Hi there again, this bonus chapter picks up after Chapter 14: Nadia has returned to the bed and breakfast after seeing pictures of Khai and Savannah together, and Thomas comforts her—as a friend. Don't forget, they had a steamy moment when out walking in the hills earlier that day...

Huancayo.

Thomas patted Nadia twice on the back. The movement said, Alright, time to stop now. She looked up at him with a sheepish my, hoping he didn't realise how much she had enjoyed how he held her. The pleasant shivers as when his fingers touched her. The way they...

She blinked. Without a doubt, his fingers had been tickling across her back and straying to her neck as they brushed aside the strands of her hair. Her eyes slit. Had he been trying to seduce her again?

The face staring back at her flushed. Thomas pushed up from the bed.

He had. Cheeky bastard. Her body started to heat, then she remembered the images of Khai, splashed all over social media for anyone to see, and cold flooded her body, freezing any words before they could escape her mouth.

The reality was, she could do whatever the hell she wanted. At this moment, she wasn't sure what that was, but she didn't owe Khai anything. Nor did Thomas.

Her friend, Lisa's, favourite relationship advice, came back to her. After a breakup, a man to hug and kiss is the best medicine. It had worked in the past.

Unfortunately, Nadia didn't know if she would be able to stop herself if she let him kiss her again.

An invisible pressure built on the crown of her head and she realised Thomas was peering down at her, looking like he was suppressing the urge to bounce.

"Don't worry, Thomas. I'm not going to go all hysterical on you again."

"You weren't hysterical."

She snorted. "Well, what was I then?"

"Upset, and understandably so. He's a—"

"A cad, I know."

Thomas washed his hands. "I—I think we should go out."

Sighing, Nadia let her body lounge back on the bed until her head slumped against the plaster wall. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. "I'm tired, and I don't feel like celebrating."

He moved toward her. "That's exactly why you should. My therapist told me—"

"Your therapist?"

Forehead creased, he said, "Yes, my therapist. Is there something wrong with that?"

She shook her head, face flushing. "No, not at all. It's just you don't seem like the type to go to one is all."

This time he snorted. "I would have thought after the past few days together that you would have noticed how awkward I am."

Now that was a loaded question. In fact, it sounded like something she might have said to Khai when she wanted him to deny the truth. One of those do-I-look-like-I've-put-on-weight questions when you knew you had. "Ah..."

Bushy brows lifted. "It's not a trick question, Nadia. I don't play those games. I know I'm awkward."

She sat up and craned her neck to look at the tall man before her. "Fine, you do need to relax a bit."

The faintest flash of hurt flew across his eyes. Something squeezed in her. She hadn't meant it that way. So tell him, you dolt!

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you are on the awkward side of things, but I actually like it. It's cute."

One corner of his mouth tugged up. "Well, that's not the point. What I was saying was, my therapist says that the best way to change your mood is to act the opposite." He shrugged. "As you can see, I'm still working on the skill. Somehow, I think you might be a bit better at this type of thing than me."

Well, that was true. She was a pro at acting like things were fine when they were far from it. Until her issues bubbled over, that was. Right now, she really didn't want to wallow. Wallowing felt too scary. Too much like acceptance. Denial would be much easier.

"The secret is," Thomas spoke on, "to do it completely. Which means you'd need to have a shower, put on your best clothes, some makeup and a smile."

The countenance on his face was so earnest. Nadia found herself unable not to grin at him, even though something was scurrying about in her guts. She grasped the blankets of the bed in her hands. She liked this other side of Thomas. The part of him that spoke plainly.

The need to wriggle came across her. She quashed it by standing up.

"Alright, you're on."

Nadia arrived at the bar Thomas had suggested an hour later, feeling naked. She'd asked him to take her phone, to turn it off and hide it. He had. The need to play with it, to search for a wireless hot spot, made her body jittery. And then there was her dress. She pulled at the material, trying to force it down her legs. The only other time she wore it on this trip, Khai had frowned and told her not to bend over.

Despite the purchase of thick black stockings, she could still imagine his scowl pricking the back of her neck.

Oh, fuck off, Khaipod, she said in her mind.

Pressing her lips together, she pulled her ponytail tight, making sure it sat up high and walked toward Thomas, ruffles swishing against her thighs.

He saw her and paused with a mojito half-raised. Then his mouth widened, and those straight white teeth appeared. He pulled out a bar stool for her to sit. "You look incredible."

Something fizzed in her body. "Thanks."

"Thank you. I get to sit with the most beautiful woman in the room."

Nadia looked around. It was still early for a Friday night. Pool balls clicked together as a group of middle-aged men played billiards, and an overweight woman shuffled about on a raised dais, adjusting the placement of percussion instruments and speakers. An old woman popped her head out of a doorway at the far end of the room, and Nadia caught snatches of Spanish. Her gaze shifted to the barman, an obese bloke rubbing a tea towel over the bench.

"I sure do feel special."

Thomas chuckled.

She started to drum her fingers. The room had the familiar smell of a pub: stale beer, damp wood and cut citrus. The situation felt familiar, too. That awkwardness of a first date, where you don't know what the hell to say to the person. But it wasn't a date. It was just a couple of friends going out to forget about stuff and get drunk.

A hand covered hers, pushing it flat. Blue eyes scrutinised her.

"What?"

"It's distracting when you do that."

"Oh. Well, I'd better get a drink."

Those blue eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about it."

"Come on, Thomas."

"I said I was taking you out. Now please, let me."

She let out a huff of air. "You're not going to let this rest tonight, are you?"

The shake of a head was his answer.

"Well, I guess I should act appreciative."

"If you want to feel the emotion, yes."

He slid a laminated booklet to her. Nadia flipped through an array of colourful cocktails and bit her lip. They cost much more than a bottle of the local cerveza, but a lot less than back home.

"I'll have a margarita."

Thomas ordered.

It was strong. By the time she had finished her second one, a warm buzz had settled in her body. After the third, she was starving and happily ate a bowl of fries dipped in spicy green sauce. When they'd both polished off four cocktails, Thomas' cheeks were pink, and his eyes sparkled. He held out his hand, and she took it, allowing him to pull her further into the establishment.

A band was playing salsa, and the room had filled. Couples moved about the floor to the rhythm.

Nadia giggled, her toes curling and eyes darting to the exit. Before she could rush away, Thomas' pulled her against him.

His right hand rested on her waist, and his left had taken her right one. He licked his lips and held her gaze. Then he began to move, taking her with him. Step back right foot, rock forward left foot, step forward right foot and hold. Left foot forward, rock back right foot, step back left foot and hold.

She tripped and stumbled at first. Yet he was patient and persistent. As she got the basic pattern, she fell into the music, the tequila having dissolved any remaining embarrassment.

"I didn't know you could dance."

The hand on her midsection tightened. "All those balls meant dance lessons." He leaned in. "I agreed on the proviso they included Latin classics."

Her body warmed, so she took off her jacket. Thomas rolled up his sleeves and undid the top buttons of his shirt. He pulled her to him. A palm skimmed down her hip. She nudged herself a little closer. Those fingers of his ever so slowly moving around and lower. Stroking.

Saliva pooled in her mouth, and she swallowed, her heart thudding. The stroke of his thumb against the pad of her hand made the air catch in her throat. She rose her chin and tilted her head. The tips of her hair tickled her upper back.

Thomas moved in. His lips scraped across the exposed flesh of her neck, came to her earlobe and whispered, "Just friends."

She held her breath, mild pain building in her chest, and nodded.

"Like this?"

She nodded again, letting out a little moan as his nose brushed back and forth across her skin, sending tingling waves through her body.

Her head was spinning now. Her heart beat along with the drums and maracas. Just friends. They were only friends. She was not ready for anything more.

The memory of Khai dancing with that woman in Lima came to her. This was Latin America. Dancing like this didn't mean anything.

The world clouded to the pulse of music, the humidity of the room and the sensation of Thomas moving with and against her.

Too many cocktails. Too many smiles and lingering touches. She wanted him to do more than skim his lips across her skin. Imagined his teeth nipping at that spot behind her ear and devouring her mouth again. But he didn't.

They danced half the night in a sweaty haze. Cocktail, water, dance. Cocktail, water, dance.

He piggybacked her to their room and gently laid her on the bed, holding her eyes a moment before he pulled off her sneakers. She struggled with her stockings, and he stilled her, slowly dragging them down her legs.

When he walked to the ensuite and turned on his toothbrush, she stifled her cry by punching the mattress.

Just friends.

The chink of a glass being set down on her bedside table brought her eyes open, and she realised she had drifted off.

Soft lips pressed on her forehead, and a cool hand stroked her temple.

"Take these before you sleep," he said, setting two aspirins beside the water. "It helps."

With a rueful smile, he padded over to his bed in his striped pyjamas.

"Goodnight," he said, and flicked off his lamp.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

✈️ So, what did you think?

🍸 Any suggestions?

🌍 Should I make it more than a bonus chapter?

💃🏽 Thanks again for reading!