Aurora Book 1: Soitera

13. Frying Pan Fiasco

Everett and I make it to dinner on time. I sit by him but we don't speak. I think we both know that this won't work now. We're completely different people. I excuse myself right away and go to my room. I sit on the balcony and think about everything. The kids play on the beach after a while. I haven't went swimming yet. I'll try that tomorrow.

I grab a water bottle and remember the bag Dante handed me. I tossed it on the bed earlier. I pull out the yellow string bikini. Then a turquoise one. He must not have liked the yellow. There's a box at the bottom of the bag.

Inside the top of the box it says, congratulations. There's a necklace with a few different charms I can put on it. A sea turtle. Mermaid. Ocean blue heart. Seashell. Starfish.

That was really sweet of him. I'm excited about having my own jewelry. I've never had any before. I know it's not real gemstones or expensive stuff, but that doesn't matter. I have my own jewelry now. This means more than he'll ever understand.

"Why are you crying now?" Everett comes over and looks. Then he puts his arm around me and kisses my head. He so gently asks, "Why are you crying?"

"I've never had jewelry before." I wipe my face off and cry harder. "I always watched" I choke on my emotion and can't continue.

"I have taken so much for granted." He puts the turtle charm on the chain and clasps it behind my neck. "Beautiful."

I can barely touch it. "I'm afraid I'll break it."

"Yea, you probably shouldn't sleep in it." He takes it off me. "But if it breaks, I'll replace it."

"I can't take"

He tilts my face towards him and looks in my eyes. "You can't take gifts from other men then refuse to take mine."

"But you give so much. I don't want you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you. You give all the time and I have nothing to give. I hate that."

"Babygirl, I don't give you gifts all the time. I've barely given you anything." He pulls the blanket back for me, and we climb into bed.

"Every time I've asked, you've taken me home from school. You got the rack to hang my clothes. And the hangers. You brought me to the islands. Got me the swimsuit I needed. The sandals at school that day. You got me tacos. You stay at my house to make sure I'm safe."

"Stop."

"All I do is take."

"No." He wraps me up from behind and pulls the blanket over us. "You give me your time and attention. Your eyes light up when you see me. You sit beside me and let me rub your leg. You hold my hand. I can always count on you for cuddles. I love it when you smile at me. Or when we have conversations like this. Those are the things that matter. Not who bought the clothes rack. And hell, you gave me my name off my jersey. That's priceless, baby. I'll have that forever. All because of you. We're going to do things for each other, always. Some may cost money and others will be free. It doesn't matter."

"Thank you."

"And just think... Someday you'll be an astrophysicist, and I'll be your trophy husband. Me and my muscles will sit by the pool all day and get a tan for you."

I crack up laughing.

"I knew you'd like that one." He kisses the back of my neck. "You're such a sweetheart."

The next morning, he takes me to the ocean. I wear my yellow string bikini. I really do like it.

We find a secluded spot and lay out a couple of towels. Then we hold hands and walk into the water. He freaks out before it gets to my swimsuit. I look at him and his swimsuit is coming apart.

"Come on, woman." He wraps a towel around his waist.

I follow behind him laughing.

We find his parents in the hallway. "What's the problem?"

"My swimsuit is too old. It's falling apart in the ocean."

I do my best to stop laughing. His parents burst out laughing. That causes me to start again. I sit on the floor with my back to the wall and laugh until I cry.

His mom finally pulls it together. "At least you didn't come out naked around all your little cousins."

"Yea. Yea. Come on, woman. You need shorts and shoes to go to the store."

I get ready and put my necklace on too. I can wear that shopping. Then we take the boat to the store again.

We barely walk in and Dante is standing there in a full suit. "Are you following me now?"

"No. How the hell would we have known where you were?" Everett glares at him.

I burst out laughing.

Everett kisses my head. "Be careful, she's ornery today." Then he goes over to the swimsuits.

"I wasn't sure about the yellow, but it does look good on you."

"Thank you. And thank you for the necklace." I hold the charm and smile. I'm happy I got to tell him thank you.

Armen comes over in a swimsuit. "How is this one?"

I shrug my shoulders. "You look better in the suit."

"Son of a bitch." He walks away.

I crack up laughing.

Dante smiles. "You are ornery today. Let's go outside before you give everyone a complex."

The store has picnic tables in the shade.

He picks a table. "So, how are you navigating the changes?"

"I'm trying."

"From what I've pieced together about your life, I think we grew up similar. My family didn't have much. I was bullied a lot in school for it. That sound right?"

"Yes."

"Then suddenly, you were the most popular person in the town? Everyone is acting like your best friend?"

"Yes. It's confusing. I know they don't like me. My biggest hater took me shopping and bought me a bunch of clothes when she found out. I figured it was a joke to leave me so far away from home all alone. But she took me to her house for a sleepover after that."

He laughs. "Yea, I remember those days. That was confusing. Boys that shoved me into my locker for years suddenly included me in everything they did. I hated it and loved it at the same time."

"This better?" Armen smiles and puts on his sunglasses.

"I was wrong. This hides your muscles. You should show them off more. You have nice muscles."

He runs away.

Dante chuckles. "I like your ornery side."

Everett sits with us. He's got his bag.

I take Everett's hand and hold it. "At this point, it's a game to see how many times I can make him change clothes. So, what did you do about the changes?"

"I took advantage of the situation. They were assholes for years. They deserved it. I mean, I didn't hurt them or steal from them. But I took everything I could get. I let them try to make it up to me. After I left, I never looked back. I never acknowledged them again. Honestly, I'm happy with the way I handled it. Nothing they could do could ever take back the years of hurt they caused me, but the money helped in the end. I got the last laugh. You will too."

"Is this better?" Armen and Hugo stop in front of us. Hugo is laughing. Armen is wearing swim trunks with socks and shiny black shoes.

"NO. Go buy sandals right now. Your feet look ridiculous."

'But..."

"NO. Go buy sandals." I stand up and point at the door. "You cannot stay like that. Ridiculous."

"Fine."

Hugo follows him. "He'll probably need help with shoe sizes too."

Everett looks at Dante. "What is that about?"

"Everything the man owns is custom-made. He didn't realize store clothes come in sizes. He thought everything was made to fit him. So, as you can imagine, he needed a new swimsuit today. Hugo made him try it on this time."

A helicopter lands in the parking lot. "Who is that? I wonder if they're famous."

Dante laughs. "It's mine. I don't think I'm famous. It's faster than taking a boat. Actually..." He gets up and runs away.

I lay my head on Everett's shoulder and he kisses it. "Did you get a new swimsuit?"

"Yea. I'm ready when you are, baby."

Dante comes back with a folder and hands it to Everett. "This sounds weird. But different tourist traps will send island owners passes for the attractions. I don't care why. They just do it. They do it for all of us. This folder has a bunch of tickets in it. They're free gifts. I keep them in the helicopter for some reason. Maybe something sounds interesting to you two. Make a day out of it and see something new."

"Thank you." Everett stares at him with an expression I can't read.

"You're welcome."

"How is this? Am I presentable this time?"

I pull my hair back. "Yes, Armen. You look much better now. Good job."

"Let's see if she's telling the truth." He spots a couple of girls in the parking lot. "Hello ladies."

Hugo shakes his head. "He'll never learn."

I smile. "Hopefully they're not sisters."

The boys crack up laughing.

Hugo nods. "We better stop this frying pan fiasco before it happens."

"Yep." Dante smiles. "Have fun and remember what I said. Get what you can out of them. They deserve it. It'll help you navigate your feelings a little better. You don't have to like them. We both know you never will anyway."

"Thank you."

He winks and walks away with Hugo.

We watch the helicopter leave, then Everett opens the folder. "It really is tickets to different stuff. I wonder why he gave them to us."

"He wasn't going to use them. Might as well give them to someone who will. I can understand that."

"Yea, but he likes you. He could have asked you to do all this."

"He may like me. But it's not a relationship 'like'. And he's trying to be nice."

He chuckles and kisses my head. "We definitely see his intentions differently. But you're right. He's trying to be nice, and I'll happily spend the day with you seeing tourist stuff. We'll have fun."

I hug him as the helicopter lands again.