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As soon as they were out of earshot, Aaron declared, “Dibs on Kayla!”
“Dude, you can’t call dibs,” Diego said with an eye roll. “Or, wait… can we?”
He looked at me, and I knew he was thinking about Sophie. I raised a brow in challenge.Try it and see what happens.
It wasn’t that I wanted to claim anyone just yet, and they were people. They couldn’t be “claimed.” But my mind refused to listen to reason. Deep down, I knew this possessive side had reared its head because I was already feeling protective of my bedmate. She hadn’t laughed at me or passed out from boredom when I spouted that random fact earlier, and it made me feel seen. Plus, there was that whole cute yet sexy thing she had going that I’d thought was impossible to pull off.
“No, no dibs,” I answered. “That’s only going to lead to hurt feelings and infighting. Let’s keep it casual today, and we’ll chat after lunch, like Jess said. Who knows, Aaron? You might find someone else you like.”
“They’re all beautiful,” Daniel said, his eyes drifting to the stairs.
Zander clapped him on the shoulder and let out a heavy sigh. “I know, man. I know.”
We got everything washed and put away in record time, then argued about sports by the pool while we waited for the girls. I pretended to follow along, but honestly, sport wasn’t in my wheelhouse.
“Aaron!” Kayla called from the doorway.
“Aww, yeah!” he cheered, getting up from his lounge chair. He took off for a designated area under a white lantern, sweeping Kayla into his arms along the way.
Slowly but surely, everyone split off. Viv requested Zander, Cheryl snagged Diego, Gia picked me, and Sophie was with Daniel.
Despite the hangovers and sore heads, everyone was excited as we paired off. But I couldn’t deny the upset that someone had picked me before Sophie’s turn. I knew we would all have time to talk to all the girls, but still.
It was the only time in my life I’d wished to be picked last.
CHAPTERSIX
Sophie
Danieland I chatted for half an hour, and I learned he hated avocados, lovedCall of Duty, was from Granada, Spain, but lived in London now, and was a model.
Yeah, I could see that.
“I miss home. The rain is constant over there, but it’s where the work is,” he said, his accent making it difficult to pay attention to the words instead of getting swept up in the lyrical nature of his voice.
“I understand that feeling all too well. I moved for work too.” While I loved living in LA, the glamorous bits and the not-so-fabulous parts included, part of me would always miss the wide-open swaths of land and the comfort of home in Montana. “So, what do you do for fun?”
Daniel seemed like a nice guy, but besides fashion, there wasn’t much we had in common. However, him being on the other side of the equation as a model instead of a designer lent some new perspective to how we organized our photoshoots. He had a lot of thoughts about a few designers I admired and how they didn’t always listen, even after asking him for his opinions on what suited him best.
I was mentally taking notes to make sure we were better about that in the future for our So Free models.
Daniel’s idea of fun was scuba diving, paragliding, and other high-adrenaline things that made me a little nervous. And while I liked adventure, I liked my feet firmly on the ground while doing those things.
Sure, coming from Montana meant I had taken swimming lessons in California once I’d arrived because, hello… ocean. But that was pretty much the extent of my foray into extreme sports. Extreme sports in this case being swimming.
“May I?” a voice asked from behind me. I turned, finding Aaron leaning against the wall in a pair of American flag swim trunks. Everyone was beach-ready, though I didn’t think we planned on hitting the water today. Par for the course on an island.
“Sure thing, Aaron.” Daniel got up and shook the redhead’s offered hand. “Have fun, you two! Where am I headed?”
“Gia is free, I think. She’s on the other side of the pool.” Aaron waved behind him and Daniel’s face lit up.
“Adios!”
Instead of taking up the armchair Daniel had just vacated, Aaron sat on the loveseat beside me. “This feels like speed dating,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, it makes sense to get to know everyone off the bat, but it’s a lot.” He let out a deep sigh.
“I agree,” I said. “Want some simple questions to start with?”
“Please,” he said, damn near begging. Reinforcing his plea with the cutest puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. Pair up Esmeralda and Aaron and I’d be done for with the begging looks. For a big guy, he certainly had the pout down.
