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Anna inhales. “Oh, my god! Zoey, this is juicy!”
“It is not.” Shit, he’s coming back. “Call Mike before he gets suspicious. I’ll post.” I hang up as Sebastian steps up to our table.
* * *
SEBASTIAN
“Are you okay?” I ask Anna.
“Fine, fine,” she says, fumbling with her phone, her hand shaking as she opens the Instagram app. What is she doing this for, right now, of all times? She snaps a photo of our cacao and starts typing a caption, her face serious and focused. She’s muttering under her breath.
“Are you upset?” I ask.
“No, everything is wonderful. Gimme a sec. Have to do this thing, you know, for the followers.” Is she talking about Grant the Stunt Stud? Is that who she called after we kissed?
“Who were you talking to?” I cross my arms.
“Nobody important,” she says.
“Was it that guy from your Instagram comments?”
“What!?” She straightens, her eyes wide and horrified. “My god, no! It was An—" She shakes her head. “It was Mike.”
My blood goes cold. That’s impossible, seeing as he was on the phone with me.
“How is Mike?” I cross my arms.
“You know, doing good. Working,” Anna says, tapping “post” on Instagram before clicking her screen off and shoving it into her purse.
“Did you tell him what happened? With us?”
“Um…” I swallow. “You mean that silly touristy thing with the cacao and the kissing and stuff? Why worry him?” She gives me a smile that’s so wide her cheeks look like she’s stuffed her face full of cacao seeds. “Especially since it meant nothing. They probably do it to people here all the time. Simple misunderstanding, right?”
“Right.” I should be relieved, but the fresh tightness in my throat hurts. “After that cacao drink, I need some water,” I croak. “I’ll be in the gift shop.”
“Okay.” She nods, biting her lip. Her brown eyes are liquid, and her nostrils flare. Then she turns away from me, averting her gaze. She picks up our cacao and takes another sip. She looks pale and drawn. And I’m the person responsible. Or maybe it’s Grant. Or Mike.
I should get that water.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
ZOEY
Our Cacao experience is over,and everyone but me is in the gift shop now. I’m hanging back because I know what I have to do, and it’s scary as hell. It’s going to send Sebastian packing.
Steeling myself, I step inside. Sebastian is chatting with the other couple from our ship.
“Anna, we’re giving Kim and Lou a ride back to the dock,” Sebastian says. “Turns out they took a taxi here. But we have plenty of room for them in the dune buggy.”
His voice is back to normal. Is he that unbothered about all this? How could he be? But I’ve told him it was all a silly tourist thing. Maybe he thinks I’m unbothered.
“Anna? That cool with you?” Oh, right.
“Yes, of course!” I’m too shrill, so I force a smile. Of course, I panicked when he asked who I was talking to. But why couldn’t I have said it was my sister on the phone? He’d never have batted an eye. Why did I go with Mike? My lies are only getting worse.
We all pile back into the buggy, and I cozy up with my crutch in the front seat with me. Kim and Lou keep talking about how much they love the buggy, and Sebastian babbles right along with them. I’m silent, incapable of thinking about anything except how complicated I’ve made things. When we get back to the dock, as soon as we’re alone, I’ll tell Sebastian the truth. This can’t go on any longer.
I keep my eyes focused on the ocean, but it’s not as calming as I’d like. The waves are rough. Each time spray rises on the wind, I have the jarring sense we might drive over the edge of the road, right into the water.
