Darren could sense the touch of hesitation in Harlow’s actions, and he didn’t mind so much that she wasn’t throwing herself at him. In fact; it was kind of refreshing. Being in Fixation, and in the limelight for such a large portion of his life, Darren had grown accustomed to fangirls flaunting themselves to get his attention. He’d always turned a blind eye for Miya’s sake, though of course now he knew that was all for nothing. All of that aside, where Harlow was concerned, something was different. More natural and honest, he supposed. She was without the glitz and glamor that followed him everywhere back home. She was a true, good, down to earth woman, and Darren couldn’t help but be helplessly attracted to that. Whether he was ready to move on to another woman since his wife left him or not, he couldn’t be totally certain. But he’d been sent here to explore himself, explore his options, and rediscover himself. And with Harlow’s shirt in the sand, and her voice calling out to him, he was beginning to think that finding his “restart” button wouldn’t be as hard as once thought. There was a beat of silence after her last question, before Darren called out with a smile and total certainty. “Get your ass in the water.”
All her life, all Harlow ever heard was how much of a screw up she'd been. Parents, teachers, friends and lovers alike said the same. She caused too much trouble, made horrible decisions and lost everything that mattered most to her. Coming here was a fresh start. Of course she was going to always be her straight forward and abrasive self. That was just her personality. But Harlow knew she had to make a conscious effort to not fall back into her old habits of walking out and becoming numb to her surroundings. It was easier to run away and forget. Harlow had made a commitment to herself to get her shit together. To stop running and stop pushing and just deal with whatever life threw at her. And the way the stark white moonlight on his skin looked like a good place to start. Harlow giggled softly and kicked off her shorts. "Turn around, I don't want you to see me," she teased. Once Darren had turned around, Harlow waded into the water and held her arms around her chest. "Alright you can turn around."
