Page 25 of The Fallacy of True Love
“He’s hot, and hot guys are your type. Especially when they look like they can hold you up and have their way with you.” She gave me a sly grin coupled with raised brows that had my eyes instantly rolling.
“Why don’t you go for him?”
“You know I can’t do casual, and I definitely can’t do younger guys.”
“His loss.”
Nikki laughed. “Did Eric get upset that you closed early?”
“Yep.” My conscience bugged me for not holding up my promise, but it was either that or committing homicide. That would have ruined the event entirely. “I’ll make it up to him.” Maybe I could do some free dev work for his organization. At least that would utilize my skill set without putting me at risk of jail time. “Anyway, I should go before?—”
“Tita Cammy!” Jo called out from inside the tent. “Where’s my special tattoo?”
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
“Too late,” Nikki told me with a laugh. “You know my girl doesn’t forget promises.”
I’d already broken one today—I wasn’t breaking another. Especially not to Jo.
She ran to me, and I bent down for a hug. “Hey, Joey girl.”
“Can you tattoo me now?”
“How about I come by your house later tonight and do it then?” I suggested. “Then I’d have the space to do it properly.”
“But I won’t be able to show it off to everyone here.”
She had me there. Nikki and I exchanged looks, and I used my eyes to tell her it was her fault for raising such a smart kid. Going by Nikki’s smirk, she got my drift.
“You’re right,” I told Jo.
“You can do it behind our booth while we don’t have customers,” Nikki suggested. “Then, since Cam’s done with her shift, she’s free to help us here. Right, Tita Cammy?”
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that Nikki was my friend and she’d saved my ass plenty of times. This was the least I could do for her, even though I just wanted to put as much distance as I could between me and Alonzo.
“Right.”
Alonzo
I was browsing through a stack of hand-painted postcards and thinking how much Dani would have loved them when I finally got a message from Inang’s Guesthouse telling me I could check in now.
I’d found her listing online, and though the room was small with no air-conditioning and the bathroom was shared, reviewers said it was clean and only a ten-minute walk from the beach. Best of all, it cost a fraction of what I might have spent on a hotel room if I were with Dani.
My stomach lurched as my brain tortured me again with a vision of her with him.
Damn it. Time to get to the guesthouse so I could drown my sorrows in beer. A quick Google search told me there was a convenience store along the way. I’d swing by and grab a bottle or two.
Hell, I might as well get a six pack. Besides surfing and swimming, I had no other plans.
I wove my way past people who seemed to be having the time of their lives, and I couldn’t help but imagine how today might have turned out if Dani were with me. She’d wear one of those flowy beach dresses with her hair done in that half-up style she loved. She’d order way too much food because everything looked good and end up giving most of it to me. Then we’d get a spot a few feet from the stage because she liked to be close to the singers without being right in their faces.
Her fingers would be tangled up with mine and she’d take photos of everything even though she’d only post a couple of them. Of course, one of those would be a selfie of us so we could remember the moment, as she always said.
My phone gallery was filled with those types of shots—us two or just her doing the most random things. Like taking a sip of her espresso or laughing at something I said.
How could I move on from that?
How could she?
