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The wind picks up the sails and carries us across the glassy water. It’s so clear that when we look over the sides, jellyfish are visible floating below the waves. The girls’ strip to their bathing suits, and of course Elise is wearing something white and barely there that makes my eyes want to bug out of their sockets. It’s only held on by strings tied at her back and on each hip bone. I have the wildest urge to undo those tiny knots with my teeth and lick the skin beneath.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I excuse myself from the tour as the guide explains the history of the Faraglioni formations towering above us like fingers reaching toward the heavens. There’s a bar in the hold of the boat, and I pour myself two fingers of Scotch and throw it back, ignoring the burn of it in my throat and sinuses. I’ve got to get myself together if I’m going to have any sort of reasonable conversation with Elise.
After a second shot, I make my way back to the deck and see the object of my desires once more separated from the group and lounging on the padded, bench-like seats toward the back part of the yacht. She’s put a large, floppy hat on to protect her scalp from the sun, her legs stretched out in front of her while she looks out into the ocean in deep thought. A quick glance behind me shows Andries busy learning all the local legends about thedifferent sights around the island, no doubt for inspiration for his work, which means I have at least a few minutes to talk to Elise on her own.
She doesn’t acknowledge me when I first join her, sitting close enough that her floral scent fills my nostrils once more. I think about how I bet the scent is even more concentrated on her neck, right below her ear, and how much I want to feel her pulse beneath my lips. Elise seems content to ignore me, so after a few minutes of sitting in silence, I finally give in and address her first.
“Fine. You’re not invisible anymore. Happy?”
She tilts her sunglasses down so she can look at me unhindered, raising her eyebrows. “Convenient,” she mutters, not a trace of a smile to be seen. “You managed to sleep with a random woman, and now that you’ve got that out of your system, you’re ready to come sniffing around me again. Do I only merit your time when you’ve got nothing better to do?”
I think I can hear a note of pain in her voice, and all the glee I had felt from getting on her nerves with Mia begins to fade fast. I never meant to actually hurt her. “Come on, El. You have to know I didn’t do anything with that girl.”
“Oh she’s just ‘that girl’ now? Yesterday you insisted I call her Mia.”
“I was just trying to ease any suspicion your brother and his fiancée might have about us, okay? Even if she was Aphrodite come to life, I’ve only got eyes for you, for better or for worse. It’s causing me endless grief, but I can’t shake it. I didn’t touch her.”
Elise is quiet, closing into herself. “You didn’t even check when I got hurt.”
“Only because Andries and Roxie already were.”
“I don’t know…” she seems unconvinced, heaving a long sigh pensively. “I figured you just didn’t see it because you had Mia on your lap.”
I cringe. Maybe I did take things too far, letting her crawl all over me… “Fuck. I made a mistake, okay? But I swear nothing happened between us. She showered alone in a guest bathroom before dinner, not with me.”
“And after dinner?” she asks, sounding dubious, her eyes searching for the answer in my gaze. “Where did she sleep?”
She knows damn well the answer, but I tell it out loud, nevertheless. “In her hotel room, El. Just like her friend.”
Silently, Elise looks away from me, gathering herself. It’s becoming more apparent by the second that my little trick with Mia has caused her real emotional distress, and me apologizing is throwing her through a loop. A soft breeze stirs the loose piece of hair around her face when she concludes whatever decision she has been making in her own mind, and just sighs.
“If you want me to trust you, Dan, then you can’t pull that shit ever again. Knowing that you would trick me like that really makes me second guess whether you’re being real with me or not.”
“I am. I swear I am.” I have to clamp my mouth closed because the urge to tell her that I love her and want her to be my girlfriend legitimately is so strong I’m afraid the words will sneak out on their own. Everyone else is right at the front of the boat, and we’re already taking too much of a chance talking in private like this. Confessing to her here would make me an absolute fool… well, more of one than I already am.
Elise’s shoulders relax, and she exhales a long breath, the tension she had been holding close flowing away. “You really owe me one, you know that?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Andries looking at us for a prolonged moment, so instead of teasing Elise like I really want to, I just nod. “Oh, I know. And I’m sure you’re going to make me pay in full sooner rather than later.”
She smiles then, the first real one I’ve seen since we arrived at the villa, wrinkling her nose adorably. I want to remember this moment forever; Elise, with one of the monumental Faraglioni rocks behind her and the deep, sapphire ocean stretching out beyond. She’s an island goddess, and I’m just some idiot here to pray at her altar.
I have to have her alone. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, I can’t go another entire day without having her to myself. I feel like I’m addicted, but it’s an enjoyable vice. Right as her brother, suspicious as always, peels away from the main crowd, I slide Elise a quick glance and tell her, “Make some time for me this evening.”
“What do you—” she starts, but I’m already up, heading to meet Andries halfway. I don’t have any plans for her and I yet, but by the time we’re back on dry land, I will have figured it out.
Once we get back to the villa, everyone heads inside and back to their suites for a quick nap after the hours in the sun and on the water. I had anticipated everyone would be exhausted, and now that I’ve had some time to think, I know exactly what I want to take Elise to do. It’s going to be difficult to figure out “dates” with her since Andries seems to be around every corner watching us, but being here in Capri with her is too precious of an opportunity to let slide by.
Speaking of the eldest Van den Bosch sibling, I pass the terrace on my way to Elise’s suite and see Andries leaning on the stone fence and looking out over the ocean. I sigh heavily, knowing that there is no way I’ll be able to sneak his sister past him and out of the villa, so I have to confront him now.
It turns out he isn’t waiting on me to grill me about his sister, but instead wanted a private moment to thank me for the tour. I feel immense satisfaction, knowing that Andries is having such a wonderful time. His parents might have abandoned him over this wedding to Roxanne, but I promised myself that I would pick up the slack that they left for my best friend.
“That was a fantastic tour,” he tells me, slapping me affectionately on the back as I join him on the terrace. “I never knew you were such an accomplished travel planner.”
“You’re giving me too much credit.” I laugh. “It’s almost impossible to choose a bad activity here. Everything is a good time.”
“Just take the thanks, man.” Andries chuckles, but when his jovial expression dims, I know what’s coming next. “Hey, I’m not trying to suggest anything, but why were you and Elise talking alone for so long on the yacht today? She hasn’t been acting like herself, but she seemed in better spirits once we got back.”
The lie flows so naturally from my mouth, even though I know the truth will have to come out, eventually. “I think she’s just feeling left out since everyone else is busy with their significant others. She just needed someone to give her some attention. That’s all.”
