Page 51 of Banter & Blushes

Maya, however, wasn’t paying as much attention to me. Instead, she was eyeing Joe, who had just dropped the beach ball and was now attempting to do a series of highly dramaticvolleyballmoves that probably looked more like interpretive dance than sports.

“I’m going to kill him,” I muttered under my breath, watching Joe flail about, trying to kick the ball in the air. It hit him square in the face, causing him to topple backward into the sand with an epic thud.

Rebecca burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle thesound. Maya was laughing too, but there was something more in her expression—an odd sparkle in her eyes. I caught her gaze for a second, and she looked... interested. Or maybe amused?

I turned to look at Joe, who was now laying dramatically in the sand like he’d just been shot by a sniper. “Joe, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

Joe gave me a half-hearted thumbs up from the sand, clearly oblivious to the social nightmare he was creating.

“Are you sure this is your idea of casual?” Rebecca asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “No! This is not how I planned it. I had a plan, I swear. But, you know, Joe kind of... ruined it. As usual.” I shot Joe a pointed look.

“A plan, huh?”

Oops. Busted.

Maya, still watching Joe like he was the most fascinating thing on the beach, leaned in toward Rebecca and whispered something in her ear. I could see Rebecca raise an eyebrow at her, but before I could even process what was happening, Maya stood up and stretched, clearly preparing for some kind of action.

“Oh no, this is happening,” I muttered to myself.

“Alright, let’s see how much this guy’s got left in him,” Maya called out to Joe in a loud voice. “How about a match, big guy? But this time, no falling on your face?”

Rebecca looked at me, clearly amused, but there was something else in her gaze—something playful. “I think you might be on your own, Luca,” she teased. “Joe’s got a new admirer.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You’re not wrong,” I muttered, watching as Maya moved toward Joe. It was a bizarre sight. Maya had this air of total confidence, and Joe was clearly too oblivious to notice that Maya was, in fact, giving him her full attention.

To my surprise, Joe actually managed to pull himself together. Maya handed him the ball, and the two of them started playing an impromptu game of beach volleyball, albeit with some veryunconventionalrules that involved way too much laughter and very little actual volleyball.

Meanwhile, Rebecca and I stood awkwardly on the sidelines, trying to pretend like we weren’t both somewhat entertained by the ridiculousness unfolding in front of us.

“So…” I began, the words slipping out before I could think about them. “You’re leaving soon, huh?”

Rebecca’s smile faltered slightly, but she quickly covered it up. “Yeah, it’s coming to an end. It’s been nice though. Relaxing.”

There was a flicker of something in her eyes—regret, maybe? Or was I just imagining it?

“I’m really glad I met you, Rebecca,” I said, suddenly serious. “This whole... whatever this is... has been more than I expected.”

She glanced up at me, her expression softening. “I’m glad I met you too, Luca.”

And then, before I could say anything else, Joe and Maya came crashing into us, covered in sand, both laughing uncontrollably. It was the perfect disaster.

I looked at Rebecca, both of us standing there, surrounded by chaos. Despite the awkwardness, the absurdity of the situation, I couldn’t help but think...

Maybe we weren’t so different after all.

But as the seconds ticked by, my babbo’s words floated back to me. I was running out of time to make my move.

THE AIRPORT CHASE

LUCA

I’d been pacing the kitchen of the restaurant for an hour. Maybe longer. My mind was racing a hundred miles an hour, trying to come up with a solution, some way to make Rebecca stay. I should’ve said something sooner, should’ve told her how I felt on the beach, but we ended up getting distracted with just hanging out. Now I was running out of time.

The more I thought about her leaving, the more my chest ached, like something vital was being ripped out of me. What did I even expect? She had her life back home. She wasn’t going to just abandon everything for me, some guy who—what? Lived in a small town and cooked food for a living? What did I have to offer her that would make it sound better than what she was going back to?

“I’m an idiot,” I muttered to myself, pacing around the kitchen again. I kicked at a box of flour that was inconveniently in the way, sending it scattering across the floor.

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