Page 4 of Game Change

Another giggle pulls me out of my thoughts. Mimi whispers something to her two friends, and Honeybee laughs at whatever she says. Raven rolls her eyes and shakes her head as if whatever her friend is saying is ridiculous.

“Let’s go,” Raven says. The three all talk at once as they walk out of the gate and head in another direction. If they noticed Brody and me, they didn’t show it.

“She looks nothing like Esme,” Brody says without looking up from his book. “What happened to your type?”

“What? Gingers?” I ask, remembering Esme’s long auburn hair. It was the thing that initially drew me to her.

“No. Manipulative nutcases.”

“Is that a clinical term, doctor?” I ask.

“No, but this is. Borderline personality disorder.”

“Well, you don’t see Esme here, do you?”

“Doesn’t make her any less your type.”

I fall back into the pool and decide to ignore Brody. The guy doesn’t seem to understand what being on vacation means. No one here does. Malcolm’s pissed off that his adult sister is marrying one of his best friends. Ian is annoyed at Malcolm, and Brody wants to shrink everyone.

“This is going to be a great time,” I say.

Chapter 3

Brynne

“Raven, you are an Instagram model, and Brynne, you design lingerie for a living, and I’m an opera singer,” Amira declares the next day.

“What if they ask you to sing?” Raven asks.

“Oh, I’ve already thought of that. I’ll say I’m resting my voice for a big performance next week.”

“Yeah. Totally believable,” Raven says. We’re seated in the back of the resort shuttle, still damp from visiting the local waterfall. “Or I know this is a wild thought, but bear with me. We can enjoy our vacation and not worry about the group of guys next door. This is not summer camp, ladies. We don’t need to find a cute boy to make out with.”

The idea has merit, but I’ve been thinking about CK since I saw him yesterday. I won’t mention that to my friends because Raven is right. We’re here for a vacation. We’re here to relieve the holiday stress and to enjoy each other’s company. We’re not here to hook up with anyone. That’s never been my style, and the reality is, I don’t remember the last time I had a date. Never mind, a hook-up. It’s been at least a year since I enjoyed the company of a naked man, and I don’t even remember who it was. It must not have been that good if I have no memory of it.

“Rave is right,” I say. “Let’s hit the lunch buffet at the resort and forget about our new neighbors.”

“But that big one is so hot,” Amira says while she fans her face with her hand. She opens her mouth to say more, but her phone rings.

She rolls her eyes and I understand why. That’s the ring she assigned to her mother. She answers the phone and goes quiet. That’s how it always goes when her mother or sister calls. They talk nonstop while Amira listens. It’s moments like these when I’m happy that I don’t have family to bother me with their bullshit. Or ask me to babysit because I am not good with the little people.

“Leo’s sister called me last night,” Raven says.

“What the hell does your ex-husband’s sister want? And I thought you blocked his entire family,” I say.

“I did. She must be using some app. She cussed me out for taking the house.”

I scoff at the audacity. “The house you bought before you married that loser? She’s just mad because her cheating ass brother had to move in with her. And I bet she hates it when his boyfriend comes over.” Raven rolls her eyes. “The homophobia is strong in that family.”

“Tell me about it. I told her if she called me again, I was going to come to her job and beat her ass in the lobby. I mean it, too.” She does. That’s how we became friends. A girl on our street was bullying me, and Raven walked up to her and dared her to bully her instead. The other girl got in Raven’s face but was smart enough to back away and run. We were inseparable after that.

While the shuttle drives us back to the resort, I close my eyes, and instead of relaxing, I see blue eyes, dirty blond hair, and a playful smile. The playfulness was surprisingly what I liked about him the most.

Liked? Girl, you spent all of sixty seconds around the man. The rest of the time, you gawked at his naked torso. Stop fooling yourself. You’re horny for that guy, and you want to scratch an itch.

I’m a serious person. I work hard, and even in my downtime, I’d never describe myself as playful or silly. Even when I’m out and having a good time, I’m on guard. I’ve always been that way, and my best friends accept me as I am. I never thought I’d be taken by someone who would jump into the pool in his shorts after tossing his Crocs to the side, but I’ve been thinking about him all night, and when I woke up this morning, he was on my mind. I pretended not to notice him today, but I knew he was outside because I saw him from my bedroom window. That’s why I went, and when I walked away, I could feel his eyes on me.

“I don’t understand why you’re calling me on my vacation to tell me this,” I hear Amira say. I lock eyes with Raven, and she’s already rolling hers as she mouths, ‘Must be Ashley.’ Amira stays quiet until she says, “I’m due home in a few days, and I’m not coming back a minute before.” She goes silent again until she interrupts and says, “Mom, unless someone dies, don’t call me again. I’ll call you. And I’m not upending my life to come hold Ashley’s hand. That’s your job.” She pulls the phone from her ear and ends the call.

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