Page 15 of A Quick Stop in Paradise

She put a hand on my arm, a soft touch—just a brush of her fingertips at first, scoping out the reaction, seeking permission, and when I didn’t pull away, she settled her hand on me more solidly, reassuring. “It’s not your fault, Ryan,” she said quietly. “If he was upset about the lack of sex, he could have talked about it. Or broken up with you to be with someone else. If he didn’t like the way you show affection, he could have done something about it. It’s never about you. Trust me—I’ve talked to a million people freshly after getting cheated on. People all react this way—it’s normal—but it’s never their fault.”

I laughed, a sudden sound pulling itself up from me as a smile played on my lips. “I guess working at a resort bar, you see the wildest parts of human behavior…”

She smiled wider. She had such a good smile… the way her canines flashed a little, how she smiled wide enough it strained the corners of her lips into little rounds, it was the kind of smile that radiated genuine cheer and affection, making you feel like she justlikedyou—likeas a verb, as an action, as something she consciously and actively did. It was kind of infectious, and I smiled with her as she said, “You don’t know the half of it. The stories I could tell you.”

“Maybe I feel better knowing my whole deal is probably pretty pedestrian…”

“If you like, I could talk about the guy whose girlfriend cheated on him with both of his brothers in one week.”

I blinked twice. “Oh my god. I thought I dealt with trauma in my work. How did he even find out?”

She grinned. “He checked her phone…”

I wrinkled my nose. “She was getting risqué with them in text?”

“Worse. She took videos.”

“Oh, god. With each of them?”

“He said he would never be able to look either brother in the eye again. That was a year ago now, and I sincerely hope he’s held to that conviction.”

“Can you imagine? I’m going to retch.”

She pushed the food my way again. “Well, better not do it on an empty stomach. C’mon, eat up. Perfect temperature now.”

“After you’ve gotten me on the thought of watching my girlfriend have sex with my siblings… like you’re trying to make me lose my appetite.” I took a bite of the pizza, which smelled heavenly, and found it to taste every bit as good—perfect bite to the crust, a rich sauce with the warmth of good, fresh oregano. The woman took her pizza seriously, and I wasn’t taking it for granted, even though I lost it a little when she said,

“Don’t tell me you’ve had a girlfriend cheat on you too.”

“No—” I fumbled the pizza a little bit, setting it back on the board and covering my mouth as I swallowed. “No, thank god. I’d be thinking of her having sex with my siblings right now if so. And of me finding the video. I have a twin, too, it feels worse with a twin.”

“Identical?”

“Couldn’t be less identical. His name’s Oscar. He’s, uh… he’s okay, actually. He took my side in the whole…” I shifted awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling about my life. I’m not jumping straight from the topic of… semi-incestuous cheating to my career change.”

She grinned wider, eyes glinting. “You love the topic of incest enough to want to hold onto it? To each their own, I guess.”

“You’re lucky I’m grateful for the pizza, Miss Sterling.”

“I am curious about your career, too,” she laughed, relaxing back in her seat, kicking one boot up on the edge of the table. Chunky Doc Martens, of course. Her whole look, her style, saidat least a little queer,and she owned it comfortably—had been perfectly casual asking about a girlfriend in my past, like the only remarkable thing about it was if she’d cheated on me too. When I thought about it, I was pretty sure I’d made a comment about her hitting on me while I was in shock after she’d dropped the bombshell on me about Shane, and she’d just said she wouldn’t hit on a woman who’d just gotten cheated on.

I could hardly imagine that level of relaxedness about it… I didn’t think anyone would really be outright hateful about it if I came out as bisexual, but it just felt like something we didn’t talk about. Thinking about mentioning a girlfriend with work colleagues, it felt… immature, unserious, somehow. Maybe because I’d tried to leave my attraction to women in my high school years.

Also, just the thought of telling Mom I liked girls made me want to shrivel up and die. Then again, we’d see if Mom even likedmeanymore after I broke up with Shane and left him with everyone to control the narrative however he liked.

I envied this woman, honestly. Not just for the brick pizza oven and charming little beach home—which helped—but she just radiated authenticity. Maybe it’d rub off on me a little if I talked to her. A girl could hope.

“I’m a journalist,” I said, after a few seconds’ too long a pause. Brooklyn was still patient with me, though—probably knew my brain was scrambled eggs at the moment. “Well—that’s a lofty term. More aspirational than anything else. I’m a freelance writer, run an online newsletter that makes most of my money from subscribers, and I get contracted for guest articles… it’s all a bit piecemeal, but I put it together one way or another. I got my degree in journalism and media, but I’d been working a sleek corporate job in the social media field, and I’d started writing on the side, built it out a little bit while I was working, and one day I just decided to go for it. You know—chase my dreams.”

She held her drink up for a toast. “Here’s to that,” she said. “I worked in the corporate world for six months before I told my boss to eat a bag of dicks and went back to bartending. I’m a lot happier making less money and doing something I like more.”

I clinked my drink against hers. “Maybe you can try telling my family,” I said with a dry laugh. “They acted like I’d decided to run away and join the circus. Most of them still haven’t forgiven me. Especially since Shane works in the same industry and they like him better than me, and now that I dumped him, they’ll act like I just destroyed it all specifically to make them sad on purpose.” I sighed, hard, hunching over the food. “I’m sorry, I’m just dumping everything on you.”

“Letting it out is healthy. Sounds like a lot of your family sucks.”

“They don’t suck, they… they’re perfectly lovely. They just want what’s best for me, and we disagree on what’s best.”

She raised her eyebrow. “A boyfriend who cheats on you and a job you hate?”

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