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Of course, Kino and Ruby were next to Thane. Kino was a muscular, tanned man who wore his hair short, barely long enough to pull back in a ponytail. Any part of his hair not pulled back was shaved bald. He too was covered in tattoos. Penny thought he was sexy in a beach bum kind of way. She could tell he was the type who never took anything seriously. That, in itself, was attractive, but she could see why Ruby seemed to give him a hard time. She had to keep him in line. Penny liked Ruby. Her black hair was curly and hung down to her shoulders. Her adorable pregnant belly only added to her beauty.
Faith had long, straight, brown hair that hung down to her ass and she was quite comfortable in her skin, wearing the skimpiest bikini of all the women. She had almost as many tattoos as Jagger. Of all the women, she was the one Penny would least like to tangle with. She was the toughest chick of them all and every story she told only proved it more. She seemed to be single.
The opposite of tough was Oliver. He, too, seemed to be on his own. He was slim, dainty even, and had fashion model good looks. While the other guys seemed all about being macho and proving themselves as studs in the pack, Oliver was laid back and didn’t seem to say much at all. Something about the way he stood, or his mannerisms, gave Penny the idea that he might be gay.
Rickshaw and Paisley were the horniest of the bunch. A big, black male with tattoos too dark to make out well in the bonfire light, Rickshaw had big eyes that were honest and full of joy. He looked like a physically fit teddy bear, but Penny supposed he was a force to be reckoned with. Paisley was the curviest of the women, thick in all the right places, with cheeks that begged to be squeezed. Rickshaw’s hands stayed tucked in her waistband, at the front of her shorts, where Penny couldn’t help staring too long, imagining his fingertips pressing on the spot above her pussy.
If Thane held me like that I would fucking melt. God, make him hold me like that. Make him grab me from behind right now and slide his hands up my dress.
The wine was hitting her hard. Her head was fuzzy, and everything was hilarious. Everyone was having a great time. Even Poet, who was the most solemn of the group. With pasty white skin, Thane’s albino friend seemed to feel out of place with the others. While they were always hooting and hollering, Poet kept his head down, buried in a small notebook he liked to scribble in.
“Poet, read us something,” Kalina said as she danced along to Juan Diego’s music.
Kalina was the most beautiful woman Penny had ever seen, other than maybe who she now thought of as the bitch, Evelyn, from the yacht. She was almost the exact opposite of Evelyn. Blonde, with long hair that hung in curls down the side of her face as if she’d gone to get her hair done
before a wedding, and full lips, she was perfection. The mere sight of her made Penny feel inadequate, as if she wasn’t good enough for Thane, not when he had a girl like Kalina on the island with him all this time. He’d fucked her. She was sure of it. The way she stared across the fire at Thane, she was pretty sure they’d had something together at some point in the past. This bothered Penny…a lot.
I can’t be the jealous girlfriend. I’m new here. I need to get along with everyone. And they’re all so nice to me, even Kalina.
It was true. Kalina had been very welcoming, telling her it was about damn time Thane found a woman to dote over. She said she was sick of seeing his dramatically sad face all the time. Penny had laughed at that, but now she wondered if it had all been for show. Was Kalina really happy that she joined them or was she only saying that because people were watching? What would she say to Penny later, when nobody else was around?
“No, it’s okay,” Poet said. “I don’t have anything good.”
“You always have something good,” Kalina said. “Stop being modest.”
Penny wanted to hug Poet. He looked so sad all the time. She’d only known him one evening and already she felt like she wanted to be best friends with him. She could only imagine the amount of knowledge he had written on those pages.
“Everyone,” Kalina said. “Shh, Poet’s going to read.”
“I’m not,” he said.
“He is,” she argued. “J.D., stop the music for a moment.”
Juan Diego, who apparently went by J.D., stopped strumming his guitar and set it down on the beach next to him.
As Poet prepared to read, Penny felt Thane move to her back, where he wrapped his arms around her and set his hands down at the small of her stomach, right where she’d prayed they’d land. She leaned back against him and rested her head against his chest. His lips found the crown of her head and she felt a light kiss against her scalp. The alcohol flowed through her body and she loved the feeling of euphoria, the bliss of letting go and forgetting all her troubles. Her pain seemed to evaporate in his arms and as the warmth of the fire danced across her face, Penny felt truly happy.
“Sunlight
It shows her
The breeze
It blows her in
Mystery
Knows her
Misery
She wears like skin
Earth
It holds her
Warmth
