Chapter 6 Palapa for Two
Calder
The house is fucking stunning... not that I get to see much of it because this Carlos guy is taking me and Dakota and our
bags around to the back of the damn house. Though the view of the ocean we’re walking toward definitely isn’t going to suck.
“You are in the palapa,” Carlos says excitedly. “Very nice accommodations. Wide-open walls so you hear ocean all night long.
Most guests’ first choice.”
“Then, shouldn’t Wyatt and Trista have it?” Dakota asks, her voice sounding unsure.
“They requested to be inside the main house to be close to la abuela to help with el ninos.”
I nod and roll my eyes. So, because my brother needs my mother to be his nanny for the week, I’m stuck in the bunkhouse with
Karen.
Great.
However, when we round the corner to the back of the house, my jaw drops when I see where Carlos is taking us.
I guess I didn’t know what a palapa was, but it’s this cool, round, grass-hut-topped tower. Like a Mexican version of a castle
turret or a really sick treehouse. He leads us up a winding staircase that goes past this tall, wrought-iron birdcage that’s
wrapped around a tree and full of exotic birds.
“You can feed the birds anytime!” Carlos says excitedly as he reaches into a container nearby and grabs some seed. As if on
command, three birds dart toward the vertical bars.
“Cool,” I reply in awe as their little claws wrap around the metal and slide down to meet his hands full of birdseed.
Carlos smiles and pats his hands clean before continuing up the steps. I gesture for Dakota to go before me, but she shakes her head and refuses.
“What’s your problem?”
She swallows and holds her bag up like a coat of armor. “I hate birds.”
“You hate birds?”
She nods. “Ever since I was a kid.”
“Why? They’re just birds.”
“Are you kidding?” she snaps venomously. “They’re gross with their beady little eyes. And did you see their giant talon feet
wrap around those bars? Imagine those on your neck! Or gouging your eyes out! And I’m not convinced they’re not all government
drones eavesdropping on all our conversations.”
I tip my head back and laugh at the grave tone of her voice. She’s dead fucking serious, and it reminds me of my brother.
“You and Wyatt should start a club.”
“I’ll be fine. I just need a minute,” she says, shaking me off as she works to build up the courage to go up the stairs and
walk right past them.
“Would it help if I banged on the cage to scare them back?” I whack the metal bars and send a couple flying.
“Knock it off, Calder!” Dakota screeches. “You’re going to make them angry! God, you’re such an ass.”
“Stop being such a baby and come on,” I reply with a laugh. “Or do you need me to carry you again?”
Her eyes snap to mine, and a flash of that night at the sex club plays in the irises of them. “Don’t bring up that night.
Not here. Not anywhere.”
“Tell me why you were there in the first place and maybe I’ll let it go.” I tweak my brows expectantly, just dying to hear
the nitty-gritty details of her decision to go to Lexon.
She crosses her arms over her ample chest. “I was there for the same reasons everyone else was.”
“Nah, there’s a deeper reason. There always is.” I bite my lip and eye her. I know my reason. I started going there after the Robyn bullshit fucked with my head. I wanted an escape unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Something to put her as far out of my mind as possible.
And it worked.
Dakota’s clear blue eyes zero in on my lips when she replies, “I’ll tell you over my cold, dead body.”
“That’ll be kind of hard when you’re dead,” I reply with a huff. “Then again, you’re probably besties with the devil, so I’m
sure you’ll figure it out. Just like you’ll figure out how to get up these stairs all on your own eventually.”
“Senor? Senorita?” Carlos’s voice calls down the stairs to us. “Are you coming? The room is just up here.”
“Come on, you big scaredy-cat,” I tease and let out a laugh.
With a tiny growl, Dakota shoves me face first against the birdcage, using me as a human shield between her and the birds
as she marches past me.
I pull back and rub at the indent the cage made on my cheek as she scampers up the stairs to get as far away from the feathered
beasts as possible.
I feel used.
But then I tilt my head and take in the view of her ass in those tiny linen shorts and feel mildly less bad about it.
My eyes flinch when I realize what I’m doing. I might need a little solo session when I get tucked away in my room because
I’m way too horned-up if I’m willingly checking out the devil.
Carlos uses Dakota’s key to open the first door we come upon, and I stand back, waiting my turn and admiring her room. It’s
huge. It has a big, round bed centered at one end with gauzy canopy hanging over it from the ceiling. There’s a small, attached
bathroom, and a sofa in a decent-size seating area beside a wide-open balcony that overlooks the ocean.
The suite looks like it takes up the whole damn floor, and I glance around, wondering where my room is going to be.
“Come in, senor,” Carlos says, gesturing to me.
“Nah, that’s okay,” I say with a wave and turn my eyes to Dakota. “I know better than to enter the snake’s pit.”
She narrows her eyes at me.
“This is your room too.”
“What?” Dakota and I both ask in unison.
“We had an issue with one of the other suites. Big pipe burst. Lots of damage. You two must share. But it’s okay. This is
the biggest suite, so lots of space for your luggage.”
“You expect me to share with him?” Dakota steps closer to Carlos. She’s not a tall girl, but she’s towering over the short
Mario-looking guy.
“Sí... it’s the only option, senorita.”
“No... no way,” she exclaims, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll sleep on a couch in the main house.”
“There is a nice, pullout bed here.” Carlos points to the sofa. “Very comfortable. And if you want privacy...” He walks
over to the balcony and pulls out a thin white curtain that spans the length of the living space, separating the living area
from the bedroom area. “Complete privacy.”
I bark out a laugh when I can see Dakota’s irritated stance through the see-through fabric.
“This will not work,” she snaps and yanks the curtain open. “Why can’t you go share with one of your brothers?”
“Um... have you not heard about the infamous Fletcher libido?”
“No, senor? Tell me of this libido,” Carlos says, blinking curiously back at me.
I smile at him. “We like to fuck, Carlos. A lot.”
Carlos presses his lips together, his wide eyes turning to get Dakota’s reaction.
“They have to fuck a lot because they only last a couple minutes on a good day. It takes a few tries before they can satisfy their victims.”
“You wish you knew that fact.”
“I don’t have to experience it to know it. The Fletcher brothers’ reputation around town as minute-men is very well known.”
“Ha!” I bark out a laugh. “And what’s your reputation? Besides being a total Karen.”
“I’m a Karen? Well, you’re a Chad... getting ridiculous tattoos every other month and walking around like the president
of the douchebag fraternity.”
“Doesn’t she look like a Karen, Carlos?”
“Doesn’t he look like a Chad, Carlos?”
“I think... I will leave you two alone to discuss your room situation.”
“Nothing to figure out,” I state firmly with a glower at Dakota. “I’m perfectly happy with this room. If prudish Karen doesn’t
feel safe sleeping next to a Chad, then she can find a couch somewhere in the main house.”
“You think you get the room before me?”
I shrug. “I don’t have any issue with this situation. You seem to.”
“Bullshit,” Dakota snaps and steps into my space, her head tilted back to glare up at me. “You’re just hoping if you act like
you’re fine with this, you’ll get the room. I’m not giving it up.”
“Well, neither am I,” I thunder back, looming over her. Ignoring the way her perfume invades my nostrils and causes my body
to react.
“?Bien!” Carlos chimes, clapping his hands between us. “Enjoy your stay at La Casa de los Pájaros.”