“Their facial expressions made it pretty clear.”
Chapter 15
Luke
Ihave to give Harper credit—she’s trying her best. I’m not sure if she actually wants me to go on a date with someone or if she’s just being stubborn. She’s refused to let me approach anyone with her, insisting that she’ll be better off talking to people alone. Mostly I think she’s just coming off as awkward, which is especially funny because she’s normally such a social butterfly. For some reason, she’s become a jumbled mess trying to be my wing-woman.
Harper is talking to two women hanging out by the mask bar as I sit in one of the corners of the lagoon. She’s been with them for about fifteen minutes now, which is a new record. With the other attempts, she left in embarrassment after the first two minutes. She’s talking animatedly to the two, which I guess is a good sign.
Harper wants to set me up on a date, but no one here is catching my eye—except, of course, the girl trying to get me to go on a date with someone else.
“Need a refill?” A woman swims up next to me, holding up a glass of wine. She looks my age, maybe a little younger. Herskin is freckled, matching perfectly with the naturally red and brassy hair that’s pulled back into a bun. She gives a flirty but gentle grin—approachable.
“I’m all set.” I hold up my beer that I’ve been slowly sipping.
“You here alone?” she asks, eyes curious.
I have to laugh to myself at the irony of someone approaching me while Harper is desperately trying to find me a date.
“No, my friend is actually trying and failing to play wing-woman for me.” I point to her. Harper’s still talking to the two other women, though it seems like they’re doing more of the talking than Harper is.
The woman laughs, a bit awkwardly. “Is it not going well?”
I look at her and back to Harper. I’d give just about anything to be with Harper, but she’s making it abundantly clear that she doesn’t see me that way. She’s willing to humiliate herself talking to strangers when she could be relaxing and soaking in a hot spring without a care.
I do find the woman in front of me attractive. A few pieces of hair have fallen out of her bun to perfectly frame her heart-shaped face. It’s hard to tell, but it looks like her hair has a gentle wave to it, the strands forming loose ringlets. She has deep brown eyes, and the type of full lips models strive for. Not to mention the confidence to come up and talk to me effortlessly. I’d ask her out in an instant if Harper weren’t in the picture. But I have to be honest with myself—Harper doesn’t want to be in the picture.
“I’d say it’s probably going better for me than for her.” I smile.
A grin lights across her face. “I’m Cassie.” She offers a hand.
“Luke,” I say, taking her hand in mine.
“You two are just friends?” she asks, pointing toward Harper. “I don’t want to step on any toes.”
I let out a huff. “Friends who apparently suck at setting each other up on dates.”
Cassie lets out a relieved breath. “Well, if she wants a confidence boost, I can walk away, let her come to me, and pretend like I’ve never met you before.”
This time I really laugh. She’s funny, I’ll give her that.
“I assume this means you’re here alone, or do you also have a friend swimming from group to group trying to set you up on a date?”
She lets out a soft chuckle. “I wish! I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
She shrugs. “He paid for the trip. It was too late for him to get refunds, and he didn’t have the guts to tell me that I couldn’t go. Free trip for me, I guess.”
“At least he didn’t try to come too. You’d be stuck with him begging for forgiveness.” I say it as a joke, mostly because I don’t know how else to respond.
“Oh, I hid his passport,” she says nonchalantly. I must have made a face, because she starts to backtrack. “I didn’t steal it. I just put it in a spot in his apartment he’d never look.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Where?”
“The cabinet that has all the cleaning supplies.”
I laugh. This girl is devious.
