“Now?” Graham looked panicked.
“Yes, now!” Aria really, really liked this idea. Here was her chance to do something nice for Graham. It was a chance to atone for Tabitha, too. Square things up with the universe. Restore her karma.
She marched over to the drinks cart and purchased four Oranginas, two for them and two for the girls. “Now you don’t even have to buy her a drink. Just go and offer these to Elf and Hippie. That’ll strike up a conversation.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know!” Aria exclaimed, laughing out loud. “French beverages, whatever! Now c’mon, do it!”
Graham licked his lips. But after a moment, the tortured look on his face fell away, and he seemed almost a little excited. “Okay,” he said.
He padded across the sand, holding the squash-shaped bottles in his hands. The girls shaded their eyes when he approached. They accepted the drinks and unscrewed the tops. Graham squatted down and said something to Elf Girl, and Elf Girl giggled.
Yes, Aria thought, taking a swig of her Orangina. She felt like Cupid.
Suddenly, her phone chimed from inside her bag. She reached for it. One new text message. The sender was a jumble of letters and numbers.
A shiver snaked up her spine. Two tourists wearing fanny packs stared confusedly at a map across the street from the beach. A beautiful black woman in an island-print bikini spread out her towel on the sand. A girl approached the drinks cart and asked for a limeade. When she moved out of the way, Aria locked eyes with her. It was Naomi. Her blue eyes didn’t blink. There was a nasty smile on her face, and she held a cell phone tightly in one hand.
Aria spun away fast, almost walking into a moving car. Then she looked down at her own phone and pressed READ.
Good for you for helping him get back in the game, Aria. Everyone needs a little “push,” don’t they?—A
12
DUETS
Late that afternoon, after her Caribbean jewelry-making course finished, Hanna plopped down at a bistro table with Mike and perused the big leather menu the waitress had just delivered to them. Mike sniffed the air and made a face. “Ugh. Something smells like goat poop. I think it’s me.”
Hanna snickered. “That’s what you get for working on the on-board organic farm.” Naturally, the cruise ship had its own chicken coops, alpaca pens, and greenhouse, and Mike had signed up for volunteer duty. “What possessed you to work there, anyway?” she asked. “You should have asked to be on the gym staff or something.”
Mike shook his head woefully. “When I saw hydroponic and greenhouse in the description, I thought it was a pot farm. I didn’t know I’d have to spend two hours milking goats. Do you know how badly those things reek?”
Hanna poked him. “Well, you’d better take another shower, stinky. Otherwise you’re sleeping on the floor tonight.”
Mike sat up. “So does that mean you’re staying in my room again?”
Hanna stared absently at the shuffleboard tape marks on the deck. “Is that okay?”
“Of course it is,” Mike said emphatically. “But c’mon, Hanna. Squeezing into a twin bed isn’t really your thing. Did you and Naomi have a fight?”
Hanna pretended to be fascinated with the ice cubes in her glass, not wanting to meet Mike’s eye. Though it was really cozy to snuggle in bed with Mike, she was the type of sleeper who thrashed around at night, needing a lot of space. She’d woken up several times last night on the verge of falling out of the bed. Besides that, Mike’s room smelled kind of like a wet dog, and his roommate, a kid from Tate, farted in his sleep.
“It seemed like you guys were getting along at Mason’s party,” Mike added.
Hanna winced as she relived the moment when she’d clapped eyes on Naomi’s fake ID. “It doesn’t matter.”
Mike buttered a piece of bread. “I don’t get you girls and your stupid feuds. You know what I think you and Naomi should do? Strip down, have a good old-fashioned mud-wrestle, and pretty soon you’ll work out all of your problems!”
“And then we’ll kiss, I suppose?” Hanna deadpanned.
Mike’s eyes lit up. “Only if you want to!”
Hanna smacked him, then gave her order to the waitress. She knew Mike wanted a better explanation, but what could she say? I’m afraid to be around Naomi because I crashed her cousin’s car and left the girl for dead, and now I’m worried that Naomi either just found out or that she’s always known and is torturing me as A. Sorry I never told you any of this until now!