I spent quite a bit of time replaying the events of the previous night, both the good and the bad. Though I still was unnerved by our brush with danger, other events began to force themselves into recollection. Riding on the back of the motorcycle down the narrow Tuzas streets. Dancing against Mac in the club, forced into close proximity by our surroundings. That moment, seconds before the hustlers descended on us, when his lips hovered over mine. Any longer and those full, perfect lips would have been pressed to mine. And then who knew what would have happened.
The thought made me hot, left me wanting at my core. But, I firmly told myself, in a way, the attack had saved me. The positive events of last night hadn’t changed Mac. He’d proven himself over and over as the type of guy I didn’t need breaking my heart again. Another guy I’d try to mentally mold to my needs and desires despite all evidence of the contrary.
I tried to push Mac from my mind and enjoy the day, the last one we’d spend relaxing. It was Thursday and tomorrow the guests would arrive for the wedding on Saturday. I’d be running around getting all the last details together, aided, unfortunately, by Mariana. I’d get a brief breather at the rehearsal dinner and the following bachelorette party, but then the intensity would kick up again early Saturday morning and persist until Beck and Sam retired late that evening from the reception.
I couldn’t wait to see my best friend get married. I also couldn’t wait for that plane ride back to the city. This week had been too confusing. Soon I’d be back in New York where things made sense.
And where you have nothing waiting for you.
Now that definitely wasn’t what I wanted to think about. To distract myself, I refocused on the conversation that Beck, Kylie, and Jules were having.
Jules had reappeared with Keegan about an hour after the rest of us got to the pool. She’d sat down with us and acted like her weird remarks at the lunch table had never happened. But I still sensed a tension between her and Kylie, and exasperation from Beck.
“I mean, just look at him,” Jules said from behind massive sunglasses. “You have to wonder what he’s like in bed.”
I followed their train of sight to Twain. He was sitting a ways off, having what looked to be a very intense conversation with Sarah.
He’d come down to the pool shortly after Keegan and Jules, looking remarkably normal. He’d gotten his hair cut and was dressed in red swimsuit trunks and a white t-shirt. There was almost no trace of the crazy man who’d saved us in a stolen Jeep the night before, except for maybe a little around the eyes.
Despite longing looks from Kylie and Jules, Twain had immediately latched himself onto Sarah, asking her question after question about living on a farm and Kentucky and if she’d ever slaughtered a hog.
“You sound starstruck,” Beck noted.
“I don’t get starstruck,” Jules said with a flip of her hair. As a runway model dating a billionaire NBA player, I didn’t doubt her. “But,” she added, “Twain is different. He knows literally everyone who’s anyone. His parties are highly exclusive and apparently insane. And he’s dated more celebrities than Leonardo DiCaprio.”
“Really?” Beck asked, looking at Twain as if she didn’t quite believe it. “He’s just an author, isn’t he? I never read the books.”
Jules waved a hand. “Yeah, neither have I. He might have started out that way, but he’s a celebrity now.” She gave a sigh that bordered on wistful. “There’s just something about him… Doesn’t hurt that he’s worth a billion and that his cock is apparently enormous.”
We fell silent as Twain suddenly left Sarah to strip off his shirt, revealing a lean, shredded torso. He then immediately ran and backflipped into the pool.
“What I would do to that tight body…” Jules trailed off.
“Does Keegan know what you think about him?” Kylie teased.
Jules looked pointedly at Kylie. “I don’t really give a shit,” she said. Then, as if to prove her point, she stood up. “I’m going to join them in the pool.” She dropped her sheer black swimsuit cover and strutted over to the water.
Kylie looked at Beck. Beck shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said and quickly got up and followed Jules to join the guys.
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” I asked once she was a safe distance away.
Kylie rolled her eyes. “Oh just drama bullshit. It wasn’t even really about you.”
I sat up straighter. “Wait, it was about me?”
“Did you not hear what I just said?”
“But I was involved somehow?”
“It’s really nothing.”
“If it was nothing, then you’d tell me.”
“I don’t want to gossip.”
I slid my sunglasses down and fixed Kylie in a look that said, come on. I’d known her too long to believe that bullshit.
“Okay, fine,” Kylie said, throwing up her hands. “Jules was talking some shit about you last night. About you and Mac.”
“What kind of shit?”
“I think the words ‘desperate’ and ‘clingy’ were used.”
“What the—”
“Hey,” Kylie raised her hands, cutting me off. “Remember, it wasn’t really about you. I think she was just trying to make Beck happy. Apparently she doesn’t know Beck well enough to know that shit talking you wasn’t going to make her feel better. But hey, now she knows.”
I furrowed my brow. “What was wrong with Beck?”
Kylie shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s been off all week. Haven’t you noticed?”
I thought back over the past few days. Come to think of it, Beck had seemed a little off. Probably just pre-wedding jitters. She had a big day coming up.
“But wait,” I said, confused. “Why did Jules think that shit talking me would help?”
Kylie hesitated.
“Come on,” I pried.
“Beck was upset you didn’t come with us last night.”
“How upset?”
“Pretty upset.”
I frowned and watched Beck in the pool. Sam had his arm around her as they splashed Keegan together. They looked happy, young and in love. I remembered how Beck had seemed reluctant for me to leave last night.
“I thought you said it wasn’t about me,” I said finally.
“Yeah, that’s just what Beck said. I think it is something more, but I know she wished you would have stayed with us. This week was supposed to be about having fun together.”
There was a note of something in Kylie’s voice. It might not have been judgment, but it wasn’t far off.
I frowned. “What?”
She raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Are you upset with me?”
Kylie shook her head. “No, of course not.” Her eyes trailed down. “But…” I groaned. “Come on,” she said. “Hear me out. It’s just you seem a little… preoccupied… with Mac. Okay, I know the stripper thing was bad, but he’s taking up so much of your week.”
I clenched my jaw, hating that I couldn’t tell her about Mariana and about Margot. Could I? No, the fewer people that knew about it the better. I didn’t want anything slipping out in a drunken conversation. But it hurt to think that Kylie and Beck thought I was peacing out on the wedding to stalk a hot guy around the resort. There was just so much more too it than that.