Skye shifted her weight to her left foot. She wished she had the words to make this seem less barbaric, but there weren’t any. “Yes,” she said slowly. “It is. But that doesn’t mean it’s the same.”
“The same as what?”
“The same as you,” Skye replied, her voice softening to a whisper. “I didn’t kiss Alexis the way I kiss you.”
Lucy’s breath visibly hitched. “How do you kiss me?”
“Like this,” Skye muttered, stepping forward at the same time her hand reached over and slipped around Lucy’s neck. Skye’s mouth was on Lucy’s in a matter of seconds. Her lips glided over Lucy’s as her other hand slid low to Lucy’s waist, drawing her so close their bodies practically melded into one.
Lucy’s hands moved to Skye’s back, under her sweater, and then glided up her spine. She let her palms linger there, at least until Skye’s back was covered in goosebumps, and then her nails scratched down Skye’s back like tiny lightning bolts.
The kiss was everything she wanted and everything she needed. There was hunger and lust. Lots of it. But there was also something else, something small and unkempt, like a quiet explosion in her chest that was somehow delicate enough to feel like a barely there prick on her skin.
For a moment, Skye pulled back just enough to meet Lucy’s eyes. She needed air. She wanted to search Lucy’s eyes for any hesitation or signs of doubt that what they were doing was a bad idea. But she didn’t see any of that. Skye simply saw a woman who wanted more.
“I don’t know why this is different,” Skye whispered in a raspy voice. “But it is.”
“What does that mean?” Lucy asked again.
Skye wanted to tell her the truth. She wanted to tell her that she wasn’t supposed to be the bachelorette, that she was just the substitute. She wanted to tell Lucy that she belonged behind the camera and that she hated the attention. Skye wanted to tell her that she wasn’t good with people, and even worse with relationships. In a small but direct way, she wanted to tell Lucy that whatever was going on between them would probably fizzle out like a doused firecracker. But she didn’t. Because telling her all that meant no more kissing, no more secret meetups, no more sex. And for the first time in a long time, she was actually looking forward to sex.
Just sex. Not a happily ever after.
Hell, Skye barely believed in dating at all. But she did believe in hook-ups. Especially the kind that ended in a glorious climax. It didn’t matter that by the timeThe Sapphic Matchwrapped up its filming, Lucy would be gone. She would be back to her life, to her column, and they’d never speak again. She would become just another memory while Skye figured out where her own life was headed after the show ended. The big question that needed answering was whether she’d keep running this circus or if she would finally step away for good. That was the real unknown.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, shaking her head, wishing she had said anything, anything at all except for that. “Why does it have to mean anything? Why can’t we just enjoy this for now and take it day by day?”
“So, you want to continue sneaking around behind everyone’s back?” Lucy asked, frowning. Something about her tone and the way she had taken one step back told Skye that the moment was ruined. Whatever stargazing she had planned—if they were going to stargaze at all—wasn’t going to happen. At least not tonight anyway.
“Yes,” Skye said matter-of-factly. “If this came out. If the other contestants…” she let her voice trail off, hoping Lucy could finish the sentence for her without actually saying it out loud. “You should probably get back before someone notices you’re gone,”Skye added.
Lucy’s face fell. She pressed her lips thin enough for them to disappear and nodded. “Good idea. We wouldn’t want anyone to find out what we’ve been doing for the last few days,”she said dryly.
Lucy’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Skye. She would’ve said something back, something to defend her reasoning, but instead she simply nodded and smiled a tight smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said softly. “For the group date. Apparently, we’re all going snorkeling. Fun,” she said in a voice just as dry as Lucy’s had been a moment ago.
There were a few seconds where neither said anything, but it was short-lived.
“Goodnight,” Lucy whispered, then she turned and disappeared onto the dark, sandy path toward the villa.
Skye gave it another minute before she hurried back to her bungalow, her bare feet making almost no sound on the soft sand. Her heart was doing that annoying thing where it betrayed her just as she tried not to think about Lucy.
Just as she reached the porch, she thought about turning back and heading to the villa to make a surprise announcement. She could wake up the contestants, simply so that she could see Lucy again, and maybe get a whispered apology in before she was swept away by either Alexis or Nova.
But then Marla appeared out of nowhere.
“Where have you been?” she asked, frowning. She glanced over Skye’s shoulder at the path that led to the beach and frowned even deeper.
Skye panicked. “Getting fresh air,” she said quickly when her mind hit a blank.
Marla’s eyes narrowed, scanning her like she was trying to spot a lie written all over her forehead. “It’s well after midnight. Fresh air can wait until sunrise. You should be getting some beauty sleep before tomorrow’s busy schedule.”
Skye chuckled nervously. “I know, I know,” she said, smoothing a palm across her forehead. “But I couldn’t sleep. Needed to get out for a minute to clear my head.”
“Why does it need clearing?”
“Why do you ask so many questions?” Skye snapped without meaning to. She walked past Marla and stepped onto the porch.
Marla followed her, intercepting before she could reach the sliding door. “You know,” she said, her face deadpan. “If you’re sneaking around with one of the contestants—”
