Page 60 of A Quick Stop in Paradise

“So, that’s your type, huh? You did say you likedpretty girls.Guess it makes sense you’d go for someone super femme like her.”

“I’m not—uh.” She slumped on the bar, burying her face in her arms. “Kill me.”

“Could always go in the back. Laura’s cleaning in a hurry, which means she’s probably knocking over shelves, throwing glass bottles…” I patted her on the shoulder when she groaned. “So, taking off from your resolution to get a hookup, I’m guessing? I don’t think you’re the type to happily distract yourself with another girl when you can’t have the one you want…”

“It’s not like it’s a big serious crush or anything,” she mumbled, sitting up, pointedly not looking at me. “She’s just pretty. And I guess she’s my type. I don’t know.”

From that awkward blushing mumble, she knew exactly what her type was and knew exactly that it was Stella. I just smiled, and she picked at her fingernails.

“I mean, she’s just got that whole… you know, wears her heart on her sleeve. She reallyfeelsthings and stuff. And she’s so enthusiastic about the things she likes, and she’s got all these big dreams and…”

“And this isn’t a serious crush.”

“Fuck me,” she groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I’d always felt so good about the fact that I’d never had a crush on a straight girl. What am I supposed to do?”

I laughed. “Would if I could give you a drink, Allison. It’s really up to you what to do now. Nothing wrong with spending time with a one-sided crush and just enjoying the feeling of having feelings. Nothing wrong with drawing a strict line and walking away either. Nothing wrong with trying to find another girl to distract yourself, and nothing wrong with not wanting to do that anymore. For better or worse, there’s no rules for this kind of thing.”

She scratched her head, looking away. “God, it’s stupid,” she muttered. “It’s not like I’m giving up on the whole… finding a girl, thing. Mostly because…”

“Because Stella’s locked in on helping you with it, and that’s how you get to spend time with her.”

“How messed up is my life?”

“Oh, very,” I said brightly. “What an absolute fucking trainwreck. Do you want a Shirley Temple to make things better?”

She scowled. “I’m not five years old.”

“Hey, don’t knock the ST.”

She folded her hands on the bar. “Okay, you know? Actually, yeah. With an extra cherry.”

She deserved an extra cherry. I happily delivered, and she moodily sipped the drink when I handed it over, and I leaned against the bar, idly wiping at a spot that was already clean. “Honestly,” I said, “maybe not the worst setup. There’s three potential outcomes, none of which are that bad.”

She gave me a skeptical look. I held up my hand, counting them off.

“One, you succeed in finding another girl, and it distracts you. Two, you don’t, but you get to spend some fun time together with a cute girl you like.”

She scowled. “What’s option three, then? If options one are that I do or I don’t.”

I grinned. “Three is that Stella decides to experiment a little.”

Allison choked on her drink. “The—shut up,” she said, thumping her chest and coughing hard as she caught her breath. “Don’t say things like that,” she mumbled, her face a nice vivid red now.

“What?” I laughed. “A lot of girls experiment on vacation. Trust me. I’d know.”

She buried her face in her hands. “Don’t give me false hope. She’d be way out of my league anyway.”

And wasn’t the world full of fun coincidences, because that was when I spotted, stepping out of a door and shielding her eyes against the sun, Stella walking alongside a man who looked like a relative, the same dishwater blond hair she had, the two of them talking quietly. And better yet for Allison, she was wearing a swimsuit again, a skimpy blue bikini top and a sarong skirt bottom. I turned back to Allison. “I don’t think she’d be too out of your league,” I said, raising my voice just a fraction, and Stella looked over, lighting up at the sight of Allison.

“She’s—” Allison started, and I saw her life flash before her eyes when Stella’s voice came from behind her.

“Who? What?” she said. “Who’s out of Allison’s league? Is there a girl you like who you’re hiding from me?”

“Uh—uh—” Allison turned back, locking up at the sight of Stella’s swimsuit. Poor girl was broken enough in the mind that she straight-up checked out Stella. “Hi—oh, uh—” Allison cleared her throat. “I was talking to you in the lobby, like, two seconds ago. What kind of quick-change artist are you?”

Not the worst recovery. I leaned against the bar, trying to suppress a smile. Stella folded her arms. “Don’t change the subject. Are you talking about Jessica?”

“No! I’m not—I’m not interested in Jessica,” Allison said, shifting uncomfortably. “We were talking about… celebrity crushes.”

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