"Trust me, I can handle me a dangerous man. No really I can." -T.S.
I woke up the next morning with Justin still next to me but he was already awake, just scrolling on his phone. He noticed I shifted slightly and he looked away from his phone.
"Good morning." He muttered, his voice still groggy from sleep. He must've just woken up.
"Hi," I turned my face to look at him, he did the same, dropping his phone on the other side of him. I laughed a little because I was still only in my underwear. "We should probably get up. I'm sure everyone else is awake. What time is it anyways?"
He pushed my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. "It's a quarter after seven, I know I should've left but I'm just so comfortable. My bed doesn't hit the same as yours." He buried himself further into the blankets pulling me down with him. I didn't fight him on it, I let him pull me into the blankets and deep into his arms. We laid there silently until I broke the lingering silence.
I lifted my head enough to meet his eyes. "So what are your plans for today?"
"I'm not sure, Jacob wanted to go do some special workout they have here so I might join him. You?" He tilted his face down.
"For once I don't have any plans. I'm sure Erik wants to do something but honestly? I just want to relax and tan on the beach." I shifted my body enough to where we were at eye level, we were so close I could feel his breath on me. "Did you brush your teeth already?" I asked, unable to contain my laughter because his breath smelled like mint.
"Maybe…"
"Wait. You left your toothbrush here again? You just knew I'd let you in? I gotta stop being so easy." I laughed louder this time.
"Nah I'm just a hopeless dreamer, just hoping you'd let me in again." He pulled my head in slightly and planted a soft kiss on my forehead.
I laid in his embrace longer than I should've. Something about this moment felt endless and fleeting all at once. We both know it needs to end but don't know how to make it stop. His forehead kisses turned into more kisses, and those turned into something more, something we have trouble staying away from. And I just melted in him once more before our day officially started. Trying to keep our moans and grunts to a whisper, knowing the world was waking up around us.
We laid there silently trying to catch our breath in the wake of what just happened. I could hear distant voices now, people were definitely awake. Justin hesitated for a second before he got out of bed, got dressed and slipped out of my door into the brightness of the day.
I rolled out of bed just as hesitantly, jumping in the shower and washing any lingering feelings from last night and from a few moments ago. My body felt sore, I wasn't sure what it was from. From Justin? From falling a million times while surfing? I don't know but I needed a day to relax.
I finished my shower, and gave myself a once over on the bathroom mirror before I threw my robe on. I could see every mark Justin left last night, his mouth left small hickeys on my chest, his hands were imprinted on my hips.
I didn't realize how hard we were going at it until right now. In the moment, it just felt hungry, almost desperate, but looking at it now felt… different. It felt like I had let myself slip. I ran my fingers over the marks on my chest, the light bruises on my hips, and for a second, I wondered if I'd ever feel fully in control again.
It's just Justin, I reminded myself, looking at the reflection in the mirror. We agreed to this. No strings attached. But as I slipped the robe on, gripping it tighter around me, I couldn't help but think. What was it about this guy? What is it about him that makes me let loose more than I would've imagined. Before I could dwell much longer I heard my phone go off in my room. I walked over picking it up, seeing a group text thread.
Hannah: "Are you ladies busy today?"
Dani: "Depends…what do you have in mind?"
Allie: "I promised Jacob i'd do some weird work out plan with him today :("
Mallory: "As long as it doesn't involve physical activity I'm in!"
Nancy: "Can't today, going out with Hunter!"
Hannah: "I was thinking girl's day? Get a break from the guys, girl talk? Spa day? Anything really lol"
I stared at my screen for a moment before deciding to respond, a girls day sounded like exactly what I needed. No expectations, no physical activity, just relaxing with the girls. Although I know it's going to feel weird for me with Hannah but I know I can play it off.
August: "I'm with Mals. NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES PLEASE lol but i'm in. What time?"
Hannah: "15 minutes? Your guys' place?"
Dani: "I'm ready!"
Mallory: "Same!"
August: "Be down in 5!"
I got dressed, threw on a two piece bikini and then a loose fitted dress that covered the marks, some strappy sandals and I stepped out of my room. Trying to shake off the weight of the morning, the strange tug in my chest that wouldn't quite fade. I told myself it was just momentary, nothing more.
Before I made it all the way to the bottom I decided to text Erik to let him know I wouldn't be available to hang out.
August: "Good morning! I'll be gone all day with some of the girls but maybe we can hang out later tonight?"
Erik: "I'm with Hannah now she just told me. I'd love to hang out. Have a good time with the girls. See you tonight."
As I made my way downstairs, I saw Mallory already standing at the door, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You ready to get pampered and pretend we don't have a care in the world?"
"More like, ready to escape the chaos and just breathe for a bit," I said, feeling the excitement of the day taking over.
We all piled into the car, laughter already bubbling in the air. Mallory and I slipped into the back while Dani took over the driver's seat and Hannah jumped on the passenger's side .
"So brunch first?" Hannah turned to look at us. "There's a place Erik told me about. Auggie, I think it was the place you went to yesterday."
"Oh yeah it was really good! The outside patio has amazing views." I responded, her smiling face causing guilt to creep into my chest. I looked away from her unrelenting gaze and tried to play it off. This was going to be harder than I imagined.
We pulled up to the small cafe moments later, we all got out and headed for the door. The waitress guided us outside, close to where Erik and I were yesterday morning. The waitress instantly recognized me and asked for my "boyfriend". I played it off but I knew I was blushing. We took our seats and started looking over the menu. I knew it would get brought up eventually so it didn't surprise me when Dani looked over to me wide eyed.
"So you and Erik? How are things going?" Her face beamed under the sun.
I put the menu down enough to make eye contact with her. "Honestly. Things are going well. We are taking things kinda slow which I'm totally okay with. I'm just enjoying getting to know him."
"Well good! I'm glad. Oh on a side note. Can we talk about Hunter and Nancy! They were going at it all night. He was non stop putting the moves on her! If my man wasn't good at what he does I'd be a little jealous." Dani laughed as she covered her mouth. I felt my chest constrict, taking all the air out of my lungs because it wasn't Hunter and Nancy. It was Justin and I. Hannah knew something was wrong too, her face twisted slightly. But before she could say something the waitress came to take our order. Once she was done though Hannah jumped right back.
"Nancy? She was in her bed all night. We stayed up talking until like 2 this morning. It couldn't have been her." Hannah's eyebrows furrowed, she looked more confused than Dani did now. She looked over to me and then back to Dani. Mallory shot me a quick glance and I pleaded with her to help with my eyes.
Mallory jumped into my rescue without hesitation. "Oh. Uhm. Yeah about that…I'm sorry Dani. Auggie has an old roommate that lives out here and he came to visit me last night. I'm still sad about Mark so I just kinda went wild. It was earth shattering." Hannah looked at her shocked and then without skipping a beat Dani turned to look at me suspiciously. She knows. My face undoubtedly read guilty because she texted me secretly, almost instantly.
Dani: "it definitely sounded earth shattering ;)"
Auggie: "oh my god. I have no rebuttal. I'm so embarrassed I can't believe you heard that."
Dani: "Marshall's gonna have a field day when I tell him, we were wondering what magic mike moves Hunter had but it makes more sense that it was Justin."
Auggie: "I feel so uncomfy with Hannah here. And I kinda wanna talk about what happened last night but maybe later?"
Dani: "Give me all the dirty details later."
The conversation continued with ease, Mallory coming up with some elaborate story of my "ex roommate" that came to visit her. Hannah ate it up, never suspecting it was Justin and I. I felt a mix of relief and obviously guilt. But I couldn't let it show.
The food came shortly after and we all began to dig in, still keeping the conversation going. Staying on lighter topics before Hannah decided to open up about Justin and my guilt crept in again.
Hannah poked at her food as she began opening up. "I really like Justin and he says he really likes me but there's just something missing there. We've kissed but it never progresses more than that." She exhaled sharply before continuing, "I feel like he's hesitant, like he's not ready to open up fully to me and I just wish he would let me in."
I felt a pang in my chest, knowing I was the reason he wasn't opening up to her. I was the reason their kisses never led to anything but that. I didn't meet her eyes, I was afraid she could read it on my face. I picked at my food as they continued.
"If there's one thing I know about Justin is that he is a tough shell to crack, but once you crack him… he's loyal. Just give him time. He's probably going through some internal struggles." Dani reached over to grab Hannah's arm trying to comfort her. I felt even more guilty knowing I had Dani and Mallory wrapped up in this. Having to lie for me. Having to lie for him. Having to lie to her.
"Yeah maybe you're right, maybe I just need to be patient with him. It's just…we're in paradise. You'd think he'd wanna fuck under the stars or maybe on the beach. Something. Anything." Hannah let out a sharp laugh mirroring her frustration. We all shared a supportive laugh, or at least I tried to.
We finished up with brunch and headed to the spa. Dani and I decided to do a couples massage so we could have some time to talk alone without other ears listening. The masseuse led us to a dark room with a heart shaped jet tub in the center and neon lights surrounding it. They asked us to undress and relax in the tub while we waited for them. We laughed at what we had gotten ourselves into but thankfully we both had our bikinis on underneath.
We slipped out of our dresses and into the warm tub that had an array of essential oils and bath salts with the jets already pulsating. One of the ladies walked in with champagne, two glasses and some chocolate covered strawberries. Really emphasizing the romance but Dani and I couldn't help but laugh. Dani poured the glasses for us and we clinked glasses before taking a sip.
Champagne was still awful to me but it definitely relieved some tension I felt. And I know the massage will as well. I adjusted my bathing suit to cover me a little more but Dani was starting to glare.
"Okay. Spill. Because I see you trying to cover those marks on your body and I'm not gonna continue pretending like they aren't there." Dani leaned in as she took another sip of her glass.
I took a deep breath and another sip before finally opening up. "Where do I even start? Like he had been weird and distant all day. Barely even making eye contact with me. And then right before the luau he walked in helped me zip up my dress and then walked out."
Her eyebrow rose slightly. "He didn't say anything, just zipped you up?"
"No he did. He said he just wanted to check in on me because he saw when the wave knocked me out but didn't want to ask when he saw me with Erik. Then during the luau he sent me a text asking if he could unzip me from my dress later. And Hannah was right there sitting next to him. And Erik was next to me." I took another drink from the glass before topping it off again. I needed more liquid courage.
"What did you say in response? Did they catch on?" She leaned in closer bringing her voice into more of a whisper.
"I'm dumb. Okay! I'm helpless and dumb when it comes to Justin. I told him I could use help with it later. And then when the four of us were at the kitchen table HE was the one that had texted me. He said he wanted me so badly he didn't know if he wanted to wait to get me out of the dress or just lift it up."
"Oh my god that's why you were blushing!" She nudged me lightly and then she had an immediate realization. "Oh fuck then Hannah mentioned you kissing Erik. Did Justin get mad?"
"I…don't know that's when we all turned in. He walked Hannah home and then showed up in my room a while later and something felt off or different. I don't know if he was mad about me kissing Erik again or what but it just felt desperate. And Dani. Ugh. He knows what to do. That's the worst part." I covered my face with my palm, feeling the heat crawl up my neck thinking about last night. "It felt like we couldn't get enough, we were literally so in the moment we didn't even use a cond… and on top of that he held me so tight, look," I stood up and showed her the slight imprint of his fingers bruised on my hips.
She glided her hand gently over them and her eyes were wide. "Damn. Did it hurt? Cause that's impressive and looks painful all at once."
"No it didn't hurt, it was like we were both… insatiable. But that's the problem. How much longer can this continue? You heard Hannah he's so closed off to her and I can't help but feel to blame for that. And then Erik. He's sweet, and uncomplicated and I really like him. But insatiable." I finished the rest of my drink, setting the glass down at the edge of the tub. Looking at Dani for answers she probably didn't have.
"I'm not gonna lie I thought you were being dramatic when you said earth shattering because you know this is all new to you but it sounded earth shattering last night." She laughed to herself but she quickly shifted. "I can't tell you what to do, I can't even tell you how to feel, but we've talked about this. Don't be the one to get burned. Forget about Hannah, forget about Erik, even forget about Justin and just think about August for once. He's gonna have this hold for as long as you let him. But you don't owe him anything."
Before I could respond the masseuse showed up with her partner. We got out of the tub and into the robes they had for us. Each of us laid on the massage beds, facing down as they worked their magic. Relieving every last bit of tension I felt. Dani's words sat heavy with me, because there was a huge part of me that just wanted to let this thing with Justin go. Just a passing moment, a lapse in judgment, a wrinkle in time.
But then there's that voice in me that has been shown the world because of him, the voice that was suppressed from my upbringing, the voice that Erik had yet to hear. And then I think about Erik, and how I wish I could open up to him. How I wish I could share moments like that with him. But if I really think about it, for some reason I'm not ready to give myself to him like that. That raw, uncensored version of me just isn't ready.
"You have a lot of tension in your shoulders." The masseuse whispered to me and I let out a little chuckle.
The massage finally ended and I did feel lighter. Dani and I hung around in the room for a little bit longer.
"That was heaven. I wish we could do another hour of that." I laughed as I threw my dress over me.
"I mean I know where you can get that kind of heaven." Dani laughed as she slipped into her dress.
I rolled my eyes, the teasing was inevitable. "Not heaven. Just earth shattering." I teased back.
"Whatever that was, should not be causing this amount of stress though." She laughed but I don't think she meant it in a joking way. She was right, no matter how good it felt it shouldn't lead to the amount of stress I felt. I tried shaking her words off but they were stuck on me for now.
We finished getting dressed and headed outside to the lobby where Hannah and Mallory were already waiting for us. We exchanged quick stories of our massages, both Mallory and Hannah getting a kick out of our couples massage. They continued talking when I felt my phone vibrate in my bag. I pulled it out to see Justin's name across my screen.
Justin: "I'm trying to keep up with Jacob and Allie with their work out but I can't, you really wore me out last night and this morning."
I could feel my heart racing as I read the text, I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to respond. This feels like a gateway to him slipping into my room tonight.
August: "Tell me about it, you left handprints on me lol"
Justin: "Yikes, my bad. Not gonna lie, that's kinda hot. Maybe round 4? So you know I can apologize and kiss it better?"
I didn't respond after that, I wanted today to get a break from him, and even a little bit from Erik. I shook off what his text did to me and eased myself back into the conversation. We decided to go to a beach up the street. Hannah found it online, but what she doesn't know is that it's a nude beach. I figured it's harmless fun to see their reactions when they see a bunch of naked old people.
We piled into the car, this time Hannah was driving and Mallory was in the passenger seat. Dani and I jumped in the back. The music was loud enough to give me a chance to show Dani what Justin had texted me. I handed her my phone and her eyes widened before a smirk formed on her face.
She leaned close to me, whispering so she wouldn't be heard. "What are you going to say to him?
I shook my head and shrugged cause I really had no idea.
"Kiss it better is wild. He is bold!" She let out a louder laugh causing Mallory and Hannah to question what was funny. We played it off as best as we could but Mallory shot me a glare which could only mean she would bring it up later. Dani and I looked at each other surreptitiously.
"I don't even know if I want to respond. What do I even say to that?" I whispered.
"Push back a little, make him work for it!" Dani grabbed my phone from my hands and started typing. She handed my phone to me and she responded to him.
August: "Kiss it better? I don't know, might take a while… could be an all-night kind of apology."
"Dani!" I shrieked, covering my mouth almost instantly. The girls up front looked at us again. This time Hannah didn't back down.
"What is going on back there! I feel like we're missing out and that's not fair!" Hannah muttered.
"Nothing, Dani is just crazy! Trying to get me into trouble I didn't ask for!" I shot Dani a playful glare.
"Nah this is the exact trouble she's asking for. Believe me." Dani laughed again but before they could respond we pulled up to the edge of a cliff. The beach was a small climb down below. We jumped out of the car, grabbing our stuff and started making our way down. Watching every step, trying not to fall.
As we carefully made our way down the cliff, Dani practically skipped ahead, clearly having no trouble with the path.
"So, what's the plan now?" Dani whispered, her voice mischievous. "You just gonna leave him hanging with that promise?"
I glanced up at the front of the group, where Hannah and Mallory were ahead of us. "I didn't promise anything," I muttered, trying to play it cool. But a part of me was definitely waiting for Justin's response.
Dani leaned in closer, her voice barely audible. "What do you want him to say?"
I hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe I just want to see what he does with it." But the truth? I was waiting for him to bite. I was waiting for him to take the bait.
Dani grinned. "Oh, please. You want him to fight for it."
I glanced at her, trying to act nonchalant. "I don't know. I'm not sure what I want from him."
Dani's smirk widened. "Stop pretending. You want him to give it to you. You just don't want to admit it."
I rolled my eyes, but she wasn't wrong. And damn it, I knew I was playing with fire.
We reached the bottom of the cliff, and I pulled out my phone, waiting for his reply. "I'll be okay just waiting for his response," I said, trying to play it off.
Dani nudged me with her elbow. "Yeah, I'm sure you're totally fine with that."
I laughed, glancing up at Hannah, who was watching us closely. "Focus on the beach," I whispered, but inside, I couldn't help but wonder how Justin would respond.
We reached Hannah and Mallory, who by now were definitely picking up on something being off, but lucky for me, I was able to play it off.
"I'm sorry for being secretive. It's just… I was telling Dani how this is, um… a nude beach," I said, trying to sound casual, but my laughter gave me away.
Hannah blinked in disbelief, looking around. That was when she spotted an older gentleman, completely naked, stretching just a few yards away.
"Oh my… you're joking?" Hannah's voice cracked as she took in the sight. Her eyes widened when she saw the naked man, and I could barely contain myself.
I shook my head, still laughing. "Nope. Totally serious." I leaned closer, whispering, "It's clothing optional."
Mallory joined in with a chuckle, shaking her head. "This is wild."
The tension between Justin's text and the absurdity of the situation was almost too much for me to handle. But for now, it was good to laugh and I let the moment distract me.
"So, are we staying or leaving?" Dani asked, her eyes still fixed on the gentleman who had been stretching, was now sprinting past us.
"When in Rome?" Hannah let out an uneasy laugh, almost like she didn't believe what she was saying.
"Look, there's a little area where no one is at," I pointed to a hollowed-out, shady spot on the cliffside. "Let's hang out there for a while. We didn't climb all this way for nothing!"
"I suppose you're right," Mallory mumbled, following behind me, her head lowered, trying to avoid eye contact with the naked people we passed.
We made our way over to the spot, laying down our towels and taking off our dresses, leaving just our bathing suits on. Going to a nude beach was one thing, but actually participating? That was a different story.
I sat down and stared out at the horizon, feeling the breeze and the distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore. It was oddly peaceful… until my phone buzzed, pulling me back to reality.
I glanced down at the screen: Justin.
Justin: "Don't threaten me with a good time, August. Cause, I'll make sure I kiss every last imprint I left on you… and make it better. Just leave your door unlocked tonight."
After reading the text I immediately locked my phone and threw it in my bag. I don't know why I panicked, we were literally tangled up last night and this morning. We had been tangled up since the beginning of the trip so why did that make me feel so giddy?
Mallory caught on pretty quickly, shooting me a playful glare. But she didn't move from her spot; she stayed in place knowing it was too risky with Hannah around. All of us laid quietly, letting the crashing waves fill the silence.
Hannah was the first one to get a bit restless, insisting we go out to the water for a swim. After pleading for a few minutes Dani relented. Both Mallory and I were too tired to even move. Dani and Hannah ran into the water with excitement and shrieking the minute they felt the cold water.
Mallory shifted on her towel, propping herself up on her elbows, and studying me with that all-knowing gaze. I could practically feel her mind ticking. "So are we gonna talk about the fact that you got caught once again and this time by total accident or?"
I shifted slightly on my towel, propping myself up on my elbows as well. "I guess there's no better time to talk than now. Thank you for covering for me by the way. I didn't realize we had even been that loud and now I'm embarrassed all over again." I tried to act calm but the crack in my voice gave me away.
She shook her head with a small grin, clearly unfazed by my feeble attempt to brush it off. "No problem. But, I mean… really, August." Her voice softened as she leaned in a little closer, lowering it to a whisper. "What the hell's going on with you and Justin? I thought you stopped hooking up because you know Erik and Hannah?"
I bit my lip, my stomach doing that familiar flip. I glanced over at Dani and Hannah, laughing and splashing in the water, thankful they weren't close enough to hear. "What's going on is… complicated," I muttered. "I don't know, Mals. I think I bit off more than I can chew. I like Erik and I'm having a good time getting to know him. And if I'm being honest I see a future with him. A real future. Kids, marriage, the whole thing. But Justin, it's just…easy and fun and different."
Mallory raised an eyebrow. "Different? Different how?"
I sighed, letting my head fall back onto the towel. "I don't know how to explain it… but it's like there's no pressure for anything other than to just exist. No pressure to be perfect, or pressure to be exactly what he wants because I'm not what he wants, not romantically at least. He's not what I want. Romantically. But the sex…"
"Groundbreaking—oh no wait I believe you said it's 'earth shattering'." She teased but then shifted into something more serious. "I get it. You wanted to keep things light and carefree but it's not feeling so light and carefree? So then what do you want from this?" She leaned in waiting for my answer.
I pondered for a moment. "I don't know what I want to be honest but I know it probably needs to stop. It needs to stop consuming me. It needs to stop being the first and last thing I think about. It just needs to stop. But he and I both know it's not going to."
"You two are impossible," she laughed. "I do feel a bit guilty lying to Hannah, and obviously she's my friend too but you're my sister so you know I have your back no matter what. I just wish I could help you figure this out." She was playing with the sand around her, picking up a scoop and letting it fall freely out of her hand. "By the way…I heard it too." She laughed as she picked another scoop up, lightly tossing some to me.
I fell back on my towel and let out a long exhale followed by a laugh. "I…yeah last night was something, I'll say that much." My hands drifted to where his hands left marks, I looked up at the sky asking for answers I wasn't sure I was ready for. "I feel really guilty about Hannah, I never told him not to explore things with her, if anything I was the one to push him to ask her out. I just didn't think he would be so…closed off to her." I finally sat up meeting her gaze.
"Well at the end of the day that's not your decision to make, that's his. He clearly is too invested in whatever is happening with you two, more than he is invested with her. Is it fair to her? No, but you can't pin that on yourself. Cause you're making time for Erik right?" She leaned over to meet my gaze but I avoided it. I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon, really thinking about what she said.
"I mean yeah I am, but I'm also not looking to sleep with Erik at least not yet, and she clearly is looking to be with Justin in that way… but I do know that if he does decide to sleep with her I think that's when I take myself out of the equation."
"Why? You don't like sharing? Well…you are an only child so that makes sense." She laughed and tossed more sand at me.
"No!" I tossed a small bit of sand back at her. "It's not about sharing, it's just, they want a relationship, while he and I just want sex, so why would he need me if he's getting everything he needs from her? Plus we kinda did it without protection and I would feel weird about him jumping from her then to me. EWWW!"
"AUGUST! What the fuck!" She shrieked and let her laugh die off. "But in all seriousness you're spinning in circles, Auggie. You keep saying it needs to stop, but you don't stop. You say Justin doesn't want anything serious, but he's not exactly lining up to be with Hannah either. You say you like Erik, but Justin is the one stuck in your head. So what do you actually want?"
"They're both just so different. And I guess that's what has me spinning. I mean think of the immediate shift my life took. With my mom, and with having sex for the first time, all the new experiences. I'm struggling to cope or keep up." I drew circles in the sand trying to calm myself slightly but I continued." I just know that when I'm with Justin the entire world stops and it's just the two of us. Nothing or no one else. But when I'm with Erik the world moves forward and he's right there guiding me through it and I'm not scared of what's next. I'm fucked. How can I want emotions with one and sex with the other?"
Mallory's eyebrows furrowed. "You're not fucked, Auggie. You're just… in the deep end, and you gotta figure out if you wanna swim or just let the current take you."
I nodded understandingly but I was still back to square one. Confused.
Moments later, Hannah and Dani came back, laughing and dripping water everywhere.
"You girls missed out, that felt so good!" Hannah said as she wiped her face with her towel. Dani wrapped herself in her towel and took a seat next to me, offering a tight smile. I assumed she sensed the tension that lingered between Mallory and me from our conversation. I leaned my head on her shoulder and she let me. I took a deep breath and lifted my head up.
I reached for my bag, pulling my phone out and showing the texts to Dani since Hannah was facing the ocean and not us. Dani's face lit up, her eyes widening as she read Justin's message. Then, she looked up, her gaze flicking briefly toward Hannah, who was tossing her phone to the side, sensing something was off.
Dani met my eyes then, a mix of surprise and amusement playing on her face. She smirked, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
Dani leaned into my ear and whispered, "Well, he took the bait. What are you gonna do?"
I leaned over to her, cupping my hand to her ear. "Leave my door unlocked." A quiet giggle escaped me. I was joking… or at least that's what I kept telling myself.
At this point, Mallory and Hannah were deep in conversation. I couldn't make out much of what they were saying; the waves were too loud. But I did catch Hannah's mention of Justin's name and something about texting. Dani and I exchanged a knowing glance, the kind that says more than words could.
We leaned closer, allowing them to know we were listening. Hannah turned to look at us, noticing we joined the conversation but it didn't stop her. She let us in.
Hannah sighed, throwing her towel over her shoulder. "I just don't get it, Mal. Justin says all the right things, takes me on dates, but then… nothing. I even asked him to stay over, hinting at wanting to take it a step further but he said no. Am I doing something wrong?"
Mallory shrugged, looking a bit distracted. "Maybe he's just taking it slow. Some guys are like that."
Hannah rolled her eyes. "Slow is fine, really it is but not when he's into me one minute then the next he's acting like he's not even interested. It's confusing."
Dani leaned in. "Justin is a puzzle, and he's missing some pieces. Some get it, some don't. "
I gave Dani a quick look, unsure how to respond. "Yeah, he's… complicated."
Hannah glanced at me, her eyebrows raised. "You know him better than I do. What's going on with him?"
I shrugged, a little uncomfortable. "I don't, honestly. He and I barely became cordial on the plane ride here. He was insufferable before. But I think he just needs patience to get to know him."
Mallory's lips twitched like she wanted to say more but held back. "Men, right? Don't overthink it."
Dani laughed, nudging Hannah. "You deserve someone who's all in, though. No time for games."
Hannah gave a half smile, but there was still frustration in her eyes. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I think tonight I'm going to lay all my cards on the table and go from there. Thank you girls. Really."
Hannah stretched her legs out in front of her, tilting her face toward the sun. "Okay, as much as I could sit here all day, we should probably get going if we want time to shop."
I groaned dramatically, flopping backward onto the sand. "Or hear me out…we could stay here and let the sun burn shopping out of existence."
Mallory nudged me with her foot. "Not happening. You're coming, and you're not going to whine the whole time."
I sat up, brushing the sand off my arms. "That's an impossible request, and you know it."
Dani smirked. "Think of it as an endurance challenge. How long can August last before she completely loses her mind?"
I sighed heavily, shaking my head as I got to my feet. "Fine. But if I end up emotionally scarred and in debt from this, I'm blaming all of you."
Mallory grinned, slinging an arm over my shoulder as we made our way toward the car. "That's fair. But you'll live."
I wasn't convinced.
The hike back up the cliff was rougher than the way down, the incline making my calves burn in protest. By the time we reached the top, we were all winded but victorious, collapsing into the car like we'd just conquered Everest.