A squeak escapes me as I tumble off the bed. I cover my eyes and dart for the balcony, knowing I should neversee that sight again.
When I’m alone, I realize my chest is heaving.
Okay, that was weird. But it was an accident. One that I’llneverthink of again. I close my eyes and try to think of anything else.
The first thing I see is his round ass.
“Fuck,” I mutter out at the water.
My entire body is hot as I sit on one of the chairs. The breeze does nothing to help the fire spreading through my face, and I briefly consider jumping off the balcony. I hate water and heights, but I’m desperate. It’s amazing how the sight of Nate being naked overrides my fear of water. Honestly, that should be studied.
Pressing my palms to my eyes, I try to breathe away the panic I’m feeling. I’m off today, in all of the ways. This is why I don’t vacation. Because somehow it leads to seeing my best friend naked, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it.
I’m nowhere near calm when the balcony door slides open.
“Maisie?” Nate asks. “What are you doing out here?”
I should turn to look him in the eye, like I usually would. But I can’t manage it. I can’t manage much of anything.
“Just ... chilling,” I say. My voice is barely a croak.
“You’re chilling while staring at the ocean?” His voice drips with doubt. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I say it way too quickly.
“Yeah, right. Did Rob text you again?”
“No.”
“Was the book that bad?”
“No.”
“Then, what’s going on? Come on. You can tell me anything.” His voice now has an edge to it, one that’s similar to how he sounded when he showed me the video of Rob. He’s worried. There’s a scrape of a chair on the balcony floor and he’s taken a seat beside me.
Andthatbreaks through my mortification.
“The mirror in the suite. The one right outside of the bathroom.”
“Yeah?”
“It has a viewrightinto the shower.”
For a second, there’s only silence. Then Nate finally says, “Oh.”
I know he’s realizing what I saw.
Now Ireallycan’t look at him.
We always try to say that we’re like any other friends, but there are still some topics we don’t talk about. Naked bodies is one of them.
Silence settles over us, thick and uncomfortable. I’m not sure why he hasn’t cracked a joke about this. It’s what he would usually do.
Maybe he hates the idea of anyone seeing him like that.
“Just give me a few to forget.” It’s a lie. I’m not going to everforget it.
“Yep. No worries.”
