Page 57 of A Quick Stop in Paradise

“Ah… indeed.”

“Was he at least good in bed?”

I wrinkled my nose. “He… wasn’t.”

She snorted, and she broke out laughing, lying back on her towel. “Drag his ass,” she said. “Hey, tell me about your new job and everything. All I ever hear about it how it’s not as good as your old job.”

“Itismy old job. I’d been doing it for years before I left the other job to focus full-time on it. But Mom won’t tell you that part.”

“Huh. No kidding, she won’t. She really doesn’t like it, huh?”

“Doesn’t like that I’m not on the corporate ladder… doesn’t like that I don’t get regular paystubs. But I really like the job.” I lay back with her, putting on my sunglasses against the warm tangerine colors of the sunset overhead, and I guess I had… girl time, together with Stella, talking about my job, about her studies, about her friends. Helped me realize I’d never really heard anything about her, either—two people who shared genetics and nothing else. We were there for a long time, the sun fully set behind the horizon before Brooklyn called my name, and I looked at where she and Allison came up the sand towards us, still slick with ocean water. Brooklyn in a swimsuit really was something… the water droplets perfectly poised on her waist looked like something out of a moody-sexy photoshoot for a gym.

I was so focused checking out Brooklyn that I didn’t notice Allison had a Solo cup and a cheeky smile on her face until they got up to the two of us and, moving unceremoniously, she dashed a cupful of ocean water on Stella’s front. She jolted up to sitting, shouting a half-censored curse and wiping the water away. “Allison!” she shot, and Allison snort-laughed, throwing the cup to the side.

“You thought I wouldn’t take revenge for earlier?”

“I’ll pull your hair out,” Stella said, jumping up to her feet, and Allison took off running in the other direction as Stella chased her. I gave Brooklyn an inquisitive look, and she shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said. “Had fun soaking up the sun well past sunset?”

“Stella wanted to have… girl’s talk,” I said, standing up, brushing loose sand off my swimsuit. “It was actually nice. I don’t get to talk to her much. I just wish she’d talk a little bit less about boys…”

She laughed, her gaze following Stella and Allison. “You know,” she said, her voice dropping, “she seems pretty chill with Allison.”

“I know… but it’s different finding out a stranger you just met likes girls as opposed to your own sister,” I said. Of course, that was hardly it. Trying to picture what Stella would do if I told her Iwashaving that fling she kept pushing, just having it with Brooklyn… she’d probably be completely supportive, based on how she was with Allison.

So what was my holdup? It would be easier if I knew. Instead, I just couldn’t bear the thought of telling her the wordsI’m bisexual.

“Well,” Brooklyn said after a beat, “you know the situation with her a lot better than I do. I’m glad you had fun. I’m getting cold, though, so what do you say we stop those two from killing each other and get out of here?”

Once we were all rounded up and dressed up, taking turns at the shower at the top of the beach to get all the sand off our swimsuits and put our clothes back on, Stella hugged herself standing next to her car, a sleek black SUV. I didn’t want to think about how much money the family spent on rental cars.

“I should probably get back to the resort,” Stella said. “Mom’s going to lose her mind if both her daughters are AWOL. Get back and tell her Ryan’s doing perfectly fine.”

I sighed. “Thanks, Stella… I honestly appreciate that.” I paused. “And thanks for helping Allison find her cute swimmer girlfriend. I look forward to asking Allison all about her.”

“I wasn’t—” Allison went vaguely purple in the face. “What? Who? Oh, god, Stella, what did you say to her?”

Stella grinned at her. “Oh, just told her all about how you and that girl were, like… making out on the sand.”

Allison raised her hackles, looking like she might hiss like a cat and run into the bushes around the edges of the lot. “I told you it’s not a thing! She’s probably one hundred percent straight and she was just chatting about our vacations!”

“Chatting about taking off,” Stella said, “or chatting about what she’d like to take offyou—”

“I’m never talking to you again,” Allison huffed, folding her arms, looking away. Stella laughed, opening her car door.

“Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow, probably. Ryan, let me know if Allison hooks up with that girl, okay? She won’t tell me if she does, but you might catch her in the act.”

“There is noactto catch!” Allison called as Stella slipped into the car and shut the door, and she groaned, hanging her head. “Your sister isweird.”

“You’re telling me. I’ve got twenty-one years of experience with her. So,” I said, beaming at Allison, “who’s the swimmer girl?”

Allison put her hands up. “Her name’s Jessica. She’s nice. We hung out in the water chatting a little. And then we went back to our respective business once her friends came back around, and we didn’t trade contacts, anything. Literally I don’t even think she’s gay.”

Brooklyn gave her a cautious smile. “She’s pretty, though, right?”

Allison shrugged dramatically, palms upturned. “I dunno. I guess?”

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