“Hell yes, I’d like to go. I looked up pictures online about it, and it looks pretty fucking cool.”
“Yeah, it does. And it’s only about an hour-and-fifteen-minute drive from here.”
“Doesn’t that mean we need to rent a car?”
She brings her drink to her lips and takes a small sip. “My dad rented a car. He won’t be using it today since he’s golfing. I can either ask or just go and take it. He won’t even notice it’s gone.”
“Look at you almost committing grand theft. Maybe you are going to start a life of crime.”
“Told you.”
“We should have gone to Mexico instead.”
She laughs. “That’s too obvious.”
“Ah, so it was all part of your plan?”
“Of course. I thought this all out, and you’re either with me or against me.”
“Oh damn.” I lean back, shaking my head. “I’m with you. All the way. If not, you’ll have to kill me, right?”
“Right. And then I’d throw you in the ocean and let the sharks take care of your body.”
“You’re ruthless, Danielle.”
She narrows her eyes and nods her head. “Damn straight.” She smiles and the wind blows her hair around her face. We’re on an outdoor terrace, shaded from the sun. The crashing waves of the ocean echo behind us, along with happy chatter and laughter from other vacationers.
“You’re spacing out,” Danielle says, nudging her foot against mine under the table. I blink and tear my eyes away from the ocean, only to look at something even more beautiful.
Danielle.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks.
“How I might leave the bar in Owen’s hands and never go home. It would be nice to have this year-round.”
“Midwest winters can be brutal. But wouldn’t you miss the change in seasons?”
I sweep my hand out at the ocean so blue it blends right in with the sky. “Not if I had this.”
“Christmas and the cold just go hand in hand to me. It would be weird not to have snow around the holidays.”
“We didn’t have any snow last Christmas. It was forty-five degrees.”
“True,” she laughs. Our food comes, and we both dig in. It’s the first real meal I’ve had since the pizza at the airport, and I’m starving. I finish everything in record time.
“It’s a shame you’re not joining us for golf,” Peter says, coming around the table.
“I’m not much of a golfer.” I set my fork and knife on my plate. “And I want to spend time with my fiancée.” I take Danielle’s hand again, smiling when I look into her eyes.
“You’re a good man to follow her around shopping and getting her nails done today.”
“I’m not shopping,” Danielle tells him. “We’re going to walk through the Bamboo Forest.”
“Oh, that place looks so cool!” the bridesmaid sitting next to Danielle twists in her seat. “I watched a bunch of YouTube videos about it, and I’d love to hike it.”
“Come with,” Danielle offers. I don’t think she really meant it and was more asking to be polite while expecting her offer to be turned down. Anyone is welcome to join us, but I didn’t realize how much I was looking forward to being with just Danielle until now.
“I wish,” the bridesmaid tells Danielle. “We’ve had these appointments for over a month, and it’s what Diana wants to do.”
“I heard my name.” Diana’s eyes widen as she looks down the table. “Talking about me?”
“Always,” Danielle replies. “All gossip, of course.”
Her sister laughs, smiling as she looks at Danielle. I can feel the strain between them, the slight competition I’m willing to bet was put there by their own parents without really meaning to. I understand why Danielle left, and it’s almost creepy how everyone is acting like things are perfectly fine between them all.
Peter hit on Danielle at their place of work. When Danielle threatened to call him out, he proposed to Diana. And then when the truth came out, everyone sided with Peter, acting like he can’t be held responsible for his actions because he’s a man and Danielle should have known better than to wear something so tight and revealing to work. It hurt Danielle so much that she left without saying goodbye.
And now the whole gang is sitting here, drinking mimosas on the beach, acting like none of that ever happened. I guess when appearance is everything, you’re willing to overlook a few glaringly obvious fucked-up things.
It’s even weirder to think that Carol grew up in Eastwood, graduating a few years after my own parents did. Danielle doesn’t talk about the fallout her mother and grandpa had, but I know things got messy after Danielle’s grandmother died of cancer when her mother was a sophomore in high school. Her grandpa had a hard time dealing and drank a lot. Carol went to stay at her aunt’s house in New Jersey, and things were never the same from there.