29. Paisley
“How badly does it hurt?”
My arms encircle Klein’s waist, allowing him to lean on me as he limps off the golf cart in front of the house.
Klein winces as he puts weight on his right foot. “More than a bee.”
I’ve been stung by bees three times in my life, so I understand at least a fraction of what he’s feeling.
“I still can’t believe you were stung by a jellyfish. I’ve been swimming in the same waters my whole life and never been close to one.”
Following our kiteboarding, Klein and I decided to spend some time on the beach. I stayed on the shore, while he ventured out into the water. At a depth barely deep enough for wading, Klein’s eyes suddenly flared and his head reared back. With a hand tented over my eyes to block the sun, I watched Klein head for me with a grimace twisting his face.
“Lucky me,” he manages, twisting to look at his right calf. An angry looking long line shines red and swollen on his skin, lashed by a tentacle. “Fucker,” he manages.
“Yeah,” I chant, getting in on the name-calling. “Asshole jellyfish.” We arrive at the bottom of the stairs. “How do you feel about making it up those?”
Klein blows out a breath. “I don’t have much of a choice unless I plan on sleeping outside.”
“I’d sleep outside with you. It might be chilly, but we can grab a couple extra blankets and be alright.”
“You’re sweet.” Klein leans over and kisses my forehead, and my insides melt a tiny bit. “You were really worried about me when it happened.”
“Well, yeah. At first I thought maybe it was a shark.”
Klein pales. “A shark? Are those common around here?”
“Uh. No?”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I sure hope you’re not right about that or we’re facing an uphill battle for the remainder of the week.”
Klein attempts a smile, but only manages a grimace.
“Come on,” I urge him gently. “The sooner we get you up to our room, the faster I can give you pain medicine and get hot water running in the bathtub.”
I’d looked up how to treat a jellyfish sting as soon as I could get my phone from my beach bag.
It’s slow going, but we make it into the house. First, we encounter my mother, who tells us to apply vinegar to the sting. Then my grandmother tells us she’ll leave hydrocortisone cream outside of the bedroom door if he’d like to use that. Shane asks if Klein would like a shot of tequila, and Klein glares at him. Shane backs off, and I make a mental note to inquire about that exchange later. We find Spencer sprawled out on an armchair, staring at his phone as we pass through the living room. Phone still positioned in front of his face, Spencer looks at Klein’s calf, and says in a voice devoid of emotion, “Sucks, bro.”
It actually makes Klein laugh, which makes me laugh. I shake my head as we walk down the hall. “Later he’ll probably tell you that the jellyfish that got you must’ve been a banger.”
“Sorry, I don’t speak cool kid. What does ‘banger’ mean?”
“It means something that’s exceptional. I had to look it up the last time I heard him say it. I’m only twenty-six and I’m already having to look up what the young-uns say.”
“We get old fast these days.” Klein winces when his leg brushes the bedroom doorframe on our way through. “Fuck, that hurt.”
“Just a little further,” I urge, taking him to the bathroom and helping him sit on the edge of the tub.
I turn on the hot water and run my hand through until it’s almost too hot to bear. “The medical website I found said to soak it for forty-five minutes in water that is as hot as you can stand it. Is this temperature okay?” Klein tests the running water and nods.
I grab two pain reliever tablets from my toiletries case while the tub fills halfway. He swallows them without water, and I get him situated with towels behind him so he can lean on the glass shower that is connected to the tub. He slides his hurt leg into the water, sucking a breath between his teeth when the hot water envelops his calf. Standing back, I survey the scene to see if the set up works. “Do you think it would work better if you were all the way in the tub?”
“Probably,” he agrees.
“I can help you undress. Or, I mean, I’m sure you can undress, but I can turn around and give you privacy and just be here if you need assistance.”
Klein looks up at me through his lashes. He looks tired. Disappointed. Slightly beaten down. “I’m not worried about you getting an eyeful if there’s future fun on our agenda.”
I stop, surprised. “Fun fun? Or more kiteboarding fun?”
“I’ve had my lifetime’s fill of kiteboarding. I’m talking about two-person only fun.” He points at me, saying, “Person one.” His finger swings back to his chest. “Person two.”
Anticipation slices through me. Am I going to get exactly what I’ve asked for? “I guess that means you’ve either decided you’re done being a considerate gentleman, or that it wouldn’t be taking advantage of me after all.”
“I determined it is not taking advantage of you. And I will only be a considerate gentleman when you want me to.”
The grin splitting my face is borderline embarrassing. I swear, if this man wasn’t nursing a jellyfish sting, I would pounce on him right now.
I step up to the side of the bathtub. “Shirt first, Word Daddy.”
Klein makes a face. “Word Daddy?”
“Cecily,” I explain, and Klein nods. “That actually makes sense.”
Klein can take his shirt off by himself, so I’m really only there for moral support. I want to touch him so badly though, to run my hands over those abs that were on full display at the beach earlier, that I force upon him my unnecessary help. He laughs when I drag my fingernails over his chest. The shirt clears his head, and I arrange it nicely on the stool beside the tub so he can put it on when he gets out.
“Shorts next,” I say, and I try to act nonchalant, like I’m some kind of nurse and I see this stuff so frequently I’m immune to it.
Klein hooks his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts, then pauses. “These are swim trunks, so I could probably just wear them.”
I act like it’s no big deal, but if I’m being honest with myself, I most definitely would like a sneak preview. “You do you, Wordsmith.”
He lowers himself all the way in the tub, shorts on. “The sting has made it, umm, difficult for me to look the way I want to look for you the first time you see me.”
I swallow a rock hard lump in my throat. Am I spending too much time picturing Klein, smooth and long and hard and ready? If the moisture between my legs is any indication, the answer is yes. “Understand that. It would be like me undressing in front of you for the first time and wearing nude colored full-butt underwear.”
Klein looks up at me from the tub. For someone in a moderate amount of pain, he doesn’t look to be too put out. “For the record, I’d be perfectly happy to see you in any and all undergarments.”
“Even pantaloons?”
His arm shoots out, taking me by surprise, and smacks my ass. I yelp and hop out of his reach.
“Per the itinerary, I have to go help my sister and the ‘I do’ crew with the favors for the wedding guests. I’ll be back soon though. Can I bring you anything?”
His gaze drops to my backside. “Just your fine ass.”
I sashay from the room, giving him a show on my way out.
“Sorry I’m late,”I call, walking into the home down the road the three bridesmaids are sharing.
“In here,” Sienna calls from the back of the house.
I follow voices until I find everyone gathered around a white-washed oval table. I say hello to Farhana and Maren, seated at the table with my sister. Wren has her back to me, bent over a box as she parses its contents.
My sister waves from her seat, and when I take the empty seat beside hers, she surprises me by reaching out and hugging me. After a second of stiffness, I melt into it. My sister isn’t a hugger by nature. Even when she was a baby, she preferred to be put down on her play mat, left to bat at the toys that hung overhead.
Sienna releases me, but looks me in the eyes and says, “I’m happy you’re here, Paisley.”
I nod like a bobblehead. I don’t know what to say. My sister can’t start being nice now. I need her to be self-centered and self-absorbed, so I can be mildly antagonistic and low-key disagreeable while still meeting her expectations.
“Me too,” I answer. It’s not a lie. I don’t want to be left out or left behind. And I like having Klein here on the island.
“I had lunch with Dad just before I came here. He told me what you said to him last night.”
I nod slowly, rubbing at my dry eyes as a trickle of dread filters through me. Where is this going?
“He said he’s proud of you, Pais.” She takes in my shocked expression and adds, “He also said all this would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if you’d stayed on the path he set for you.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s still Dad. But I think maybe he’ll come around.”
Wren sets an armload of ribbon and other supplies on the table and asks, “Who wants champagne?” We all raise our hands.
Farhana, Maren, Sienna and I work on unboxing the favor components. We separate them into sections, taking place along the large table and forming an assembly line. Wren makes two trips into the kitchen and back, delivering champagne.
Farhana turns on Taylor Swift, and we listen while we work. Maren talks about a guy she matched with who claims to be an environmental lawyer. She says she has her doubts about his truthfulness because he won’t tell her the name of the firm where he works. Everyone, with the exception of my sister, trades online dating horror stories that make me happy I’ve never joined an app.
I’m quiet, listening to them chat. There isn’t much for me to add that wouldn’t be a lie of some degree.
Sienna brings me into the conversation when she says, “Klein seems like a really good guy, Pais.”
“He is,” I nod, doing my job of tying light blue ribbons around the tops of the small glass candy jars. Klein should be out of the bathtub by now. I wonder how he’s feeling, or if he needs anything? Besides my fine ass. The thought brings a smile to my face.
“Ohhh, look at that grin,” Wren says, polishing off her champagne. Mine is long gone. There wasn’t much else to do while they all talked. “That’s the smile of a woman in love.”
I finish tying the next ribbon. “I don’t know about love. We haven’t talked about all that yet.”
“You don’t have to talk about it. Just watch the man’s actions.”
“The way he looks at you,” Maren says dreamily. She affixes the personalized tag to the little knob on the top of the candy jar after I’ve tied the ribbon.
“That,” Wren says, a smile sliding from one side of her mouth, “and the fact he threatened to castrate Shane.”
I freeze. “What?”
To my right, Sienna echoes me.
Wren shifts uncomfortably. “I assumed you both knew.” Her eyes dart between us. “Shane made a tasteless joke about Paisley, and Klein didn’t appreciate it. Tag was standing next to them and overheard Klein.”
My eyebrows creep up my forehead. “Tag heard Klein threaten castration?”
“In a manner of speaking. He used the word ‘eunuch.’ We had to look it up.”
Maren nudges her. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Me and Tag.”
Maren smacks her forearm. “Was he in your room last night? Is that what I was hearing?”
Wren blushes. “Maybe.”
Farhana gasps. “You ho.”
Wren cackles. “We’re on a secluded island for five more days. You should both be trying to get laid, too.”
While they argue back and forth about the merits and pitfalls of a fling with people they might have to see again in the future, I nudge Sienna’s foot under the table. Her furrowed brow worries me.
I’m fine, she mouths.
But she’s not, and we both know it. We also know a conversation about Shane is off the table. Their highlight reel is all I’m allowed, and I understand. I don’t know that I want more than that, but I want to want more. I want to be there for her.
Wren gets my attention by saying, “I bet Klein is laying Paisley out every night. And every morning too, probably, right Paisley? Is Klein a morning guy?” Excitement widens her eyes. “I bet that’s why you were late arriving!”
If only that was the reason. “More like taking care of Klein’s jellyfish sting.”
They groan collectively. Farhana asks, “Is he okay?”
“A typical reaction, thankfully. Not severe.”
“Paisley’s going to have to give him the good loving tonight,” Wren quips. “The guy took a plane, car, and ferry to spend the week with your ex, and ends up stung by a jellyfish.”
I keep my eyes off my sister on purpose. I don’t want to see whatever look is on her face, and I don’t want her to feel like she has to plaster on a certain expression for my benefit. I hadn’t thought about how this might feel for her, having Shane around his ex all week. In my head, he’s my ex. I never think of myself as his.
To be fair, it’s not as if I invited myself here. And it’s true that none of us would be in this position if my sister weren’t marrying him. But this is the first time we’ve all three been in the same room. And it’s not just one room, one time. It’s a weeklong party. There’s an itinerary.
Is Sienna, now that she is in the thick of it, regretting any of this?
The conversation moves on. We finish assembling gifts.
By the time I’m climbing back on my golf cart, my sister and Shane are far from my mind.
But Klein? He’s at the forefront.
And I have an idea.