Lovewrecked - Karina Halle Page 0,96

Daisy.”

I give Richard an appreciative smile and straighten up in my chair. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to tell you guys.”

“Oh?” Lacey says.

“Yeah,” I lick my lips and glance at Tai. He’s staring at me with approval. I clear my throat. “I, uh, have been thinking lately about life, as you do, and about the fight we had.”

“Daisy,” Lacey says softly, looking reprimanded.

“No, no, no,” I tell her. “It’s not like that. I mean, the things I admitted. That I wasn’t happy? That I didn’t know who I was? Well, it got me thinking, what would make me happy? It got me thinking about the kind of person I want to become. Someone to strive for. And I decided…I’m going back to school.”

“School?” Lacey repeats.

I’m totally prepared for her to get a bit patronizing with this, but I refuse to get defensive.

“Yes, college. I want to study marine biology.”

Silence.

Lacey looks at me, then looks at Richard.

“I know it seems silly,” I say quickly. Then I correct myself. “Or, maybe it seems silly to you. But it doesn’t seem silly to me. It really interests me, really excites me. I think I’d be good at it, and more importantly, I think I’d be really passionate about it. It’s what I used to dream of and after all that time on the island, I realize that dream never went away. It was just dormant for awhile.”

“Wow,” Richard says. He smiles. “That’s big news, Daisy. That’s great news.”

“Yeah,” Lacey says. “It is. I mean it. It’s just surprising, in a good way.”

I shrug and pop the cherry from the pina colada into my mouth. “I’m full of surprises.”

“That you are,” Tai says quietly. He’s watching me pull the stem out of the cherry.

I grin at him and chomp the fruit in half. Pervert.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Lacey says after a moment. “But that’s how you know it’s worth doing.”

“I think it’s a great choice,” Richard says. “The world can always use another scientist.”

“Not sure my parents agree with that,” I say with a laugh. “They’re going to wonder what the hell happened to have both their daughters turn this way.”

“They’ll be proud,” Tai assures me.

“I’m proud of you,” Lacey says. She reaches across the table and gives my hand an affectionate pat. It’s awkward, but I appreciate she’s trying.

“I haven’t done anything yet,” I remind her.

“But you’ve set your intentions. I’m proud of you for wanting that,” she clarifies. “For wanting more.”

“As am I,” Richard says, raising his fishbowl, the umbrella nearly poking his lens out. Wouldn’t that have been ironic? “Here’s to Daisy.”

I blush and raise my pina colada. “Here’s to us. We made it.”

“We made it,” Tai says, raising his beer.

We all clink our glasses together. I look Tai deep in the eye as we drink.

“Not going to lie,” I tell them all. “I thought we were going to die. Just because we were all ready to kill each other on more than a few occasions.”

“I slept with a knife under my pillow,” Richard jokes.

The waitress comes by at that exact moment with our desserts, carefully eyeing Richard as she places the treats on the table. It’s hard to tell when he’s joking.

“I have banana cream pie, macadamia nut cheesecake, a passionfruit tart, grasshopper pie, homemade mango and lychee sorbet, plus vakalavalava, a cassava cake that’s popular here. Enjoy.” Layla gives Richard one last weird look and walks away.

“I’m not sure I can eat anymore,” Lacey says, staring at it all with overwhelmed eyes.

“I don’t think so either,” I tell her, picking up a fork and spearing the cheesecake. “But I’ve never backed down from a challenge.”

The moment it hits my mouth though, melting on my tongue, my stomach calls out for me to stop. There is such a thing as overdoing it.

“So, where do you think you’re going to go to school?” Lacey says, pulling the sorbet toward her and poking it with her spoon.

I glance again at Tai, who is lost in a daze as he starts sampling all the dishes.

“Actually, I want to study in New Zealand. I haven’t obviously been able to Google around yet, but I bet at least a few universities have the program. Then I’ll see if I can get in.”

Now Lacey is really surprised. The spoon pauses halfway to her mouth. “Really? Why New Zealand?”

“Because…” I trail off. Do I really have to say?

I look at Tai. He’s smiling politely as if asking, “Yes, why?”

Guess I do.

“Because I want to be