Something pokes me in the side. My eyes open, and bright bolts of sunlight spear my head. “Wha . . . ?”
Someone groans near my ear, and the entire world seems to sway around me. And beneath me.
“Maddie!”
I freeze, then roll my eyes to see as much of my surroundings as possible without triggering another nauseating sway.
Ryan stares down at me through a fine sheet of mesh, which my groggy mind labels “mosquito netting.” Because I’m in Parque Tayrona, in a hut on the beach. In a hammock.
That groan comes again, and an arm falls over my bare stomach.
Oh, shit. I’m in a hammock with a guy.
“Help me up,” I whisper, humiliation burning in my cheeks. How did I wind up in a hammock with a guy half wrapped around me?
My brother pulls back the mosquito netting and helps me climb out of the hammock without waking . . . Um . . .
Benard.
The boy from Belgium who speaks French, Spanish, English, and German. Who knows about Greek philosophy, French wine, and Caribbean tides.
The boy I spent the night with.
No no no no . . . Panicked, I glance down and am relieved to see that I’m still wearing my bikini and board shorts. The rest of my memory falls into place as Ryan shoves my T-shirt at me.
Benard and I shared a couple of puffs of whatever Nico passed us, then came back to his hammock, where we made out for a while, then . . .
Did I fall asleep in the middle of a hookup?
My flush deepens. Two drinks and a couple of hits shouldn’t have been enough to knock me out. Should they?
I check my insulin level as I follow my brother down the steps to the beach. It’s a little low, but not terrible.
“Are you okay?” Ryan drops a granola bar at my feet as I plop down on the sand. “Do I need to go beat some manners into that predator?”
“Relax. Nothing happened.”
My brother sighs as he sinks onto the sand next to me. “I’m not judging. I’m worrying.”
“I can fend for myself.” It’s not Benard’s fault I can’t handle my liquor. “And he’s not a predator. He’s a classics major.”
“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Ryan insists.
I roll my eyes at him and grab the granola bar. “If I eat this, will you go away?”
Ryan scruffs my hair, like he used to when I was a kid. “Only long enough to get us some water.” He heads toward the restaurant, and his shadow stretches across the sand behind him.
“Bonjour, belle,” Benard says, and I turn as he steps onto the sand from the stairs. Something flutters deep in my stomach as he pulls me to my feet and slides his arms around me. “The night got cold, and I enjoyed your warmth.” He leans in to press a kiss beneath my ear, and suddenly I am tingling all over.
“I enjoyed yours too.” I slide my arms behind his neck and inhale the scent of his sunscreen.
The sun casts a halo around his dark hair. “Will you excuse me while I find my toothbrush?”
“Of course.” I need to find mine too.
Benard kisses my forehead, then heads back up the stairs.
I head for the restaurant to find my brother, hoping he packed toothpaste, and on the way, I hear Holden and Genesis arguing behind the communal bathroom.
“You’re completely overreacting.” His tone drips with tedium. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but—”
“You crossed a line. So here’s how this is going to go.” Genesis’s voice is like a wall of ice. “You’re going to be the ideal boyfriend for the remainder of spring break. If you even look at Penelope again, I’ll slip the nearest soldier a fifty to give you a thorough search for contraband. Which he will find. And I will leave your ass to rot in a Colombian prison.”
I squat to brush sand from my feet, trying to listen inconspicuously. I can’t help myself.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” Holden demands, but his question lacks conviction.
“Extreme would be calling in Colombia’s finest right now. I’m being pretty damn generous. So go pack. We’re done with Cabo.”
No way. We just got here!
“Nico’s taking us to see some ruins in the jungle.”
Queen G has spoken, and her subjects will no doubt follow her into the wilderness. But that doesn’t mean I have to go.
When I stand again, I find Benard heading down the beach from the hut, wearing a fresh set of swim trunks. Sunscreen glistens on his skin. I start to jog toward him, but someone grabs my arm.
“Salut,” Milo says as I pull my arm from his grip.
“Salut,” I return. But my gaze is glued to Benard as he heads for a group that’s just emerged from the jungle path, carrying hiking gear.
Unease crawls over my skin. Something feels wrong.
Benard wraps his arms around a girl at the front of the group, lifting her off the ground with the enthusiasm of his embrace.
I stare, and in spite of the bright, warm sun, I feel suddenly cold.
“That’s his girlfriend,” Milo says, so close to my ear that I jump, startled. “So, maybe you won’t mention sharing a hammock with him, oui?”
I’m too humiliated to speak. Of course he has a girlfriend. Of course she’s tall and beautiful and graceful, even at a distance.
Of course yesterday was too good to be true.
“We are all adults, non?” Milo says in his stupid French accent.
I nod. That’s the only response I can manage.
He leans down to kiss me on the cheek. “I knew someone as mature as you would understand.”