Where Sea Meets Sky(24)

“That’s cool, I’m just going to do a set and see if anyone needs me.”

“All right. Ta.” And she’s back to reading. She’ll barely remember talking to me. “Oh right, Gemma?” she suddenly asks and I turn around in surprise. She is staring at me with vague interest. “There are people here looking for you.”

I frown. “Who?”

“Dunno,” she says with a shrug. “Some American and a bunch of Germans.”

My frown deepens. What the—?

Before I press further, I hear the door to the gym open behind me. My heart starts beating fast for no reason at all and I wonder if I’m dehydrated.

I slowly turn around and am absolutely floored by what I see. If my good hand didn’t have such a death grip on my water bottle, I would have dropped it in some overdramatic fashion.

It can’t be.

But the guy walking out of the gym and into the reception area is tall, toned, covered in tattoos and has a mess of black hair slightly spiked at the ends. He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a plain black T-shirt and checkered Vans. He has a swagger that he knows about, killer lips accented with a lip ring, and stunning eyes. He doesn’t belong here. Not in this gym, not in this country.

And yet I’m smiling wide just the same.

It’s Josh.

How the hell is this possible?

How. The. Hell?

I am stunned. I can’t move.

Then he sees me and he stops, too. We lock eyes. There is fear and happiness in his. I have no idea what he sees in mine.

I barely notice that he’s with three other guys, but if it weren’t for them I’m certain the two of us would have remained statues, frozen to the ground, tongues tied but blood pumping. At least, he’s having that effect on me.

“Is that her?” one of the guys says in a mild German accent. He’s short but good-looking and very fit. Actually, they all look athletic, but Josh is the one who doesn’t give off the health and “good for you” vibes. He gives off the hot and bad for you vibes.

Except I know that’s not true. He may look like the quintessential bad boy, and he may have a bad boy’s skills in the sack, but when I was with him for that brief time, he treated me with utmost respect. It was a combo that had my mind and body in a tizzy for days after.

“Josh?” I find myself saying, surprised I can talk. “What the . . . what are you doing here?”

He smiles at me sheepishly, and for a moment he looks away, biting his lip. When he looks back, he is all charm.

“I guess ‘surprise’ won’t really suffice, will it?” His accent, combined with the deepness of his voice, is turning me into a puddle of goo. He and his friends walk over to me. He gestures to the short one. “Gemma, this is Tibald. That’s Michael and Schnell. Schnell is actually a lot more fun than he looks.”

I barely look at the other guys. I’m staring at Josh, still trying to make sense of what’s happening in front of my eyes. The memories of that night come flooding back like it was just yesterday. The feel of his hands, the stroke of his tongue, the brush of his lips. My mouth opens but I’m not sure what to say except “what the fuck?” Luckily, the guy he called Tibald comes forward and extends his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Gemma!” he says enthusiastically, pumping my hand before taking his back and looking at it. “Nice shake you got there. Listen, Josh has said . . . well, not too much about you but what he has said has been very nice.” He shoots him a look over his shoulder. “I’ve been assuring him that he’s not too big of a stalker, but I suppose that’s up to you to decide. He almost didn’t come here today.”

Josh presses the back of his hand into his eyes and groans. I can’t help but smile, even though the word stalker is ringing in my ears a bit. He’s not actually here for me, is he? I mean, I know I invited him to New Zealand but he hadn’t taken it seriously at the time.

“So,” I manage to say and fumble for the rest of the sentence. “What—what are you doing here? I mean, it’s nice to see you.” Because it is nice to see him. Despite how weird the whole situation is, it is almost a relief to be staring at him again.

Josh glances at the Germans, who are staring back and forth between us like they’re watching a tennis match. “Hey guys, why don’t I go and meet you at the beach?”

Even the Schnell guy smiles.

“No worries,” Tibald says with a wink. I’m surprised they don’t all go “ooooooh” like a bunch of primary schoolers. They all give us a wave and disappear out the door. Now there is only Nina, who has abandoned her book and is staring at us with keen interest as she sips her bottle of L&P soft drink. She’s probably wondering what I’m doing with this guy who so doesn’t fit in here. I know she doesn’t care enough to say something to Nick, but I’m suddenly feeling on display.