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“It is. And I will never let that happen again. Sit, talk, and actually listen to your partner. That’s the only rule I have, and it shouldn’t be a big ask.” Yet, somehow, it was.
“What about you guys? What are you looking for in a partner?” Turning the focus away from me, I sat back as I listened to Oliver explain first.
“This may come as a shock,” he teased, “but I’m a nerd.”
“No,” Diego deadpanned.
I smacked his chest with the back of my hand… and let it linger there for just a second, because holy pecs, Batman!
Oliver chuckled. “I was the weird kid in secondary school who played Dungeons and Dragons and had summers at space camp. It wasn’t until college that I found my niche and finally felt like I could be who I was. My intelligence was rewarded and sought out rather than a pain point for people to tease me about.”
He seemed to have made his peace with his past, but trauma like that sticks around, and feeling accepted was everyone’s dream.
“Anyway, I’m looking for someone who wants to explore things with me when I lose myself on a tangent. If I find a new scientific research paper in the academic journals, I want to devote time to it. More than a few past girlfriends found it annoying when I got hyperfocused on something. One time—not on purpose—I didn’t call or text for a week because I’d read a fascinating paper about Monarch butterflies and booked a trip to Mexico to see their migration.”
“That sounds really cool, actually,” Diego admitted.
“It was amazing. But I do those kinds of things. Life is short, and I want to experience and see it all. Sometimes that means being spontaneous to see something that I’d just read about.”
Oliver’s hand hadn’t moved from my thigh, so I rested my palm on top of his. “That does sound incredible. But I feel like there’s more to this. Why didn’t you text that you’d arrived or were on another continent?”
He grimaced. “When I mentioned reading about butterflies, she rolled her eyes. I thought she’d judge me for taking the trip, so maybe it was a little on purpose that I didn’t text.”
“Rough stuff, man,” Diego commiserated.
“What about you, Diego?” I asked, taking some of the heat off of Oliver. “What are you looking for in a relationship?”
“As cheesy as it sounds, stability. I’m the youngest sibling in my family, and watching each of my brothers and sisters leave for college or move across the country for work made me crave a home base I can count on and people that will stay.”
I looked at him with sympathy. That had to be hard, watching everyone move away.
“Don’t look at me like that, Sophie.” He laughed. “I’m not broken because of it, and I am so proud of my siblings. We get together for a big family reunion every few years and they all bring their kids and in-laws. I’m a simple man. I just want someone who’s mine, and I want to put in the work every day to make our relationship strong.”
I sincerely doubted Diego was simple at all.
We chatted longer, finding that the three of us were oddly in sync regarding core values like open communication, vulnerability, support, and praise for our partners.
When the sun was hanging above our heads, we heard the others in the villa, signaling they were done and it was time for lunch.
“We should go,” I said, pointing toward the kitchen.
We unglued ourselves from each other, the humid air making us stick together on the small bench.Ew, but also, not as gross as I’d thought. Instead, it just made visions of sweaty, sticky, dirty sex flit through my mind.Bad Sophie! Down, girl.
Inside, everyone was already sitting at the table eating, chatting among themselves about their “dates.”
“Well, well…” Cheryl drawled teasingly. “What have you three been up to?” She waggled her brows.
“Talking,” I answered. “We were short one girl.” I looked over at Kayla, who simply shrugged and said, “Sorry not sorry.”
Aaron made a show of patting himself on the back. “Found it on the third try!”
“Dude,” Zander said disappointedly, shaking his head.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Sophie
We broke off after lunch;the women heading to the living room, and the guys sauntering out to the pool, following the instructions Jess had given us at breakfast. We were about to have a filmed version of a high-school gossip session.
