AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I admit, she didn’t take the knowledge that I knew well but she’s away from you. That’s the main thing. She can move on with her life now.”
I stopped before I said something I would regret. Her words landed hard. “She’s gone?”
Eva nodded. “She booked a flight this morning. I suppose she’s waiting at the dock for her boat now.”
Eva turned on her heel and marched back inside. I had to stop her. I had to talk to her at least. I turned and looked over at the line of buggies across from the hotel. Most of the keys were hidden in the cart somewhere.
I ran to the one at the end and found the keys in a box in between the chairs. I started it up and floored it to the marina. Goddamn buggies didn’t have much speed on them but I got there faster than running. The boat was at the marina, on the dock I could see Mattie putting her bag on the boat. I ran toward her.
She turned just as I was about to reach her. Her face told me everything I needed to know. She was embarrassed and this was her leaving me behind.
“You weren’t going to say goodbye?”
“Nice try, but you know why I can’t be associated with this whole thing. I’d never live it down.”
“Eva is a bully,” I said. “Who cares what she thinks? Who cares what the world thinks…I know you had fun with me.”
“So what?” she fired back at me. “We both knew this would end the second we left this island. We had fun, yes, but it’s over with just like it was going to end eventually anyway.”
“Mattie…”
She looked at me as if she didn’t want to leave but instead of coming closer to me. She got on the boat and the engine hummed to life. She didn’t look back as the boat took off and she left the island.
CHAPTER9
MATTIE
Veruca had beena strong advocate for me coming out tonight. It had been two weeks since the disastrous events on the island but thankfully none of it had come to light out in the real world. As she made her way over to me, I put on my biggest fake smile and she immediately frowned. Shit, was that not convincing enough?
“Okay, I’ve waited long enough,” she said, putting her clutch on the bar and turning to me. “You know Mara told me there was something wrong on the island and you left early.”
Damn it.
“Yes, it wasn’t for me.”
“She told me there was an incident.”
“What else did she tell you?”
Veruca sighed. “She told me enough. How about you tell me what happened?”
I motioned for the bartender to pour me a glass of wine. Once he had poured it, I grabbed it and moved Veruca over to a corner of the art gallery that was quiet. The fact that she wanted to come to this obnoxious art gallery for an exhibition of a friend of hers was absurd but I hadn’t seen her for two weeks. I felt obliged to come.
“I may have—hooked up with someone in a public place.”
Veruca’s smile broadened. “That’s great.”
“No, it’s not. It’s mortifying.”
“Why?” she asked. I could see she was genuinely curious. Not one sign of judgment on her face.
“I’ve never been careless like that before.”
“Did it feel good?”
“Well, obviously it did, actually, I’d never even considered it previously.”
Veruca smirked at me. “Good. Maybe now you’ll let your freak flag fly.”
