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But just like anything else—seen enough times, luxury doesn’t shock you much anymore.
Right now, sitting in Marlow’s villa, I feel like I’ve been hanging out with rich people all my life.
“It’s grim today.” I stare at the pool rippling under the raindrops as Marlow opens the beers for us.
“Hungry?” he asks.
“Nah.” I study him for a minute as I take sips of the cold beer. “I like hanging out in your kingdom. Just wondering where your princess is.”
He snorts and starts humming some Russian song.
He’s wearing board shorts and flip-flops. His elaborate tiger tattoo wraps around his arm below the short sleeves of a Da-Vinci-painting-patterned shirt, unbuttoned halfway down, giving me a peek at his nipples.
“You have your nips pierced?” I gape.
He looks down as if making sure they are still there, a smile tugging on his lips when he takes a swig of beer and leans back in his chair as he winks at me. “Wanna know what else I have pierced?”
No.
We hang out more than usual lately. Days off are spent at Marlow’s or Kai’s or Ty’s as we all bond and wait for something bad to happen again. This island has a curse. Now and then, the universe sends a disaster to disrupt paradise.
Raven and Marlow took Kai to the jungle to shoot guns but never took me, though I’ve asked.
Axavier ditches us more often lately. Marlow thinks he has a new fling. I’m not even a bit curious. All I want to do is talk about Archer, considering Marlow talks to him every other day, but Archer hasn’t returned a single one of my phone calls. It’s been almost a month since Archer left for the mainland, and I don’t feel like being on Zion anymore. He seems to be integral to everything that this island is.
The beer bottles are covered with condensation. The drizzle turns into a rain shower.
Marlow’s phone rings, and he picks up with his usual, “Hey, man,” then goes quiet for a moment.
Is it Archer?
I stare at him like I can extract any info by reading his mind. He takes a swig from the bottle. “Got it.” He hangs up.
“Archer is back. He wants me to meet him at the airport.”
I try not to show that my heartbeat spikes like a rocket into space.
“Will he come to your place?” I don’t hide my anticipation.
“Not sure.”
“Will you?”
“If not, I’ll text you.”
“Marlow, I wanna know everything! Hurry up!”
While he’s gone, I’m on pins and needles, my mood changing from euphoria to anxiety as I walk to Marlow’s giant kitchen and grab another beer from the fridge, then smoke half a joint to calm down, all the while checking my phone every minute to make sure I didn’t miss a message.
There are no messages, but I hear the front door open and dart inside to see Ty and Dani.
“Hey, you.” Their smiles are confused. “Is there a party or something?”
Equally as confused, I hug Dani, then him. “Is there?”
“Marlow texted, told me to be here ASAP.”
“Huh.”
