Cruel Kiss

I shook off the post-relationship blues and changed into my brightest bikini. It was the sunniest yellow in existence, and just having it on my body brightened my mood. When I got to the poolside bar, I ordered a piña colada, snagging a cabana just as my friends arrived. Lark and English dropped onto chairs on either side of me. As soon as servers saw Lark, she was bombarded with offers. There was a perk to being the daughter of the owners.

Once we all had drinks, they turned their eyes on me.

“So,” English said.

“So,” I repeated.

“Robert?” Lark asked.

I laughed and brushed it off, as I did everything else. “It was a long time coming and really for the better. He couldn’t come. I wasn’t feeling it anymore. Why not have fun while I’m here instead of moping around?”

“That’d be fine if any of that were true,” English said pointedly.

“Ten days ago, Robert told me he wasn’t coming, and I felt nothing.” I took a sip of my drink. “I wanted to feel something, but I didn’t. What I felt was almost relief.”

Lark sighed. “Really? I thought you were so good together.”

“He was so into me,” I agreed. “I wanted to want someone like that.”

“But you didn’t?” English asked.

“I didn’t. Like, isn’t everyone obsessed with me?” I said on a laugh.

Lark rolled her eyes. “You’re so ridiculous. At least you didn’t do anything dramatic to him on your way out.”

“Ceiling fan guy,” English said.

I grinned wickedly. I’d found out some douche I was dating was cheating on me. So, like a sensible person, I turned off all his ceiling fans in the heat of the summer, put glitter on them, and left. What I wouldn’t have given to see his face when he came home and turned those fans on. Glitter: the herpes of craft supplies.

“He didn’t deserve any sabotage. He’s a nice guy. I want him to find someone who is utterly head over heels for him like he was for me.”

“And what do you want for you?” English asked.

“She wants to get laid,” Lark said intuitively with a laugh.

I shrugged. She wasn’t wrong. “I wouldn’t say no.”

“Are we talking rebound or vacation fling or …”

“Fling,” I said at once. “Rebound sounds icky. Like I’m here to hurt someone else. When, really, I just want us both to have some fun. Doesn’t have to have any feelings, you know?”

“No,” English and Lark said at once.

“Oh, shut up,” I said as I sauntered into the pool. “You two both have the love of your life or whatever. You don’t count.”

“And you don’t want that too?” Lark asked softly.

“Well, I’m not going to find it on vacation.”

That was when the guys showed up. All three of our boys were fine as fuck. But my eyes instantly homed in on Gavin fucking King. I’d seen him shirtless before. I was sure that I had, but all previous interactions fled my mind as he walked toward our cabana in nothing but pink trunks that showed off his muscular thighs and revealed every toned inch of abdomen. My mouth went dry.

“Or are you?” English muttered under her breath.

And I had no answer to that.

4

WHITLEY

We spent the rest of the week by the pool, enjoying our time together as we waited for Katherine and Camden to get into town. After a few days, I’d completely lost my melancholic mood. I felt more and more that what I’d done was the absolute right decision. I hadn’t realized that my wings had been clipped until now.

Now, I was utterly and entirely myself again.

While we’d congregated in each other’s rooms and gone on a few trips into Old San Juan, it was finally the weekend, which meant clubbing. This felt like my best opportunity to meet someone. The resort wouldn’t open to the public until after New Year’s. So far, it was only available for the uber rich who could afford the exclusivity of the prerelease accommodations. Which was, thus far, limiting my holiday-fling objective.

Tonight, it was back on.

As long as I wasn’t too drunk.

Which was going to be a problem.

I showered and diffused my beachy waves, and then I changed into a crop top and miniskirt. I was considering downing an entire bottle of water because, holy shit, I was a little tipsier than I’d thought I’d be, but I also didn’t want to have to pee all night either. Oh, the dilemma.

I drank half of it and then took it with me as I headed back out onto the stone path. I was still a few minutes early before we were all meeting. I glanced over at the villa next door. Gavin was getting ready inside. Well, knowing him, he’d already be ready and drinking.

I chewed on my lip and then traipsed down the stone walk. The door was wide open when I walked up to the villa.