Page 118 of The Other Side of Paradise
I smiled serenely at her, slipping my hand into hers and squeezing as we passed the cafeteria and through the ornate arches to the parking lot. “I wasn’t talkingthistime about how I’m going to use the strap-on.”
“Oh—my god. Stella.”
“What? Did you want me to?”
She threw up her free hand, blushing furiously. “To use it? Yes. To talk to everyone about it?” She hesitated for just an instant before she said, “No.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “It turns you on knowing that I talk to people about what I like doing with you, doesn’t it?”
“Itembarrassesme,” she said, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
“And also turns you on.”
“I mean,yes.Shush! Shush, shush, shush. The car! Here we are. I’m driving. Or are you driving? I can drive.”
“Not while I’m talking about what we’re doing once we get home. Not unless you want to crash.”
She cleared her throat, looking away. “I’ll, uh, I’ll be… I’ll ride. In the passenger seat.”
I paused at the side of the car, looking at her. “Is that the only thing you want to ride?”
“Oh my god. We can talk about that at home.”
I was planning to do more than just talking about it at home. But we’d start with talking.
The little oceanside drive that ran between Allison’s and Brooklyn’s houses already felt like home to me, a cozy place lined with palm trees and thick bushes, the sound of the ocean rolling up off the beach not too far away and bringing the taste of saltwater with it, lingering in the air as we stepped out into the stuffy summer heat once I’d parked the car. The cute little bungalow with the romantic old-style draperies in the windows—Allison had defended that they were from the old lady who rented the place out, not her, but I thought it was cute, like a little beach fairy cottage. The drive felt like home, the house felt like home, and even the family here felt a lot like home, judging by the way Ryan was out in front of the door, perching on the edge of the swing seat on the front porch, dressed in a loose crop top, denim shorts and white sneakers that made her look like a human being out on a summer vacation, instead of her old style that made her look like the human equivalent of an open-plan office.
“Your girlfriend got too clingy?” I said as I came up the hibiscus-lined path to the front door. Ryan laughed dryly, stepping off from the porch, and she pushed a bundle into my hands.
“Little parting gift,” she said. “For you and Allison.”
I looked it over—a box wrapped in brown paper. Could have been anything. “If it’s a sex toy, we’ve already got plenty.”
She made a face out into the middle distance as Allison, next to me, put her face in her hands. “I’m so happy to know that,” Ryan said. “It’s not a sex toy. More of a…good luck with what comes next,toy. I know you’re still figuring it out.”
“That just sounds like a particularly obscure kind of sex toy.”
“I feel like I should have gotten you a sex toy so we could have just hit fast-forward through this conversation.” She shook her head, giving me a small, lopsided smile. “I know I’m only gone for two weeks, but it feels weird… time’s been different ever since we got here.”
“Ha. No kidding. Got a rock-climbing girlfriend and fought your family all in a week.” I relaxed, holding the box against my side. “You worried the family’s going to bug you while you’re back in the mainland?”
“Florida’s not exactly next door anyway.” She looked away, fussing with one of the flowering hibiscus stems in the thick bush next to us. “But it does feel weird. I don’t know… like it’s blurring the boundaries.”
Allison was the one who spoke up. “I mean, first time leaving the island since you got here. Gotta eventually reckon with the fact that this isn’t just a big vacation and it actually is your life.”
“Mm.” Ryan nodded, looking over at her. “Yeah. Going to miss you coming around bugging me and Brooklyn for food.”
Allison put her hands on her hips. “I can feed myself.”
“I feed her a lot,” I said, and she huffed, looking away. Ryan laughed.
“Guess that is what it is. Like my little island dream life is spilling out into the real world. I’m a little jealous you have untilthe end of summer before you have to face that,” she said, a smile playing on her lips.
“Yeah, except then we’re going to be apart for nine months until next summer. I mean, we’ll be visiting each other for weekends and stuff, but still…”
Ryan nodded before she looked at Allison. “Hear that?” she said. “She actually does like you. Sad how it’ll be nine whole months apart.”
Allison put her hands up. “Look, it’s not like she doesn’t say so herself, but it still doesn’t make sense! She’s out of my league!”
