“Come on, roomie. Let’s go.” Loni glances back over her shoulder at Rosalind and continues, “You too, Sansa!”
Rosalind looks surprised, but then smiles shyly as she follows after us. The guys come too, and we all make our way out of the main resort building behind an attendant assigned to show us to our accommodations. There are several golf carts waiting for us outside, and once we and our luggage are all loaded, we’re taken down a long path to the cottages. They’re adorable little houses with stone exteriors and clay tile roofs, surrounded by lush foliage and palm trees, overlooking the ocean.
We peel off from the guys to get settled. Stepping into the cottage, I freeze. I can no longer not freak out. The interior is all rich wood paneling and luxurious furnishings. It’s an open floorplan, so I can see to the other side of the cottage, which is just a wall of glass and the view of the water outside it is breathtaking.
Loni and Rosalind don’t seem at all fazed by the luxury around us as they move further into the cottage to claim their individual rooms. I take the time to explore a little more, wandering into the full-sized kitchen with its gleaming, stainless steel appliances and large marble island. I make my way outside to the backyard and patio, where there’s a private pool and lounge area, including a large stone fire pit.
“This place is insane,” I murmur before turning back to hurry inside to find my room. Loni and Rosalind are both already unpacking in each of theirs, so I take the last room, though it’s far from the least. The bed is queen sized with white covers, a giant flat screen hanging on the wall across from it, and I have my own glass door leading out onto the patio. The bathroom is huge, with a glass shower and rainfall head as well as a Jacuzzi tub I could comfortably sleep in.
I drop my tiny, battered suitcase on my bed and sit next to it, needing a moment just to process it all. This place is amazing, and insane, a stark reminder that I’m a stranger to this world.
I want to have fun and enjoy myself while I’m here, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to shake this feeling of inferiority. It doesn’t help anything that Saint’s being weird again because a) Ghost and b) unexpected guests.
Pulling my feet up to the edge of the mattress, I wrap my arms around my shins and drop my forehead against my knees.
I don’t know how long I stay like that, but a gentle knock on my door surprises me and I look up to find Loni standing at the threshold, her brow furrowed in concern.
“Smile, okay? You’re in paradise” she says as she makes her way into the room. “Meanwhile, Henry’s being eaten alive by mosquitoes on his family fun adventure.”
I nod and try to smile, but I think it comes out as more of a grimace.
“I’m fine,” I say, hoping to convince her even though I know she won’t buy it.
Loni studies me for several long moments before saying, “For the first time in months, you get to just relax and have a good time. There’s no Laurel or Mr. Porter to make you miserable. Think of this as karma trying to make it up to you after two shitty semesters.”
When she says it like that, I do feel a bit better.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “God, I think I just need a drink.”
“Now that I can help you with,” Loni says, slapping her hand on the bed next to my hip. “Come on. Let’s go raid the expensive minibar. It’s all getting charged to Saint anyway.”
Loni and I tear into the bar, which isn’t so mini, and after a few shots, hunt down Rosalind and force her to join us. She’s hesitant at first, but we manage to melt her cautious exterior, and soon she’s throwing them back as quickly as we are.
“Oh, we should go see what the guys are doing!” she declares, her words slurring slightly.
To my alcohol-addled brain, that sounds like an amazing idea. I suddenly don’t really care that things are weird with Saint. I want to see him.
Grabbing the bottle of tequila that we’ve been steadily attacking, I push to my feet. I wobble a bit, but that doesn’t slow me down. The other girls stand up as well and together we stumble out of our cottage and hurry to the guys’.
Loni moves a little faster and reaches their door first, banging on it with her fist as soon as she reaches it.
It only takes a moment before the door is opened. Liam looks surprised as his dark eyes scan us. He’s shirtless, his tattoos on full display, as well as his six-pack. As though they have a mind of their own, my eyes wander up and down his torso in what I think is a subtle way. I’m drunk, though, so I could be blatantly ogling him. He catches me staring and smirks.
“Curious?” he asks, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe.
I hold up the bottle of tequila. “Thirsty.”
He snorts. “How generous. We’ve got our own fully-stocked bar, just you know.”
I shrug. “It can’t be as good as ours.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
I shiver at the sound of Saint’s growl as he comes up behind Liam and glares over his shoulder at us.
Holding the bottle up so he can see, I declare, “We came to get you all drunk.”
“I think you’ve had enough, Ellis.”
“Don’t be a hypocrite. You always show up on my doorstep shitfaced. It’s only fair I return the favor.”
Liam’s eyes widen and he turns a stunned look back at Saint, who ignores him and keeps his gaze locked firmly on me.
“Just get the fuck in here,” he snarls, pushing past Liam to grab my hand and yank me into the cottage.
I let out a yelp of surprise but can hear Rosalind and Loni’s tipsy snickers behind me. Liam growls something unintelligible, then invites them in after us. The interior of their cottage is the same as ours, but I don’t get a chance to explore it as thoroughly as Saint hauls me all the way through the living room and out onto the back patio.
“Where are we going?” I ask, stumbling a little as I struggle to keep up with him.
“The beach,” he replies. “We’re going to watch the fucking sunset and get shitfaced, just like you want. Gabe’s already out there, prepping a fire.”
My lips part in surprise. “That … sounds like fun.”
So why does he still seem so angry?
I want to ask, but it’s difficult to string words together when he’s pulling me like this. When we hit the sand, I look ahead and spot Gabe standing next to a pile of driftwood. He glances up at our approach and grins.
His eyes drop to the bottle in my hand, and then shift to where Saint has a hold of my other one. “Ellis, you lightweight.”
“You almost ready?” Saint demands and Gabe nods.
“Yup. Just going to light it up and we can get this party started.”
I glance up at Saint, and his features are hard.
It makes me worry what kind of party this is going to be.
“We should play a game!” Loni shouts.
It’s a couple hours later. The sun is set, and our beach fire is blazing. Most of my concern about Saint has faded as we’ve passed the time drinking and talking. We’ve genuinely been enjoying ourselves, which is something I wouldn’t have anticipated from this group. Even Saint’s loosened up a bit. He’s not scowling quite so hard as earlier, anyway.