Page 101 of Lost & Found

Pasha was devastatingly attractive. Broad shoulders. Strong hands. That stupid, smug mouth. I knew him. Trusted him. Shared space with him in ways that required vulnerability long before this trip.

What I was feeling was desire layered over familiarity, proximity wrapped in performance. That didn’t equal love. It meant my body was responding to someone I felt secure with.

“Okay, I better go down there,” I muttered. “He threatened to go caveman if I didn’t.”

“Good,” Kinsley chirped. “Keep us updated.”

“And you don’t have to send a picture if you don’t want to,” Tori added.

“All I’m saying,” Kinsley continued, far too casually, “is losing your V-card to an experienced man is the only way to go. I could give you details, play by play. The Reaper was so sweet.”

“Kinsley!” I yelped. “Gross.”

“Love you,” she sang before hanging up.

The line went dead. I stared at the bikini again. The idea of putting it on was absolutely unhinged.

You survived far worse in your life than putting on a bathing suit. And isn’t this what you underwent torture for two days ago?

I glanced at my phone. I had five minutes. Not surprisingly, it pinged.

LEV:

Tick tock, tick tock.

PRINCESS:

I’m coming.

LEV:

Need any help? With coming, I mean. And by the way, I looked the store up. Twelve miles to paradise.

PRINCESS:

We went over this. It needs to be real. Wanna help me set up a MingleMe later? Maybe I’ll find my dream man there.

I dropped the phone onto the counter with a huff. The bikini wasn’t going to put itself on. I exhaled slowly and unbuttoned my shorts. Sliding them down, I tried to ignore my growing nerves. But they rose in waves the more skin I exposed.

The air felt cooler against my bare skin. Will I look okay in this? I hesitated before stepping into the bottoms, adjusting the strings higher on my hips. Even though I knew it was pointless, my mind dragged me straight into comparison mode.

Hannah was slim and long-limbed with that dancer’s build society adored. I turned sideways in the mirror. My body curved. Soft in places where hers was sharp. Full where she was narrow. My breasts walked into the room before I ever did. My hips flared naturally. My thighs touched.

There wasn’t a single thing about me that was waif-like. I swallowed. He didn’t look at Hannah the way he looked at me. That thought settled low in my stomach. I tied the top and wrestled the tiny triangles into place.

It required more adjustment than should have been legally allowed, and there was entirely too much side-boob threatening to spring free, but this was my body. It had carried me through worse than a beach reveal.

No sense in hating on it now. A quick gulp steadied me. I reached for my phone. Several photos later, one decent enough to send made its way to the girls. They deserved it after that pep talk.

TORI:

My god, you’re breathtaking. I want boobs like that!

KINS:

Okay, I’m checking my bi meter. Who the hell are you and wanna join my harem? JK, JK. I don’t share my men.

BELLA: