“Do you think he did it to get over Addy?” I ask.
“Nah, I think he’s genuinely happy for Masen and Addy,” she admits. “But I think Luna was drunk and wanted to get laid. I’m surprised, given she does older men, but Cruz is hot, plus he has the whole footballer thing going for him. Luna is probably on an ego high right now. Women want Cruz, and she got him into bed.”
“You think they actually slept together?”
Ava sneers. “C’mon, Alexa. Don’t be naïve. This isn’t high school anymore. The way I saw them, they were one step away from it. Anyways, both of them disappeared after that. You do the math.”
Luna is notorious for being open about her sex life. Personally, I didn’t understand the whole instant attraction and taking it to the bedroom. However, it’s not instant since they’ve known each other for years.
Either way, it’s none of my business. I’m sure Ava would beg to differ.
“So, one last hurrah before you leave?”
My brows narrow the more her face lights up. “What does your hurrah entail?”
“Lunch, just us girls.”
“And Eric?”
Ava throws her head back in amusement. “I think Eric is unable to join us.”
“Hangover?”
“Let’s just say if his Air BnB hosts weren’t swingers, they probably are now.”
“Oh God,” I moan. “What is wrong with our family?”
“Where do I begin,” Ava answers while laughing. “I’m sure we’ll get all the answers at lunch. Once Eric wakes up and spills the beans in our group chat.”
My shoulders move up and down, unable to hold back my laughter. I’m going to miss my family, but of everyone, I think I’m going to miss Ava the most.
Not that I wouldeveradmit it to her face.
Some things are best left unsaid.
NINE
The best part about traveling through Europe is the freedom to be me without the pressure of my family’s name.
No one knew who I was, or maybe if they did—they didn’t care.
The anonymity relieved me of the expectations I’ve lived with my whole life. Our family weren’t celebrities by all means. It wasn’t like the paparazzi followed us everywhere, but they still managed to keep an eye on what we did. They were strategic and targeted mostly my father at big events, not so much everyday life. In recent years, they slowed down because frankly, my father is boring as fuck. He never did anything exciting to cause a media frenzy unless it was a colleague or associate embroiled in some scandal.
Ava became a target for a while, but it was only because she made sure her life was documented on social media for the purpose of content as she likes to put it. Since becoming a mother, she’s been careful to keep her daughters away from the limelight. I think it has a lot to do with Austin not wanting his daughters exposed to the creeps of the world.
I said goodbye to my family over six months ago, two days after Masen and Addy said I do. Mom struggled to say goodbye again, unable to compose herself when we hugged for the last time. She worried about me and even tried to slip some money into my purse. Her intentions came from a motherly place, but I was determined to make it on my own. That hadn’t changed just because I spent a few days with them.
My sisters were dramatic with their goodbyes, ugly crying of course. At the time, I was really not surprised if one of them, if not both, were knocked up. It would explain the hormonal mess they were that morning. So far, no announcements so my assumptions were wrong. They were just hot messes.
As for my father, the cold goodbye was enough for me to turn around and not look back. He embraced me, though it was stiff and not loving in any sort of way. It didn’t upset me. I expect nothing more from him.
It was time to move on to my next adventure, where the best thing happened to me—April West.
April is nothing like me, unstoppable in her quest to live life to the fullest. We met in Ibiza when we realized the guy we were flirting with was trying to get us all into bed together. Now, I’m not one for threesomes, and the guy was so full of himself that we just had to teach him a lesson.
The lesson was telling him to book the expensive suite, but we never showed up. Instead, we spent the night drinking and laughing so hard I’ll admit a tiny bit of pee came out during the barrels of laughter.
“Do you think the yellow bikini or polka dots?”