time it’s one of those about-to-plummet-down-a-roller-coaster drops.
I pick at my cuticles, still dry from the airplane. Normally, guys run the other way from me (unless their judgment is impaired by alcohol), but Sam’s not budging. Not only is he not running, but I’ve caught him watching me at least twice over the last half hour, the light center of his eyes darkening with each glance. Each time, my ears burned and my chest tightened. His jaw ticked until he looked away, his gaze always landing on Reese.
He nudges my knee, and I look up. Sam’s seen me at my worst, but he didn’t call me out when given the chance, and he did make me a pizza bagel. There is that thing where he seems intent on embarrassing me to watch my skin flame, but I’d hate to lose him as the star of my fantasies.
“Yeah, I’ll get a pass,” I say before I change my mind.
His shoulders soften, and he clears his throat. “Good.” He presses his knee to mine again. Harder. The pressure travels up my thigh and heat explodes between my legs, my underwear damp in seconds. We sit still, eyes locked, the air between us snapping with electricity. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Time comes to a halt.
After another forever, he jerks away and turns his back to me.
Either that just happened, or it was one of my daydreams. Considering he was fully clothed, the daydream thing is off the table, but now I’m picturing a naked Sam’s tongue easing the burn between my thighs. Focus, Pininfarina. I cross my legs and grip my chair. I’m sure he didn’t notice anyway. Not with the way he keeps looking at Reese. Even if he did, I have androphobia.
Bruno slaps the table. “Smashing, it’s settled then. We’ll spend a few days in Auckland before heading north. Reese and Leigh can fight over who gets to sit with me on the bus.”
Both girls roll their eyes.
Sam stands abruptly and gathers our plates, his limp more pronounced on his way to the sink. It doesn’t seem to inhibit him as much as slow him down—a slight drag of his left leg. Probably a sports injury. With his wide shoulders and strong arms, he looks the part of the school jock.
Reese bends forward to catch my eye. “You’ll sit with me on the bus, Nina. My girls can hang, and the boys will do just fine on their own.”
“So cold.” Bruno plunges a fake dagger through his heart.
I bite my lip and smile. “Thanks, Reese. Sounds cool.”
Leigh stands abruptly, her face pinched in distaste. She says a curt “Catch you later,” and takes off.
Sam grunts at the table and limps out after her. He doesn’t acknowledge me or look my way. He just leaves, his fists balled at his sides. We’re not exactly friends, and I obviously imagined what I thought passed between us, but I was getting used to his presence—a bit of familiarity in this foreign place. And he totally blew me off. Reese tugs my wrist to go wash up, and my unease vanishes. I’m no longer traveling alone. I’m not the outcast. I’m backpacking with the Trifecta of Cool and hot guys. I even get to sit with Reese on the bus. The reinvention of Pininfarina Gabri has begun.
Five
Nina
Pahia is beautiful. After acclimatizing in Auckland, we arrive to warmer winds, palm trees fanned over turquoise water, and boats moored offshore. It’s only been three days since the Airplane Incident, but it feels like a lifetime ago. I barely recognize myself. Every time Reese cocks her head and looks at me with pouty lips to proclaim yet again, “I’d kill for that hair,” I glow a little a brighter. Brianne agrees with everything she says, so the statement is usually followed with a dramatic, “God, I know.”
Leigh’s frown deepens with each compliment. Like she knows I’m a fake.
I am. I admit it. Absolutely no shame. After years of babysitting and taking tai chi with people who likely witnessed the invention of the wheel (Dad’s genius idea to get me “involved”), I’m ready to interact with people my own age. If that means laughing at Reese’s jokes or pretending I was popular back home with a laundry list of ex-boyfriends, that’s what it means.
The beauty of reinvention.
We’re going on a day trip with the boys today, north to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach. I roll over in my bunk and blink to calm the ache taking over my head. Another