She doesn’t pull away from me even though her eyes appear somber. She meets my gaze head-on and speaks her mind. “Yes, but I don’t wanna waste any more energy on it right now.”She takes a brief pause. “But I do need to tell you something about Arnold.”
A shrill tone fills the room and we both glance over at our ringing phones. My call is coming from Christian whereas hers is coming from Dani, but they have the same message. Arnold has called a family meeting.
The hotel has a large outdoor seating area, partially covered by a bamboo ceiling and filled with velvet-lined love seats and wooden benches. The area is closed off at night, but I guess Arnold found a way to grant us access because that’s where this family meeting is being held. Janelle and I arrive together, followed by Troy. Arnold and Amerie are standing beneath a few of the light fixtures, looking like they’re about to tell us which one of us has been voted off the island.
Eve, Dani, Micah, Christian, Troy, Nova, the Crosses, Arnold’s parents, and his aunt and uncle all watch with rapt attention.
“Sorry to call you all here but we figured it’d be easier just to tell everyone at once instead of trying to tell you all individually.”
“Well, first, Arnold wants to say something to you all directly,” Amerie comments.
“Yes, um, I just wanna say I’m sorry for my actions tonight and for my cousin’s actions.” His comment is a blanket statement to everyone; however, Janelle scoffs quietly. “Now, moving on to our announcement. Cortez is in the hospital.” He pauses and I’m not sure why because everyone knows he’s in the hospital and no one cares. His own parents don’t even seem concerned.
His mom chimes in at that moment. “Yes, and he won’t be making any statements to the police so anyone who might’ve been worried about that can rest assured.” She regards everyone as she speaks but her stare lingers on me. It’s a sweet gesture, but unnecessary. I wouldn’t have cared even if he had made a statement. I’m not afraid of the Cortezes of the world. Her husband drapes his arm over her shoulder and turns her to face Arnold again.
“Okay. Is that all?” Nova asks.
“I also wanted to let everyone know that I told Cortez he’s not welcome to the wedding. He’ll probably be transferring to a hospital back home anyway, but I just wanted to share that. I hired security to make sure his friends don’t show up at the hotel or the wedding either. If you see them, though, please let me know.”
Everyone murmurs their agreement, not really moved by this announcement. Amerie thanks us for coming down and dismisses us. As Janelle’s parents move to leave, her dad spots her and runs over to offer her a comforting hug. Her mom doesn’t approach but she watches Janelle with a wistful smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Janelle and I haven’t had a chance to talk about the details of her discussion with her mom, but I can tell her mom doesn’t know how to proceed from here. It seems to me that Amerie learned her way of dropping tears to get her way from their mom.
Marquise makes a beeline for me, offering me his fist and laughing when I hold out my bandaged hand to him.
He leans in close, whispering, “Long time coming if you ask me,” before sending a nod Janelle’s way and walking back to the hotel.
Everyone else clears out relatively fast but Janelle and I stay put.
“It’s been a long day,” she says.
“It has. How do you wanna end it?” She was trying to tell me something before this little press conference, but her eyes are so hooded with fatigue, I know she’s drained. Frankly, the exhaustion is starting to set in on my own shoulders, too.
She takes a step so that she and I are toe to toe. I wrap my arms around her waist, leaning my hands on her ass, and she locks her arms behind my neck.
“With you.”
“That was a given.”
She snorts. “I ain’t gon’hold you, I’m so tired the room feels like it’s miles away. I’m about to sleep on one of those couches for the night. They look comfy.” She motions her head toward the velvet loveseats.
I shake my head at her dramatics. “If you wanted a ride, you could’ve just said that.”
I settle my arms under her ass to lift her up, but she wiggles in my hold. “No, dummy, your hand!”
“Fuck the hand. Come here.” I lift her up my body until her legs wrap around my waist. Our lips connect in a hungry kiss, our tongues fighting for purchase. I didn’t even realize I was moving us backward until I stumble into one of the couches. The momentum lands me straight on my back so I brace my hands on her to make sure the fall doesn’t jostle her too much.
She laughs into my mouth. “Weren’t you supposed to be giving me a ride back to the room?”
“Well, you did say the couches looked comfortable. I was just testing that theory.”
“Mmm, yeah, I was right. It’d be a shame to waste a perfectly good couch.”
“A damn shame.” She sucks my lower lip into the wet heat of her mouth, moaning around it.
“What the fuck?!”
Our eyes pop open at the sound of a shriek that’s about to make our long night even longer.
Chapter Thirteen
