There was something to be said for staying with someone long enough to know them. To know the subtle intricacies within the way they moved, the way they carried themselves, the way the crinkle formed between their eyes when they were frustrated. It was true that I hadn’t always been the most serious about the women I’d dated, and my friends liked to joke about how many there’d been, but with Emily it was different. She made me want to be different, and I was determined to show her that.
She moved back to the bed, this time sitting on the edge with one leg draped over the other, the back of one of her hands pressed to her forehead. She closed her eyes, turning the side of her face toward the camera. After a second, she jumped down again, her face still contorted with displeasure.
“Want me to take it?” I offered, hurrying back down the stairs. In the weeks that we’d been dating, Emily had taught me so much about posing and camera angles. Most of the time, I still got it wrong, but I was always happy to try.
“That’s okay, baby,” she said, giving me a lopsided grin and patting my cheek before glancing back down to scroll through her phone. “I’m just not loving the lighting in here. It’s going to be much better outside, anyway. Maybe I’ll have you take one of me in front of the hut.”
“Maybe we could have someone take a picture of the two of us,” I offered.
Her eyes lit up. “That’s great! We could ask Laura. I think they put her next door.”
“Do you want me to go ask her?” I pointed next door with my thumb.
“No worries. I want to change before dinner, and we can get one before we head out. I won’t be able to post anything until we leave, anyway. I just want to be sure I have a ton of material to post.” She grinned, her cheeks turning pink with a familiar pleasure. “My followers aren’t used to me going so quiet.”
I smiled, but it was weak at best. It was pathetic to be jealous of three hundred thousand people who lived a world away, most of which Emily didn’t know anything about, but I was anyway. I couldn’t help it. She’d warned me on our first date that her followers came first, always. They were the ones paying her bills, the reason she was able to live the life she did, and now that that life included me, I supposed I should’ve been grateful, and I was—truly. But that didn’t stop a small amount of bitterness from filling my chest every time she smiled brighter for a new comment than anything I did.
“Wait,” I said, letting her words sink in finally. “What do you mean? Are you going to be off your phone while we’re here?” Was I finally going to get her full attention?
She dropped her arm to her side, phone in hand, and scoffed. “Well, I won’t really have much choice, will I? There’s no service on the island. It’s part of their branding—they want couples to reconnect, without everyday distractions.” She held up her phone again. “Hello, distraction number one.”
I smiled, filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite register. “So, we can’t use our phones at all?”
“I mean, I’m sure they have one for emergencies somewhere, but there’s no cell service or Wi-Fi anywhere on the island.” She cocked her head to the side. “I mentioned that, didn’t I?”
I shook my head, my throat dry as I watched her slide her phone into the side of her bikini top and turn to her bag.
Finally. Finally I’d have her all to myself. For one whole week, I wouldn’t be sharing her with three hundred thousand strangers.
If it were up to me, we’d never leave the island.
Chapter Nine
Natasha
Our steward, Lei, led us to the last hut, next to Andy and Emily, and disappeared quickly after. I walked to the desk, where she’d left a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket of ice and two glasses.
“This is nice,” I said, turning to face Jaren, who was moving the bags from the floor to the bed.
“Yeah,” he said simply, only partially listening. “Where’d you put my sunglasses?”
“I didn’t pack them,” I said. “I thought you did.”
To my relief, the wine was a screw top, so I opened it quickly, pouring myself a glass. I took a sip, holding the soft notes of peach in my mouth. It had been so long since we’d gotten to relax at all, let alone on a beach with free drinks. It was exactly what I needed, and I could feel the tension leaving my shoulders the moment my feet touched the sand.
“What do you mean you didn’t pack them?”
I snapped back to reality, watching Jaren sit down on the edge of the bed, sliding his shoes off. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the memo that we were relaxing. “You packed your own bag. Why would I have specifically packed your sunglasses?”
He jerked his head to face me, his eyes wide with indignance. “I didn’t pack my own bag.”
My heart dropped. “What?”
“You packed it.”
I shook my head, my lips pressed together. “No, I didn’t,” I said slowly.
“You had them on the bed…you washed our bathing suits.” He turned around, tearing his suitcase open. I watched in horror as he opened it, revealing only his swimming trunks, a pair of sandals, Sperrys, and his water shoes. “No. No. No. No. No.
