Page 51 of Act Three
“Tell us about theseimaginarymen,” Wyatt persisted, ignoring Isaac. “Am I one of them?”
I stepped out of Isaac’s reach and pulled a face.
“I don’t think you know what imaginary means.”
“I’d say I do.” Wyatt gave me that infuriating sideways glance that had made him famous. “I’m one of them, aren’t I? Who else have you been fantasizing about?” He gave Isaac a wink.
I wanted to argue, but that would mean either pretending that the idea didn’t turn me on, or admitting that the suggestionhadsparked something in my imagination. Instead, I turned my focus back to the enclosure, where the capuchins continued to swing on ropes and two of them snacked on fruit.
“I don’t think we’ll see any monkey orgies today. The capybaras are down here.”
I walked ahead of the guys with the map in my hands, unable to bring myself to look back at them.
The last thing I needed to see right now was the knowing looks in their eyes. Or whatever might be going on in their pants.
23
WYATT
Yeah, I was a joker. Just like my parents, Harriet and Wayland Cole. I was famous for it.
Usually I knew when to stop… but when Kyla walked away and avoided eye contact with either Isaac or me as we saw the zebras, antelope, and otters, I wondered whether I’d taken it too far.
I hadn’tactuallysuspected that Kyla had fantasized about being pounded by me and several other guys — it was just a joke — but her reaction made me wonder if I’d been right.
It seemed so unlikely. She was hot, sure, but she was also hardworking and serious about her job, even after being thrust into it unexpectedly. I knew more than anyone that stereotypes weren’t always accurate, but if I had to guess which member of the cast was the most sexually adventurous based on their reputation, I would have said Brooke. And then probably Dean.
I never would have guessed Kyla.
Now she had me second-guessing everything I thought I knew as we approached the elephant enclosure.
Who was she, really? And why did I feel like I’d touched a nerve?
There was a baby elephant trotting along after its mother, its trunk swinging from side to side, and I took a few photos and pretended not to notice when Kyla let her guard down again and moved closer to us. The crowd had thinned out after the aquarium as everyone diverged on different paths, but the elephants must have been a major attraction for the zoo, because the viewing platforms were packed. Parents lifted their kids so they could see over the barriers and almost everyone held up phones, trying to capture the best footage of the animals.
Only Kyla kept hers in her pocket while she stared off into the distance.
“About before,” I said, as we followed the crowd into the petting zoo. “I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
She frowned, and I could tell she was trying to decide whether to believe me.
“You didn’t.”
Kyla flicked her hair over her shoulder and I suspected that she was lying. But at least she relaxed again.
There were two gates at the entrance to the Australian wildlife enclosure, and we obeyed the sign instructing us to close the first one before opening the second, so none of the animals could escape. An attendant was selling pellets that we could feed to the wallabies and I bought three bags, passing one to Isaac, one to Kyla, and keeping the third one for myself.
Unlike the other enclosures, the animals here were not separated by walls, fences, or ditches. Instead, they roamed around, mostly ignoring us. Two emus strutted under the tree canopy, their beady eyes watching everything. A dozen or so wallabies loped around like large rabbits and leaned back on their long tails when they brought their forepaws up to sit on their hind legs.
“Look,” Kyla said, pointing up to the treetops. I peered in the direction of her outstretched finger and couldn’t see anything fora few moments, but then I saw what she’d noticed: a gray fuzzy animal asleep in the fork of two branches. A koala.
“I feel like I’m in Narnia,” Isaac joked as he gazed at all the animals around us.
“Excuse me,” a woman said. “Are you Wyatt Cole?”
I turned to see a middle-aged woman with two kids beaming at me. So much for our disguises.
“Yes, I am.” I returned her smile.
