AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I got up out of bed and took the world’s quickest shower before throwing on a pair of board shorts and a T-shirt and headed downstairs. I’d put in for a grocery delivery first thing, and we were apparently within the first handful of orders given the order number. I went to the fridge, taking out all the fruit. I cut everything up, mixing it in a big glass bowl. A little fruit salad. We had some yogurt. I swore we had granola...I went through the cupboards ’til I found some. I took out some tall glasses and made some parfaits before putting them in the fridge to stay cool.
I put the coffee on and then went back to the fridge. We had some eggs and some bacon left. That would work.
I’d wait ’til I heard her up and moving before I put it on, which was likely hours away.
I pulled a seat up at the table and reached for the tablet I’d brought down with me. I was still weighing what I was going to do. I had a couple of ideas, but I kind of wanted to see what Abbie was like.
I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning in bed, unable to get truly comfortable, unable to stop the replay in my mind of what had happened, not only in the pool but what she’d said at dinner…at the way Dominique truly had popped up out of the blue. Coincidence? I didn’t know anymore.
I wanted to spend time together, and I wanted most of all for my best friend to open up a little bit.
I’d never seen her that way before, the way she was last night.
She just left me.
I didn’t get it.
She’d never even turned to look back at me.
I didn’t know if I did something, or if it was something I didn’t do.
I’d wait and see, take my cues from her.
I opened my browser app, keeping my ears open for the faintest sounds of her being awake. I brought up the tour guide website, glancing through the brochures online at the other excursion options. I looked at the pictures of the crew on the boat, of Dominique leading the tours. Families, groups, couples.
And finally, I may have seen it.
What Abbie had been talking about all along.
Every tour had a commemorative photo on their time together.
Near the top was a photo one of the crew had snapped of us all on the boat after our first snorkeling adventure of the day. Dominique was clearly draped over me a lot more than she was with any other guy on a similar trip.
And I’d never noticed… I’d been too busy watching Abbie to notice what all Dominique was doing
But Abbie had.
The difference in the way she was with me was…eye-opening as I looked at the other tour photos. She sure was smiling, leaning in beside a few guys to fit into the picture of a group around one of the dining tables at the BBQ dinner or sitting beside them on one of the benches on the bench, but there wasn’t thatcloseness.
I leaned back in my chair, glancing up at the stairs.
Abbie…was right. A hundred thousand percent right.
21
Abbie
Note to self, stick to white wine.
I covered my eyes with my hand as I fought to wake up.
How much had I drunk last night? There hadn’t been barely half a bottle’s worth left when I’d brought it up and I’d drunk a glass and…a half…I realized, seeing the bit left in my wine glass on the nightstand.
I wasn’t ready to face the world yet, let alone Lucas, and glancing towards my partially closed blinds over the balcony doors, the sun wasn’t high enough in the sky to warrant me rolling out of bed for at least another hour or two yet.
With that beautiful thought in mind, I wrapped the soft fluffy blanket closer around me and rolled over, falling back into a sweet sleep.
The second time I opened my eyes, I felt infinitely more human than I had the first go round. I even managed to sit up and get out of bed. Judging by the silence, I was sure I was the first one up. I dug through my suitcase and found my last clean bikini, a dark blue with a little white anchor pattern on it. I threw it on, added a pair of denim cut offs, my flip flops, and grabbed a white button down to throw on over top. I put my hair back in a messy bun, pulled my phone from the charger, and ventured out into the house.
