“It’s fine. I already forgave you.”
“Then why are you giving me shit?”
“Because I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t. Duh,” she tosses back, and I imagine her dipping her chin onto one shoulder in a not-so-innocent manner that makes me smile.
“Are you okay?”
“We’re talking about you now,” she insists. “Spill.”
I tell my friend the truth. The one I told Teddy, anyway. I only get halfway through it before Val interrupts me. “How many times have you slept with him?”
“What?” I ask nervously and glance toward the door again like Xander might hear us.
“I can’t even see your face, and I still know you’re lying. You’ve totally slept with him!”
Sighing, I relent. How can I lie to my best friend? “Fine. You caught me.”
Her response is a whisper-scream of excitement that makes me squeeze my eyes closed.
“Four times,” I say with amused victory in my voice. I’m ecstatic , really, as I finally let the truth free.
Especially since Val is as excited as I am.
“That is what I’m fucking talking about, S.” There’s a thud on her end like she dropped something, possibly her fist on a table, which makes me wonder where she is for such a private conversation.
“I’ll give you all the details when I get back,” I offer. “Now, why has your week sucked?”
She groans. “Poetry Simon and I broke up on the way back from our trip.”
“Are you serious? Isn’t this the third time you’ve ended things?”
“Don’t remind me,” she warns. “Anyway, those details also need to be delivered in person over a bottle of a Napa Valley red.”
“It’s a date.”
Once we promise to talk soon, we end the call, but I don’t toss my phone aside.
Instead, I click to add a photo of Xander and me at the beach to my profile. In the picture, he has sand smeared on his cheek in the shape of a cloud. His smile is uniquely Xander—fun, carefree, and unapologetic.
He’s also watching me with a curiosity I can’t explain or describe, but I know how it makes me feel.
Giddy and important.
For the caption, I type outFrom #GymBae to #BeachBaeand press to share it, enjoying the side-by-side pictures of Xander and me wrapped in each other’s arms on my page.
I like it a lot.
* * *
“You’re right—that whale shirt was made for a toddler and got put in the wrong section.” I snort and tug at the hem of his bright purple T-shirt, which fits snugly around his biceps. “We could go shopping at an actual store, you know.”
“But then I wouldn’t have these awesome conversation starters.”
I skip to keep up with his strides along the dirt trail. My legs are long, but I have a slower pace than him, especially since I’m on the lookout for good photo ops. This is definitely the place to stock up on good content. I’ll need more of Xander and me too—in order to keep up pretenses and not because I like pictures of us piling up in my album, of course.
The one I got of his back while he walked ahead was a good shot. Banyan trees stood tall on either side of the path, and he looked like an ant, comparatively.
I want more of those candid shots, where we’re lost in nature, especially now that we’re out in the open. Xander looks larger than life out here, a relaxed air about him that’s contagious.