Page 13 of The Other Side of Paradise (Story of Paradise #2)

I saw the brief flicker of embarrassment pass over Ryan’s face before she put on a serene smile towards Stella. “She’s easy to like,” she said. “I’m grateful for her. Was there when my whole family wasn’t.”

Stella frowned. “I’m not taking their side.”

Ryan sighed, pursing her lips. “Honestly, Stella? I appreciate you being on my side, but you picking fights with everyone —right in front of me so I’m automatically dragged in—it’s not the most helpful.”

A conflicted look spilled over Stella’s features, and she folded her arms, giving a defensive look Ryan’s way. “I’m not going to just let them walk all over you.”

“And I see that,” Ryan said, measuring her voice patiently, “and I’m letting you know that, while the effort is appreciated… you’re kind of adding a lot of stress to the situation.”

Stella rolled her eyes, huffing, and she turned away with a sigh.

The tension was so thick I felt like I could choke on it, and I felt pulled in two ways—it wasn’t like Stella was wrong for actually confronting these things, but Ryan already had enough stress right now.

I spoke quietly. “Ryan’s going through a lot,” I said, “and she’s, I dunno…

delicate. Anyone would be, right?” I added with a practiced shrug, and Stella gave me a loaded look that about gave me a heart attack before she turned to Ryan with a smirk.

“Got the whole staff on your side,” she said. Ryan scowled.

“She’s not just the staff , she’s my friend.”

I beamed at Stella. “No, staff is right,” I said. “She’s paying me to agree with her.”

Ryan sighed, a smile spilling over her face. “Allison. Telling is a breach of contract. I’m cutting your pay.”

Stella laughed, some of the light coming back into her eyes, and she let out a defeated sigh, leaning against the desk. “Sorry,” she said, finally. “I didn’t mean to make things worse, or anything.”

“It’s all right,” Ryan said softly. “I appreciate you taking my side. And I appreciate the apology. I feel like crap for ruining the vacation, too.”

I frowned at her. “Your stupid boyfriend is the one to blame,” I said, and Stella spoke at the same time, saying,

“Shane’s the one who ruined it.” She grinned at me when we spoke over each other, and I felt like I’d gotten hit in the gut seeing that smile. Jesus, she was… uh… something. “See?” Stella said, looking back at Ryan. “Even your paid lackey agrees.”

Ryan laughed. “Well, if even the paid lackey says so. You really can go watch the show, though. Although… what’s this about a lifeguard?”

Stella bit her lip through a little laugh, her gaze drifting back to the windows.

“We were all at the beach last night, and I was just admiring the scenery a little bit,” she said.

“And by that I mean this lifeguard on duty. Tall guy with dark skin and total dreamboat eyes. I got to talking to him a little bit, his name’s Jacob, he’s vegan and loves this vegan sushi place here, so I was hoping maybe I could take him there today. ”

Oh, god. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I didn’t want to stand here and listen to Stella talk about the hot people she wanted to hook up with. People who were specifically as unlike me as possible. I stiffened, and Ryan gave me a dry smile, clearly not understanding my existential crisis.

“Ah… I should have known,” Ryan said. “Looks like Allison and I both are just pieces on your board.”

Stella laughed it off. “That’s a later thing anyway,” she said. “I want to meet your friend.”

Oh, that’d be rich. Ryan looked at me questioningly, and I shrugged, not even sure what to say.

“Oh, uh…” she started, looking back at Stella with a forced smile.

Poor girl didn’t want to have to figure out how to tell her sister this friend was fucking her brains out.

“Brooklyn and I were going to get lunch with Allison and go to the beach together once Allison’s done with her shift…

I guess you could come? Your hunky lifeguard might be there again today. ”

Jesus, I hoped he wouldn’t. If I went to the beach with Stella Valerie Bell and watched her flirt with someone else, I’d wade into the ocean never to return.

But Stella lit up, and she said, “Yeah, that’s a plan,” and she turned to me, and even despite everything—Stella Valerie Bell looking at me with her eyes sparkling, inviting me to go to the beach with her, suddenly I was useless to do anything other than nod.

“What about you, Allison?” she said. “Do you have a boyfriend, or are you going to be talking to lifeguards too?”

Oh, god. She was not going to try to set me up with someone. I’d die first. I hunched my shoulders. “I’m a lesbian,” I said, and she gave me a look like I was dodging the question.

“Okay…” she said. “Do you have a girlfriend, or are you going to be talking to lady lifeguards? ”

“Uh.” I felt like I’d pass out. I was not talking about my love life with Stella. Oh, god.

Ryan cut in with a muttered, “Allison’s terminally single,” and I shot her a horrified look.

“Oh my god! I’m working on it!” I blurted before I could think it through, and Stella lit up.

“Okay, great,” she said. “Then we can divvy up the cute people between the two of us and talk to everyone on the beach.”

Oh my god. I was going to die. If Stella tried to set me up with a girl, I’d… die wasn’t a strong enough word. I’d do something beyond die. I’d die so hard I’d reincarnate and instantly die again in the next life. Oblivious to my breakdown, Ryan narrowed her eyes at Stella.

“What, forgot about Jacob already?”

Stella put her hands up. “I don’t know it’ll work out with Jacob. Talking to other cute boys is, like… insurance. I’m trying to make sure I find somebody nice while I’m here. You should, too. Try to bounce back from Shane.”

I snorted. Stella shot me a look.

“What? Bouncing back is a real thing!”

Oh, I believed it. It took everything I had not to laugh out loud. “No, just, uh…” I laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. “Uh, it’s just… I’d actually just been saying the same thing to her.”

I wasn’t a good liar. Ryan folded her arms, pursing her lips at me, but I could see the faint flush in her cheeks. “I will let you know if I decide to,” she said, delicately measuring out each word. “But for right now , I would just like to be in peace.”

Stella laughed, eyes sparkling. “All right, so am I going to meet your friend or am I keeping Allison company?”

I put my hand up to back out, excuse myself, free Stella from the obligation, but Ryan put a knife between my ribs with a dangerous smile my way and said, “You’re going to keep Allison company. She’s looking for all the advice she can get on how to score a date.”

Jesus—was she trying to kill me? I put my hands up pleadingly. “Ryan. Why?”

Stella grinned at me so brightly it put the sun to shame, and I felt my heart miss a beat, my chest tighter and tighter.

She was seriously the prettiest person I’d ever seen.

The way her eyes lit up like the first flush of sunset with she smiled…

I was so done for. “Yeah?” Stella said. “I can do that.”

Ryan gave me a saccharine smile as she headed for the door. “Have fun, Allison,” she said, and I felt dizzy. I didn’t know how to talk to Stella. Stella Valerie Bell was going to talk to me? And I was expected to form responses? My mouth felt dry, and I slumped against the desk, hanging my head.

“You too,” I mumbled. “You and BB go have a much better time.”

It was just a second later that Stella leaned over the counter and shattered my brain with the force of an atomic bomb, because she said, “So, you want a date?”

“Huh—what?” Shit, was this whole thing a dream? Some kind of vision of paradise as I was dying? Stella laughed.

“I hear you’re after a date. My boring sister just told me to help you get one. What kind of stuff are you into?”

Oh—oh. Right. Yeah. She wasn’t asking me on a date, she was talking about helping me get a… yeah. Right. I felt my face burn. “Um.” I stood up taller. “Yeah. Stuff. I’m into… stuff.”

Stella blinked. Jesus, I was an idiot. I hung my head.

“Sorry, I’m a little out of it. Ryan and Brooklyn took me rock-climbing last night and I’m, uh, I’m not athletic. I’ll be recovering for the next two weeks.”

Stella’s jaw dropped. “They went rock-climbing? My sister?”

Rocks weren’t the only things she was climbing. I shrugged. “Brooklyn loves it, but she’s the only woman who goes regularly, so every time she meets a girl, she tries to take them to rock-climbing.”

“Did Ryan like it?”

“She did. And she was really good at it, actually.”

“Ugh, I hate her,” Stella said, and I laughed, surprising myself.

“Me too. I told her that first thing when I got to the gym and saw her halfway up the wall already like it was nothing.”

She grinned at me, and my head spun. “So, you’re not looking for a rock-climbing date.”

“If I had a girlfriend who invited me rock-climbing, I’d be single.”

She laughed. “Okay, that’s a whole mood. We’ll just cross out all the sporty dates.”

“I like swimming, though…”

She beamed. “Me too. It’s the only good kind of exercise, because at least you can just float when you get sick of it.”

“Ha. Yeah. And it cools you down. The second I try to do any physical exertion I’m all sweaty and disgusting.” I’d gotten a conversation with the hottest girl on earth and I was talking to her about being sweaty and disgusting. She just grinned, though.

“Well, maybe we’ll get you a cute swimmer girlfriend.”

“I… um, I don’t think…” I pointed off into the vague distance. “I’m not really looking for a girlfriend, I don’t live here, I’m just… just here for the summer.”

“All right, point taken. Then we’ll find you a cute swimmer girl to have fun no-strings sex with for a few nights and call it a day.”

If… if Stella was going to hang around talking about me having sex, I was going to die. And get turned on. Death by arousal. “I mean,” I managed after a minute, my voice strangled. “Yeah, I guess that’s about the, uh, the long and short of it.”

She winked. I thought I’d pass out, especially when she leaned over the desk a little and gave me a once-over. “Do you have a cute date outfit?” she said, and it took me an eternity to put the words together.

“Um… no. I’m kinda… well… I’m kinda lazy with my wardrobe and stuff.”

She made a face. “Well, you’re not getting anywhere seducing the ladies without putting some effort in. And you’re not going around in your uniform doing it, either. Let’s go clothes-shopping.”

“I—beg your pardon?”

“I love cute clothes. We’ll get you dressed up to make girls stop and stare everywhere you go.”

I didn’t know if this was heaven or hell. It was one of them, for sure. I blinked fast. “You—you don’t have to do that,” I managed. She raised her eyebrows.

“You don’t want to?”

“It’s not that. I mean, you’re very stylish. It’d be a big help. I’m not very stylish, so it’d be a big… help,” I said, wincing as I realized halfway through that I’d already said that. “Just—you know. I don’t want to take up your whole day.”

“C’mon, I’m invested. I’m taking you clothes-shopping, whether you like it or not. I always have my way.”

“Strong will, huh.”

She adjusted her glasses. “Strong will, very intelligent, and my glasses work. You have so many compliments for me.”

I think she was making fun of me. But it sounded affectionate. I guess I could work with that. “I respect a strong will. I guess you can have your way with me. No—” I blurted, hands up, face burning. “That wasn’t—that didn’t come out right—”

She snorted, and she broke out into a laugh, covering her mouth. “Wow, forward. Girls will love it.”

“Uh. I’m so sorry. I just meant—you said you always have your way, and you wanted to take me… I mean, not like… I mean…” The more I talked, the worse it got. I should have gone out and drowned in the pool. Stella leaned against the desk, and my soul left my body when she winked at me.

“Oh, I will,” she said, and my stomach dropped out.

“Uh… huh?”

She laughed. “I’m joking,” she said. “Oh, god, you really are embarrassed. You’re so red right now. I’ve gotta get back to my room real quick now that we’ve changed plans. I guess I’ll stop teasing you for a hot sec.”

“If—if you want me to get my foot out of my mouth and talk normally, it might need to be more than a hot sec.”

She beamed. “Yeah, take your time. You can have all the hot secs you want.”

Stella making wordplay about me having hot sex was not helping the blush situation.

I was never going to be back to a normal temperature.

I gave up, putting my hands up. “Yep—just going to go sleep my way around the whole island real quick, get in every other girl’s bed and then I’ll get back to you. ”

She laughed, standing up, taking her phone out. “Well, make sure to tell me all about it after your shift. In the meantime, let me get your number.”

Right. Stella’s number.

I wasn’t making it to the end of my shift. I was going to hyperventilate and die. Probably aforementioned death by arousal. Jesus Christ.