They all cheer her on, but no one as loudly as Tanner.
“I can’t believe you kissed him,” I mutter, not letting Lyra get too far away from me. Lyra turns to me in surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“I didn’t hear it from him, in case you’re wondering. He’s a good guy,” I say reluctantly. “But I guess the guys report to each other on who gets a kiss.”
“Do they give details?”
I shake my head. “If they said anything disrespectful about you, I would see them out of here.”
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t always protect me, Spencer.”
“I can, and I will.”
“Were you jealous?” The flirtatious voice is new. I’ve heard it before, but never when Lyra speaks to me. I’ve always thought it was because Lyra refused to flirt with me, but maybe that’s what we’ve been doing, all this time.
Regardless of what Lyra’s definition of flirting is, I’m not letting the voice get to me. It’s hard enough to stand here with her in her bathing suit.
Bikini. Blue.
I shift, taking a step closer, but not nearly as close as I’d like to be. “I’m not answering that because I told myself I don’t want to fight with you today,” I say, keeping my gaze on her face and not on the other men looking at her.
“Why would telling me you’re jealous make us fight?”
“Because I would follow up with how I don’t want you to kiss anyone but me ever again.”
She drops her gaze to my lips and my heart leaps like Tema jumping in the pool. And then she smiles. “You know, if you were to say that, it will only make me kiss more of them, don’t you?”
I heave a sigh. “Yes, I know, because you hate being told what not to do.”
Lyra laughs and in the middle of the chaos and uncertainty of a reality romance show, I realize I’m happy.
I’m happy with Lyra. I always have been.
“Lyra!” Tanner shouts. “Come take your turn.”
“Coming!” She takes two steps away from me, and my heart gives a lurch. Time to share her—at least while we’re on camera. And then she turns around, facing me as she walks backward.
“I never kissed him, you know.” Giving me a wink, she jogs away to join the group.
“You really had to say no kissing today, didn’t you?” I call after her.
22
Lyra
I
’mgladthere’snococktail party tonight because after a day in the sun, I’m exhausted.
Tema falls asleep on the short ride back to Camille’s and Sophie looks like she’s about to drop off beside her.
But it was fun. Totally worth it, especially since not one bit of Tema is sunburnt, thanks to Rand.
“I didn’t think I’d have a day like that,” I say over the wind rushing through the open windows.
“It was a good day,” Grayson agrees. He’s driving because I had more than a couple of drinks. “Didn’t you expect to have fun?”
“I always have fun, but today was spontaneous. Unprompted. That’s what I like.”
