“Stop it, Moni!” Jasmine exclaimed.
“What if I want to wallow?”
Gabby took a deeper glance at Naomi. What did she have to be so miserable about? The woman was in paradise, living her best life.
On the way out of the hut, Jasmine sidled up to Gabby. “Moni’s up in her feelings about Amanda Duvall today. Naomi wanted her to join.”
“Weren’t you worried that she’d do a story about you or something?”
“Oh, we would have loved that! I tried to convince her to do a story on us, but she told me that, if we were ever in one of her stories, it would be a bad sign.”
Amanda didn’t do puff pieces. Gabby had noticed that.
“You don’t have anything to hide?” Gabby asked, watching Jasmine’s face carefully.
“Oh no! We have no secrets here.” Ominously, she said, “Inner-G is not a place for someone with things to hide.”
1900 hours, getting ready for the soiree, honeymoon cottage
Jasmine and Genesis were having a thing, a soiree of some type. “You are invited to Together.” Jasmine and Genesis were so big that they didn’t need to make sense, and you knew it was important because it only had one vague name. It was the Madonna of parties, or a café circa 2010, when everything had a name like “Toast” or “Bread.” Tonight, it was “Together.”
From an event planning perspective, the concept made sense. For most of the retreat, the couples had been separated. The women had been doing yoga and learning… Gabby had been trying to get laid without commitment and spy on all the other members, so she couldn’t say what they’d been learning. It hadn’t stuck. The men had mostly been shirtless and spear fishing or something. It looked a littleLord of the Flies, or maybe just CrossFit—same difference.
Gabby slid into a cocktail dress that must have cost the same as her monthly mortgage and struggled to zip it halfway up. Markus appeared in a button-down shirt, only half buttoned with the sleeves rolled up, highlighting his chest and forearms, his bestfeatures. He had on pants, but it was hard to tear her eyes away from his chest.
Enjoying a fantasy date was a big ask after the amount of drama they’d suffered today, but they were professionals. Gabby smiled softly at Markus, testing the waters.
Markus didn’t smile back.
“Markus…” she said.
They needed to talk.
“In a couple of years, we’re going to laugh at this,” she said.
“I don’t know, Gabby. I’m—” He took a breath. “Let’s just finish this mission and get everyone out safe.”
She turned the flashlight taser over in her hand. It sent her heart pitter-pattering, and then her head jumped in with thoughts.
“How did it go today?” he asked, softening his tone a touch.
“Eh. It went. I think I’m getting closer to Jasmine.” She groaned. “I wish they weren’t so supportive of Phil and my mom. It’s exhausting.” Genesis had been inspired by the concept of support from family and friends.
“Genesis must not have a family, the way he’s romanticizing it,” Markus joked. “I mean, I love my family, but—”
Well, there was something they had in common. Gabby snorted at the cynicism. It was a relief to be able to let down and shit-talk her family. “I guess that’s why it’s important to have friends.” She would give anything to talk through all this with Justin. He could make sense of anything.
Maybe she was imagining it, but it seemed a flash of sadness crossed Markus’s expression.
“So, uh, you and G seem pretty close.” Now was as good a time as any to make things worse. Might as well ask about his weird behavior.
Markus shrugged off the statement. “It’s kind of depressing. Here we are fishing and talking about women, and it’s pretty likely to end in an arrest.”
That did sound like the worst bromance ever. “You think he’s guilty?”
“No, but I can’t not consider the possibility, right?”
“There’s not anything you haven’t told me?” She searched his face for signs he was lying. “You’re not planning anything on the sly with G?”
