Page 17 of One Week in Paradise

‘He watched you doing what ?’

‘ Sssh! ’ I hush Amber and peek out of the large window onto the terrace. Cash is doing laps in the infinity pool outside our suite. Once I’m sure he hasn’t heard Amber’s outburst, I turn my attention back to my phone. ‘And he wasn’t watching me. He just caught me.’

‘That is…’ Amber pauses for a second, pondering on what word to choose. ‘Extremely hot. Damn.’

‘Tell me about it.’

I know that I should probably feel embarrassed or ashamed that Cash has caught me in such a compromising and vulnerable position, but I don’t. The arousal he felt watching me was evident, and I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t turn me on even more.

‘Have you spoken about it?’ Amber asks.

‘No. He basically ran away once I realised that he was there.’ I sigh and flop onto the comfortable couch. ‘And now he’s acting like it never happened.’

‘You guys are ridiculous,’ Amber snorts. ‘Just fuck each other already.’

‘We’ve already decided we’re not doing that,’ I tell her. ‘His friendship with Dane is too important to ruin with a fling.’

‘So you’re just gonna spend the rest of your time in Jamaica running around like the unresolved sexual tension between you two isn’t off the charts?’

‘Yes. Exactly.’

‘You guys are ridiculous.’

She’s right. But I don’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself if I ruined Cash and Dane’s friendship just because I’m horny.

‘It’s for the best,’ I tell her. Amber looks like she wants to say more, but I cut her off with a quick change of topic. ‘Did you see my last post?’

‘Yes! It was great, and not too many troll comments either this time.’

The troll comments on my posts are easing up.

There seem to be a few dedicated assholes committed to bringing up Ethan or The Video every time I post anything, but the positive comments definitely outweigh them all.

Even my follower account is steadily increasing.

I’m back up to 232,349. Still a far cry from my peak, but I’m definitely getting there again.

‘People love seeing you happy,’ says Amber. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You just made yourself look guilty by hiding and going offline. Act like it doesn’t bother you, and people will forget things.’

I know she’s making sense, but I can’t help but feel guilty for my part in everything that happened. The troll comments are my punishment for that. But I haven’t told Amber about it yet, and now isn’t the time.

Cash pokes his head through the sliding doors and waves to get my attention. ‘The others are all hanging out here. You want to come and join?’

I look over his shoulder. Marcus, Danny and Sara are diving into the pool while Bea, Lacey and Meera relax on sun loungers.

I end the call with Amber, promising to keep her updated on any developments between Cash and me (as unlikely as that may be, but it gets her off my back), and change into a bikini.

When I get outside, Cash, Marcus and Danny are in the middle of a ‘hold your breath underwater’ competition. As I approach the sun loungers, Lacey tilts her head down and peers at me over the top of her large, cat-eye sunglasses. I offer her a wave, but it’s not returned.

I shrug off the odd energy emanating from Lacey and slide into an empty sun lounger between Meera and Bea.

‘You not getting in?’ I ask.

‘No way,’ says Bea. ‘I’m more of a “lounge by the pool and look cute” kind of girl.’

‘Agreed,’ says Meera.

I laugh. They’re both certainly succeeding.

We watch as the guys start a race in the pool, seeing who can do ten laps the fastest. Cash easily cuts through the water, and the sight of him, wet and glowing in the sunlight, nearly makes me malfunction.

I’ve got to get myself under control.

‘What’ve you all been up to today?’ I ask. ‘We were supposed to have the couples massage, but it got cancelled.’

‘Same,’ says Sara. ‘I was really looking forward to it.’

‘We did the massages yesterday,’ says Bea.

‘It was amazing . Very romantic.’ She peeks over the ridge of her knees to see where the guys are.

Satisfied that they’re not within earshot, she drops her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

‘Marcus hasn’t been able to keep his hands off me.

I don’t know what they put in that oil, but it did the damn job. ’

‘Massages can be very sensual when done properly,’ Meera says. ‘It’s such a shame they had to cancel. What have you and Cash been up to instead, Bailey?’

My mind flashes back to earlier this afternoon. Cash crouching over me, his hands deftly making their way down my back.

I clear my throat and hope I can blame the sun for my rapidly reddening cheeks. ‘Not much. Just relaxing in our suite.’

Sara wiggles her brows. ‘Is that a euphemism or …’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You know,’ Sara says with a sly shrug. ‘You and Cash… getting to know each other.’

‘Yeah,’ says Meera. ‘How are things going? Are the sparks flying?’

Bea lets out a cackle. ‘I think things are going pretty well for the new couple.’

My cheeks are on fire. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Bea lolls her head in my direction and gives me a knowing look. ‘Come on, girl. We all saw you last night at the dance lesson.’

‘You couldn’t keep your hands off each other,’ says Meera.

‘It was a dance lesson,’ I protest. ‘Where were our hands supposed to be?’

Bea hums, and the three of them share a glance. ‘I’m just saying. He can’t keep his eyes off you.’

‘We’re not trying to embarrass you,’ says Meera. She reaches over and gives me a gentle nudge. ‘I just… We know it’s not been easy for you recently after everything that happened. We just want to make sure you know you’ve got a good thing in front of you. Sometimes it can be hard to see.’

A lump forms in my throat. It seems like Cash and I have been playing the perfect couple, much better than I’d expected.

‘They’re right.’

I jump at the sound of Lacey’s voice. She’s been so quiet the entire time I’ve forgotten that she’s here.

‘Cash is quite the catch,’ she says slowly, her tone careful and considered. ‘Where did you say you guys met again?’

Before I can answer, Cash swims up to the edge of the pool and grins at me. I can’t help but smile back.

‘Oh, good. Cash is here too.’ She leans forward and rests her chin on her interlaced fingers. Then she smiles at him, but it’s not her normal wide smile. It’s cold and calculating, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

If Cash notices that Lacey’s tone is a little off, he doesn’t let it show. He hoists himself out of the pool and plops down onto the sun lounger, lifting my legs up and dropping them onto his lap.

‘Remind us all again,’ Lacey says. ‘How did you two meet?’

I meet Cash’s gaze for a half second, panic flitting across my features. It’s a huge oversight, but we never actually sat down and decided what our ‘getting together’ story would be.

‘We met on—’ I begin, but Cash cuts across me.

‘Her brother is my best friend.’

My brows shoot up. Okay. So we’re going with a version of the truth.

Cash glances over at me, and a slow smile spreads across his face. ‘I guess I’ve always had a thing for her, but I wasn’t sure if she ever actually liked me.’

I swallow. Cash is looking at me like he means it. Like he really means it.

‘So I’ve always just kind of admired her from afar,’ he finishes with a small shrug.

‘Aw, you guys ,’ Meera trills. ‘That is so cute! What made you finally give him a chance, Bailey?’

Everyone turns to face me, and it feels like there’s a spotlight shining directly on me.

I ignore them all as best I can and focus entirely on Cash.

I know that he’s just playing the part of a doting boyfriend in front of the others and that he doesn’t really mean what he’s just said, but I can’t stop my truth from spilling from my lips.

‘Once I got to know him – the real him – I couldn’t help falling for him.’

‘Isn’t that just adorable ?’ Lacey says, her voice void of any emotion. She narrows her eyes as she looks between Cash and me. ‘What a perfect couple.’

I throw her a weird look. I don’t know what’s gotten into her today, but I don’t like it. She seems bothered by our presence for some reason.

Cash gives my leg a gentle squeeze and then dives back into the pool.

Danny has found a beach ball, and they’ve started up a game of volleyball. Meera and Sara both dive in, and with some coaxing from Marcus, Bea tentatively joins them too.

‘Are you not going to get in?’ Lacey asks me after a beat or two of awkward silence.

It’s just the two of us now lying across our loungers.

I shake my head. ‘I can’t swim. Look, Lacey, is everything all right?’

She tilts her head to the side, her lips twisting into a small smirk. ‘How do you mean?’

‘Something seems off between us. If you’ve got something to say, just say it.’

I don’t expect her to do it, but to her credit, she does. ‘I saw The Video. The one that went viral.’

My stomach drops. ‘Okay. And?’

‘ And ?’ she scoffs before flopping back down onto her sun lounger. ‘I don’t associate with cheaters. Girls like you are the worst .’

‘ I wasn’t the cheater,’ I say through gritted teeth. I can’t believe this is still coming up. ‘Ethan was. And I was just as much a victim as the other girl was.’

Lacey doesn’t say anything, and anger surges through me. Will I ever be free from this label?

‘I don’t care if you don’t believe me,’ I say. ‘It’s the truth.’

Lacey glances my way, arching a perfect blonde brow. ‘You know, after I watched The Video, I realised something. I know the girl in it. Not you, the other one. Ethan’s actual girlfriend.’

My blood runs cold.

‘She’s a friend of one of my cousins. I reached out to her and asked her what happened, and she told me everything .’

Everything.

She says that word so slowly, letting each excruciating syllable hang in the air.

‘I know what you did, Bailey. You’re not as innocent as you like to pretend. Does he know?’ She nods over to where Cash is tossing the ball to Sara.

‘Please don’t say anything,’ I whisper. Out of everything that’s happened since The Video went viral, I think Cash knowing the truth might just be the worst thing.

Any goodwill I’ve acquired during this trip will evaporate in an instant.

He’ll tell Dane. Dane will tell Mum. Mum will tell Dad.

And I’ll never be able to escape their disappointed stares and mumbles for the rest of my life.

‘God, you’re pathetic.’

Pathetic.

She’s right. She turns away from me and pulls her sunglasses over her eyes. I’ve been dismissed.

Despite the heat, my entire body feels cold. I push myself up from the lounger, blinking back tears as I walk rigidly back to our suite.

‘What’s up, Bailey?’ Cash calls from the other end of the pool.

‘Got a bit of a headache,’ I mumble. ‘I think the heat’s getting to me. I’m gonna lie down for a bit.’

I don’t wait for his response. As soon as I’m back inside our suite, I pull the curtain over our large sliding doors and submerge the whole room in darkness.

Once I’m sure I’m hidden from the others, I crawl into bed, hug my knees to my chest, and let the tears fall.