“Is that bad?” she asks, cringing a little.
“No, it’s kind of brilliant.”
When I look up again, Harper is coming back, her face grim. I feel a bit like I’ve been caught cheating because I’m talking to Cassie, but I remind myself that this is what she wants.
“Would you want to go to dinner with me tonight?” I ask. It’s probably the boldest I’ve ever been. And the ironic part is that it’s not boldness because I want to go on the date with Cassie. It’s because I want to put Harper out of her misery.
“Oh,” Cassie says, a little taken aback. “I’m—” She pauses, then smiles. “Sure.”
“Great. Give me one minute. I’ll be right back.”
I feel Cassie’s eyes on me as I walk through the warm water to Harper. Harper’s eyes are still cast down, taking a walk of shame after yet another rejection.
“Hey,” I say. When Harper looks up again, I can tell she’s trying to put on a fake smile for me. “You don’t have to keep talking to people.”
“It’s fine, Luke, I—”
But I cut her off. “I have a date tonight.”
She stops cold. It’s like I put a pause button on her, but then her eyes flick behind me, and she notices Cassie. She gives a shy smile.
“Cassie and I were talking, and we’re going to go out tonight. Is that okay?”
It takes her a beat to respond. “Yeah, of course.” She looks like she’s going to say more, but then she stops and gives me another forced smile. When she looks at me, there’s something she’s hiding, but I can’t tell what it is exactly.
“Hi!” Cassie says as she approaches from behind me. She reaches out to extend her hand. “I’m Cassie.”
“Harper,” she says, feigning composure.
“Where are you guys from?” Cassie asks.
“Massachusetts,” Harper responds.
“Oh, no way! Me too. Berkshires.” This was news to me.
Harper seems to brighten up. “Boston.”
“A couple hours away, but not bad for meeting randomly in another country. How do you guys know each other?” She turns to me this time, like she’s still suspicious that me and Harper might be dating. I guess that’s understandable for someone who just had her boyfriend cheat on her.
“Our moms are best friends, so we grew up together,” I say.
“Oh, so more like brother and sister?” She’s double checking her boxes, turning to Harper this time.
“Yeah,” Harper agrees and then backs away. “You two can hang out. I’m going to go get another drink. Luke, find me when you’re ready to go.”
Harper departs so quickly that I have to stop myself from following her to make sure she’s okay. Especially when I have Cassie analyzing everything between us.
“You guys came to Iceland together?” she asks once Harper disappears.
I feel a rift between us. The suspicion is heavy, and clearly going out with a girl whose boyfriend just cheated on her while I’m sharing a hotel with another girl probably isn’t going to go well. And maybe it’s not my best move, but I exclude information she doesn’t need to know.
“We’re sharing a rental car.”
Cassie nods, accepting my words. I’m a little afraid she’s going to assume that means Harper and I are sleeping inseparate locations, but I’m even more afraid of what she’ll think if she finds out that we’re sharing a bed.
This date is just casual. Her boyfriend just cheated on her, and I’m getting over Harper. We both need a rebound date.
Cassie and I hang out for the next hour. There’s a waterfall near the main building, and Cassie wants me to take her photo in front of it, holding her wine glass and posing. She even asks to take a selfie together, and part of me feels like she’s using me to rub it in her ex’s face, which I guess is fine.
