I sigh and shake my head to rid myself of images of Kellan. "I don't know. He hasn't messaged me about it. Do you think it'll be awkward?"
Lori's full lips stretch into a thin smile, and I can tell she's trying not to laugh. "Faye. It's you. It's almost impossible to embarrass you; Do you even possess the gene for that emotion?"
"You're right. I'm going to have fun either way. Get me a hot vacation fling," I say.
"Geez, Faye, we're sharing a room, right? I don't want to hear any of your sex noises!"
"That means you're coming! Yes!"
"I'll talk to my parents," she says, lifting her phone properly up to her face as I hear her laptop click shut.
"Good," I say. "And don't worry about the sex noises. I'll put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door." I chuckle, leaving her to decide if I'm joking or not.
"Great. Can't wait to sit on the floor in the hallway, waiting for your booty call to leave."
"You're such a team player."
Lori jumps and lowers the phone, leaving me with a perfect view of her ceiling.
"Lori, what are you doing up? I thought you said you had a headache and were going to sleep?" Her mom asks from what I'm assuming is the doorway to her room.
"I am," she replies before holding the phone up to her face. She's chewing her lip again. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Faye."
"Okay, bye!" I say, keeping it simple in case her mom is still standing there.
As soon as I hang up, I immediately text her: Make sure you're convincing! We need to go!
I'm going to Cuba! With Kellan. He's going to be shirtless practically all week. We're going to be around each other on the beach, in the pool, at the club . . . All. Week.
I squeal into my pillow.
—
I don't hear any news from Lori that night or the whole next day, but the following day, when I leave my room with wet hair after my shower, a very distinct voice flows up to me. Cracking a smile, I comb my hair with my fingers and bound down the stairs. I almost miss a step when I hear the word Jenna.
My brother and his friend Dylan are on the couch, watching some game on television.
"What was that about Jenna?" I ask at the bottom of the stairs. Neither boy moves his eyes from the television or bothers to acknowledge me.
My nostrils flare and I move to block their view. They shout protests right away.
"You're not getting back with Jenna, right, Adam?" I stare him down as Dylan tries to peer around me.
"What, Faye? Move," Adam says.
I don't move. "Adam!"
"Go to hell," he retorts.
"If you get back together with Jenna, I'm already there."
He exhales heavily and glares at me. "We're not getting back together. Happy?"
I grin at him, plopping down on the couch and squeezing in between him and Dylan. "Extremely."
Adam grunts in annoyance but makes room for me anyway. Dylan drops his tattoo-covered arm over my shoulders and licks my ear.
"Ew!" I shriek, pushing him off me and swiping away the saliva. He just laughs and turns back to the TV.
Besides Kellan, Dylan is Adam's other best friend, and one of my favorites. I've always been close to Dylan, probably because I've known him since I could walk, and sometimes I feel like he treats me more like a little sister than my actual brother does. Adam even once suspected me of wanting to date Dylan because of how close we are, and the mental image of me with a dude that's like my brother almost made me puke. He's never brought it up since, especially since I often announce that Dylan is my favorite "brother," even if we like to flirt because of our personalities.