So Close (a James Hetfield story)

Chapter 37

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I woke late in the morning to the sound of someone knocking insistently on the front door of the suite. Groaning at the bright sun slanting through the plantation shutters, I shrugged on a robe and made my way to the door. A waiter from the hotel restaurant smiled brightly as he moved past me into the living room pushing a rolling cart loaded down with covered plates, a carafe of coffee, and what looked to be a pitcher of Bloody Mary's with all the fixings.

"I think you have the wrong room," I spoke up confused. "I didn't order breakfast."

"I have the correct room senorita." The waiter nodded. "The meal was ordered for you by another guest, with his compliments. Enjoy."

The waiter left, closing the door behind him, but I didn't have to ask who this other guest was, I knew it was James.

"Wow." Roberta emerged from her room yawning. "Did you do all this?"

"No, it wasn't me."

I knew Roberta had come to the same conclusion as me, but she didn't tease me about it.

"Well who cares why it's here, it's here and I'm staaaarving."

With that, we sat down and did our best to make a dent in the food. Afterwards, the two of us went out for a few hours of shopping, buying souvenirs and mementos of our trip. I found a necklace with a skull carved out of whale bone and impulsively bought it as a birthday gift for James. Coming back to the hotel, Roberta decided to take an afternoon siesta while I opted to head to the beach for some sun and a swim in the ocean. Walking down to the hotel's private beach, I settled for an oversized beach lounger that was made for two, as all the single loungers were occupied. Laying out a towel and setting my beach bag on a conveniently placed side table, I applied sunscreen and then stretched out, feeling my body immediately relax under the penetrating warmth of the sun. 

I was almost asleep when I heard a voice coming from above me. "Mind if I join you?"

Shading my eyes, I looked up to see Jamie standing over me dressed in swim trunks with a towel in hand.

"No. I mean...no, I don't mind."

Surreptitiously, I watched him walk around to the other side, trying not to notice his muscled arms and toned chest; definitely not a boy anymore. Swallowing hard, I pretended to be fascinated with the waves rolling up along the shore. 

He let out a sigh of contentment as he stretched out his long legs next to me on the sunbed. "It feels so fuckin' good to relax. I think I'm gonna need a vacation after this vacation."

I chuckled softly. "Too much fun?"

"Yeah. Some of the guys dragged me out of bed way too fuckin' early this morning to go deep sea fishin'."

"Sounds exciting."

"Yeah, it was fine." I could sense him looking over at me. "I think I woulda preferred spendin' the day right here though."

I ducked my head shyly, but I couldn't stop a small smile from pulling at my lips. He reached over then and took my hand, linking his fingers through mine before laying his head back against the pillows, his face visibly relaxing. The world around us faded as we lay there, sometimes talking, but mostly just content to be together. I tried not to think about what any of it meant. I figured there was time for that later.

When the sun got too hot we took a swim in the ocean, playing in the waves and splashing each other like we'd done when we were younger. We found any excuse to touch each other, and oh god his hands felt good on my body. Finally wearing ourselves out, we stood for a long time with our arms wrapped around each other, my head tucked under his chin as we gazed out at the sun drifting lower in the sky. I don't think either of us wanted the day to end.