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Alessa blushed as Kamaria leaned so close her lips nearly brushed her ear. “Andthat,kid,is what jealousy looks like.”
Alessa stifled a laugh, hoping the sudden change in lighting was enough to disguise her fluster.
“Watch your step,” Dante called back. He kicked a rock to prop the gate open, then another for good measure.
By the time Alessa and Kamaria stepped onto the narrow ledge beyond the gate, Kaleb was half-running, half-tumbling down the narrow steps carved into the cliffside, sending rocks clattering ahead, while Josef, Nina, and Saida followed more carefully.
When Alessa had asked Dante to name the most beautiful place he’d ever seen, this had been his answer. Now, it was hers, too. The beach below was a natural harbor, a triangular slice carved from the coastline, framed by high cliffs. Cerulean water kissed white sand in a spray of prosecco bubble waves below a few determined trees and shrubs hugging the cliffside. Where the cliffs notched, grass carpeted a small clearing, perfect for a cozy beach cottage where a girl could watch for a rowboat silhouetted against the sunset.
Dante glanced back at Alessa walking beside Kamaria. “Need help?”
“We’re fine,” Alessa said. “Help Saida.”
Saida’s diaphanous skirts kept catching on the rocks, and her efforts to save them put her a little too close to the edge. Dante gave Saida his arm to help her the rest of the way down.
“If Dante’s jealous,” Alessa asked Kamaria when he was out of earshot, “why did he jump off the couch last night when we were finally getting somewhere?”
“Oh ho,” Kamaria chortled. “Nowwe’regetting somewhere. Details? No? Ugh, you’re no fun.”
Alessa removed her shoes when they reached the sand and sat in a patch of shade beneath a withered lemon tree, while Kaleb ran straight into the ocean, fully dressed, sending arcs of water flying. Nina gleefully dragged Josef, hopping on one leg as he tried to roll up his pants, toward the water.
Kamaria took her time, disrobing without a hint of self-consciousness, as she continued their conversation.
“Broken and angry isn’t for everyone,” she said, pulling her shirt over her head. Alessa tried to focus on the girl’s face, fiercely aware that hers was going pink. “If you aren’t willing to wait for him to sort his shit out,”—her belt hit the sand—“there are easier relationships out there for a sweet, innocent thing like you.”
Alessa scrunched her nose. “It’s not innocence so much as lack of opportunity.”
Kamaria shimmied out of her pants. “Well, if grumpy boy doesn’t work out—”
“Hey,” Dante hollered. “Are you two coming in?”
Alessa lifted her chin. “A Finestra doesn’t get to run around half-naked.”
“Suit yourself.” He pulled his shirt over his head, muscles rippling across his back as he bent to remove his shoes.
Alessa snapped her mouth shut when she realized it was hanging open.
Kamaria exhaled loudly. “Did it just get hotter out here?”
“I can’t tell.” Alessa dropped her head to her knees. “I hit my melting point a while ago.”
“I bet you did.” The bronze curve of Kamaria’s hips swayed with every step as she strutted toward the waves, calling over hershoulder, “We might not be alive in a month, so whatever you want, get it now.”
Alone on the sand, sweat dripping down her spine, Alessa watched the others frolic.
Saida gathered her skirts to her knees, only to get stuck in the crossfire of a furious splash fight between Kamaria and Kaleb.
As Saida chased them through the shallows, Alessa peeled off her leggings. She’d had most of her skirts altered to cross higher in the front, because she looked frumpy wearing tights while everyone else had bare legs. Without them, her dress was borderline scandalous. Or it would be in the city. Here, with Kamaria leaping from rocks in her undergarments and Nina frolicking in a shift, Alessa felt like the prudiest of prudes.
It was already the hottest, most awkward day of her life, so with a shrug, Alessa unfastened her skirt and used it as a package for her leggings, blouse, and gloves. In only a silk slip, she stood to bask in the sunlight, skin tingling with the promise of a future sunburn, hot sand shifting beneath the tender soles of her feet.
Like all Saverian children, Alessa had spent much of her childhood bare-bottomed on the shore with salt-stiffened hair and sand in every crevice. She’d never been on this particular beach, but it felt like coming home.
Dante quickly looked away and dove under when she turned in his direction, pulling himself through the water toward an enormous boulder sticking out in the center of the cove.
Gathering her courage, Alessa paddled out to Dante and pulled herself onto the rock. “How long are we giving each other the silent treatment?”
He kept his gaze on the horizon. “I think I can keep it up for two more days.”
