“Chill,” Leo said. “The Full Moon Party is tonight. We’ll have fun then.”
“I am chill. Excuse me for trying to make sure everyone enjoys themselves.”
“We are enjoying ourselves,” Leo argued. “People know how to have fun without you. We don’t have to do everything you say all the time.”
The laughter stopped.
Farrah’s heart pounded like a carpenter hammering a nail into the wall. Courtney and Leo didn’t fight. Ever. He was too easygoing, and she was…well, she was Courtney.
“What did you say?” Courtney’s face turned red.
He pinched his temple. “Let’s not do this now.”
“Oh, we are doing this now. You started it. Finish it.” The challenge was clear.
“I’m just saying, you don’t have to be such a control freak all the time.”
Kris flinched.
Olivia buried her face in Farrah’s shoulder.
“Control freak?” Courtney was Mount Etna waiting to erupt. Farrah saw steam pouring out of her ears. “Screw you! It’s easy for you to be the chill, laid-back one. I’m the one who makes sure we have fun. I come up with the activities. I keep this group together. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me!”
“Listen to yourself.” Leo’s sharp tone sent a ripple of shock through the group. “No one asks you to do those things. It’s like you have some sort of god complex.”
Courtney, Olivia, and Farrah gasped at the same time.
“Leo.” Kris took off her sunglasses and flicked some sand off her shoulder. Her voice was glacial. “You should go back to the hotel.”
“Gladly.” Leo tossed his towel over his shoulder and walked off, leaving silence in his wake.
“That escalated quickly,” Luke finally said.
“Are you ok?” Farrah wasn’t sure what to say. They’d never had a big fight in the group before.
“Yeah. I can’t believe him. God complex.” Courtney squirted sunscreen into her palm and rubbed it onto her arms with more force than necessary. “I don’t have a god complex.”
Nardo coughed.
“Of course you don’t. You take charge, and he can’t handle it.” Kris put her sunglasses back on. “Guys. If you ask me, they’re not worth the trouble.”
“Thanks a lot,” Sammy said.
Olivia patted his hand. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’re the exception.”
The group settled into an uneasy silence.
Farrah tried to focus on the sound of the waves, but her mind was running a million miles a minute. She used to fantasize about Courtney and Leo breaking up. They’d part amicably, Leo would realize he’d been in love with Farrah all along, and Courtney would give them her blessing.
She didn’t know when or how, but somewhere along the way, that fantasy had dissolved.
Farrah didn’t want Courtney and Leo to break up. She wanted the group to stay the way it was. Their collective friendship meant more than any selfish individual desire.
Farrah squeezed her eyes shut and quieted her thoughts enough to let the warmth and waves work their magic.
It was so nice here. She didn’t want to go back to Shanghai. She wanted to stay here forever. Who was in Shanghai, anyway?
Blake. Blake’s in Shanghai.
The thought was so unexpected it kicked Farrah right out of her dreamy state. She was in paradise. What was she doing thinking about Blake and his dimples and his muscles? Good Lord, those muscles. He could probably bench-press her without breaking a sweat.
Farrah’s mouth dried. She wondered what he was doing. Going out every night? Having wild monkey sex with a rotating cast of girls in every corner of the dorm?
Probably. She hadn’t seen him hook up with anyone since the program started, but that didn’t mean he didn’t do it. You couldn’t be a college guy who looked like that and not be getting some on a regular basis.
It was the wrong mental route to take because Farrah couldn’t keep the resulting flood of images at bay.
Blake naked. Blake and faceless girl having sex in his room. Blake and faceless girl having sex in the kitchen. Blake and Farrah having sex in the student lounge.
Whoa. Where the hell did that come from?
Farrah’s eyes flew open. She slammed her mental gate down in panic and stopped the images in their tracks. They continued to hover near the entrance, waiting for an opportunity to sneak back in.
Her heart beat double time. The last fantasy came through so vividly she might as well have broadcast it to the world.
Farrah snuck a peek at her friends. They lolled on their beach towels, oblivious.
She squeezed her eyes shut again. Think of Leo. Think of the Full Moon Party. Think of grandma in her old pink pajamas.
Nothing worked. The fantasy of her and Blake pushed against her consciousness. If she let herself, she could still see it—her soft flesh pressed against Blake’s hard muscles, his hands gripping her hips, their mouths fused in a hungry embrace.
A surge of heat coursed through her body. Farrah flipped onto her stomach and buried her face in her arms. The ache remained.
“Wait! My timer didn’t go off yet,” Olivia protested. “We’re supposed to flip every 20 minutes.” She poked Farrah’s back. “Hmm. You are kind of red. Maybe you should apply more sunscreen.”
“I’m fine,” Farrah said, her voice muffled.
“I’m reapplying for you. Stay still.”
Farrah didn’t resist as Olivia slathered her with SPF 50. Instead, she lay there and wondered why, exactly, she was fantasizing about sex with Blake Ryan.
Deep down, she knew the answer.
I am so screwed.
Chapter Ten
Blake’s dry spell? Donezo.
Thank god. If he went any longer without sex, they’d have to wheel him into the ER for emergency blue ball surgery.
However, despite Mina’s considerable skills in bed, their fling wasn’t as satisfying as he’d expected. It was like junk food: good in the moment, until the high dissipated and left him emptier than ever.
Blake watched as Mina slipped into her heels and slung her bag strap over her shoulder. Luke texted a few hours ago saying he’d swing by after he dropped his luggage off at his homestay. He expected his ex-roommate to bang down his door any minute now.
Someone knocked.
Well, that was scarily accurate timing.
“That’s my cue,” Mina drawled. Like Blake, she had no desire for after-sex chitchat. They met up, banged, and parted ways. Easy. Simple. No strings attached.
“I’ll walk you out.”
Blake opened the door, expecting to see Luke’s burly frame filling the doorway. To his shock, he found Farrah standing there dressed in…sheep pajamas?
Yep, those were definitely fluffy white sheep marching across her shirt and pants. They were so adorable and such a departure from Farrah’s usual polished style Blake couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“Hey, I—” Farrah stopped when she saw Mina. One look at Mina’s tousled hair and swollen lips, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she and Blake had been up to.
Surprise and another emotion Blake couldn’t place flitted across her face.