When his five minute rap is done, he stumbles towards me, out of breath and chest heaving. “That was the most tiring workout I’ve ever done in my life,” he says, falling into me.
“Okay. Come on, big boy,” I say, pushing his weight off me and onto the bar stool beside me. “I’m hoping that five minutes isn’t how long you always last.”
He gasps, holding a dramatic hand to his chest. “Are you making a sex joke?”
“No,” I say, fiddling with my straw in my lemonade..
He tuts at me, shaking his head. “Didn’t want to get me a drink?”
“And miss that toe curling performance? No way,” I say, pushing his drink towards him. “You can have mine.”
“Wow, Wren. Making sex jokes and letting me drink some of your drink? If I didn’t know any better, I'd think you’re finally warming up to me.”
“You don’t know any better,” I murmur. “Plus, I warmed up to you a long time ago. It just took a vacation and a day full of surfing for me to show it.”
“Nah, I think I figured you like me more than you’d admit when you kissed me,” Miles retorts, sipping on my drink.
“Are we talking about the same kiss because I remember you were the one who begged for it,” I say, my cheeks flashing at the memory.
“Okay, fine. I'm admitting it because I’m not afraid to deny the fact that I wanted you badly that night and you let me have you,” he whispers so low that I can feel it in my stomach.
All I can focus on is that night because that is all it was. It was a moment of weakness. We were both turned on and reckless. That’s it. It might have driven me insane for weeks but I’m over it now. We’ve got a more important task at hand
*
When we get back into the hotel, Miles immediately hogs the bathroom, desperate to get the smell off him. Surprisingly, I’ve become comfortable in my sticky bikini top over the past few hours and I don’t want the smell of the beach - or the smell of him - to come off me just yet. Instead, I sit outside on the balcony, letting the last of the summer breeze flow through my hair.
I pull up my phone and call Kennedy, knowing that she should be with Scarlett right now. They pick up on the second ring, their bright faces filling up the screen.
“Hiiii,” Kennedy says. “We miss you!”
“I miss you guys too,” I say, smiling at them. “What are you guys doing?”
“We just came back from Miles’ house. Apparently hockey players want to party every night. You should know the kind of lifestyle you’re getting yourself into,” Scarlett warns.
“Well, it depends on how long you’re planning on keeping this up for,” Kennedy says, trying to keep her whole face on the tiny screen.
“Yeah. I’m not exactly sure where we’re going with this,” I say, glancing back into the bedroom to make sure he’s still in the shower. When I turn back to the screen, both of the girls are looking at me concerningly.
“What does that mean?” Scarlett asks.
“You guys have to promise not to kill me,” I say. They both cross their hearts, holding up their Boy Scout promise.
Before I can speak, Kennedy pipes up. “You’re falling in love with him, aren’t you?”
My eyes widen and I turn down the volume on my phone. “No! God. What? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“You totally are,” Scarlett adds in.
“I’m not,” I say as confidently as I can. “I just like him a lot more than I thought I would, okay? He actually listens to me and makes me feel valued and seen. He forced me to go surfing with him and then we went to a bar to do karaoke and I think I’ve had one of the best days of my life.”
“And your tan is looking gorgeous,” Scarlett says, pulling the phone closer to her face. “I bet those freckles are driving him insane.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t-”
“You’re getting off topic,” Kennedy chimes in. “Are you going to tell him?”
“What are you? Stupid? I’m not going to tell him anything. I don’t even know what I would say. It’s not like they are even real feelings anyway,” I say, trying to convince myself.
