“Beautiful,” the facilitator said into her mic. “Y’all give it up for yourselves. That was Touch and Truth. Take that energy with you the rest of the weekend.” Everyone clapped, couples slowly untwisting from each other. Applause rippled across the pavilion as everybody started peeling themselves apart. Hasheem’s hands slid off my waist slowly, fingers dragging for half a second like they hadn’t gotten the memo yet. I stepped forward out of the circle, smoothing my dress, even though it wasn’t crooked, trying to remember how to breathe regular.
“You good?” he asked under the noise.
No.
“Yeah,” I lied, reaching for my phone. “I got some cute footage.”
“Okay, couples,” another staff member called out, stepping up with a mic. “If you have a gold wristband, our team is about to walk you over to our Duality Oil Lab experience. You’ll get your product bags and some private time to create content or just enjoy each other.”
I looked down at the gold band on my wrist. Hasheem lifted his hand to check his.
“Guess that’s us,” he said, and my pulse kicked up.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “That’s us.”
Hasheem grabbed my hand and led me over to the exit where the brand reps were waiting to take us back to our private suites.
“Harlowe and Hasheem?” Simone called us over, and my eyes immediately rolled. Of course, it was her. Simone stood near the front with a neat little table of Black gift bags. She wassmiling big, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was having the time of her life.
“Hi, guys,” she said when we reached her. “You two will be in suite three.” She handed me a bag with a little gold three clipped to the handle. “Some of our new oils, prompt cards, and towels. We really want you to feel free to . . . explore.” Her eyes cut to where Hasheem was holding my hand.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice all polite. “Everything’s been beautiful so far.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it,” she said. “I’ll walk you guys over.” She turned and started leading us down a side path away from the pavilion and back to solid ground. I watched her heels clicking and her ponytail swishing from side to side. We followed in silence for a few seconds just watching our surroundings. The path we were walking down had trees on both sides with soft lights strung between them. As soon as we stepped into a quieter path of little private cabanas, Simone’s whole energy changed.
“Gotta say,” she said, still facing forward. “Even though I suspected it, I never thought y’all would actually stop lying to y’all selves and get together.” Her customer service voice was gone now. My mouth opened and closed. I didn’t know what to say to that.
“Simone,” Hasheem warned behind me.
“What?” she tossed over her shoulder. “I’m just being honest.”
“That’s messy,” Hasheem said in a low tone.
“Messy?” She let out a little laugh. “Messy is watching y’all do all that ‘we just friends’ shit for years and then start a relationship . . . what? Three months after we broke up?”
“It wasn’t like that,” I snapped. “You know it wasn’t.”
“What we did after you moved out of our place and left your ring on the nightstand?” Hasheem’s tone went flat. “Ain’t none of your business.”
“Y’all none of my business now? Got it.” Simone’s mouth twisted, but she kept walking. We fell into silence behind her. I could hear the music from the mixer getting softer the farther we got, the bass turning into a low little thump behind us as we followed her down the stone path. She stopped in front of a small private cabana and turned halfway toward us.
“Here you are,” she said with her brand voice on again. “Couples oil lab. You’ve got your products, a little setup for content, towels, and a shower if you need it.” Her smile hit me first, then slid right past to Hasheem. “That Black bottle in your bag?” she added, eyes still on him. “You’re gonna love it. Reminds me of that resort we went to on our trip.”
“O . . . kay.” Hasheem’s jaw flexed, and my eyes narrowed.Is she flirting with him?I watched her gaze slide over his shoulders and down his arms, like she was admiring how they looked in the sun.
“Mm hm. It’ll be the perfect thing to help you relax those. . .” She touched his arm slightly. “. . .big muscles.”
Oh, she is definitely flirting.
“Thanks for the tip,” I cut in, stepping in front of him. “We’re good.” Before she could say anything else, I pulled the cabana door open and tugged him inside, closing it behind us a little harder than necessary.
“Enjoy your experience, or don’t!” Simone yelled through the closed door. She was going to be a pain in my ass all weekend.
“You know she only said all that to get under your skin,” Hasheem muttered.
“I’m not worried about Simone.” I shrugged. “If you and your ex-fiancée wanna flirt all over this island, be my guest,” I shot back before I could stop myself.
His brows lifted a little bit. “That’s what we doing?” he asked quietly. “You mad at me now?”
