We laugh together.
I take the phone from the counter and head outside on the balcony. I hear live music coming from below, faint in the distance. Drums and voices pounding and echoing into the night. The orange glow of fire is cast against the black backdrop of the ocean under the night sky. I want to go out there and see what’s going on, but I know I need to get some rest. I want to be well rested for tomorrow because I have a feeling Luke and I will be running around all day. And I’m excited and eager and so many things I never knew I could be all at the same time. And he’s all I can think about.
Maybe Paige is right—this is very different from any other guy I’ve ever been involved with before, and we’re not even going out.
In a way, it kind of scares me too.
“Paige, I need your opinion on something.” I pick the phone up from the table and turn the speakerphone off, putting it to my ear instead, as if I need the privacy.
“That’s what I’m here for,” she says eagerly.
Hesitating for a moment, I look out at the black ocean, listening to the waves crash underneath the stars, and I think about what happened earlier tonight.
“Well, Luke took me to a barbecue with some of his friends, and there was this girl there—”
“Uh-oh,” she cuts in, already not liking where this might be going. “Was she pretty?”
“Adorable,” I say. “She seemed kind of tomboyish—”
“Lesbian?” she interrupts again, this time with a little hope in her voice.
“No. I doubt it. Luke said she was his brother’s girlfriend. But she just seemed kind of … I don’t know—”
“Jealous?”
“Maybe. But not really.” I hate how difficult this is for me to explain, or rather to understand myself.
“Either they used to go out,” she says right away as if she’s an expert, “or they’ve been friends with benefits. Or she has a thing for him. You say she’s tomboyish—y’think she could kick your ass?”
“Uh, I don’t know, Paige,” I say with confusion. “Besides, I didn’t get that kind of vibe from her. It wasn’t like that.”
“Well, my question would be why would he take you around a girl like that in the first place? It’s like he’s showing off or something, letting you see how other girls like to fawn over him.”
“No, it wasn’t like that at all, either,” I defend. “She was already there when Luke and I showed up. He even apologized when we were alone and said he wouldn’t have brought me if he knew she’d be there.”
“Aha!” I picture her index finger shooting upward.
“What?”
“He wouldn’t have brought you if he’d known,” she repeats, preparing to make a point. “Proof right there that something has gone on between them and he knew the girl might be a problem. Think about it—if she was just his friend, she wouldn’t have any reason to make you question what kind of relationship they have. After he met me on the beach did he ever ask you if we’ve ever been more than friends?”
My nose crumples between my eyes. “No.” I laugh. “Why would he ask that?”
“My point exactly,” she says. “I didn’t give him any reason to think that, and that’s why he never asked. He slept with that girl. You can bet your ass on it, Sienna.”
I feel a pang in my stomach.
“Well, that doesn’t mean anything,” I say, still trying to defend Luke, but finding it harder to do. “So what if they’ve slept together. That doesn’t mean they’re still doing it, and it’s not really his fault if she still has a thing for him.”
“Maybe not,” Paige says, “but you could be setting yourself up for some drama regardless, that’s for sure.”
I cringe over that word. Drama. I hate it and fear it like the Dennings family probably hates and fears having to drive through the projects.
“Just watch yourself,” Paige adds. “See, I should be there with you. Just in case.”