“They have night vision. I was just on the veranda watching you and hottie McHottness hooking up!” She leaps onto the bed and starts jumping up and down.
I’m not going to lie; it’s the exact reaction my heart had when he first kissed me. I jump on the bed with her and start bouncing up and down. It’s against my usual persona but fuck that sad girl. I used to be happy and silly. Today was a good day. No, today was a great day and I want to enjoy it a little longer.
Leah plops down on the bed Indian style and pulls me down to sit next to her. My dress rides up but not enough that Leah would care. Part of me wants to tell Leah everything about tonight. I want to replay every touch, every smile, every word—but I can’t. Asher is as private a person as I am. To tell her anything would violate a bond we formed tonight. Even if it was just for tonight.
“I’m glad to see you happy.”
“Thanks. It feels good,” I say, surprising myself.
“Adam is all kinds of pissed at me,” she says, her mouth cocked to the side.
I laugh at the thought of Adam being upset with Leah until the look on her face lets me know she’s serious. “Wait. Why is Adam mad at you?”
“He called and I was so excited about your date I told him the whole story. I told him about the yacht the other day and your boat tour yesterday and now your date tonight. He. Was. Pissed.” Leah seems as surprised by the notion as I am.
“When you asked him to wire money you didn’t tell him the whole story?” I ask.
“No. I left out the part about us following a giant to his massive boat. Thought it was wiser for all parties. I got excited about you going out that I thought he’d appreciate the story. Instead he lectured me on how careless we were. It got ugly.” Leah shakes her body, like a shiver. “Ahh, bad karma, bad thoughts. Forget that nonsense. He’ll be fine tomorrow. Because, you’re fine. Right?” Her brows rise.
I give her a wide smile. “Yes, very fine. And I’m seeing him again tomorrow. Actually, we are both seeing him. He invited us somewhere, unless, of course, you don’t want to go.” My offer is two-sided. It’s genuine because Leah means the world to me. But deep down I will be crushed if she says no. I really want to see Asher again but tomorrow is Luke’s birthday and we girls should be together.
“You’re seeing him again?” Her voice heightens in surprise.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea? I can cancel—”
“No,” she says quickly. “That’s awesome. It’ll be awesome. I’m coming, too, so what could go wrong?” She hops off the bed, planning her outfit for tomorrow’s excursion and I thank God for her love of adventure. I’m going to need her on this one.
I can’t believe Leah is sick. Like, honest-to-goodness sick. This morning she woke up with some sort of food poisoning slash stomach bug slash I don’t know what.
At first, I thought this was her way of getting me alone with Asher again. Last night, she was crazy excited about what he might have planned for us. She loves surprises. And she didn’t seem to mind that we’d be spending Luke’s birthday with a stranger and she didn’t seem too concerned with what Adam might say about our hanging out with him.
Then when she woke up she started grumbling about how she doesn’t feel good. But this is Leah we’re talking about: she has lied in the past about being sick.
I now know she is not lying. She is locked inside the bathroom and the sounds coming from that room are far from human.
“Go without me. There is no reason why you should be locked up in this room all day too.” Her words are strained and breathy.
“What if something happens to you while I’m gone? You don’t sound so good in there,” I say to her through the bathroom door. She has been in there with the door locked for the past twenty minutes.