“She’s the only woman I love, so she does count.”
“That was true before. But do you know what I think?”
“No, and I don’t want to know.”
“I think you’ve already fallen in love with Daisy, to the point you can see yourself settling down with her for a nice, long life. That scares the ever-loving shit out of you, and you know it.”
I turn to resume our jog on the beach, refusing to dignify that ridiculous notion with a response. He’s quick on my heels, though.
“Typical Rod. Shut down when anything resembling emotions toward another human surfaces. You’re not your father, man. You’ve already proven that. Look at Juliana and Isabelle.”
“What’s it to you? Why do you care so much?” I roar at him, directing my anger and frustration at the closest outlet.
“Because you’re my best friend, Rod. If you don’t acknowledge what’s going on with Daisy, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Losing her will haunt you day and night. The girl is crazy about you, and anyone willing to put up with your bullshit deserves a fucking gold medal.”
“All the more reason for her to get away from me after the next three days end. Actually, it won’t even be that long because you and I have an early flight out on our last day. So, we have a couple of days and some change.”
“What a superb role model you are for Isabelle. You should remember this moment the first time some jerk breaks her heart. When you want to kick his ass, just remember you’re not one bit better than he is.”
“What’s your fucking deal, Kevin? Did Tracy cut you off unless you can convince me to pop the question to Daisy before the trip is over?”
“Don’t bring Tracy into this and try to lay any blame on her. You’re way out of fucking line right now.”
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you? How the hell can you be in love with someone after a week?”
“Yes, I love her, and I tell her frequently. Don’t worry about my relationship with her. At least I have one—a real one. You’ve trapped yourself in the past for so long, you’re emotionally stunted now. The sad part is, you have no reason to be, but you won’t face your own demons. You are not to blame for what happened a lifetime ago. It’s time for you to move on because your sad song is old.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he turns on his heel and jogs off in the opposite direction. His words sting more than anyone else’s would because he’s been my best friend since middle school. He knew me way before my company’s success launched me into the stratosphere of multi-million dollar business contracts, writing software programs for some of the top Fortune 50 companies, and expanding to a full staff of five hundred employees just to keep up with the demand.
He was my biggest supporter when I taught myself the various programming languages as a teenager because that was the only way I knew how to support my family. Today, I’m the president and CEO of my own company. He’s my vice president, a position he earned on his own because of his work ethic, brilliant mind, and innovative ideas.
He’s the only person I would trust to run the billion-dollar enterprise in my stead.
Despite all that, for some reason, I can’t bring myself to take his word about my current predicament.
For the next thirty minutes, I sprint as hard as I can in the sand, weaving around people enjoying the bright sunshine, warm water, and white sand. I’ve seen more fucking couples in love in the last half hour than the rest of my days here combined. Everywhere I look, they’re smiling, touching, kissing, or taking a stroll with their fingers laced together as a public declaration of their love. I never wanted this bullshit. All I wanted was a fun vacation on a tropical island with a beautiful and sexy lady warming my bed at night.
When I stop, I yank my phone out of my pocket and drop on my ass in the sand. Before I lose my nerve and change my mind, I call Juliana.
“Rod? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Sick? Should I have the National Guard deployed to come get you?”
“Hi, Juliana. I’m fine. Not sick or hurt. And the National Guard wouldn’t come to a foreign country to get me. I need an honest opinion and realized no one knows me as well as you do.”
“All right.” She draws out the syllables as confusion kicks in. “Tell me what’s going on, Rod. What happened?”
She listens silently while I fill her in on all things regarding Daisy. From the first day we met, her spunky attitude, my reaction to the dudes who try to flirt with her, how I completely ignore every other woman on the island. The only sound she made was a sharp gasp when I admitted Daisy has been sleeping in my room every night … and we spoon. I finish with the argument Kevin and I had a few minutes ago.
“That’s it. That’s the complete story. What do you think?”
“Rod, you know how much I love you and appreciate everything you’ve done for Isabelle and me. There’s no man in the world I trust the way I do you. So, when I say this, know that I mean it with all the love I have in my heart.”
“Okay.”
“You’re a complete and total dick to women. You have a full jar of hearts you’ve broken over the years. I’ve had to ask a dozen or so women to leave your house because you didn’t want to face
