“Well, obviously we were talking about how weird it is that you two ended up all the way over in Greece just by yourselves. ThenIjoked that you’d definitely murder Harrison, or that Harrison wouldn’t even last half a day before leaving. But Oliver...” Her voice trailed off as she looked behind her.
“Oliver what?” I demanded.
“I don’t know. He mentioned that maybe there’s something there.”
“Oh, and Oliver is the expert on my love life? I can’t believe you’d talk about us like that.”
At least she had the decency to look guilty.
“Well, you can’t deny that Harrison is attractive. You even admitted you thought he was hot—that one night we were out for wine and cheese plates.”
“I was tipsy and that was months ago,” I said, offended that she’d hold that against me.
“Friends don’t forget.” Her sheepish smile turned devilish.
“Well, please do me a favor and forget that thought. Absolutely nothing will be happening between Harrison and me, so you and Oliver can drop the subject immediately. I don’t even find him attractive anymore,” I lied. “How could I, with that attitude of his? It’s a total turn-off.” Another lie. The part of me that needed to be liked by everyone was the same part that wanted to try just a little harder every time Harrison came at me with a rude comment.
“If you say so.” Charlie looked at me over the top of her sunglasses.
I gripped the phone tighter. “I do,” I said through clenched teeth. “Can we talk about literally anything else? What amazing Fiji adventure am I missing out on today?”
Charlie smirked, but obliged me by dropping the subject and describing the catamaran they had chartered. We finished chatting, and promised to call every morning with updates.
I set my phone down and picked up my forgotten espresso that I’d gotten from the small breakfast spread earlier. It was ice cold at this point, but I needed something to quell the sickening worry blooming in my chest that everyone was talking about me and Harrison behind our backs. I’m not sure if they saw the idea of us as a joke or some weird science experiment, but either way, I hated it.
My mind raced through every conversation I’d ever had with Charlie or Oliver, desperate to ensure I’d never unintentionally incriminated myself. No one could know about my minor inkling of a crush. The embarrassment would be unbearable.
“Enjoying the view?” I turned to see Maria waving at me as she walked to the small main office.
“Yes!” I called back. “I hope it’s alright that I brought my breakfast out here.”
“Of course,” Maria waved off my comment. “Please enjoy it.”
“Thank you.” I turned back and pulled out the map she’d marked up for us last night. If anything could take my mind off Charlie’s words, it was planning the day ahead. It was still early, but I already knew I wanted to head back into town. I’d hardly had a chance to see anything yet.
Would Harrison want to join me, or would he be bored by the idea of spending a few hours walking around and enjoying the sights? We hadn’t explicitly said we’d stick together, but at the same time, I didn’t want to start this trip by ditching him if he did want to tag along. Selfishly, I wanted him to come with me. Sure, he was a grouch, but he was kind of warming up to me. Plus, while I felt confident I could have fun in any situation, I preferred to have company. It was likely the reason I was so dead-set on finding a serious boyfriend. It was laughable to think back to my early twenties when I thought I’d be married by now.
“Eh, good morning. Are you our new roommate?” A younger blond guy with a British accent of some sort approached me, followed by two boyish-looking guys with brown hair. They all looked a bit disheveled from sleep.
“Um, possibly,” I offered. While I had noticed three of the beds were occupied this morning, I hadn’t exactly gone over to inspect what the other inhabitants of the room looked like. “I’m in the shared room over that way.”
“I think she is,” the shorter of the two brown-haired guys piped up. “She’s above the big bloke.”
“That would be us,” I said.
“I’m Nigel,” the shaggy blond said. “And this is Mark and Will.”
“How’s it going?” They said in unison. They didn’t look identical, and one had several inches on the other, but judging by the strong resemblance they had to be brothers.
“Lila,” I said, extending my hand and shaking Nigel’s.
“Whereabouts are you from, Lily?” Nigel asked as he sat down in the seat next to me while Mark, the shorter one, leaned against the chair. Will stood in the back.
“Um...it’s Lila, actually. And we’re from the U.S.”
Nigel brightened. “Eh? I’ve been there. Only to New York City, though.”
“I’ve actually never been to New York,” I said, his friendly smile instantly making me feel comfortable. “We’re from Colorado.”
