If Landon had Tori's heart racing, then Katya had her head spinning.

Her ex-roommate had shown up out of the blue, towing Ayumi Nakada behind her. Tori didn't hate Ayumi. She really wanted to, but she just couldn't. Liam was an easy person to fall for, so she couldn't blame the soft spoken assistant. And it was also clear that Ayumi was in a lot of pain, too. They'd had a falling out and Liam was giving her the silent treatment, so Tori actually felt kind of bad for her.

Though none of that meant she felt comfortable around her. On top of being stuck in a room with the woman Liam preferred over her, Tori was also carrying the weight of her dirty little secret. Normally, she shared everything with Katya. Living apart had done nothing to slow down their friendship, they still met and talked regularly about their lives. So to not share her hot sex club run-in with Katya, it didn't feel right, but she was too ashamed to admit she'd fucked one brother in place of the other.

And then as if all those feelings weren't awkward enough, Katya showed off the fucking iceberg she was wearing on her left ring finger.

Of course she got a Christmas proposal, and of course that ring is fucking perfect. I'd hate her if I didn't love her so goddamn much.

“Congratulations,” Tori managed to bleat out, though she knew it sounded weak.

Katya babbled on for a bit and Tori managed to respond in all the right places, but her mind was slipping further and further away. Katya had an amazing career as a highly sought after baker, and now she was getting married to her high school heart throb. Ayumi and Liam may have been on the outs right then, but Tori had no doubt they'd work it out – she'd seen them kissing, no one could misunderstand that kind of passion. And the two of them were also ridiculously successful, what with Ayumi being the personal assistant to the heart throb, and Liam owning his own night club and half the Twin Estates.

And here was Tori, just working. Just surviving. Standing in one place and watching everyone grow up around her. So good at doling out advice and being the life of the party, yet not much else to offer.

That's why she'd taken Landon up on his offer. She'd never been out of the country before, and she needed a kick in the ass. She needed something. So a week on a beach with a gorgeous dickhead had seemed like just as good an idea as anything else. When he'd sent her screen shot confirming a ticket in her name, she'd almost fainted. She was going. It was really happening. She'd just started to pack when her doorbell had rung, and when she'd seen Katya's engagement ring, she'd known she'd made the right decision.

“... so we asked him if we could just take over his New Year's party and he said sure.”

Tori tuned back into the conversation and her stomach rolled. An engagement party on New Year's? Was Katya insane? She'd only been engaged for like a day, what was the rush!?

“I'm sorry, but I don't think I can make it,” Tori finally said, then winced. Katya looked like she'd been slapped.

There were a lot of questions after that, and Tori didn't know what to say. She hadn't had time to work up a good cover story. She tried to laugh it off, make it seem like everything was okay. But when Ayumi brought up Liam, she couldn't take it anymore. She finally turned and escaped back to her bedroom.

She didn't have to wait too long before she heard a gentle knock at her door. She sighed, then waited until Katya just walked inside.

“Okay, Ayumi's gone home now,” her friend said in a slow voice, shutting the door behind her. “So would you like to tell me what's really going on?”

“I was serious,” Tori said, gesturing to the half filled suitcase which was laying open on the floor. “I'm going on a much needed vacation. And a well deserved one, I think.”

“I totally agree. But Tori, this is kind of sudden! Did it have to be now? On New Year's?” Katya asked.

“You wanna talk about sudden? You just got engaged, and you're throwing your engagement party a day later! How could I have possibly known that would happen?” Tori asked. “I'm really, really sorry, Kat. If I'd had any idea, you know I wouldn't have gotten the tickets. I hate that I'm gonna miss this moment. This is something we've talked about forever, and now I'm not even going to be there.”

“That's what I thought, too,” Katya agreed, her voice watery. Tori groaned and climbed off her bed.

“Okay, you know what? Fuck it. I'll cancel my tickets. No big deal. This is way more important.”

“Are you insane? That's such a waste of money! No, go on your trip. It wasn't fair of us to plan a party so soon after the proposal.”

“But I want to be there. I want to help plan shit and throw a killer bachelorette party and make you wear a head band with dicks on it,” Tori insisted. Katya laughed.

“And you will get to do all those things, right after you come home.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure. Besides, we'll probably throw another engagement party, anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because this one isn't really real,” Katya said in a hushed voice as she hurried across the room. She grabbed Tori's hands and pulled her back down to sit on her bed.

“What do mean it isn't real? Wulf didn't propose?” Tori asked, glancing down at the ring.

“No, he did, but the only reason we're doing this party is to get those two idiots in a room together,” Katya explained. “Liam won't speak to her, and she's too scared to confront him again, so we figured if we had an engagement party, they couldn't say no to coming.”

“Jesus,” Tori groaned, rubbing at her eyelids. “Being your friend is like permanently being stuck in a Hallmark movie.”

“I know. Isn't it awesome?”

Tori finally laughed and looked back at her friend.

“Yeah, it kinda is. But are you sure you can get Liam to go? I just talked to him like an hour ago, told him I'd be taking a vacation, and when we talked about New Year's, he said he was gonna stay down at the club,” she said.

“Wulf's taking care of it,” Katya waved her hand. “He's going over to his place later today, gonna guilt trip him and make him realize how much he loves Ayumi.”

“Loves her, huh,” Tori mumbled.

“You know,” Katya went back to using her soft voice. “I'm really sorry. I'd always hoped it would be you. You two seemed so perfect for each other, and you're always around each other. I guess I just thought it would eventually happen.”

“Yeah, me too. We both thought wrong.”

“Are you sure you're okay? I'm worried about you. First new hair,” Katya said, staring up at Tori's blonde rat's nest. She still hadn't detangled it. “Which don't get me wrong, I love it. But now this mysterious vacation. You can talk to me, you know. I was friends with you first. Do you want me to kick Liam in the balls? I'll do it.”

Tori laughed again, but she was pretty sure it was going to turn into a sob, so she quickly leaned forward and pulled her best friend into a hug.

“You are the absolute best, Kitty Kat,” she sighed. “Don't kick him in the balls, let Ayumi do that. And really, I'll be okay. You know me, I bounce back like rubber. I just need some time, you know?”

“But where are you going?”

Tori kept her arms around her friend and stared at the wall. Thought back over her conversation with Landon.

“Mexico,” she breathed. “I'm gonna go to Cabo.”

“Well ... okay. But call me and check in a lot, please. And stay in a nice resort. And do not drink the water!” Katya instructed as she pulled away. Tori mock saluted her.

“You got it, boss.”

“Do you even have a passport?”

“Yup,” Tori nodded. “Remember when we were gonna go to Cancun a couple years ago, but your mom freaked you out about gangs? I got mine then, it's still sitting unopened in my dresser.”

“Oh god, the gangs!”

They talked for a while. Tori convinced her she wouldn't get kidnapped by some drug cartel. Once Katya calmed down, they moved onto other girly things, like what kind of wedding dress she wanted, how Wulf had proposed, what they would name their children. It was almost eight o'clock by the time she gathered her things to leave.

“Promise me you won't pull another stunt like this party and get married next week,” Tori said as she walked her friend to the door. “If you're gonna elope to Vegas, I still get to go.”

“I promise not to get married without you, but hey, when are you coming back?” Katya asked, standing in the open doorway. Tori thought for a second.

“I don't know, honestly. I told Liam anywhere from a week to a month,” she said. Landon had only offered a week on the beach, but Tori was thinking she might just venture out on her own. See what the world had to offer. Or maybe just come home and hide in her bedroom and not come out for three weeks. Who knew?

“You're insane, Tori Bellows. I don't like this one bit.”

“I know you don't, but you love me, so you're gonna shut up and hug me goodbye.”

Katya squeezed her so tight, Tori started to cough.

“I'm going to miss you so much,” Katya whispered. “Please, take care of yourself. Please be careful. And please get over him quickly.”

“I'll try,” Tori whispered back. “On all counts, I promise I'll try my hardest.”

She was talking to herself more than anything else.

Please, please, please let me figure my shit out. Once and for all.

*

THE NEXT DAY, WHILE all her closest friends were celebrating the New Year, Tori was somewhere over the pacific ocean, staving off a panic attack.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” a flight attendant came on over the intercom. “It is now midnight back in San Francisco, so from all of us at Delta Airlines, we'd like to wish you a very happy New Year.”

And that was it. No ball drop, no confetti, no Auld Lang Syne, no champagne. All the lights were off and most of the passengers were sleeping. She took a deep breath and was about to loudly proclaim that she'd made a horrible mistake, but then Landon leaned over and kissed her rough and quick.

“Happy New Year, Tor,” he said when he fell back into his seat.

“What was that?” she hissed.

“It's good luck to kiss someone at midnight, didn't you know?”

“Well, yeah, but I -”

“Sleepy time now, there's a good girl.”

Then he lowered an eye mask over his face and turned his head away from her.

She wasn't exactly surprised. He'd barely spoken to her at all. Despite living next door to each other, they'd met up at the airport. He'd been on the phone the whole way from the ticket desk to the gate, only setting it down once to go through security. Only when it was finally time to board did he hang up, but conversation remained limited. After they'd taken off and had been served dinner, he'd promptly put on his eye mask, put in his ear buds, and tuned her out. She hadn't even known he was awake until he'd kissed her.

She glanced at the screen in front of her. It showed a route map and at the bottom she learned they were still a couple hours away from Sydney. From there, they would make a connection to Bali. A day ago, and she'd never been outside of the United States. Now she was pinging through two countries in twenty-four hours.

It should've been exciting, but she just felt kind of sick to her stomach. She was nervous the whole adventure was just one huge mistake. Landon clearly didn't like her more than a little, and she didn't particularly care for him. It was so strange that he could look so much like someone she adored, yet he could be so annoying – almost to the point he turned her off.

Almost ... he was, after all, the spitting image of Liam – i.e. drop dead fucking gorgeous. That and his off-the-charts skills in bed were the only things that saved him from being completely repugnant.

Which made her feel really guilty. Ultimately, Landon had never done anything to her. They hadn't ever spent much time together. He'd said dirty things to her, but he said them to everyone with breasts. He was stand offish and somewhat rude, but again, he was that way with everyone around him. He'd never actively been rude to her, or mean, or nasty. And he had invited her on this trip, even paid for her ticket, all because he wanted easy sex and he knew being at home was hard for her. Knew because it was hard for him, too.

Maybe I shouldn't hate him. Maybe I should try to get to know him, understand him, because clearly we've got a lot in common.