Plus, I hate to admit that being around all these shirtless guys only makes me miss the one person I wish was here: Wes. And fine. Sitting here also gives me a chance to text him. I haven’t heard from him since our night abruptly ended, and I’ve been tethered to my phone.
How’s your day?I text him a selfie with Anya and Mari in the background.
Looks fun! Miss ya!he writes back soon after.
You didn’t answer, silly!But no response comes through, and then I reread my text over and over, trying to decide if it came off too clingy. After another minute of waiting,I force myself to tuck the phone away. My legs dangle off the side of the platform, feet swishing back and forth in the water.
A shadow appears. It’s Nico, sliding in next to me. We sit in companionable silence for a minute as we watch the group playing in the water.
“So that’s really your cousin? Not a paid actress or anything?” I nod my chin in the direction of Aurora, who is trying to coax Mari up on a large Popsicle float by splashing playfully at her.
“Yes, that’s my actual cousin, Sora,” Nico says.
“Not sure I see the resemblance.” I sneak a glance to see if he smiles at this. There’s an obvious likeness—identical hazel eyes and that warmth that leads you to lower your guard. I take a breath. “I’m sorry for accusing you of being a murderer.”
“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
“Wait, really?” I turn to look at him.
“No, Sora. No one has ever accused me of being a murderer before. This is not a normal thing to say to someone.” I almost expect him to be mad—maybe I took it too far. But he’s not. He’s laughing.
Only because I can, I get in one last dig. “Lots of vacation left, though. You might wind up killing me before the end.”
Nico stares out to sea. “Is this how people apologize in America?”
I bite down on my lip, throwing the last corner of myDanish in the water for the birds. They descend, pecking it to dust within seconds. “No. Just me.”
“I see.” Nico turns and studies me. “So, your late-night meet-up?”
“What about it?” I’m instantly defensive.
“When in Rome, as they say,” Nico says, a smile dancing on his lips. “It’s kind of obvious you aren’t sneaking off to go stargazing.”
I laugh awkwardly, hot all over. What does he know? Has he told Anya and Mari? “You’re quite the detective.”
Nico does not mind the silence, I’ve noticed, doesn’t rush to fill it up like I feel like I have to. He’s content to sit in it until he has something to say. He just bumps my thigh with his and says, “Well, you always look very nice.”
My ears warm as a shiver runs up my spine. “Thank you.”
Mari and Anya swim over to the edge of the boat, and I’m thankful for the escape. Anya treads water while Mari grips the side of the boat to stay afloat.
“You don’t want to come in?” Mari asks, wiping back her hair.
“I’m really loving sitting here and taking it all in.” I close my eyes and tilt my face to the sun. “It makes me feel like I’m the lifeguard. I’m drunk with power.”
“Okay,” Mari says, but there’s that bit of hurt in her voice again. I don’t understand it. I’m right here—I’m still partaking.
“She’s just scared she wouldn’t survive a dunking.”Anya attempts a free-floating handstand, and it is not graceful in the slightest. When she surfaces, she coughs up a gallon of water, then shoots me a smile before swimming off. “Chicken.”
Once they are far enough away, I seize the opportunity to ask Nico about what I overheard.
“Were you serious earlier? When you said you might not go back to university?”
Nico shrugs. His gaze drops to a freckle on my shoulder. “It’s a lot different, living in Rome—it doesn’t feel like home. I’ve lived in Sorrento all my life, so sometimes I feel swallowed up by the city. And there’s so much to take care of here. My mother needs me. Since my dad died, well… things have not come easy.”
“But you seemed so excited for that program! And I thought you wanted to travel.” He doesn’t answer immediately, so the only sound is the swishing of the water as I drag my feet back and forth through the sea. “Does your mom know?”
Nico runs a hand through his hair. “She would be furious. It’s important to her that I live my own life, that I’m not worried about her.”
