“Teaching is fine,” she said. Simplest to most complicated, she decided. “And…yeah, she knows—”
“Oh my god, is that her?” Ramona said, cutting April off and grabbing her arm, gaze focused over April’s shoulder.
April turned to see Daphne and Sasha leaving the dining room and heading straight for them. She braced herself, body locking up at the prospect of Daphne Love’s impending collision with Ramona.
“That’s her,” April said softly.
“She’s so pretty,” Ramona said just as quietly, then louder as Daphne reached them—not only louder, but to Daphne herself. “You’re so pretty.”
Daphne’s eyes widened, her hands in her pockets as she looked around for whoever Ramona might be talking to.
“Me?” she finally asked.
“You,” Ramona said, then stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Ramona.”
Daphne smiled broadly, lighting up as she took Ramona’s hand. “You’re April’s best friend! I’m Daphne.”
“Oh, I know,” Ramona said, laughing lightly, and April truly wished the earth’s maw would open and swallow her into hell.
“And this is Sasha,” April said, clearing her throat.
“Hey there,” Sasha said to Ramona, tapping her forehead with one finger, suave as ever. “You staying here?”
“She’s taken,” April said before Ramona could respond, then clapped her hands together. “And now that everyone’s met everyone, I’m going to give Ramona a tour before our class.”
“You both can come if you’d like,” Ramona said.
“No, they can’t,” April said, hooking an arm around Ramona’s waist and pulling her toward the back of the lodge. This entire dynamic was just weird. She needed a minute to think, and she couldn’t think with Daphne around, looking doe-eyed and cutewith that paint still smeared across her cheek, grinning at Ramona like they were best friends too. And Sasha, affectionately, was nothing but trouble.
“What’s the rush?” Ramona said as April whisked her away from Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
“Oh, hey, April,” Daphne called to their backs. April froze and turned to look at her. “Is your laptop in our cabin? I didn’t see it in the studio.”
April blinked, her stomach sinking. But dammit, yes, the laptop was in their cabin, and they needed it for class as April had been working on new slides last night.
“Yeah. Can you grab it?” she asked.
Daphne nodded, and then April was off again, hurtling Ramona toward the back patio so fast, Ramona nearly tripped on her own feet.
“I thought we were going on a tour?” Ramona said as April pushed open one of the back French doors and they spilled out onto the expansive deck.
“Tour is boring,” April said, walking them to the railing that overlooked the woods and sucking in a lungful of warm June air. “We eat in the dining room, swim in the lake, et cetera.”
Ramona leaned her forearms on the wooden railing. She was quiet, and for a second, April hoped Ramona’s attention hadn’t snagged on certain pronouns Daphne had used, that she hadn’t paid close enough attention to realize that—
“What did Daphne mean byourcabin?” Ramona asked.
April closed her eyes for a beat, then focused on the green of the forest. Between the trees, near Moon Lovers Trail, she could see some resort employees setting up tables and chairs for Mia’s summer solstice party tonight. April had been looking forward to the soiree, complete with a bonfire in the woods under the full moon, flower crowns, special cocktails, and tarot readings.
“Apes?” Ramona pressed.
April sighed. “Daphne said that because we’re cabinmates.”
Ramona let that settle for a second. “What do you mean, you’re cabinmates? As in…you’re staying here?”
April knew there was no way around it, no way to spin it that wasn’t outright deceit. Plus, she’d never lied to Ramona. Not so blatantly at least.Withheld, absolutely. It often took April a while to sift through her own emotions before she understood how to put them into words, and that was true even with Ramona. She was a riot of feelings, and that didn’t always translate well to spoken language.
But right now, the truth was clear and simple.
