Page 25 of Official

He gives me a pointed stare.

“It was either that or Flirty McLoverson.”

“Better than Sweet Cheeks Sam, I suppose.”

“That’s cold.” I lower my sunglasses over my eyes and lean back on my elbows, my heels dancing into the sand near the edge of my towel. “You’re the one who said all you planned to do is drink on the beach and swim, and you had the right idea. I’m having a great time doing just that.”

“Maui has so many things to do, though. Snorkeling, hiking, and I heard from the concierge that there’s a big wine and food festival next week.”

“I’m here for the wine and food—sign me up.” I make a motion with my finger in the shape of a check mark in the air.

“Oh! And there’s this thing called snuba diving that I want to try.” Xander sits up and rubs his hands together, his voice rising an octave as he asks, “Okay, what else? We need to make a list, and we can’t leave until we do them all.”

“Sea turtles. I’ve heard of this place where you can see a bunch of sea turtles. They call themhonuhere.”

“Are you sure you’re supposed to pronounce theh?”

“That’s what our server called them the other night, and I trust him.”

“I’m in.” He retrieves a notebook and pen from one of the bags, and over his shoulder, I watch him flip to an empty page.

“What is that?”

“Focus,” he murmurs, but I don’t miss the layer of enthusiasm in his tone. Once he jots down the sea turtles and the festival, he adds “hiking” and “snuba” too.

After a moment, he taps the page with the end of his pen and says, “A pig roast. I want to go to a luau with a pig roast.”

“Let’s do it.” My excitement rises with every item we add to the list, and the glimmer in Xander’s eyes grows brighter too.

The truth is, no matter how awesome it is to lounge around the beach—in a gorgeous place like freaking Maui, no less—making this list has made me realize I’ve been moping on this beach instead of enjoying the wonders around me like I should.

But having something to look forward gives me the burst of optimism I need to start getting over this funk.

Even though I’m still in deep trouble. All it would take is a single swipe on my phone to see just how bad.

Just… not yet.

I’m having too much fun simply existing, as Xander puts it.

I know I need to face the humiliation, but every time I pick up my phone to do it, I turn it back off and run down to the hotel gym for a workout or lean my head back on a towel as the sound of waves washes over me.

I know it would help to talk to my best friend—she always knows the right thing to say. But I haven’t even checked my texts or called Val since I left, so now I can add “bad friend” to the mix as well. She’s going to absolutely kill me when I finally get home.

Until then, I’m going to enjoy the items on the list we just made like the end of the world is coming.

Xander might not be right about my vacation diet, but he’s onto something when it comes to having a good time.

Because this has been one hell of a fun time, and it’s mostly because of my company—my brother’s best friend, of all people.

Why ruin it with the drama of real life?

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