from anywhere.” Answering the question in my eyes he smiles, “We already discussed it, yeah.”
Excitement launches into my belly. A vacation! Away from Atlanta! Anywhere I want to go? There’s a whole world I’ve never seen. The possibilities are endless. “Can I think about it so I can find someplace amazing?”
Jack’s thick fingers caress me through the dress as he offers, “There’s a place in Mykonos you’ll love.”
“Greece?” I clarify, glancing back to his handsome face. “I heard Santorini was the place to be.”
Troy says, “They’re both beautiful.”
“You’ve been there, too?” My eyebrows raise.
“I have.”
“Together?”
He laughs, and nods hello to the checker now that we’re at the front of the line. “How’s it going?” Turning back to me, he explains, “No, I went backpacking right out of high school.”
“Do you have pictures?”
“Of course. Want to see ‘em?”
“Yes.”
As Jack and Troy explain why Greece would be a perfect destination, checker tallying our groceries, we’re all happy as can be so none of us is expecting to hear a nearby woman hiss, “Slut.”
My back stiffens.
Jack and Troy look over first. I’m too frozen to move. Jack’s hand drops from my back like he might punch someone. But it’s a woman, definitely of society and definitely not fight-able by two men. This stops him from taking immediate action, of course, their synapsis momentarily frazzled.
Just like mine.
My hard shell isn’t in place!
She caught me when I was all soft and gushy from happiness and somehow — a thing that has never happened to me before — I’m blushing, heart racing with shame!
Red.
Hot.
Shame.
Jack growls, “What did you say?”
Troy tells him, “Leave it alone. She doesn’t matter.”
The woman finds strength in the fact that now a lot of people are looking over at me, because she knows that many agree with her. “I said…SLUT.”
My skin tingles with horror.
Lexi Cocker shouts from two registers to my right. “Hey Eunice! Don’t fucking call her that! You haven’t been laid in a decade and desperately need a few choice strokes you know where!”
People titter with laughter, shutting the bitch up.
Speechless, I lock eyes with Samantha, surprised to find her pissed off and protective of me, too.
Emotion knots my chest.
Troy pulls me close as Jack pays for the groceries and says, “Take her outside.”
He sees I’m not myself.
I love him for that.
“Come on, Mar,” Troy murmurs against my hair, taking my hand and leading me away.
I croak, “I can love who I want!” trying my hardest to find my voice. Swallowing hard I cry out, “We all can! So fuck you, Eunice!”
Most of the people break out in applause, leaving the relics of judgment behind them, hopefully for good. But some stay quiet because they will always feel they are above what they can’t understand.
Outside I swear a few choice words I’m not even aware of, and mutter, “I don’t care if they judge me, just keep it to themselves!” as white hot anger pours into my blood. Troy tries to clear me from the door, and I allow him to, simply because I’m too agitated to have a grip on myself.
Jack appears, carrying two full bags. “Never a dull day.”
Troy smiles, “Boredom isn’t our problem.”
“You okay, Mar?”
I grunt, “Of course I am!” and walk between them as we head to his Tesla. Glancing behind me I spot who I’m looking for — the Cocker Sisters.
We lock eyes.
My chest tightens.
I call out, emotion barely restrained, “Thank you, Lexi!”
She solemnly nods and shouts, “Anytime, Marion, because fuck that!”
Samantha cups her free hand and yells, “Don’t listen to anyone but you, Marion!” the other arm wrapped around groceries.
I grumble to my boyfriends, “Dammit! Why do they have to be so fucking cool?!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
TROY
You can never tell a place’s vibe from its airport because they’re normally located far from where people want to be — constant engine roar annoying as hell — so it’s usually impossible to predict what you’re gonna get.
Not so with Mykonos. I’d heard it used to be a crowded disaster, but they cleaned it up since then.
It’s amazing, clean, modern — a promise of satisfaction about to be fulfilled. The sky is bright blue, plants huge from moisture the seas bring in.
I fell asleep on our flight. That’s the best way to travel because time seems to fly faster than you do. Then it was me grabbing the bags while Jack texted Bobby to say we need a second car because our high-maintenance woman brought not two but four suitcases.
That’s six between us.
None small.
The plan is to stay a