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“What, Andries?”
“Don’t go! Come play volleyball with us! We’re a person short.” He motions to the area in the pool next to him. He and Roxanne are making up a team, while Lili and Robin have paired themselves with the other new girl, Tiffany.
I consider ignoring him and going to hide away, but I have to remember that this is a trip for him, and even if I start to get information from him for Dad, it’s imperative he thinks I’m just here to celebrate his engagement. Plus, when I let Dan slip from my brain for even a second, I’m once again happy to be here, and the thought of the cool water on my sun and anger-heated skin sounds divine.
“Fine,” I relent, pulling my tunic over my head, and depositing it on one of the lounge chairs as I pass. I sneak a look over at Dan, who has taken an interest in my now nearly bare form right before Mia demands his attention again. At least he isn’t totally shut off from me, even if he’s trying to replace me with some random woman off the street. Mia might be beautiful, but something tells me Dan is done with the part of his life where he only chooses partners based on looks alone.
I perch on the edge of the water and slide in, sighing at the warmth of the water, just cool enough to be refreshing but notfrigid enough to make me shiver. I wade over to my brother and his fiancée, both of them looking like they’ve never had a better time in their entire lives, and take my position. Roxie looks over at me, an amused expression dancing on her face.
“Sooo did you expect to ever play in an aquatic volleyball game with me? I have to say, it’s not something I ever expected to be doing.”
Thinking back on my not so stellar history with Roxanne, I have to agree and laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. This is so weird.”
“Only as weird as we make it, I guess,” she quips.
I’m in good shape from all the riding and hunting I do, but volleyball, especially the water-logged variety, isn’t exactly my forte. The difficulty does take my attention away from Dan, and how I’ve basically come to Capri to watch him be his usual playboy self right in front of my face. It wouldn’t sting so much if he hadn’t touched me so tenderly, and if I hadn’t seen real emotion in his eyes when we slept together.
Focus, I tell myself.Focus on the game.
So I do, surging through the water and jumping to hit the ball when it comes to me. It’s a mess of splashing water and shrieking bodies, but even I’m laughing along with everyone else in a few minutes time. Then, there is another feminine laugh coming from over near the lounge chairs, and my curiosity gets the better of me. Andries has just hit the ball over the net, and I figure I have a second to look over… but I instantly regret it.
Dan is still on his back with his arms behind his head again, but now Mia is laying on top of him, kicking her feet in the air happily while she touches him in all the same places I want to so very badly, taking advantage of his damp muscles on display. I hate myself for it, but watching the scene unfold makes me feel like crying. This isn’t what I expected, or what I wanted at all. If I had just gone with my parents on their trip, none of this wouldbe happening. I’d be none the wiser that Dan was out cruising for hookups.
My reverie is rudely shattered when, coming from the other side of the net with an overly intense speed, the volleyball comes directly for me and smacks me in my distracted face, hard. I yelp, seeing stars. There are a few awkward laughs, but everyone goes silent rather quickly.
There is a moment of nothingness where I think I’m fine, but like a delayed reaction, the pain comes soaring in, making tears come to my eyes.
“Fuck,” I gasp, vision still fuzzy.
Andries is rushing over, pulling my hands away and looking at my face for himself. His concern and quick action makes me think of all the times he would come to my rescue, even when I didn’t need it, when we were kids. He’s moving my head side to side, frowning and brow furrowed, and I have the bizarre thought that I’d like him to hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay, but it’s a childish desire that passes quickly enough.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I simply shake my head.No.
Roxanne shoulders him out of the way gently and grabs my shoulders. “Let’s go in and get an ice pack,” she tells me, her voice low as she leads me out of the water by my elbow. “I’ve got this, Andries, don’t worry,” she tells my brother over her shoulder.
The maid hovers around as soon as we’re out of the water, but Roxanne waves her off, asking for towels and ice instead of assistance. We go into the kitchen where she has me sit on one of the tall bar stools so she can check my forehead and nose out without the craziness going on outside. It’s aching, but the maid is quick with the ice pack, which I hold to my face with a sigh of relief.
“You’ve got a tiny nosebleed,” Roxanne informs me, her eyes inspecting the damage intently. “But I think it’s already finished. Does it feel like you’ve broken any cartilage or anything?”
I squeeze my nose gently, wincing. It hurts, but there are no suspect, out-of-place pieces, thank goodness. “I don’t think so. It just made me see stars.”
“The ball was probably waterlogged. It made it heavier.” She sits on one of the other stools, watching me like she’s afraid I’ll run away. “Are you positive you don’t want to go get it looked at?”
“No,” I assure her. “I’m just being a baby, I guess.”
She scoffs. “If I had gotten hit, my entire afternoon would have been spent at the emergency room. You’re doing better than I would have.” Peering closely at me again, she purses her lips. “Although, and if I’m prying, feel free to ignore me, but I think there is more bothering you than just a potentially broken nose.”
I can see Dan and Mia in the lounge chair from here through the glass walls that give unobstructed views to the terrace, but there is no way in hell I’m telling Roxanne that’s what is bothering me. It doesn’t matter, though, because she follows my gaze and makes a knowing sound.
“Uh-huh. Just like I thought,” Roxanne says, amused. “It’s about that girl all over Dan, right? It pisses you off?”
Flustered, I shake my head in denial. “No, why would I care? He’s always been a fuckboy.”
“Hmm…” she mutters, her eyes pinned on the area I got hit, while she takes the ice pack from my hand and presses it against my skin a bit higher. “You’re going to get a bruise on your forehead…”
My hand goes up to reach for the ice pack and I hold it against my skin, letting her know that I can do it myself.
With her hands now free, Roxanne leans back on her stool and watches me with a pensive air. “Look, I’m sure I’m the last person you want to be getting relationship advice from, but… you can do better than Dan.” My eyes widen at the unexpected nature of her comment, but Roxie goes to clarify. “Don’t get me wrong, Andries and I love Dan, but no one on earth would think the two of you would make a good match. Dan isn’t going to just suddenly stop taking interest in all these girls and settle down out of nowhere. That’s not how this works, and if you’re anything like your brother, you’re going to take stuff like love and sex really seriously. I don’t think Dan ever will.” Roxanne sighs, pausing for a beat. “There are more fitting people out there for you, is all I’m saying.”
