“Yeah,” she says, taking her phone back. “It was pouring rain all day. It was the first day I was here, and I was desperate to do something fun. The moment the rain wasn’t a downpour anymore, I started exploring. I kind of wish I had just waited until the next day, but I’d already moved on to the next town.”
“You hotel hopping?”
“Nope! I’m one of those crazy people in the camper vans. I just drive around all day until I see something pretty.”
I laugh. Harper and I have seen camper vans all over the place since we got here. Most of them have cool paint jobs, making it abundantly clear they’re camper vans with bright, colorful logos or even drawings all over them. I had asked Harper why she didn’t rent a camper van, and she just made a face.
“Because I like to shower, Luke.” Like I was the crazy one for even suggesting it.
For living out of a van, Cassie looks extremely well put together. She’s got her hair and makeup done perfectly and certainly doesn’t smell like she hasn’t had access to a shower.
“So when you say you actually don’t know what you’re doing tomorrow, you mean it then?” I ask.
“Yup! Just looking for a cute guy to follow around, I guess.” She gives a sly grin, waiting to see if I’ll take her bait.
I have to hand it to her, she’s bolder than I’ll ever be. I wonder if she’d still be as bold if she knew following me around would also involve following Harper around.
Before I speak next, I remind myself that Harper wants meto date someone else.
“There isn’t rain in the forecast tomorrow if you wanted to revisit the waterfall. There will be one familiar face, at least.” Or two, if you count Harper.
She raises her eyebrows, taking another sip of her wine.
“And what time would that be?”
This is the part where I don’t know hownotto bring up Harper, because she’s in charge of this trip.
“I’d have to check in with Harper,” I admit. “But I’m sure she’ll love having you around. I think she gets worried people assume we’re a couple when it’s just the two of us. The staff at the hotel thought we were here on our honeymoon.”
Why did I say that?
The longer the seconds tick by, the more I know I’ve messed up. Yup, she definitely didn’t need to know we were sharing a hotel room.
Cassie’s face drops. I watch each muscle turn downward, and she blinks away from me.
“Harper’s your friend?” she asks, opening the line of questions again.
“Yeah. We’ve known each other forever. It was her roommate who was supposed to go on this trip with her, but she backed out last minute, so I took her spot.”
Cassie nods, but I’m not sure if she’s believing me or just willing to ignore what I said so we can still have a good night.
Silence hangs in the air for a minute too long as I wait to gauge Cassie’s reaction.
“What do you do back home?” she says, changing the subject.
Grateful for a safer topic, I launch into a long story about how I’d landed my current job, and Harper’s name doesn’t come up once.
Once we move on from Harper, Cassie turns her charm back on. By the time we finish eating, the sky has gone dark and the crowd inside the restaurant has increased. When we step into the cold night air, the streets are quiet.
“Where did you manage to park the van?” I ask, looking for it like it might be around the next corner.
“I just use the street parking, but I’ll probably move somewhere outside Reykjavik for the night. Maybe drive toward that waterfall so I can meet up with you in the morning.”
“Yeah?” I say, kind of shocked that after learning Harper would be there, she is still game for it.
“Yeah.” She steps forward to kiss me before I can react. The kiss is light, almost casual, like we’re a couple who’s been dating for years and is just giving a quick goodbye. When she pulls away, her hand lingers on my wrist as she watches me. And I don’t know what she’s looking for, but she gives me a grin.
“See you tomorrow,” she says, walking away.
