Page 60 of The Forbidden Fling

“Thanks, Faye, but we’re trying to meet in the middle. He’s my dad…and it’s one of the agreements to check on my progress. I can’t really get out of it.” Quin sighed, pulling a hand through their Afro. “Anyway, I fancy catching one of Riley’s painting classes, if you want to join?”

Faye filed the conversation for later. “I can’t today. I have plans this afternoon. But I could tomorrow?”

“Mrs Robinson?” They raised their eyebrows. “Hell, yeah. Up top.”

“I’m not high-fiving that.”

“Come on. Don’t leave me hangin’.”

Faye rolled her eyes but slapped her hand against theirs. “You wanna meet up later?”

“Absolutely. Give me all the goss. I want to know everything. And I mean everything.” Their voice softened. “Hey. I don’t suppose you’ve seen Blondie lately, have you?”

“Molly? Diana said she hasn’t been feeling well. Why?”

Quin bit their lip.

“What did you do, Quin?”

“I didn’t want her to get ill. I was just trying to be the best wing-pal ever and might have got carried away.” They ran their fingers through their hair again. “Is she alright? What did she say? Oh god. I didn’t mean to poison her. I don’t want to go to prison.”

Poison her? “Hey, it’s fine.” Faye grasped their shoulder. “She’s just been sick. Diana thinks she caught a bug or something. What happened?”

“I…uh…” They scratched the back of their neck. “I told her the water had healing properties and if she drank it, she wouldn’t wrinkle.”

“Quin!”

“I know. I’m sorry. But it worked, didn’t it? You have another hot date.”

She shook her head, relieved they hadn’t done something more stupid.

“I swear I didn’t know it would make her ill. Although you should’ve seen the way she guzzled it down.”

They both cracked a smile before bursting into laughter. “You’re terrible.”

“Or am I a terrific wing-pal?”

“Maybe a bit of both.”

Quin glanced over Faye’s shoulder, their grin widening, and she turned to find Diana on the other side of the courtyard. Diana looked up from a stall selling handwoven blankets, and their eyes locked, sparks shooting across her skin.

“Don’t let me keep you,” Quin said. “Come find me later.”

They gave Faye a wink and left, heading towards the painting studio. Diana slinked towards her. The slight breeze tousled her hair, and her silk navy-and-white blouse and shorts combination swayed around her hips. Her skin held a bronze tint from days in the sunshine, and a pair of oversized square sunglasses covered her eyes.

“You look amazing,” Faye said, openly admiring her.

Diana’s lips pulled up into that signature Diana smile, and Faye’s belly flip-flopped.

The woman was perfection.

“Nice sunglasses,” Diana commented. “Very…fun.”

“Oh, yeah.” Faye tugged them from the top of her head, inspecting the pineapples. “Mine broke the first day here. As soon as I stepped off the plane. So I’m borrowing these.”

Amusement pulled at Diana’s mouth. “Shall we go?”

After purchasing some fresh fruit and a few cakes from the market, they made their way through the throngs of people and headed up the gravel path towards the ruins. Faye figured she might as well make the most of the time Molly wasn’t around; as much as she loved spending her evenings with Diana, it did feel a little like she was dating a vampire.