Page 51 of Dirty Daria

Quinn sighs happily. “Mack and riding horses through the surf while holding hands.”

I snort. “Not exactly. More like I thought we’d follow David to a den of evil henchmen, I’d take them all out, then Mack and I would spend the rest of the trip fucking like rabbits.”

“Hmmm. Well, that’s kinda close to what I said.”

“What do you want to do today?”

“What’s wrong with this?” She waves her hand toward the deck and the water. She’s right, this is paradise and there’s nothing wrong with lounging around doing nothing. Except I’m getting bored with it. I know, who gets bored with perfection? Apparently, me.

“Don’t be upset, but I’m bored with this.” I mimic her hand movement to show what I’m talking about.

“Ohmigod, me too!” Quinn giggles and sits up, facing me. “I was only saying that because I know you need a vacation and I wanted you to keep enjoying it.”

“Well then, what should we do today?”

“What do you think Mack and Reed are doing?”

“I’ll find out.” I don’t tell her, but I’m secretly happy for the excuse to text Mack and see what he’s doing.

ME: Busy?

MACK: If watching elevator banks to see if any descend from the penthouse is busy, then yep.

ME: Still hasn’t left his room?

MACK: Negative.

ME: That’s some stamina.

MACK: I’ll show you stamina.

I giggle. The sound foreign to my ears. As much as I hate to admit it, I love when Mack flirts with me. I feel light, for lack of a better word. And when I feel light, I do things like giggle. Neither are things I’m used to in my life.

It’s not easy wanting to find the men responsible for Katya’s deathandbe with Mack in equal measure and desire. The constant war in my heart is exhausting. I just wish something would give so I can go back to concentrating on just one. I can’t remember how it feels to have a singular focus any longer.

ME: We were wondering if you guys might want to do something today.

MACK: I would love nothing more, beautiful. But I’ve got to keep eyes on Tremblay in case he makes a move.

ME: What’s Reed doing?

MACK: Passing out, drinking, puking, pouting. Take your pick.

ME: Give me a minute, I may have a solution.

MACK: Don’t do anything foolish, beautiful.

MACK: Beautiful?

I ignore Mack and send a message to Alyssa to see if we can track David using his cell phone or something. Because, fuck, we are in Maldives. When is this ever going to happen again?

“Whenever we take your dad’s jet again, I would imagine,” Quinn says.

I look at her questioningly.

“You were mumbling your thoughts.”

I nod. “Mack is watching David, but I’m seeing if Alyssa has a fix for that somehow.”