Kayla leaned her head on Mack’s shoulder, remembering how they used to stay up all night talking. Some nights, when Kayla had been away for long periods playing with various soccer teams or attending National Team camps, they wouldn’t sleep at all. Mom would scold them as they yawned into their Corn Pops the next morning, but she hadn’t hidden her smile nearly as well as she thought she had. Kayla was away so much that she had trouble making and keeping friends. Mack didn’t have any family of her own. A few sleepless nights were well-worth the strong bonds they both held on to.
Kayla said, “I don’t know. I bet she’d be thrilled if I really did come home from this trip married to you.”
Mack laughed. “She gave up on us as a couple a long time ago. Trust me.”
There was a note of sadness in Mack’s laughter, and Kayla knew exactly why. Romance had never been on the table for them. They’d been so instrumental in each other’s lives for so long, sometimes it really did feel like they were family. Of course, they’d talked about dating back when they were teenagers—mainly because Mom had made so many obvious hints that they had to put it out there. But Kayla had never been Mack’s type and Kayla had only ever seen Mack as a friend, no matter how much she examined the possibilities. They had even tried dancing together like a couple at a Winter Formal once, but it had been so awkward they’d just laughed through the whole thing.
It had always been obvious to her that they weren’t a match, so it was odd that both Skye and Mom had so readily accepted the idea of them being engaged. They were the two people apart from Mack who knew her best. How could they not know that romance with Mack wasn’t even a possibility?
Mack clunked Kayla’s purple roller bag down in front of her. “God, what did you pack? Rocks? How much can two bikinis and a vibrator weigh?”
Kayla slapped her arm. “I need a lot of outfits. I have to look my best for The Plan of Seduction to succeed.”
“The Plan of Seduction? Are you really calling it that?”
“It’s a working title.” Kayla indicated Mack’s smaller but still sizable suitcase. “You need all that room for your two swimsuits and vibrator?”
“Don’t forget the straw fedora.”
“I notice you didn’t deny bringing a vibrator.”
Mack winked. “Neither did you. It is our honeymoon after all.”
Kayla laughed, the tropical atmosphere seeping into her pores. Right now, it was easy to forget that this week would be a constant struggle to win back the woman she loved. The teasing banter with Mack was simply too much fun to allow her to worry.
“Come on, lets see if we can find some of those local beers while we wait for the resort shuttle.”
Chapter Six
Kayla’s world was reducedto vibrant green with flashes of the brightest, clearest sunlight she had ever seen in her life. Added to that was the warmth and solidity of Mack, pressed into her shoulder as they both stared in wonder at the rainforest encroaching onto the road. While the airport rested on the farthest northern tip of the island, their resort was nestled into the calmer shore on the southeastern side. This meant an hour-long shuttle from the airport to the resort crammed into a tiny commuter van with ten other people. It should have been miserable, but it turned out to be anything but.
The roads were thin and crumbling at the edges and the houses, especially near the airport, were little more than concrete squares with open windows and, oftentimes, open doors. There was obvious hardship in the small villages that they drove through, but you’d never tell from the people there. Nearly everyone they passed raised a wave of welcome to the shuttle driver, who waved back and sometimes called out a few friendlywords in Creole. Anyone who didn’t interact with the driver was already in conversation with small groups of neighbors or co-workers. The sense of community was as thick in the air as the humidity.
As they wound through the streets, their driver shouted explanations of language and culture over the rattling engine. He described the fruits, hanging heavily on the trees, and even pulled to a shaky stop on the edge of a banana farm to explain the bags wrapped around the clusters of fruit. The variety of fruit and spices growing along the roadside was dizzying, and their scents wafted in through the open driver’s side window, perfuming the trip enough to cover the sweat from a dozen overheated bodies.
Kayla and Mack, however, were only dimly aware of the people around them, entranced as they both were by the island’s lush landscape. After the eleventh or twelfth gasp of wonder and matching beaming smiles, Mack had taken Kayla’s hand and interlaced their fingers. It felt like the road trip they’d taken in her parents’ old Aerostar van their sophomore year of high school. Mack had just moved in and Kayla had a rare two weeks off soccer in the height of summer. They celebrated by driving to Florida. They’d been so used to the suburban life of Northern Virginia, the varied landscapes had them dripping with awe. The rolling mountains of North Carolina, swamps of South Carolina and coastal Georgia, and the citrus farms of Florida had them well-behaved for possibly the first time in their lives. That was the trip that had made them inseparable. They were glued to the window for the twelve-hour drive, practically sitting in each other’s laps as they oohed and ahhed at the world flashing by. Looking over at Mack now, Kayla saw that the enchanted teenager was still inside her.
“You have the goofiest grin.” Kayla poked at the dimple in Mack’s cheek.
“Oh, and you don’t?” Mack asked with an eyebrow lifting. “How could you not? This place is paradise.”
Kayla squeezed her hand tighter. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Once they burst out of the rainforest that covered the center of the island, their driver pulled to a stop at a little hut with an outsized parking lot. Grinding to a halt so close to the edge of the cliff that a few chunks of gravel tumbled over the edge, he turned to them with his now familiar grin. “There’s a view here of the oldest fishing village on St. Lucia, and you can grab one of our local beers, Peton, from the hut over there.”
Mack waggled her eyebrows at Kayla. “Time for you to buy me that beer you promised.”
An older woman who’d shared the bench seat with them leaned in a little too close. “You two are just the sweetest couple ever. Are you here to get married?”
The smile slid from Mack’s lips, so Kayla stepped in. “We sure are.”
“That’s just wonderful. My name’s Linda, and this is my Manny. We got married here and it was lovely. This is our first time back since then. Forty perfect years. I’m so happy they’re letting lesbians get married here now. Two brides are better than one, right?”
Mack blushed, but her smile was genuine. “That’s so kind of you to say.”
Linda gave Mack’s bare knee a little slap and then hustled after her husband toward the edge of the cliff. Mack watched her go, her mouth slack and maybe even a hint of moisture in her eyes. A sharp stab of regret and anger cut through Kayla’s gut. Their congratulatory stranger was probably about the same age as their own parents. Kayla would have given her right arm for Mack’s mother to have half the kindness and acceptance of this stranger. Not only acceptance. She had gone out of her way tocongratulate a queer couple on their upcoming marriage. That was more than acceptance. That was celebration.
“Come on, you.” Kayla kept a firm grip on Mack’s hand as she stood awkwardly in the van. “Let’s go see this fishing village.”
