pulled her bag on to the bed and instantly found a pink string
bikini that she'd never worn. “Perfect.”

Bikini,
white shorts, sandals and her sunglasses were all that she needed for
a walk on the beach. “I'll find a restaurant.. which means...
I'll also need to find a shirt.” At least she could tie it
around her waist until she found a place to eat. “I shouldn't
love you this much.” She hugged her favorite pink hoodie with
angel wings on the back, courtesy of her best friend, and set out for
a morning walk in search of food and beauty.

The
aroma of eggs, bacon, sausage and pancakes filled the hotel lobby, as
tourists piled their plates with the breakfast essentials. “Mmm.”
Morgan lifted her nose in the air and closed her eyes, taking in the
sweet and savory scents, and her stomach growled loudly in response.
She was tempted to grab a plate and take advantage of the buffet, but
again, she told herself that she needed to get out of the hotel.
“I'll feed you, don't worry.” Morgan gave her stomach a
quick rub before pushing her way through the front doors, and into
the warm morning sun.

“
Not
even going to say hi?” Gil's voice came from behind her, and
Morgan quickly turned to face the man.

“
I
didn't see you! Were you...” She was going to ask if he'd been
in the hotel, but the fact he'd just walked out behind her, and was
holding two small coffee cups with her hotel's logo on it made the
answer obvious. Gil told Morgan that she'd looked right at him
several times, and Morgan felt her face instantly heat with
embarrassment. “Sorry, I'm on a mission.” Morgan smiled
and placed a hand on her bare stomach, “I'm starving.”
Finally, a small laugh emerged from her lips and Gil's own smile made
hers grow.

“
I
know I didn't call or anything, so if you just want time for
yourself, you're welcome to tell me to get lost.” Gil's smile
never wavered, yet his eyes slowly traveled the length of Morgan's
body, then back up to meet her eyes. He didn't try to hide his gaze,
and Morgan didn't mind. It was the first time since the plane crash
that she felt beautiful, even by a simple look from a man.

Morgan
laughed again at Gil's choice of words, then shook her head quickly.
She had planned on enjoying a day alone, but for some reason, the
thought of Gil accompanying her was comforting. “You don't have
to get lost, but you will have to help me find some good food.”
Gil told her it was a deal, and gave her the option of several
restaurants within walking distance, but Morgan said the decision was
his.