Now it’s my turn to be embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I shouldn’t have gone out with you when I knew I had unresolved feelings for Harper.” I say the words quietly on the off chance that Harper can hear through the thin walls of the house.
“Praise, Thor, the god of thunder! He’s accepted his feelings!” she says dramatically, her arms up in the air.
“Cassie!” I say, again, looking over my shoulder to the window—still closed.
Cassie looks at me, all serious. “Having been cheated on, I guess you could have done more damage.” Her words sting a bit. “But you owe me this—how did it go? If I can’t find love, then I guess you can. And at least this little drama can distract me from my drama back home.”
Cassie is the type of girl that if I met in even the best circumstances, I’d be afraid to cross. She has the type of personality where she isn’t afraid to say a thing. It makes me wonder how the cheating scandal worked out for her ex.
“Nothing happened last night,” I tell her.
She cocks her head to the side, clearly not believing me. “You mean you two cuddled up on a blanket, andnothinghappened?”
“We sat on a blanket together and when I tried to make a move, she bolted away.” Cassie’s eyes sharpen on me. I sigh. “We were talking, I was telling her how thankful I was that she asked me to come on this trip. It looked like she wanted to kiss me, too, so I tried and she just...”
“Bolted?” Cassie tries, using my words.
“We were lying on the blanket together, and when I leaned in to kiss her, she sat up, pretending that she saw something.”
Cassie lets out an amused giggle but stops when I glare at her. “Sorry. Sorry,” she says. “It is kinda funny though.”
I sigh and start to turn away. “Anyway, glad I could amuse you. Have a nice life.”
“Sorry. Sorry,” she says. I turn back, and she’s serious again. “You need to cool it with the kiss thing. You said you’ve known each other your whole life, right? That makes things...” She thinks about it. “Different. Kissing would be weird. If you can’t say how you feel,showher.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How?”
“I don’t know, but you’ll figure it out. Just make sure whatever it is, it’s blatantly obvious.”
“Thanks for the vague advice,” I say, my voice monotone.
“Anytime,” she says, ignoring my attitude. “But I gotta go.” She steps up from her bed and stands at the entry of the sliding door. “If you still have my number saved, text me an update when you two inevitably end up together. Like I said, I’m nosy.”
“You’re that sure that Harper likes me?” Maybe Cassie hasa better read on her than I do.
She lets out a single laugh. “You should have seen the death glare that girl gave me when she saw me standing at the front door. She likes you and doesnotlike me.”
“If you insist,” I say.
With that, she gives me a wave before shutting the sliding door. I take a few steps back, and Cassie moves to the front seat of the van, rolling down the window.
“Good luck!” she says, pulling out of the driveway.
Chapter 34
Harper
After breakfast, we head back in the direction of Reykjavik since we’ll be flying home tomorrow. When Luke came back inside after talking to Cassie, he seemed... off. He was still his talkative self, but it was almost like he was overly talkative. A little awkward, even.
I don’t want to know what the two of them had been doing and why it might make him awkward after. There are so many options, and they all make me more jealous than I’d like to admit.
“Want to go here?” Luke says, pointing as we drive up to a sign that says Gunnuhver Hot Springs.
“Do you think it’s one we can swim in?” I ask, eyeing the road.
“Only one way to find out.” He turns the car onto the road.
It is not, in fact, a hot spring that we can swim in. We spot a sign as soon as we park with an illustration of a person in the water with a big red X.
