Page 24 of The Other Side of Paradise (Story of Paradise #2)

“Oh, I, uh, I booked a different hotel,” she said awkwardly, and I realized we’d already had the conversation.

“Oh, yeah. The one Allison couldn’t force you out of,” I said. “I can’t believe Shane is there squatting in your room and you’ve ended up kicked out to a different hotel. Fuck that guy.” I paused. “But not literally.”

“Ah… indeed.”

“Was he at least good in bed?”

She wrinkled her nose. “He… wasn’t.”

I laughed—a big snort, and then broke out laughing, falling onto my back, sprawled out on the towel, and I said, “Drag his ass.” I paused, looking over at her, and I said, “Hey, tell me about your new job and everything. All I ever hear about it how it’s not as good as your old job.”

She pursed her lips. “It is my old job. I’d been doing it for years before I left the other job to focus full-time on it. But Mom won’t tell you that part.”

“Huh. No kidding, she won’t. She really doesn’t like it, huh?”

“Doesn’t like that I’m not on the corporate ladder…

doesn’t like that I don’t get regular paystubs.

But I really like the job. Like you said, basically, I write stuff on the internet.

” She sank onto her back, sliding her sunglasses on.

“But the writing is only part of it. It’s an information-gathering job, really.

Journalist is a lofty title, but I investigate human rights abuses—mostly in underserved areas and communities in the US, but I’ve done work all over the world. ”

“Right. Your big trips off to Liberia.”

“Libya.”

“Seriously?” I shot her a look, and she raised her eyebrows, brows creasing above her sunglasses.

“What, you don’t know the difference?”

“ Grandma doesn’t know the difference. She said Liberia. Multiple times.”

She laughed, turning back up to the sky, letting out a long sigh. “That makes sense… Grandma considers a trip out of the suburb and into the city to be a life-defining journey.”

We chatted like that, for a while, Ryan actually telling me for once what was going on in her life, with all the cadence of like, well, you never asked, which, I guess, sure.

We’d found our way here now, and this was more fun.

Talked about my studies, about my internship deal back on the mainland and got to mope wondering what my friends were doing, which felt stupid, like, pitying myself for being on a luxury beach vacation, but Ryan seemed like she got it.

The sun was fully gone over the horizon by the time we wrapped, the sky dusky in twilight shades with a soft glow at the horizon, and the air was cooling off when Brooklyn called across the beach towards Ryan, and I sprawled out comfortably on the towel taking in one more minute of lying down before we had to go.

And then Allison threw a cup of water on me.

“The fu—” I gasped, sitting up sharply, wiping the water away, turning on where Allison looked like the cat that got the canary, beaming and laughing. “Allison!”

“You thought I wouldn’t take revenge for earlier?” she laughed, throwing the cup aside, a challenging expression on her face, and I jumped to my feet.

“I’ll pull your hair out,” I said, lunging for her, and she laughed, slipping out of my reach, and I took off after her—she wasn’t kidding, though, that she was faster on the sand than I was, and I only caught up with her when she let me, slowing down so I thumped into her with my arms around her waist, squealing with laughter trying to pull away.

“You’re lucky I’m not throwing you in the ocean. ”

“Psh. Try. I’m a good swimmer.”

“You’re evil.”

“Oh, but it’s not when you do it?”

I laughed. “No, it is. I’m evil too.” I stepped back, grinning at her, arms folded. “So? How did things go?”

“I was just swimming. You could see me.” She wouldn’t look right at me. I raised my eyebrow.

“You disappeared for a good few minutes…”

“I needed to go to the bathroom.” She still wouldn’t look at me. And she was blushing a little. I narrowed my eyes.

“Allison. Did you have a quickie with Jessica in the bathroom?”

“No—what?” She whirled on me with a look of shock, horror, confusion, appalled-at-being-called-out-ness. “Huh? No—of course not!”

I put my hands on my hips. “With who, then?”

“Nobody! There was no quickie?”

“You’re blushing so much. Who was it?”

“Well, yeah, because you’re here talking about me having… quickies, ” she said, whisper-shouting the last word, clearly too embarrassed to say it loud.

“You are such a liar,” I laughed. There was this tumbling sensation in my chest, like I desperately needed to know who Allison, of all people, had stepped off to the side for some action with.

I mean, I believed her that she wasn’t fucking in the bathroom, but a little sneaky make-out off to the side wasn’t even remotely unusual, and I needed to know which girl she was making out with or I’d die.

“Are you really going to hide the details from me?”

“There’s no details to hide! Oh my god. Let’s just—let’s get going. Ryan and BB are packing up.”

“Oh, well isn’t that convenient,” I laughed. “We’re not done here, young lady!”

“We objectively are because there’s nothing else to say.

I went to the bathroom. It’s normal! Humans do it all the time!

Oh my god.” She stormed back towards the others, her face beet-red the whole way, and I laughed, following along with her, even though I wanted to grab her and say tell me now dammit.

Was it Jessica? I hadn’t seen her around since Allison vanished.

Maybe Jessica went back and Allison was going to meet her where she was staying.

It better not have been, not without Allison telling me where she was going.

We all took turns in the shower up at the top of the beach, washing off the sand and rinsing our feet before we got back into our shoes and clothes, and we were all in the parking lot around my car when I said, “I should probably get back to the resort. Mom’s going to lose her mind if both her daughters are AWOL.

Get back and tell her Ryan’s doing perfectly fine. ”

Ryan sighed with a small, grateful smile. “Thanks, Stella… I honestly appreciate that,” she said, and she paused. “And thanks for helping Allison find her cute swimmer girlfriend. I look forward to asking Allison all about her.”

Allison’s eyes bulged. “I wasn’t—” She fumbled, looking horrified at me. “What? Who? Oh, god, Stella, what did you say to her?”

I grinned. “Oh, just told her all about how you and that girl were, like… making out on the sand.”

Allison shot me a wild look, shoulders hunched. “I told you it’s not a thing! She’s probably one hundred percent straight and she was just chatting about our vacations!”

Not a thing except for stolen moments in the girls’ bathroom. “Chatting about taking off,” I said, “or chatting about what she’d like to take off you —”

“I’m never talking to you again,” Allison huffed, turning away, arms folded, looking like she wanted to fold up into herself and disappear. She was cute like that. I laughed, opening my car door.

“Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow, probably. Ryan,” I said, turning to the others, “let me know if Allison hooks up with that girl, okay? She won’t tell me if she does, but you might catch her in the act.”

“There is no act to catch!” Allison called as I shut the door behind me, and it muffled out the world outside, but I was pretty sure Allison was immediately complaining about my sister to me.

Which was fair. But hey, it was her choice to stick around with me, and she seemed to be making it.

I made it back to the resort at the right time—I checked my texts and saw, from the guilt-tripping message from Mom, that everybody was at dinner right now, so I was able to shoot off a couple texts and get to my room undisturbed, where I took a quick shower, changed into my pajamas, and I’d barely crashed on the bed before I messaged Allison.

Tell the girl I said hi

She read the message right away, so I hoped she wasn’t with another girl.

She sent an eyeroll emoji, and she sent a picture of, I assume, her room—dimly lit, and honestly, very romantic, like something out of a TV series.

A wood-paneled room lit by moonlight, silky pink curtains draped over the windows and along the four-poster bed she was clearly taking the picture from, several easels set up around the room with canvases, desks covered with paint supplies, sculpting tools, little wooden models and piles of sketchbooks. nobody here but little old me

so cute though, I sent. looks like a dreamy little artist’s getaway retreat

well, this is my getaway retreat, and I am a dreamy little artist

I laughed, settling back into the mattress. obviously, I sent, and then, let me visit your place sometime? I want to see your paintings

yeah sure, have to show off the only thing I’m actually good at

I grinned at the phone. aside from flirting, ofc

ofc. complete with the long stalling in the middle while I try to think of something clever.

you know it’s my weakness

that’s what I’m counting on. And then, everything okay back at the resort?

I managed to dodge my family while they’re at dinner, but I sent some texts that I was back at the resort and mostly they’re just worried about me…

I chewed my cheek, debating the next part of the message, before I decided to go for it.

I liked this thing with Allison better without self-doubt and filters.

I’m sick with nerves over facing my dad tomorrow. we had the worst fight today.

She was typing for a minute before she sent, I’m working a morning shift tomorrow, I can be there in the room when it happens just so he won’t act up in a way he would if you were alone?

My chest felt tight, and I swallowed, squeezing the phone tighter. I’m glad you’re not too busy with Jessica

oh my god, and then, stella, and, I do not have anything with Jessica

okay, who then? bc I’m still waiting to hear who you made out with in the bathrooms

oh, and in a separate message, my, and then, god. A second later, I did not make out with anyone

Liar. I pouted while I responded with sure , and then interrupted her typing with, we’ll get that changed though, and a winking emoji.

It took her a minute to type a response. I just wished I could have seen her expression when she shut down at the sight of the message. smooth, she said, finally, and I laughed.

I had no idea what Jacob’s deal was. Or all the other guys who had no idea how to talk to girls. Flirting with a girl was easy. And honestly, it was fun. If a straight girl could flirt with a girl and have fun with it, they had literally no excuse.

Maybe I’d just stick to Allison anyway. I could hook up with someone once I was back on the mainland. Getting Allison laid was the time-sensitive one.

Once I found out who she’d been making out with at the beach, I was going to get her into that girl’s bed or die trying.