Page 40 of Match Made in the Maldives

“What about the girl?” He snaps his fingers a couple times like he’s trying to remember her name—a name I never gave him. “Mystery woman. The one you like a lot.”

Lou raises a timid hand. “That’s me.”

“You’re dating Tanner.” Aaron turns back to Mel. “She’s with Tanner.”

“Tanner and I broke up. A while ago.”

“What? So you two are fooling around?” Aaron points at us. “Is this a rebound thing? And you’re supposed to be resting andelevating your foot,” he says, scolding Lou. “How long has this been going on?”

“Babe.” Mel loops an arm through Aaron’s elbow. “They might not be ready to talk about it yet, but they’re both adults and—”

“I can’t believe you’ve been sneaking around like this, man.”

“What I told you the other afternoon at the field is all true,” I say. “What’s happening with me and Luna is new.”

Aaron scoffs. “That’s code for ‘We’re casually boning and wouldn’t have mentioned anything if we hadn’t gotten caught.’”

“So what?” Lou says with an edge to her voice. “Mel’s right. I’m an adult. Whether we’re serious or casually boning, it’s none of your business.”

“I refuse to talk about casual boning with you,” he says to his sister.

“Is this really so awful?” Mel asks him, and I appreciate her effort to calm him down. “You say I read too many romance books, but I mean, your best friend and your little sister? It’s cool, if you ask me.”

“Yeah, real cool until they break up or get in a fight, and then hanging out with one or the other is super uncomfortable.”

“So, this is about you and your comfort?” I ask, a fire growing inside me.

“No, this is about my sister, whose track record of boyfriends has been a bunch of arrogant assholes who are nothing like my best friend. Sorry if I don’t think you’re her type.”

His comment picks at the scab covering my insecurities, and I lash out at him. “The way you’re acting is why we decided not to tell you right away.”

“Oh, and how am I acting?”

“Like a total piece of shit.”

“Nice,” he says with a nod. “Okay, I’m gonna go before I say something I regret.”

“Aaron, I—”

“Nope, all good, man. Have fun, you two.”

My closest friend in the world walks out, and the room feels smaller, like it’s closing in on me.

“Sorry,” Mel says, her eyes dancing between the two of us. “He needs a minute, that’s all. I’ll talk to him.”

Once she’s gone, I let out an exhale. Aaron and I never fight. We have disagreements here and there, but nothing like this, with name-calling and storming out. These are the kinds of interactions I’m used to with Blake, not my best friend.

“That went terribly. Fuck.” I run a hand down my face. “I need to apologize.”

“Apologize?” Lou lets out a halfhearted laugh. “He was acting shitty. If anyone should say sorry, it’s him.”

“I didn’t want them to find out like this.”

Lou looks up, her eyes wide and wounded. “You act like this is the end of the world.”

“No, but this was not what I’d had in mind. He needed more time to process. Your whole family will.”

“What they think doesn’t matter. This is you and me.”

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