Mack said, “We’re going to have a slumber party. Just like the old days. We can even gossip about hot girls like we did back then. Just don’t tell me too many details about you and Skye. I don’t want to barf today.”
Kayla couldn’t help laughing. How did Mack always know the right thing to say? Sure, her body was still buzzing a little, but this was the Mack she needed right now. She grabbed the UNO cards again and waggled them at Mack. “This game nearly destroyed our friendship once. Are you sure you want to risk it?”
Mack leaned over, and Kayla definitely did not ogle the line of muscle exposed where her shirt pulled up. She sat back up, holding a bottle of the local rum. “I got this in case things get too heated.”
Kayla said, “Good call. Maybe we should start with the kid’s game to keep things light.”
“Kid’s game?” Mack grabbed the board game, showing off the cartoon volcano and people screaming. “This is a tabletop classic, and I’m going to annihilate you at it.”
Now that was enough to start the day off right. Kayla tossed aside the UNO deck. “You better be able to back that bravado up, Bristol. Cause I’m planning to wipe the floor with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kayla lay on herback, her head hanging off the side of the bed so the view through the window was upside down. The ominous gray clouds puffed like evil smoke below the roiling ocean. Rain poured upward, continuing to soak the world. She squinted and could just make out a sliver of blue sky in the distance, but that didn’t exactly inspire confidence. It was much too far away to offer hope of the sun breaking through.
Beside her on the bed lay an open box containing the remnants of the Caribbean equivalent of a Margherita pizza. It was a little strange, with unidentifiable but undeniably discordant notes of spices in the sauce, but it was pizza after all, so there wasn’t too much that could be lost in translation. The pepperoni pizza was just like home, so she and Mack had crushed it quickly.
The floor was home to several empty Coke cans from the well-stocked refrigerator and the half-empty rum bottle. They accounted for her current position dangling from the bed. Shewasn’t drunk, but her body was pleasantly floaty in a not-quite-sober way.
She was also bored out of her mind. Not that she hadn’t had fun. Honestly, she’d had an amazing afternoon with Mack, but she was an active, outdoorsy person and she couldn’t remember the last time she spent this much time inside. Especially in a hotel room that was shrinking by the minute.
Of course, if there was anyone she wanted to be trapped in a tiny hotel room with, it was Mack. Despite the low burning anxiety over not being able to move forward with the Plan of Seduction, it had felt like old times with her best friend. Laughing, playing games, and talking about all the little parts of their lives they usually ignored in favor of work and daily life. They hadn’t had many days like this recently. Adulting always provided something that got in the way. Well, no more of that. If there was one thing she had learned this week, it was that she and Mack weren’t as close as they could have been, and she desperately wanted to be as close as possible. Kayla was determined to change once they got back home. No more letting life pass her by. No more wasting their precious time together. She would be a better friend from here on out.
Kayla thrust her fist into the air with determination, narrowly avoiding contact with Mack’s leg. A part of her brain had registered the toilet flushing and the sink running, but she hadn’t realized Mack was back in the room until she’d nearly knee-capped her.
Mack took the near miss in stride. Laughing, she asked, “How’s it hangin’, LaLa?”
Kayla laughed and rolled onto her stomach. Mack’s crooked smile was far more charming from this angle. She propped her chin on her hand. “S’good.”
Mack plopped onto the bed, tossing Kayla up a couple of inches off the mattress then back down. “Maybe it’s time to lay off the rum, huh?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Not even tipsy anymore.”
“Yeah, the food helped.”
Kayla rolled onto her side to get a better look at her friend. “I was just lying here thinking about the old days when we hung out like this all the time.”
Mack slid the pizza box onto the floor so she could stretch out. Kayla followed the movement, but not because she was hoping for a peek of flesh. Not exactly.
Mack said, “We didn’t get to that much when we were kids, either. You were always away at training or a tournament or on recruitment trips to colleges. Getting you to relax was like pulling teeth.”
Kayla thought back and realized how right Mack was. She was constantly asking her teachers for homework she’d missed or for permission to do make-up quizzes and tests. She was gone at least one week a month from the time she was fourteen.
As she contemplated, she noticed Mack eyeballing her work tablet. She’d glanced over at it enough times that day that Kayla was starting to feel jealous. She poked Mack’s leg to get her attention and said, “Now it’s the other way around. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve snuck off once or twice every day this week to check work emails.”
Mack’s cheeks blazed an adorable pink. “I thought I’d been subtle.”
Kayla laughed. “You’ve never been subtle your whole life.”
“What? Yes, I have.”
“Oh yeah? What about when you had a crush on Wendy Case, sophomore year? You did a sketch of her in art class and labelled it ‘Beauty Personified.’”
Mack joined in the laughter, the color not quite fading from her cheeks. “Women always did make me do stupid things.” Her eyes flicked up to Kayla and quickly away. “Just look at me now, pretending I’m going to marry a woman when we’ve never even had a real kiss.”
Kayla’s stomach flipped and squirmed. Did Mack know how that sounded? Was Mack saying she wanted to share a real kiss? And what exactly did she mean by real? Hopping up onto her knees on the mattress, she slammed her fists to her hips. “Excuse me, ma’am. We’ve kissed several times.”
Mack shrugged but also smiled. “I guess.”
