Page 53 of What I Like About You

She was saved by the sound of the back door opening again and turned to see Leona and Cullen walk in. Leona hurried over to Miller, giving him a little side hug, before he and Cullen bumped fists in greeting.

“What are you doing here?” Dalton asked skeptically.

“I heard there was grilled cheese,” Leona told him, a knowing look on her face.

“I’m sure you did,” Dalton muttered, throwing a look over Zara to Drea, who simply shrugged in response. Zara tried to hide a smile at the interaction. As much as she didn’t want to be on display, she liked that Dalton’s friends had no problem giving him a hard time. Him bringing a girl to hang out was obviously a big deal to them, and that made the butterflies in her tummy flutter all over again.

“I don’t know that we actually got to meet. I’m Leona,” she said to Zara as she slipped into the seat across from her.

“I’m Zara. I carried a watermelon,” she said, trying to make a joke. Leona and Drea burst into laughter, and Zara joined in. It was nice to have other women to laugh with. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like this with anyone other than Antwan.

“Why is that funny?” Cullen asked.

“It’s a line from Dirty Dancing.”

“I’ve seen the movie, Menina. I just don’t understand why that’s funny.”

“Because that’s what Baby says when she’s all awkwardly trying to justify why she, a guest, is hanging out after hours with the staff,” she explained. The scowl on her boyfriend’s face made Zara giggle to herself. The two of them were quite the pair. “You know what? It’s not funny if I have to explain it!”

Maeve suddenly appeared by Zara’s side, sliding a plate in front of her. She was so shocked by the brunette's sudden appearance, she almost knocked the plate out of her hand.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” she said, before rounding the table and taking a seat in between Cullen and Dalton.

“That is the best cheese toastie you’ll ever have,” Cullen said, pointing to her plate.

“So everyone keeps telling me,” Zara replied, taking a bite of the sandwich. A medley of flavors burst in her mouth as the gooey cheese oozed from between the bread. The tang of the sun-dried tomato paired with the saltiness of the bacon, surrounded by creamy brie, caused her to let out a small moan. This was nothing like any grilled cheese she’d ever had before, and she was now afraid that nothing else would ever live up to it. Letting out another slight moan, she looked over at Dalton, who was watching her as she chewed.

“Told ya,” Dalton said.

“Since the gang’s all here, might as well make it a party,” Miller said, walking over and setting down the pitcher from a blender filled with a frothy pale brown frozen concoction. “Drea, I’m heading back to the Big House. Will you shut the lights off when you’re done?”

Drea nodded as she poured everyone a drink from the pitcher Miller just brought over. Zara had no idea what it was, but based on the looks on everyone's face, it must be something good. She took the glass Drea handed her, looking at the other six people at the table, still unsure about the drink. She’d always been a bit of a scaredy-cat when it came to trying new things, usually making Antwan go first.

“Oh shit, Antwan! He’s probably wondering where I got off to…”

“Um, last I saw him, he was getting cozy with someone on the beach,” Maeve said, looking like she might be betraying a secret. “So, my guess would be that he’s not all that worried about where you are at the moment.”

Zara barked out a laugh. Antwan had been talking about all the “hotties” he’d seen around the resort, so it shouldn’t surprise her that he’d managed to snag himself someone. She just hoped that they made it to his bedroom and closed the door before she returned for the evening. If she returned to their room.

“Have I thanked you for giving us separate bedrooms?” Zara asked Drea, still laughing. “So, um, what is this?”

“It’s a Bushwacker. My only advice,” Dalton said, taking a swig of his, “is to sip slowly. There’s a whole lot in there, and it can go to your head pretty fast.”

He watched her as she took a sip of the strong concoction. The strong mix of liquors hit her tongue, causing her to flinch slightly, but after another moment she adjusted to the strength of the drink. She had no idea what was in it, but it was good. Like an alcoholic chocolate milkshake. Although she could tell how too many of these could cause some regret the next morning.

“Dalton would know,” Kyle muttered, snickering from a couple of spots down.

Zara looked over to Dalton as he threw his best friend a look, trying to tell him to shut up.

“What’d you do?” Zara asked, her curiosity piqued. She may have known him best ten years ago, but these were the people who knew him best now. She wanted to hear the stories and understand all the inside jokes. She wanted to be let into his world down here.

“I may have been found on the boat one morning, sans apparel,” he stated, his friends laughing as he did.

“Were you naked or nekkid?” she asked, her question met with more laughter from everyone. The massive smile taking over his face told her that she already knew where this was heading. Looking around the table, she was surprised to see a look of borderline confusion on everyone else’s face. “What? There’s a difference. Naked is if you just aren't wearing anything, but nekkid is if you’re not wearing anything and up to no good. Have y’all not heard that before?”

“Oh no, we have. Just didn’t realize that particular Daltonism was widely known,” Kyle told her with a laugh.

“We can assume that at some point I was nekkid,” Dalton admitted, winking in her direction. She felt her tummy do flips as he did so, and she was suddenly very aware of her lack of underthings all over again. She needed to be careful—for her body to behave—or else everyone at this table was going to be fully aware she was hanging in the breeze.