“It bothers Rose and Connor.”
Her face falls. “Oh.”
An awkward silence soaks the air, and Daisy swims over to cut it right up. “Rose and Connor are fighting,” she exclaims. She lifts her body out of the pool and sits on the chair next to me. “It’s kind of scary. I don’t understand half the words coming out of their mouths.” Her hair looks almost brown now that it’s wet. She wrings it out in her hands.
I glance at the pool-side bar. Sure enough, Rose and Connor square off, their mouths moving in such rapid succession that they look as if they’re on a debate team. People surrounding them watch in amusement and even awe.
“Anyone want a refill?” Melissa asks. She stands and waves her empty cup.
“I could take a daiquiri,” Daisy says.
“Virgin, right?”
Daisy doesn’t even blink. “No, I’m drinking rum.”
“I don’t really condone underage drinking. You’re what, seventeen?”
“Sixteen,” she says, still unaffected by Melissa’s edgy words. “In some countries, I’m old enough to be married and sold into prostitution, so hey, I think a couple of drinks won’t necessarily kill me.”
“Well life is different here. We’re in America.”
“We’re in Mexico, actually.”
Melissa’s throat bobs, but she tries to brush off her snafu with a shrug. “Yeah, whatever.”
Ryke hardly suppresses his grin, and when he meets Daisy’s gaze, she gives him a look likeyou’re going to get in trouble.
Ryke does not care what anyone thinks of him, even his somewhat-girlfriend.
Melissa sets a hand on her hip. “Want anything,babe?” she asks Ryke with a little force.
He doesn’t drink. We all know that, and so her power move is completely obvious.
“No, I’m good,” he says. When she struts off in her black bikini, Daisy tilts her head, watching Melissa’s butt bounce all the way to the tiki hut. “She does have a nice ass.”
“Yeah?” Ryke says casually, eyeing Daisy as she observes Melissa.
“Oh yeah,” Daisy says. “But I’d put my ass in contention too.” I think she’s testing Ryke.
Lo stiffens beside me, and he waits to see how his brother is going to respond.Shut it down, Ryke—I can hear Lo recite in his head. Or I’d like tothinkI can hear him. I still haven’t developed that superpower yet.
“Her ass is better. Sorry,” he says, but he never looks back at Melissa. Daisy has stolen his attention.
She shrugs. “You’re probably right, but if I had to rank asses, Rose’s would be number one. She has the best hair too.”
“Your hair is pretty,” Lo tells her.
“Don’t,” Ryke warns him with the shake of his head. If Daisy is insecure about anything it’s the hair she cannot cut or dye, per her agency’s rules.
Lo’s face sharpens, resentful that Ryke knows more than him. Being out of the loop for three months has been a disadvantage. Ryke saw exactly what went on when Lo was in rehab. Lo did not.
I scoot to the foot of the lounge chair and rest my head on the crook of his shoulder. He draws me into his arms. But my presence isn’t enough. I can’t give him back all those days he missed.
“My hair is fine,” Daisy says. But she braids it subconsciously. Then she rises and sets her toes on the pool edge. She splashes into the water, and surprisingly, Ryke joins her, dropping in. He breaks the surface and runs a handthrough his wet hair. Both of them cling to the wall, facing us.
“Is she good in bed?” Daisy asks him.
My eyes widen to saucers.
