I nod, studying that tiny crease between her brows. “And what’s going to happen with Loren?”
“She’s not going to come back until she knows what Roxie’s doing. I can almost guarantee it. Wherever she is, she’s going to convince Mike to stay away with her until she knows if the coast is clear. And when she does come back, she’s going to cry and say she didn’t mean it and try to put all the blame on Roxie.”
“You guys are brutal.” I lean back against the cushions and let out a long breath. Jeez. I was not prepared for this level of…honesty.
“The craziest thing is that Loren used to always be this…this giant personality, you know? She made jokes, laughed the loudest, and always went out of her way to make people smile. Like Matt, without all the…you know…bad stuff. Then, the older we got, the less she did that. It’s like she became insecure somewhere along the way and the funny comments turned to snarky ones. I don’t know when that happened, and it makes me feel like a crappy friend.”
“Liv, you’re not responsible for everyone. You have a life of your own and from some of the things you shared about the argument, the girls weren’t aware of your feelings about certain things, either. Personally, I don’t think it’s possible to know every single detail about every person you know.” I shrug. “If you want people to know your feelings or about something traumatic that happened to you, you tell them.”
“Spoken like a true guy,” she murmurs, but there’s a slight smile on her face.
“That’s because I am, in fact, a guy. It doesn’t have to be so complicated, but that’s just me oversimplifying things.”
We sit in companionable silence, but we’re sort of in a weird spot. Our friends are out driving all over the place, and we’re stuck here not knowing what’s going on. It feels wrong to suggest we do something fun when logically we should be worrying about everyone.
Shouldn’t we?
“Liv?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m kind of at a loss here. What are we supposed to be doing?”
Her eyes go wide. “What do you mean?”
“Like…is it okay if we go for a swim or should we be sitting and waiting for the phone to ring? I’m not sure what the protocol is.”
“Honestly, I don’t either, but…” I watch her bite her bottom lip for a moment before she says, “I don’t think it would be wrong for us to maybe hang out in the pool. Or maybe the hot tub. You know…as long as our phones are close by.”
I stand and stretch before holding out my hand to her. “Which do you prefer?”
“We swam earlier.” She motions to the bathing suit she’s wearing with the floral sarong wrapped around her waist. “But I wouldn’t say no to a little hot tub time. What about you?”
“I fell off the jet ski a lot and it was exhausting.”
“What? Why am I just now hearing this?” Her whole face lights up as she asks. “I want to hear all about it!”
Tugging her close, I kiss her and thoroughly enjoy the way she melts against me. When I lift my head, I smile at the dreamy look on her face. “I’ll tell you everything when we’re in the hot tub. But I need to go change first.”
“Yay! I’ll go turn it on and get the lid off!”
I kiss her again just because I want to, but she quickly gives me a playful shove so I’ll go up and do what I need to do.
“Keep your phone with you!” Olivia calls out as I jog up the stairs. “And take your contacts out! I like you in your glasses!”
It’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and it makes me smile. Once I get to my room, I don’t change right away. I text Mike. I just want to know that everyone’s okay.
Ash: Hey. Did you find Loren?
I put the phone down as I kick off my sneakers and undress. I’m not even sure he’ll respond, but I have to try.
Three minutes later, my phone dings and it’s Mike.
Mike: Yeah. I’m with her now.
That’s…vague.
Ash: Everything okay?
