Stacy is long gone, and I’ve yet to figure out why she threw herself on me like that. Once again, I can’t understand women. I mean, when we went to that bar, she was all: “We can’t go down that road” and “You’ve got the wrong woman.” It bummed me out, but I wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. She’s hot, sure, but she’s not the only hot piece of ass on this island. This morning though, she transformed into a whole different creature, claiming that shelter and some ice cream had somehow changed her mind.

Bullshit. I saved her from that prick the other night. Why didn’t she put out then? Nah, what am I doing…? I’m asking myself questions that I can’t answer. I could ask Stacy, but she’s probably on a plane back to the U.S. by now. Whatever the answers may be, she was right about one thing: the memories. She’s given me a wild story that I will remember for a long time. I can brag about rescuing a stunning chick, and then fucking her nice and hard in my suite. To me, this is more important than going out with three, average girls all at the same time.

Later that day, I make myself some coffee, waiting for Michael and Ray to return from their trip to the south. I can’t wait to tell them what happened, but first, they need to talk to me about Laura. Michael mentioned her in one of his texts, but when I asked for more information, all he had to say was:

“It’s complicated. I’ll give you more details when we get back.”

I never liked that bitch. She was jealous of him, loud, and way too demanding for my taste. More often than not, she bossed him around, but Ray didn’t mind. I was thrilled when he told me about their breakup. Finally, he’d gotten rid of that bear trap, or so I thought. But, when I saw what that breakup did to him, I was glad that I hadn’t fallen for anyone yet. For weeks, my brother hardly ate anything. He was a shadow of himself, not saying much and grumpy all the time. I can’t tell him what to do with his life, but if he decides to get back together with her, I’m going to remind him of every single detail of that period.

The sound of the keys in the door tightens the back of my neck. Michael and Ray walk in, their stiff faces stressing me out further.

“Hey, kid,” Michael nods, throwing his key across the kitchen table.

“So, how did it go?” I ask them, putting my hands on my waist, as I take two, slow steps towards them.

Ray puffs air out of his cheeks. “Where should I start? Oh, yeah. We had a flat tire, but…”

“Who gives a fuck about a flat tire?” I interrupt, thrusting my arms out to each side. “What about Laura? Did you see her or not?”

“Yes and no,” Ray is quick to reply. “I took Michael to the beach where I ran into her. We were there for four, maybe five hours and there was no sign of her. I thought ‘maybe she decided to give up on me.’ I couldn’t be more wrong. We were packing our stuff, when this goon walked up to me. He handed me over a piece of paper that said:

‘You know who this is. I don’t want to make a scene again. I’ll be in Heraklion’s Freedom Square tomorrow morning at ten. Don’t stand me up, or you’ll be sorry you did.’

I recognized her handwriting immediately.”

“I can’t believe the nerve of that bitch,” I grumble, shaking my head in frustration. “You’re not thinking about going, are you?”

“Of course not,” Ray says, his tone calm. “I do want to have a word with her, but not here. She’s screwed up my vacation too much already. What have you been up to?”

“Oh, lots of things,” I respond, my happy smile giving away my good mood. “You know: riding; flirting; fucking.”

“Do tell,” Ray urges, smiling back at me.

“Her name’s Stacy. She’s a knockout, man,” I announce, my smile widening to a grin. I’m telling you. Big t…”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” Ray interrupts, lifting his hand up to my mouth. “What did you say her name was again?”

“Yeah, what is her name?” Michael says, cocking an eyebrow as he halts beside Ray.

“Stacy,” I repeat, confused by their reaction. “Why do you guys ask?”

“I had sex with someone named Stacy when you guys were looking for that motorcycle dealership,” Michael informs us, his face twisting with surprise.

“The girl I was with on the night you had that accident was called ‘Stacy.’” Ray declares, pursing his lips.

“Alright, hold on, everybody,” Michael requests, shifting his gaze down to his cell phone. “I’ve got her number. I’ll put her on speaker.”

I wait impatiently, my heartbeat escalating. The girl’s phone rings twice and then goes to voicemail:

“Hi, you have reached Stacy Dexter. Please, leave a message after the beep.”

“Oh, shit,” I groan, banging my head in a spasm of frustration as I recognize her smooth, feathery voice. Now, Stacy’s rejection makes perfect sense. She found out about the three of us the other night on the beach, when I mentioned Michael’s name. I glance over at him and Ray, gauging their reaction. They are staring at each other in total silence. Michael drops his gaze down to the floor and scratches his skin, while Ray bites his lower lip, clearly at a loss for words. Still, it doesn’t take long for my initial frustration to disappear. A huge wave of anger takes its place, making my blood boil in my veins and pound in my temples. Letting out a grunt of rage, I lunge towards Michael. I grab him by the throat as my weight knocks him off balance. He tumbles down, the back of his head slamming against the hardwood floor. But Michael is fast; a lot faster than I expected. Putting his hands on either side of my ribcage, he flexes his arm muscles. Before I know it, he’s on top of me, his eyes afire with rage. Just when he’s about to cock his arm back though, Ray’s big hands enter my view.

“Get off of him, you asshole!” he grumbles, his hands pulling on Michael’s shoulder. A strong push to the right releases me from his hold. Michael turns away from me, a gasp of shock escaping him. “What the hell’s gotten into you? Both of you?” asks Ray, glancing down at me first and then Michael.

“Shut up!” I cry out, glaring up at him. I’m dying to get up and pound on him. Yet, I never get the chance. Ray pins me down with a knee in the middle of my chest, the calmness on his face adding to my rage.

“Stay down,” he commands, his voice stiff as Michael props himself up on his shoulders. “I don’t want to fight you, kid. Don’t force my hand.”

“Fuck!” I yell, slamming my hand against the floor.

“Now…” Ray takes in a sharp breath. “Does either of you care to tell me what the fuck that was all about?”

“You don’t know?” Michael scoffs, his eyes narrowed to slits. “Why the hell did you…?”

“What?” Ray interjects, shrugging his shoulders. “Do it with a tourist? Isn’t that what we all did?” he goes on, taking his knee off of me. “Guys, we’re on vacation. So is she. What do you think she’s going to do? Have an exclusive relationship with someone? Hell, no. She’s just here to have fun. Remind me what we’re here to do,” he demands, his face hardening. Ray may be staring down at Michael, but all he gets from him is a long silence and look of guilt in his eyes. He’s not the only one in a difficult position, though. Ray is absolutely right. I should have thought of all this before attacking Michael, but as usual, my anger got the best of me.

“Sorry, guys,” I whisper, sitting up. “I lost it. Again.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Michael mutters, bringing his gaze down to meet mine. “I should have held on to my temper.”

“Not bad,” Ray comments, nodding in appreciation. “Now, pay attention, because I’m only going to say this once,” he continues, shoving his hands into his pockets. “If you don’t like my suggestion, feel free to say ‘no.’ I don’t know about you, but I like her. She’s brash, forward, and doesn’t hold back. I had a great time with her the other night. How about we, um…” he falters. “Share her?”

“What?” I croak, rising back up.

“What did you just say?” Michael raises an eyebrow, tension creeping into his voice.

“You heard me,” Ray assumes a businesslike tone. “Let’s take turns in dating her. You don’t have to say if you like her or not. If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d have knocked each other’s heads off by now.”

“It’s too late for that anyway, man,” I murmur, clenching my jaw. “She told me she was going back to the States tonight before she left.”

“No, she’s not,” Ray gives a snort of disagreement. “I saw her riding shotgun in a blue Honda on our way back. It was heading west. There’s an airport over in Chania, but it’s only for domestic flights. She’s still here alright.”

“I’m okay with that,” Michael replies, saying what’s on his mind in a lower tone. “Everyone else I’ve met so far in this city is either in love with their cell phone or trying to drink their asses off, so, why not?”

“Good,” Ray winks at him, patting him on the shoulder. “What about you, kid? What do you say?”

“I don’t mind, on one condition,” I lift my index finger up to my chest. “We don’t talk about our dates with her. It’ll just be weird.”

“Agreed,” Ray says with a nod. “Now, let’s go find her.”

Yeah, good luck with that.

I can’t fight off the thought that flashes into my mind. Chania is about a hundred miles away, and it’s a city, not just a resort. Worse than that, she could be anywhere in between, like Rethymnon, Bali, or Fodele. In any case, I want to join them in this wild goose chase, not just because of Stacy. It will be the first thing we do together on our vacation here. We have been in Ammoudara for more than a week, and we have been always apart, except the night when I found Stacy on the beach.