Page 13 of Seven Year Itch
Carlos begins to pass out keys, taking special care to make eye contact with me to ensure he’s giving the right keys to the right individuals.
When he comes to give me my key, I eye him warily. “Carlos... you could have mentioned you spoke English when I arrived.”
“Oh, but your Spanish is very good, señorita.”
I hit him with a look.
He winces. “Good-ish.” He winks and gestures to everyone. “You all can follow the staff inside the main house, and they will see you to your room. You two... please follow me.”
Calder and Dakota both freeze in place, looking at each other and then back to Carlos, confused for being singled out.
“You two have a different oceanside room. Right this way,” Carlos says reassuringly as he leads them toward the cobblestone path that wraps around to the back of the house.
“What are you up to, Everly?” Cozy murmurs into my ear when she spots me watching them with a knowing smirk.
“Oh, ya know... just mastermind shit.”
Chapter 6
Palapa for Two
Calder
The house is fucking stunning... not that I get to see much of it because this Carlos guy is taking me and Dakota and our bags around to the back of the damn house. Though the view of the ocean we’re walking toward definitely isn’t going to suck.
“You are in the palapa,” Carlos says excitedly. “Very nice accommodations. Wide-open walls so you hear ocean all night long. Most guests’ first choice.”
“Then, shouldn’t Wyatt and Trista have it?” Dakota asks, her voice sounding unsure.
“They requested to be inside the main house to be close to la abuela to help with el niños.”
I nod and roll my eyes. So, because my brother needs my mother to be his nanny for the week, I’m stuck in the bunkhouse with Karen.
Great.
However, when we round the corner to the back of the house, my jaw drops when I see where Carlos is taking us.
I guess I didn’t know what a palapa was, but it’s this cool, round, grass-hut-topped tower. Like a Mexican version of a castle turret or a really sick treehouse. He leads us up a winding staircase that goes past this tall, wrought-iron birdcage that’s wrapped around a tree and full of exotic birds.
“You can feed the birds anytime!” Carlos says excitedly as he reaches into a container nearby and grabs some seed. As if on command, three birds dart toward the vertical bars.
“Cool,” I reply in awe as their little claws wrap around the metal and slide down to meet his hands full of birdseed.
Carlos smiles and pats his hands clean before continuing up the steps. I gesture for Dakota to go before me, but she shakes her head and refuses.
“What’s your problem?”
She swallows and holds her bag up like a coat of armor. “I hate birds.”
“You hate birds?”
She nods. “Ever since I was a kid.”
“Why? They’re just birds.”
“Are you kidding?” she snaps venomously. “They’re gross with their beady little eyes. And did you see their giant talon feet wrap around those bars? Imagine those on your neck! Or gouging your eyes out! And I’m not convinced they’re not all government drones eavesdropping on all our conversations.”
I tip my head back and laugh at the grave tone of her voice. She’s dead fucking serious, and it reminds me of my brother. “You and Wyatt should start a club.”
