Island Revelations
“No, no, no,” I whispered to myself, cautiously glancing around to see if I knew anyone else who might still be here. My index finger began subconsciously tapping against my thumb as I tried to figure out what to do now.
It was late. Dark. And even though the Cove was a relatively safe place to live, walking across the entire island in the middle of the night wasn’t the smartest idea.
Most of the adults in the kitchens were from the country club catering team, so they were out. Even though we worked a lot of the same events here at the mansion, I didn’t know them well enough to ask for a ride.
I paced in front of the door, unsure what to do. Reid said to call him for a ride home, but it was two in the morning. There was no way.
Emma was probably still awake, but her parents didn’t allow her to use her car past midnight. Same with Norah. And, like me, Caleb didn’t have his own car.
I bit down on my lip. I could call Grandmum and see if she wasn’t too far from the mansion yet.
With another thought, I realized that wouldn’t work. She refused to answer her phone while driving, so she wouldn’t even see that I had called until she got home.
There was one other person who said to call him after the event. Maybe Dec—
“Are you lost?” someone asked behind me, interrupting my thoughts. I paused, trying to place the voice before I turned around.
“Mia?”
She raised her eyebrows as I spun to face her. “What are you doing?”
I grimaced, unsure how to explain to her that I was stranded. “Uh… my grandmum left,” was all I could spit out.
Mia Covington was a Crescent kid, but wasn’t as stuck up or snobby as many of them. She was also what I called intimidatingly pretty. Like you knew it was natural, but when she was all dressed up like this, she looked like she belonged on a red carpet.
With her long brown hair almost down to her waist, her pale pink lips, and wide Covington blue eyes, she could have been a model. Add all that to her floor length, strapless sapphire dress, she was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t pull off a look like hers to save my life.
“Oh,” she replied, pursing her lips. “Do you need a ride?”
I shook my head, knowing where she was going to go with that sentence. My eyes widened as I said, “No, no, it’s fine. I’ll… walk.”
She gave me the look, which was warranted, especially since I already had the same thought.
“It’s two in the morning, Marlowe. Let me grab Mom’s keys, and I’ll be right back.”
Once again, I stood by myself, dumbfounded that she even knew my name. The Crescent kids, especially the Covington’s, all attended a private school on the mainland. Though we had grown up on the same island together, we had never really interacted.
I thanked her a million times, then apologized before mentioning that I was house sitting at Reid’s, as Bayside Boulevard was on the opposite side of the island. She gave me an interesting look for a second before moving on and keeping up polite conversation.
She was so much like Eleanor, it pained my heart. I didn’t tell her that, though; it would have been weird. But talking to her calmed me down, just like every time I spoke with Eleanor.
I extended my heartfelt gratitude as we pulled into the driveway. She once again waved me off and said goodnight. I watched as she headed back for the boulevard, then I turned to the house.
All the lights were off, as expected. I knew the alarm code, so that wouldn’t be a problem. That was, if Reid set it. Did he leave it off so it didn’t go off when I came in? I would have to set it no matter what, which was always a bit scary to do. Accidentally setting it off was a major fear, especially since the Bennetts weren’t even in the country.
I used the key and opened the door, keeping an ear out for the telltale beeping of the alarm. It didn’t come, so I was in the clear.
What I was not in the clear of were the dogs. Noodle and Marshmallow came sprinting toward me, sliding on the wood floor, crashing into each other and me. I bent down and pet them, trying to get them to hush up. Even though Reid’s bedroom was upstairs, with the ruckus they were making, he was sure to wake up.
“Out! Go outside and get your crazies out!” I whispered to them, pointing to the back door. They seemed to understand and bolted for the door again, almost crashing into that, too.
As soon as I got them out, I turned to head to the guest room, but caught something out of the corner of my eye. A light coming from down the far hall, from the library.
Thinking Reid left it on, I started down the hall, only to be surprised when I found him sitting in the oversized armchair, angled away from me. I could clearly see him, but unless he looked up from his book and to the side, he wouldn’t see me.
My heart leaped into my throat as I took him in.
Gray sweatpants. A faded black Star Wars t-shirt that looked familiar, but never looked like that on him. Glasses on his face. A book in his hand.
There was no doubt about my earlier question now. Reid must have been working out lately. He had become the definition of ripped.
As if he could read my mind, he lifted his arms and stretched, yawning at the same time. My jaw dropped as I caught sight of his four pack, which looked suspiciously close to becoming a six-pack sometime soon. I had never seen such a defined set of abs in my life. Most of the guys at school that flaunted their assets had great bodies, but more of a flat torso.
Reid’s was… well, what I assumed the term washboard abs actually looked like.
He lowered his arms and cracked his neck side to side while yawning again. That’s when I remembered who I was staring at and what time it was.
I gasped, which caught his attention. He fumbled with the book for a second before putting it on the side table and leaping to his feet.
“Marlowe! You have to stop scaring me like this,” he said with a sly grin. He reached up and ruffled his hand through his curls, messing them up even more than they were.
Oh, he knew what he was doing. There was no way he looked like that, gave me a smile like that, and didn’t know what he was doing to me.
“I’m so sorry. What are you doing up? You’re never up this late,” I basically whispered, not trusting myself to speak any louder for fear of what might accidentally slip out of my mouth. My mind was still set on his body. And the way his hair looked like he had been running his hands through it for the past hour. And his glasses, giving him that hot nerdy look that I loved so much. And—
No. No. I could not be thinking about Reid Bennett this way. Not anymore.
I tried to shake him loose from my brain, but all it wanted to focus on was his abs. The thought kept playing over and over on a loop.
At least I’d have some good dreams tonight.
Reid stood and shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Just making sure you didn’t need a ride or anything.”
I paused. The thought of calling him had crossed my mind, but he usually never stayed up too late. Even when we were dating, he went to bed before midnight. Add that to the fact that his plane probably left at sunrise yesterday morning. He had to be exhausted.
Yet… he waited up. For me.
“You… waited up for me?” I whispered again, my eyes meeting his now. My heart fluttered to a stop in my chest as his face softened and he nodded. He reached up and pulled on his right ear for a moment, and I frowned.
He only did that when he was nervous. Or uncomfortable. Was I making him nervous?
“Of course. I wanted to make sure you got back safely. Well, goodnight,” he said softly, turning sideways to pass by me. I let him go, watching as he turned down the hall and headed toward the stairs.
It took me a moment to collect myself and let the dogs back in before heading to my room. The entire encounter lasted only a few minutes, but felt like hours.
Instead of being tired, my body was now exhilarated. On fire. Pumped up. Full of adrenaline. Sleep wouldn’t be coming for a while, so after I changed, washed my face, and brushed my teeth, I laid in bed, scrolling on my phone mindlessly.
It was almost three now, and I had to work the afternoon shift at the cafe later. I needed to get some sleep.
Just before I put my phone on the nightstand for the night, it vibrated in my hand.
Declan:You up for the party on Monday, Crash?
I blinked, looking at the time stamp to double check that he just sent it now, and I hadn’t missed it from earlier. Who texted someone about a party at three in the morning? Especially after I specifically told him I would text him tomorrow.
But sure enough, it was a brand new message.
The first thing I did was check my work schedule. I kept a list of that on my phone too, for easy access, mainly. Logging into the website where the cafe posted shifts was obnoxious and unnecessary.
Me:Maybe. I have to work that afternoon, but get off around seven.
Declan:372 Bayside. See you then.
Once again, he didn’t offer to pick me up. Just like he didn’t offer to drive me home from the cafe the first time we hung out.
I hadn’t had many boyfriends in my life, but the stark differences between Reid and Declan were already starting to show…
The only problem was that Reid was no longer an option. At least Declan seemed interested in me, even if his gentlemanly manners could use some work.