Chapter 6 Westley & Clyve

WESTLEY

This is not a good idea.

I TOOK a deep breath before knocking on his cabin. Then a few moments later, the wooden floor squeaked, and the door swung open.

Holy! Why in the hell was this man so hot? I mean like off that chart freaking hot. My breathing held in my lungs for a moment and my wide eyes landed down below his face. Unconsciously.

Groaning, I turned around because my face was probably red. I could feel the blood rushing up my neck. Clyve was half-naked, and only on his running tight pants. His wreathed forearms were like carved by Renaissance sculptor.

With just a quick look, I was sure I saw the still sweaty broad chest and washboard abs that you could only see in the Men’s fitness magazines.

“Are you ready?” Thank, God my voice didn’t stutter while my heart rate tripled.

“Ready for what?”

I fought to roll my eyes. “Didn’t Keene tell you about your activities for today?”

“Do we have those?” he asked innocently. “Can we just skip?”

“You have those. It’s part of the package.” That was not true. “Just take a shower and wear something comfortable. I’ll be waiting here.” I was already crossing my arms over my chest, sighing in annoyance.

“Aren’t—” The warm breathing at the back of my ear made me jump.

With my heart still in my throat, I spun around and squinted at him. “Seriously, that was not funny!” My face heated, even more. This time with anger to see the smug he wore on his face.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen a half-naked bloke in your entire life, Westley. How about Keene?”

“I’ve seen a lot, asshole! And stop counting Keene on whatever you have planned in your stupid brain!” I shot back. Then I realized I just called him a name.

In my defense, he was being disrespectful, and I would never allow him to do that to Keene. My best friend was nothing but kind to him. He should keep that in his thick skull.

Clyve swallowed, his smug smile disappeared and eyes flashed with guilt.

“One more word from you about my best friend, trust me you won’t like what I’m gonna do to you, Brit. I won’t tolerate your disrespectfulness while you are our guest. Now go get a shower or get dressed. We’re leaving in twenty.” I walked down the narrow stone paths. “Don’t forget to take your camera with you!”

My heart was still racing until I reached the house. I sat on the swing to calm my nerves down. Clyve just got under my skin, and I didn’t like how nosy he was. Was he trying to be friendly or wanted to pry?

I closed my eyes for a while, sucking some fresh air to awash my anger. I could treat him like a guest if he could’ve just kept his mouth shut.

His fine broad chest though, his abs and those tiny hairs trailing down to his perfect V were those things that made my eyes grow big. His ripped torso and not to mention the bulge on his tight pants.

Oh, my God!

Nothing on this earth was sexier than a half-naked, barefooted, and sweaty man, opening a damn door for you. Jesus! I sounded like cheap.

My eyes flew open, sucking a sharp breath. My face turned beet-red when I noticed I wasn’t alone anymore.

Clyve.

“How long have you been staring at me?” It was an accusing tone, and that made him flinch.

Shooting daggers while I literally mind-fucking him was not the best idea, but I still did it though. I couldn’t help it.

I sighed in defeat. “Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier, okay? It’s just, I have trust issues, and you came here as our guest then asking something about personal matters made me feel on edge.”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I guess we both set on a wrong foot, aren’t we? So, can we start over?” His apology sounded sincere. “I promise I won’t pry again.”

I gripped the hand he held out. His grip was strong, yet his hand was warm and unbelievably soft for a man.

“I’m Clyve Clifford Linton.” Of course, you are.

“Audene Westley.” I couldn’t help but smile back when he smiled at me. It just his smile was so contagious.

“Shall we go where ever you’re planning to end my terrible life?”

“Huh! I won’t spill my plan.” I stood up. “Let’s go.”

We followed the small trail with half-buried pebbles, fallen leaves, and twigs towards the lake through the back of the other cabin—they crunched under our shoes. The birds chirping, the dancing of tree leaves above us, and the smell of decaying woods and specks of dirt always gave me a soothing effect. In my twenty-four years, never had I ever imagined I would love the life here.

I used to come over here with Keene until last year. We used to ride through his Launch to the town. It saved time, and we loved the view of the lake, too.

“How long are we hiking?” he interrupted my thoughts.

I chucked. “We’re not gonna go hiking, city boy.”

“Fond of me already, yeah?” He laughed softly.

“Don’t get that through your thick skull, CC?” I didn’t know why it sounded odd calling him his initials, but I couldn’t help it.

“You know, even my brother I won’t allow him to call me CC because it sounds girly coming from him.”

“Fine. I’ll stop.”

“You’re a girl. That would be fine, and I let his girlfriend call me that as well.”

A girl? Jeez, a woman would be fine.

“It’s okay, Clyve suits you well. Very British.”

He snorted. “And how about Westley? Doesn’t it sound so Wild Wild West to you?”

“Yeah. Very American, but I like my name, and I embraced it.” I stopped when we reached the deck.

“Bloody hell!”

I laughed. “Now that was very British.”

“Does that work?” His eyes widened in excitement as he pointed to the Launch.

“The last time I checked, yup.”

“Cool. Wait.” He set his camera, angling directly to the lake. “Let me just take some photographs.”

“Take your time, brit. But we need to be in town at lunch. I wanna show you around.”

He looked like a happy-go-lucky guy who didn’t care about tomorrow. He clicked and clicked until I lost track counting of how many shots he did. Clyve surely loved photography, or maybe the mother nature itself.

I took a breath upon remembering what happened last year. I could still feel the pain squeezing my chest while processing the news.

This tree bowing over and shadowing the lake had never been old and served the best memories. The familiar peaty scent around the area seemed like it was just yesterday. Everything was still fresh to me.

“Beautiful,” Clyve muttered, already standing beside me.

“What?”

“The view.”

“You’ve only seen this part.” I walked past him to the deck. “Follow me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ma’am me again, and you’ll find yourself in the lake.”

“I can swim, Bonnie.”

I stopped, turning around. “Yeah, that one. I know what it is, and it’s not British lingo.”

“Sorry.” He laughed. His voice echoed in the entire lake. “You got me there.”

I wished my life was as easy as his, but I already accepted the fact that I was born to carry my own burdens on my shoulder.

I ignored the knot in my stomach and hopped down to the launch owned by Keene’s late father.

A slipper type made from fine wood that could only carry five passengers. He loved Serena and named it after his late wife. He used to go out fishing when Keene came for summer vacation.

I cranked the engine, and it quickly roared. When I looked at Clyve, he was taking pictures, and now the camera was pointing directly at me.

“Delete those pictures I have in there, CC.”

“Nah.”

I stood straight, warning him. “I mean it.”

“I know you mean it, Westley. What I'm trying to say is, I didn’t take any shots with you in there without asking your permission. Just chill out.”

“Hop in, or I’ll leave you behind.”

“You won’t dare.” He stopped, slightly alarm.

I arched a brow. “Oh, try me.”

He quickly jumped in and sat at the back. I pulled a life jacket and threw it to him. He caught it, snapping his head at me with a query look. “Are you always this serious? I can literally see the list in your head right now that you wish to accomplish today.” You don’t know what I’ve done, Clyve.

“Uh-huh. Now wear that thing.”

“Didn’t I just say I can swim, Westley? And I don’t want to look like an idiot with this thing on.” He raised the life jacket and dropped it down dramatically. He then rolled his eyes.

Clyve rolled his eyes at me.

I smiled, shaking my head subtly. I steered and pulled the steering wheel, and the boat started to move slowly and smoothly away from the deck to the center of the lake.

I was caught with the view that I missed. I wore the sunglasses as the wind started blowing my face. I knew my hair would be messy, but who cared?

I did not notice Clyve was already sitting beside me until he spoke.

“Tell me about yourself, Westley.” It was not inquisitive, and I started to feel relaxed around him.

“You won’t drop it, will you? Let me guess. You’re a type of guy who likes to talk with a stranger because you think you won’t see that stranger again.”

“Just your hobbies, Westley. What did you take in uni, the club you joined in secondary? That sort of thing.”

I sucked the fresh air. “I’m twenty-four. When I was a kid I used to snatch my sister’s lip gloss and dig it to cayenne powder. Then one time I soaked her mascara into the mouthwash.”

Clyve hissed that made me smile. “I see. Westley likes to prank. I keep that in mind. You’re a dangerous little thing back then, yeah?”

I glanced at him. “Until now. So don’t try to make me mad again because you’ll see a different version of me in front of you.”

“Aw, I’m so scared, lady.” He faked a frightened look.

We passed by the houses with docks. Clyve didn’t miss to capture the kids playing, swinging their legs into the water.

“How about you? Other than your full name, your brother Skip is the CEO of the Linton Empire, and his girlfriend has recently launched a new fragrance.”

“Not bad, Westley. You googled me, and I’m so touched.”

“You can’t fool me with your accent, mate. Italian and Spanish are way sexier than British. So drop it, and tell me about yourself, Clyve Clifford Linton of the United Kingdom.”

“You know my full name because I told you.”

“Hmm, and one thing I’m sure of is that you don’t have a girlfriend otherwise you won’t be here in this beautiful place. Alone.” You just want to confirm your doubt, Westley.

“That’s quite true.”

“So, love to paint, huh?”

“You checked my Facebook. How about my Instagram and Twitter? Did you follow me?”

I hit him on his arm causing him to grimace in pain.

“That hurts, woman.”

“I didn’t follow you. I might have checked your Facebook though, but I didn’t see anything. You need to accept me to access your photos.” I rolled my eyes as I sounded more defensive.

“Might?” He cocked his brow, amused than ever.

“Okay, it sounds stalkerish, but yeah. Kinda.” My admission made him smile, and that smile alone could melt someone’s icy heart.

“I checked your Facebook account, but I couldn’t find any by Westley who lives here.”

“I don’t have an FB account. I used Keene’s,” I lied.

He didn’t have to know the reason. He was not also going to stay here permanently, so why even bother?

“Okay. I’m twenty-seven. You already know my brother. I’m not violent, that’s the first thing you should know about me. Before I came, I went on a date using the dating app my brother owned. Let me tell you, it was a terrible experience. She ran out of the pub like her arse was on fire when she found out I went to the therapy.”

“She was not Cindy, was she?”