Chapter 3 Flash resisted the urge to pace. It took a while for him to fall asleep the night before. He'd been thinking about Kelli. There was something about the woman that made him feel as if he'd known her forever. She was comfortable. Funny. Sweet. And he liked all of that. A lot. There was a moment when he could tell she was seconds away from leaving, but he'd managed to put her at ease. He was more than grateful she'd gone outside her comfort zone and stayed for dinner. He was also pleased she'd been so down-to-earth. He hadn't lied when he'd admitted that he had no idea which fork to use. And he knew next to nothing about wine, about choosing it, just that he enjoyed drinking a glass or two with a meal sometimes. As it turned out, Kelli was the same. And he absolutely loved her sweatshirt. Or really, what he actually loved was the fact that she put her comfort above fashion. Because fashion was something else he knew nothing about and had no desire to learn. She was also smart, and the fact she didn't have a career didn't concern him in the least. She'd figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, of that he had no doubt. He'd had a great time with her last night. And the only reason he'd agreed to go on this tubing trip today was because Kelli would be there. He did try to talk Chuck out of going, explaining that it really wasn't safe to go off the resort grounds. He figured if he was successful, he'd have a similar discussion with Kelli during breakfast. But Chuck had blown him off, insisting it would be fine. A niggling doubt remained in the back of Flash's mind. He thought of talking to Kelli anyway, suggesting the two of them spend another day on the beach. But he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to his sister's fiancé. In the end, he justified going today by telling himself he was probably the only person in their group who might be able to recognize danger if he saw it. Hell, his job was to ferret out shit going sideways before it actually happened. So now he was standing in the lobby waiting for Kelli, anxiously looking forward to seeing her again-and suddenly she was there, walking toward him. She had on a loose bathing suit cover-up that swished above her knees. It was black, made out of a thin, lightweight cotton. For a split second, an image of her peeling the thing over her head as she stood next to his hotel bed-revealing nothing underneath-flew through his mind. Flash ruthlessly pushed the vision away. Nothing was going to happen between him and Kelli. Yes, she was gorgeous, and he felt more than the usual spark with her, but they were on vacation. And he wasn't the kind of man who took a woman to bed for a one-night stand...especially while on leave far from home. "Hey," she said nervously, smoothing an errant piece of hair behind her ear. Last night, when he'd first seen her in the lobby, Kelli's hair had been smooth and silky. But as the evening continued it got curlier and curlier. She claimed it was frizzy, but he disagreed. This morning, she'd pulled it back with a barrette, but it was still curly, seemed to have a mind of its own, and that made Flash smile. "Hey," he echoed as she approached. "Sleep okay?" She shrugged. "Sure. You?" "Yup." Flash turned sideways and held out his arm to her. "Shall we?" With a smile, Kelli wrapped her hand around his elbow. "Lead on, kind sir." Flash had already been up for a few hours. He'd worked out in the resort's gym then ran a couple of miles up and down the deserted beach. Kevlar, his team leader back home, wouldn't be happy if he came home from leave out of shape. Not that a few days off would matter very much, but Flash always felt better after a good workout. They entered the dining room and headed toward the buffet that was laid out in the middle of the room. As they got close, Kelli dropped her hand upon seeing all their traveling companions already gathered around the food. "Hey, about time you got up, lazy bones," Charlotte told her. This morning, she wore a white cover-up that had artfully placed holes, allowing everyone to see the bright red bikini she was wearing underneath. Objectively, Flash could admit that the woman had a nice body, but for him, he much preferred Kelli's curves to her cousin's thin frame. "You're up early," Kelli noted, as she reached for a plate. Charlotte giggled, and yet again, the sound grated on Flash's nerves. He stepped up behind Kelli and grabbed his own plate. "Yeah, well, I had an early night, unlike some people," Charlotte tittered, as she looked over at one of the other women going through the line ahead of her. "What happens on vaca stays on vaca," the woman said with a huge smile as she nudged Ben, who was standing next to her. "Oh yeah," Chuck's friend agreed, staring at the woman's breasts. Flash wanted to roll his eyes. He immediately searched out Chuck. Since yesterday afternoon, he hadn't done a very good job of keeping his eye on the groom-to-be. He was already sitting at a table, his phone in hand, scrolling down the screen. Just because he wasn't currently fawning all over one of the women didn't mean he hadn't slept with any of them, but all the same, Flash was relieved to find him sitting alone. After going through the line, Flash steered Kelli to an empty table. He put the plate down, then said, "I'm going to go grab some water, want anything? Juice?" "Yes, please. Orange juice sounds great." There were waiters around, but there were also pitchers on a table not too far away, and it would be just as fast for Flash to grab one than to wait for someone to come to their table. He'd just picked up two pitchers, one with water and the other with orange juice, when Seb and Rowan came up behind him. "Where were you last night, man? You missed all the fun," Seb said. "Yeah, those chicks are fucking hot. And horny as hell," Rowan added. "Not my thing, man," Flash replied. He wasn't that much older than these guys, around four or five years, but at the moment, he felt positively ancient compared to them. "Seriously, the one I was with did some stuff I'd only seen in pornos," Seb went on. "Mine sucked my dick so hard, it's actually sore today," Rowan said with a smirk. The two men high-fived each other. "If you'll excuse me," Flash said, taking a step to the side, intending to walk around the men acting like a couple of frat boys at some college kegger. "You with the fat cousin?" Seb asked. The question made Flash's temper flare. "Excuse me?" he repeated in a low, menacing tone that any of his teammates would've known meant he was on the verge of losing his shit. But since these men didn't know him, they didn't heed the caution they should've heard in his tone. "You know, that chick Charlotte was obligated to invite. She didn't even want her to come. Said she's a stick in the mud." "I've heard fat girls are fun in the sack though," Rowan added, leering. "They'll let you do whatever you want since they're so hard up for attention. It's cool that you're showing her a good time. Keeps her off Charlotte's back. I know she's the bride-to-be, but I'm gonna see if I can tap that tonight. Ben said he'd gladly take the girl I had last night, see if she'd be interested in a threesome with him and her friend. Or maybe we can talk Charles into having some fun." It hadn't escaped Flash's notice that the men hadn't used any of the women's names. He wondered if they even knew them. If they could distinguish at all between the women they were talking about so casually, as if they were merely holes to stick their cocks into. He opened his mouth to tell these assholes off...when he noticed someone behind them. Kelli was standing just five feet away, frozen, a look of shock and hurt on her face. That, more than anything these two dipshits said, really pissed him off. This woman, who'd been smiling not two minutes earlier, now looked embarrassed, as if she wanted to be anywhere but in this dining room. But even as he watched, she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. She stepped toward them and shoved between the two men roughly, making them stumble to stay on their feet. "Sorry," she said insincerely. Then she lowered her voice, as if imparting some deep dark secret. "I have it on good authority that my cousin just got back from the doctor before this trip. Heard her talking with her friends about some test results...something about how it takes chlamydia a week or two to go away." With that, she took the pitcher of juice out of Flash's hand and sauntered back to their table. Flash couldn't keep the smirk off his face as Rowan and Seb immediately began to whisper furiously to each other. He quickly followed Kelli back to the table. She was frowning when he sat and refused to meet his gaze. "Kelli?" "Yeah?" she asked, staring at her plate as if it held all the answers to every question in the universe. "Please look at me." She sighed, then reluctantly lifted her chin. "What?" "They're idiots. Thinking with their dicks. Don't take what they said to heart." "They didn't say anything I haven't heard before. It's crazy how being fat is a bigger offense than a lot of other things. It brings out the worst in other people. Everyone talks behind your back. Doctors blame all your symptoms on being overweight without even doing tests to find out what's really wrong. And to men, it's like we have the plague." "People are morons," Flash said heatedly. "It's fine," she said with a shrug. But it wasn't fine. Flash was deeply disturbed. Doubly so that Kelli had heard versions of what those two idiots had said from people in the past. "I didn't come here to pick up chicks like the others obviously did," he began. "I don't date that much at all. My job takes me away from home way too often for me to be a good candidate for a relationship. The first night here, Afton came onto me. Actually, she cornered me in the hallway, put her hand on my dick, and invited me to her room. I've never pushed a woman away so damn fast." "Right. Good for you," Kelli mumbled, looking away again. "The only woman I've noticed since I got here sat beside me on the beach and told me that things couldn't be that bad." Kelli's gaze, which had gone back to her food, whipped up to meet his own. "In fact, you're the only woman who's managed to catch my attention in years." The admission wasn't hard to make. And now that he had, Flash couldn't stop there. "You're funny, down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and...this is most definitely inappropriate-but I think frick and frack already crossed that line, so I feel the need to make this point very clear-I fell asleep with my cock hard as a rock last night, thinking about how you'd feel under, over, and next to me. And I woke up the same way. "You have the body of a Greek goddess, Kelli. Curvy in all the right places. There's nothing wrong with you. In fact, seeing you sitting across from me in that coverup makes me want to strip it off you slowly to reveal the gift that's underneath...which is much sexier to me than your cousin and the Three A's showing off their goods to the world." Kelli's mouth was hanging open slightly, as if she was in shock. Flash had said too much. Had been way too crude. But he needed this woman to understand that all the bullshit Rowan had spewed about women with some meat on their bones wasn't the way the majority of men felt. "Um...thanks?" Flash let out a huff of laughter. "I think we can both agree that the people we came to Jamaica with aren't the best examples of how adults should act." "True. But that now includes me. I was lying about Charlotte. I never heard her talking to her friends about an STD." "I figured. But it should keep those assholes from making a move on her. Maybe save her marriage." Kelli shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. And I don't really feel bad about what I did. Serves her right for talking about me behind my back. Are you going to talk to Charles?" "Oh yeah, Chuck and I are gonna talk," Flash said. Based on what Rowan said, it sounded like his future brother-in-law hadn't stepped out of line last night. But better safe than sorry. To his relief, Kelli chuckled. "Ah, to be a fly on the wall for that conversation." "In any other situation, I wouldn't give a shit who the man fucks. But he's engaged to my sister. There's no way I'm gonna let him cheat on her before they even get married. Not if I can help it, anyway." Kelli glanced across the room, and Flash followed her gaze to his sister's fiancé. He was still sitting at a table by himself, still staring at his phone. This time, he had a small smile on his face. The rest of his friends were at a large table with the Three A's and Charlotte. Kelli looked back at Flash. "It seems to me that he's not all that interested in the same things his friends are." Flash had to agree. He could be putting on a front because he knew his fiancée's brother was watching him, but it didn't seem like it. He was completely absorbed in whatever was happening on his phone. As he watched the man, he saw him talking, and it dawned on Flash that he was FaceTiming someone. Probably Nova. Flash turned back to Kelli. "Are we good?" he asked. She frowned. "Good?" "Yeah. You aren't...upset by what I said to you?" To his amazement, she smiled shyly at him. "No. How can I be when I had the same thoughts about you last night when I got into my own bed?" And just like that, Flash's dick hardened under the table. Fuck. He hadn't had a spontaneous woody in years. "Good." Then, worried that she'd think he was saying good to her statement that she'd thought about him in bed, he quickly clarified, "Good that we're on the same page. I mean...that we're good. Good that we're good." He sounded like an idiot. Could he say good any more in one sentence? Kelli giggled. "Yeah, good that we're good," she echoed. Reaching for the pitcher of OJ-idly marveling over the fact her giggles didn't annoy him, like the other womens' did-Flash filled her glass. "Make sure you eat enough breakfast, I'm guessing the 'snack' we're promised while on this excursion is gonna suck." "You don't have to tell a fat girl to eat," Kelli joked. But Flash didn't find that funny in the least. He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. Her gaze flew up to his in surprise. "Don't," he ordered. "You aren't fat. Not even close. You're curvy. Sexy as hell. Greek goddess, remember? And in my eyes, that's a hundred percent sexier than looking as if you're two seconds from being blown away by a stiff breeze. Or hearing your stomach growling because you aren't eating enough to keep a gnat alive. Okay?" "Okay," she said softly. "Good. I see you got some of the cheesy bacon potatoes. They're amazing. I don't know what they put in the cheese...crack? But they're so damn delicious, I'm gonna miss this place for these potatoes alone." His words seemed to ease the tension in the air, and Kelli smiled. "No. It's the bacon. Everyone knows bacon makes everything better." "That it does," Flash agreed. The rest of breakfast was uneventful, thank goodness. Everyone else in their parties headed upstairs to get ready for the excursion, but he and Kelli stayed where they were. Nursing their cups of coffee and juice, and talking about nothing and everything. And laughing. So much laughter. Flash couldn't remember being this entertained by another human being. Usually he was the first to want to leave a meal. He wasn't much for idle chitchat. But with Kelli? He could listen to her talk for hours. Eventually, it was time to head out for the tubing trip. Flash's anxiety returned as they headed to the lobby. He wasn't bringing much with him, just his wallet in the pocket of his swimming trunks, holding his ID and a credit card. Kelli had also packed light, with a small bag over her shoulder. The tour company was providing towels and, of course, the tubes they'd be riding down the White River. To his surprise, when everyone began to board the vehicles, the guys were getting into one minibus and the women in the other. Flash would've thought the horndogs he was with would take every opportunity to stick close to the women. When he neared the minibus already loaded with his brother-in-law-to-be and his friends, he heard Seb and Rowan talking about who might be hooking up with who later that night. He understood then; they were using the time it took to travel to the river to plot. It just disgusted him further. Flash met Chuck's gaze-and blinked when the other man rolled his eyes. It seemed as if maybe, just maybe, he'd underestimated his sister's fiancé. It made him feel better, but he was still going to withhold his approval until the man had proved beyond a doubt that he was loyal to Nova. Looking over at the other minibus, Flash could see Kelli sitting in the back seat by herself, looking out the window, doing her best to ignore the other women...just as they were doing to her. "I'm gonna ride in the other vehicle," Flash told Chuck and the guys, before slamming the sliding door. He didn't wait to stick around and hear the crude comments his announcement was sure to evoke. He jogged toward the other minibus and opened the front passenger seat and hopped in. It didn't sit well with him that they would be heading off the safety of the resort's property in two vans, one filled with women and the other with men. That wasn't smart or safe. The driver nodded at him, and Flash turned around to face the women. "Ready?" he asked. "Hey, Flash!" "Ready!" "Ooooh, we've got a big bad bodyguard!" "Is it getting hot in here?" Flash ignored the comments and kept his gaze on Kelli sitting in the very back. She gave him a small smile, and that was all Flash needed to see to know he'd made the right decision. The driver started the minibus and they made their way from the posh beach resort to the heart of Jamaica. The second they passed the resort's security gates, Flash's anxiety increased tenfold. This was a horrible idea, but it was too late now. All he could do was get through it. They'd be back at the resort that afternoon, and tomorrow he'd go home to Riverton. But Flash felt naked. Wearing only a pair of swim shorts and a T-shirt, without his usual assortment of knives and guns and other SEAL gear, he was completely out of his element. Doing his best to put his fears aside, Flash concentrated on memorizing the roads they were taking to get to the place where the rafting company put their customers into the river. Without thought, he entered "SEAL mode," as he and his teammates called it. Hyper-alert, ready for anything. Hopefully it was overkill and he was just being paranoid. But better safe than sorry. It had saved his and his fellow SEALs' lives more than once. He'd be an idiot to let down his guard now. In the back of his mind, Flash had no doubt he was feeling extra protective because of the woman sitting behind him. Kelli had gotten under his skin in the space of a day, and the thought of anything happening to her on his watch was enough to make him even more tense. She, and the others, would have a fun-filled afternoon if it killed him. He might be the only one on alert, but that was all right. He'd keep watch over them all. It was what he did. Title: A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow In "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" by CrushReel, Flora Hayes's life takes a tragic turn after a fatal car accident. However, her final moments reveal a chilling glimpse of a future fraught with peril for her children two decades ahead. Exploring themes of resilience and sacrifice, this CEO drama intricately weaves elements of modernity and time travel into a compelling narrative set within the grandeur of a mansion and the intensity of an office environment. As Flora grapples with the aftermath of her premonition, the story delves deep into familial bonds and the weight of destiny. What sets "A Mother's Rewind Tomorrow" apart is its masterful blend of suspense and emotional depth, captivating readers with its intricate plot twists and nuanced character development. Discover the gripping saga at CrushReel, where this ongoing tale awaits those eager to embark on a journey through time and motherly love.