Preston, and Delilah.” He pointed at me. “And you.”
“It’s way less sexy when there’re that many naked wangs in the water.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, cracking up.
The two of us were chilling in my room. Zion had volunteered to bring my food up and hung around to eat half of it. I was sitting up in bed sketching a new line of swimsuits and making final preparations for the dance that weekend. I didn’t mind the interruption.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re going out tonight after dinner. We’ll hang out. Have fun.”
“Did you forget I’m recovering from a concussion?”
“Don’t try that. I looked it up and you can lie on a beach as easily as you lie on a bed. No one is going to make you go in.”
I heaved a sigh. “All right, fine. I’ll come. I can’t let you be the only one staring at Owen’s ass. We’ll trade off.”
My half-chewed butter chicken dangled from his open mouth.
“Yeah,” I said, giving him a knowing look. “I know.”
My fork clattered to the plate. “You— I— You don’t know!”
“Yes, I do,” I sang.
“How?”
“I noticed a while ago that when we were watching the guys play volleyball, we were both watching the guys play volleyball.”
The poor boy looked like he witnessed me shape-shift into a chimera. He was shocked through to his core.
“Come on.” I opened my arms. “Come snuggle with Auntie Belle.”
Zion climbed in and rested his head on my lap. “Is it obvious?”
“Is it a secret?”
“It’s not to the guys I’ve been with. And it’s not to Owen,” he muttered. “But with everyone else, yeah.”
“What about your parents?”
“Why do you think they sent me here?”
I smoothed his hair from his forehead. “I’m sorry, Z.”
“Don’t be. It’s not so bad. Owen and I just sneak down the hall now instead of into each other’s houses.”
“How long have you guys been together?”
“We started going out at the beginning of senior year. We didn’t think it would last because we got into different colleges. I was going to end it months ago. But you know what it’s like when you have that guy you just can’t quit.”
“Oh boy, do I.”
“I don’t know what my parents expected by making me come here,” he continued. “They didn’t give me an ultimatum. It wasn’t like ‘find a wife or don’t come home.’ But I assume they’re hoping I discover my budding bisexuality.”
“Have they met Owen? I liked him right away and I came to this island determined to make everyone with a penis public enemy number one. He’s smart. Funny. Kind and cute.”
“Is this the part where I tell you not to get any ideas?”
I laughed. “No, definitely not. I’m just saying that if they got to know him, your parents would see he’s a top-shelf son-in-law.”
“There is still the long-distance-relationship issue to work out.”
“How long a distance we talking?”
“Penn and Stanford.”
“Yikes.”
“Very encouraging,” he deadpanned.
“How badly do you guys want to go to these schools?”
“Belle!”
“I’m kidding,” I said, laughing. “Everyone says long-distance relationships don’t work, but I held out for a whole year, waiting for a certain boy to come back for the summer. They work when both of you refuse to give up. The real question is, how badly do you want Owen Newman?”
“Pretty bad,” he whispered.
“Then go get him.” I fell against the headboard, looking up to the lazily whirling fan. “A life controlled by other people isn’t worth living. Take it from someone who knows.”
“I’m sorry your parents forced this on you.”
“I am too,” I replied. “But I’ll make a few other people sorry before I’m done.”
THAT NIGHT, I OPENED the door to my dinner delivery and grinned at Preston.
“I could get used to this.”
He waited for me to get in bed and placed the tray on my lap. He slipped an arm around and fitted me in the crook of his body. “I should’ve been there. I’m sorry.”
“You’re here now. That’s all I care about.”
“I hear you’re going swimming with us.”
“I’ll skip the swimming, but come hang out with you guys.”
“Naked?”
I flicked his nose. “Behave.”
Preston rubbed the spot, grinning under his hand. “I spoke to Delilah.”
“Yeah? What did she say?”
“She’s agreed to call off the war. We’re keeping us private. She doesn’t have to worry about my lack of devotion getting back to her father.”
“That’s good.” I speared a chunk of beef from my stew and fed it to him.
“I spoke to Nathan too.”
I stilled with the fork hanging between us. “Did he tell you that we made up?”