17. Eliana
SEVENTEEN
“Surprise!”
I turn to see Maliah and Kairi standing at my door with hands full of snacks and face masks. It’s Thursday night, the night before the beach bonfire, and the boys are out buying the alcohol. Except for Koa, who’s locked himself in his room claiming to have a migraine. Though, I think he just didn”t want to leave us all alone.
“Let’s have a girls’ night,” Maliah says, shaking the face masks, “you’ve been working all day, and we think you deserve a break. Meet us downstairs after you finish up. We’ll be waiting!”
“Okay,” I say with a smile and nod, closing my laptop, “sounds like fun.”
They both race down the stairs as I grab my favorite pajama set with mini cotton candy designs sprinkled all over it, and head to the bathroom for a quick shower.
My thoughts wander to Griffin as the water beats down on my back. We’ve barely spoken for the last week, mostly due to Gabriel’s new and improved, or so he says, training schedule that has the team training around the clock in the ocean, on the beach, or at the gym. And during their free time, I’m holed up in my bedroom putting together clips and pictures for Griffin’s mini-series.
You’ve also been intentionally avoiding him.
It’s true, I have. When I woke up the morning after the lighthouse, I regretted telling Griffin about what happened with my parents. As good of a job as Gabriel did removing those articles from the internet, there are still other ways to find them. Now that Griffin knows about the accident, there’s nothing stopping him from digging into it and I’m terrified that he’ll find out my reputation as The Bad Luck Charm and use it to get rid of me.
I really want to trust Griffin, especially because my feelings are growing deeper for him, but I”ve been hurt so much in my past I don”t know if I”ll ever be able to fully trust anyone.
Gabriel has already left for the airport and won’t be back until Monday. With tomorrow being the bonfire and there being no practice over the weekend, I know I won’t be able to hide any longer after today.
Letting out an anxious sigh, I shut off the water and wrap my towel around my body. After drying off and changing into my pajamas, I tie my hair into a ponytail and make my way downstairs.
Before Gabriel left, he set some strict rules.
No parties!
No touching the alcohol in the meeting room mini fridge.
No parties!!
I turn down the hall toward the meeting room and my eyes land on his extensive collection of wine. There’s no way he’ll notice if one bottle is missing. I grab the first sparkling wine I can find and run back to the girls, waving the bottle at them as I enter the living room.
“Our hero!” Maliah swoons as she runs over and relieves me from the bottle.
I laugh. “I hope it’s good.”
“Only one way to find out.” She grabs wine glasses from the kitchen and brings them to the coffee table, filling our glasses for us.
Kairi opens a bag of white cheddar popcorn and pours it all into a large bowl as we each sit around the table.
“Okay, so while the boys are gone, we need some of the tea,” Maliah says, turning to face me.
“Yeah, what is going on between you and Fin?” Kairi eyes narrow.
I press my lips together, holding back a smile. “We’re just friends.”
Maliah groans and throws herself back against the couch. “Oh, come on! We’re not blind, Eliana. You two have been exchanging looks all week, and don”t get me started on that T-shirt.”
“What kind of looks?”
Kairi’s frown deepens. “I don’t know… you definitely have that I’m in love with him look in your eyes.”
“I think you’re reading too many romance novels.” I snort.
“She is,” Maliah confirms, eyeing Kairi from the corner of her eye. “But she’s also not wrong.”
“I’m not falling in love with him.”
At least I don’t think I am.
I’ve never been in love before, so I don’t have anything to compare the feeling to. Plus, I just met the guy, surely falling in love doesn’t happen that quickly.
Maliah takes a sip of her drink before standing up, pulling me along with her. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find out eventually. Let’s bake some cookies.”
Kairi groans. “I suck at baking. You two can do that while I search for the movie.”
She grabs the remote from the coffee table and points it at the TV as she turns it on. Maliah drags me to the kitchen and starts grabbing the cookie ingredients from the pantry and fridge.
“I honestly love that there’s another girl in the house. Kairi never wants to bake with me.” Maliah pouts.
“That’s because you’re just so much better at it without me added to the mix,” Kairi calls out from the couch.
I giggle. “Well, I love baking so if you ever want a baking buddy let me know.”
We get to work mixing the ingredients and then laying out our cookie dough balls on a pan, tossing it into the oven before we join Kairi on the couch.
“How do we feel about a scary movie tonight?” Kairi asks, pointing at the TV.
Maliah pales, eyeing the screen. “Paranormal Possessions?”
“I love scary movies,” I admit.
“I’ll watch it on one condition,” Maliah says, passing us each a sheet mask pack. “Tonight turns into a slumber party because there’s no way I’m sleeping alone after watching this shit.”
I laugh and Kairi snorts. “Deal,” we say in unison, opening our face masks and putting them on.
We’rethirty minutes into the movie, our shoulders touching as we huddle together on the couch, fitting under one blanket. Our facemasks are still on, way past the amount of time that they’re supposed to sit on our face for, as we stare at the TV in utter fear.
We watch as Lily’s possessed husband stands in a corner of their bedroom, watching her sleep with the most unsettling smile on his face. The blankets that cover her start to lower on their own until she lays in bed completely uncovered.
“Oh my god,” Maliah whispers, peaking at the TV between her fingers, “she”s about to get her ass dragged to the basement.”
“She is so dead,” Kairi says with an excited smile as she tosses popcorn into her mouth.
“So dead,” a voice says from behind us.
All three of us shriek and the popcorn flies in all directions as we jump off the couch and whip around. Zale and Griffin scream in response, jumping backwards and grabbing on to each other.
“Holy fuck!” Zale shouts, pressing his palm to his chest as he stares at all of us with wide eyes, breathing heavily.
“Whatever is on your faces, is absolutely more terrifying than the movie,” Griffin says, letting go of Zale and dusting off his shirt.
A crash sounds from upstairs and Koa comes running down the stairs, bedside lamp in hand, practically jumping down the last few steps. He holds the lamp out in front of him like a weapon as he looks around, eyes round with fear.
“What the hell were you planning to do with that?” Zale exclaims, pointing at the lamp, “Electrocute us?”
“Are you okay?” Koa asks, his question directed to Maliah, ignoring Zale.
“Oh, yeah,” Zale says, sarcasm seeping into his voice, “I’m just peachy.”
Maliah’s cheeks turn a subtle shade of pink as she tears her eyes from Koa’s, staring at the couch instead. “I’m fine,” she whispers.
He slowly lowers the lamp, his eyes finding me and Kairi. “What the hell are you all wearing on your faces?”
“Face masks,” I reply, my breathing finally evening out.
Koa frowns, sniffing the air and looking around. “Is something on fire?”
The fire alarm goes off just as Maliah and I look at each other, lips parted.
The cookies.
We both rush to the oven, opening the door. A cloud of black smokes swallows us as I work to put on oven mitts. Pulling the flaming pan out of the oven, I toss it on top of the stove just as Griffin walks over with a fire extinguisher and puts out the fire.
Maliah groans as she stares down at the ruined cookies. “They’re inedible.”
Kairi opens all the nearby windows to help get the smoke out while the boys fan the alarm with kitchen towels until it stops ringing.
“Maybe we should take off these masks and call it a night, ladies.” Kairi says with her hands on her hips.
I nod. “Good idea.”
I grab the empty wine bottle, placing it on the kitchen island before putting our used wine glasses in the dishwasher. Maliah pushes past Koa, cheeks crimson now, and stomps up the stairs. I exchange confused looks with Kairi, who shrugs in response.
“We’ll clean up, you guys go take that crap off of your faces,” Zale says, ushering us toward the stairs.
We make our way upstairs and notice Maliah’s room door is closed with the lights off. When Kairi tries the door handle, it’s locked.
“I guess she’s not in the mood for a slumber party anymore,” Kairi whispers as we walk over to the bathroom that Griffin and I share.
We take off our face masks and rub in the excess moisture before saying goodnight and heading into our separate rooms for the night. I close my door and drop into bed, exhaustion taking over as my head hits the pillow. The heavy weight of sleep settles over me as I close my eyes.
The atmospherein the house is chaotic today. It’s a late Friday afternoon and the boys are filling Griffin’s jeep with bottles and cases of alcohol while the girls are in Mal’s room getting ready. I stare at the empty racks of clothing in my closet and the mounting pile of clothes on my bed.
Everything I’ve tried on so far either is not weather appropriate or shows my scar. I make a mental note to ask the girls if they want to go on a shopping date soon, so that I stop running into this problem.
“Eliana, where are you?” Kairi calls from Maliah’s room.
I walk to the end of the hall and pop my head into her room. Maliah is sitting in front of her vanity applying mascara to her lashes while Kairi is sitting on the floor in front of a large mirror, straightening her curls. She gives me a welcoming smile through the mirror reflection, which I return.
“I think I’m going to sit this one out,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest.
Maliah gasps and turns her head towards me mid mascara application, smearing it across her eyelid and cheekbone. Kairi also stops straightening her hair and turns to look at me, half her head still a mess of curls.
“What do you mean you’re sitting this one out?” Mal frowns at me.
“Yeah, we never get to have parties. You can’t miss this one.” Kairi pouts.
I sigh and enter the room, taking a seat on the edge of Mal’s bed. “I can’t find anything that I feel comfortable wearing to this thing.”
“You can wear something of mine,” Mal says, using a makeup remover wipe to clean up the mess of mascara from her face. “Come on, let’s take a look and see what we can find for you.”
I stand up and follow her to her closet, leaving Kairi to continue straightening her curly hair. My jaw hits the floor when Maliah opens the doors of her closet, revealing a massive walk-in closet.
“Wow,” I say, walking to the middle of the room and turning in a circle slowly.
“I know, I lucked out with this room,” she says, giggling.
“You really did,” I agree.
We spend the next thirty minutes going through her closet until we find a bubblegum pink summer dress with a neckline that’s just high enough to cover my scar.
“You don’t need to hide it all the time, you know?” She nods her head at my scar.
I force out a laugh. “I just find it easier than answering the questions that come with it.”
She nods in understanding. “I have a scar like that, thankfully it’s a spot that’s easy to hide but whenever people see it, they always ask what it’s from.” She rolls her eyes and I let a real laugh this time.
“It’s annoying, isn’t it?”
“Very. It gets embarrassing having to tell them it”s from falling out of a tree when I was a kid and not from a shark attack.” She looks me over in her dress. “It looks so much better on you than it ever looked on me, Griffin is going to lose his mind around you.”
“Oh, shut up,” I say as she bursts out laughing. “What about you and Koa?”
That shuts her up instantly and she turns towards her clothes, pretending to search through the racks as if her outfit isn’t already picked out and laying on the bed back in her room.
“What about him?” she asks, her voice taking on a bitter edge.
“Well, I’m going to have to run some campaigns on you guys and want to know what the deal is, so I know if I can pair you two together or not.”
“Don’t,” she says, turning back to me with a pleading expression, “please, don’t pair me with him. I’m still not ready to talk about us and I can barely handle being on the same team as him as it is.”
I instantly feel guilty for asking her about him. I can see from her expression that it’s something she’s struggling with.
“Yeah, no problem. I’ll pair you up with Zale or Griffin then,” I say giving her a reassuring smile which she returns with a grateful one.
“Ladies!” Kairi calls from the room.
I pick up my sweats from Mal’s closet floor and we head back into the room together. Kairi, whose hair is now pin straight, has popped open a bottle of sparkling wine and is pouring it out between three red plastic cups.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Booze, duh,” she replies, handing me my cup with a wide grin, before doing the same with Maliah, “we can’t show up to a party sober.”
We burst out laughing and join her on the floor, tapping our cups together before we drink from our cups. It doesn’t take many refills before my legs feel numb and I can’t stop smiling.
“Do you guys think Zale is hot?” Kairi asks, slurring her words slightly.
Maliah chokes on her sparkling wine. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask us that.”
“Not all of us were lucky enough to grab the hottest guy in town.” Kairi shoves Mal’s shoulder playfully.
“Well, he’s up for grabs if you want him.” She flips a section of blond hair over her shoulder and investigates her cup as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world.
“It’s a mystery how you’re so oblivious,” Kairi says, shaking her head side to side in disbelief. “Koa hasn’t been up for grabs since he first laid eyes on you.”
Maliah scoffs. “Yeah, okay,” she, brings her cup to her red lips and takes a big sip, but I don’t miss the hurt in her eyes.
“I’m so glad I’m not blindly in love,” Kairi says, watching Maliah.
“I am not in love with Koa.”
“I hate to break it to you, but not loving someone and being afraid to love someone are not the same thing.” Kairi tips the bottle to her lips, drinking the last few drops.
Maliah clears her throat and stands up. “Let’s get to the party, shall we?”
“Where’s Griffin?”I ask as we pile into the team van, Zale behind the wheel.
“He’s already at the boat getting it ready for us.” Koa replies, his eyes darkening as they travel over Maliah.
She pretends not to notice, but I see a small smile appear as she stares out of the window. I shake my head smiling and try my best not to look at him as he practically undresses her with his eyes.
The drive to Griffin’s boat only takes us ten minutes. He meets us at the dock, eyes grazing over my body with appreciation before they land on my eyes. I give him a small smile, which he returns, before he guides us to his large boat at the end of the dock.
“You could live on this thing,” Kairi exclaims as she looks around.
“He actually can, there’s a bedroom and a bathroom downstairs,” Zale mumbles.
We all take our seats while Griffin takes the stairs up to the command room. The girls and I giggle as the boat begins departing and the wind blows our hair around.
Ten minutes into the boat ride, I leave the others on the main deck and climb up the stairs where I find Griffin steering the boat.
“Hi,” I say as I come to stand beside him.
“Hey, stranger,” he bumps my shoulder with his.
“This is a nice boat.”
“Thank you,” he wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in for a gentle kiss.
“Sorry for being so distant this last week,” I mumble against his soft lips.
He chuckles, returning his attention to the expanse of ocean in front of us “I figured you just needed some time.”
I nod. “Thank you for giving it to me, instead of pushing.”
With a smile, he looks at me before pulling me in front of him and bringing my arms up to the ship’s wheel.
“Have you ever steered a ship?” he asks, his warm breath tickling my ear.
“I can’t say that I have.” I giggle.
“Well, I’m honored that mine is the first.”
As we approach The Cove, we see groups of people scattered around talking, small fires already started. They welcome us with enthusiastic cheering and jumping. After docking the boat at an old and weathered down dock, the boys work to unload the alcohol while Maliah and Kairi set up the music from the boat’s speakers.
The dock creaks from the weight of everyone walking on it, and I eye it suspiciously.
The heatfrom the bonfire warms me up as I stand nearby with Griffin and Koa. Everyone here is already some level of intoxicated.
Some more than others.
I watch as Zale strips down to his boxers, beating his chest like a gorilla before he runs into the water with a few other macho guys. Maliah and Kairi glance in his direction with embarrassed expressions.
“I’ll go get us some drinks,” Griffin says, taking my empty red cup from my hand and walking to a nearby cooler.
Koa stands by my side, hands in pocket, as he people watches. Or I should say Maliah watches.
“You’re not drinking tonight?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I don’t drink.”
“You used to,” a voice says from behind us.
We both turn around and come face to face with the girl from Griffin’s photo strip.
Meghan.
“What are you doing here, Meghan?” Koa asks, taking a step so that I’m partially behind him.
The movement sends off warning bells in my head as I peek at her from behind him. She eyes me curiously.
“I figured my invitation got lost in the mail.” she purrs.
“No, not inviting you was intentional.” Her smile falls.
“Who’s this?” She nods her head in my direction.
“None of your business.” he replies.
She cackles. “I can make it my business, and you know it.”
She holds her hand out for me to shake, but before I decide what I’m going to do, Griffin walks up beside us and shoves my cup into her open hand instead. I glance at him and notice his clenched jaw as he watches her.
“Welcome back, baby,” she purrs.
“Let’s talk, Meghan,” he replies, holding his hand out for her.
She takes it and winks at me over her shoulder as I watch them walk away towards a fallen tree trunk. My heart beats loudly in my chest as my gaze drops to their connected hands.
Why is he holding her hand?