I sat across from Travis at dinner that night, careful not to choose the seat next to him. I knew that if he tried the same stunt he’d pulled at the restaurant, I probably wouldn’t be able to hold my pleasure back. Not after today, after the tension had been building between us it seemed like with every glance, every touch. He had been touching my skin on purpose just to tease me and it had worked, made me want to pout every time I looked at him.

“Did you enjoy yourself today, Jenna?” Alice asked. I nodded, smiling.

“I really loved it. I feel like I could live here forever.”

“One day,” said Travis. I looked at him, saw sincerity in his eyes which made my chest feel light.

“Maybe you can put us both up here, Travis,” Casey said, putting her hand on my arm. “We could live as roommates.”

“Cocktails every day,” I said.

“And the food,” she gushed. “You should get on that, bro.”

He chuckled. “Any time you want to come to visit, ladies, it’s yours.”

“I love having a rich brother,” Casey said.

“You’re spoiled,” he teased.

“You owe me for all the times you tormented me when I was a kid,” Casey said with a grin. “You used to break the heads off of my dolls.”

I laughed. “That’s weird, Travis.”

“It was only because she used to steal my CDs and never give them back. It was revenge.”

Alice exchanged a glance at her husband and rolled her eyes.

“They never really grow up,” Alice said.

“That’s not true,” said Travis. He looked over at me with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. “Jenna here is all grown up.”

I blushed when he said the words, knowing that he was referring to the very grown-up things we had done together last night.

“I am,” I said after a moment. “So maybe I should be the one getting spoiled.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” said Travis, looking back, into my eyes, and I knew that he meant every word.

I felt a foot against my ankle, stroking it gently, and knew from the look on Travis’ face that it was him. For some reason, that subtle, secret touch made my body feel like it was burning with embers, about to burst into full flames at any minute. He touched me as the rest of dinner continued, and by the time we were sitting and waiting for dessert, all I wanted was to be alone with Travis. I wanted to ride him, and taste him the way he had tasted me. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him and I knew that he was having the same problem. I had forgotten that anybody else was in the room until Casey said my name. I snapped my eyes away from Travis to look at my friend.

“Jen, you wanna hang out tonight? Girl time?”

“Sure,” I said with a smile, sure not to show any disappointment. I felt guilty for wanting to be with Travis so much when I was here to spend time with my best friend. I glanced over at Travis, then back at Casey. “What do you have in mind?”

She shrugged. “I just want to hang out after today, maybe watch a movie.”

“Yeah, we can hang out in my room. There’s a TV in there.”

“Okay,” she said brightly. “I’m going to go take a shower. I’ll be down to your room in a few minutes.”

I nodded, then watched her disappear up the steps before I looked over at Travis again. We were alone in the room—his parents had retired upstairs and Casey was going to be occupied for a few minutes. I glanced around me, then hurried over to him across the room. I took his face in my hands and pulled him in for a kiss that was full of heat and hunger, molding my body to his. I felt almost breathless with the desire for him that had been building up all day.

“Come to my room later,” I said to him. “When Casey’s gone.”

He grinned at me. “I’ll be there.”

I kissed him one more time and left the dining room, going upstairs to my own room and sitting down on the bed. I changed into a nightgown, one that was cool and light and comfortable for the weather.

Casey came down into my room a few moments later wrapped in a robe, carrying two bottles of wine. She handed the one that had already been uncorked to me and then opened one for herself, sitting beside me on the bed.

“So how are you feeling?” Casey asked. “You seem kind of distracted this whole trip.”

“I’m just thinking about how much work I have to get done at home,” I said, hoping the lie didn’t show. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought of school since the moment I had seen Travis leaning over me, waking me up on the beach. It had been the last thing on my mind.

“Don’t think about that,” said Casey, gesturing that I should start drinking the wine. I laughed and downed a big gulp straight from the bottle, just like we used to do. She did the same, and we laid in my bed hanging out while we drank.

“Do you have a boyfriend back home?”

I shook my head. “I’m not—I’m not interested in having a boyfriend. Men just aren’t worth it.”

Casey sighed. “You’re right. You’re totally right. I haven’t met one. There was somebody that I thought I might bring along on this trip but it turned out that he was married.”

“He was married?” I asked.

“I didn’t know about it.” There was a miserable, annoyed look on her face.

“So now you’re single,” I said.

“Yep,” she said, sighing, taking another long, long swig of the wine. She was more than halfway done with the first bottle but I had barely touched mine. I didn’t want to be drunk for my meeting with Travis whenever he crawled into my bed later.

“Do you think we’ll be single forever?” Casey asked, staring up at the ceiling.

“No,” I said, thinking of Travis. “I hope not.”

“Maybe tomorrow we should go cruise the island for boys. Find some hot hookups.”

I laughed. “Maybe.” It was something I would have done two or three years ago, maybe, but only for flirting. I had been carrying the torch for Travis so bright and so fast that no other man had really tempted or affected me enough to give myself to him completely.

“I doubt there’s anything hip on this island,” she said. “Seems like mostly rich people and old folks.”

“Yeah, but rich people definitely know how to party.”

“Maybe you’ll meet your future husband there,” Casey said. “So he can pay off all your loans.”

I didn’t answer her, but instead reached for the remote and turned the TV on. She continued to drink, and when she was done with her bottle of wine, I passed mine over to her. She thanked me and downed it, giggling at every little thing that happened on the TV. It was good to see my friend Casey so happy; she hadn’t always been this way. In high school, she’d been on the quieter side, shy and sad. But she had blossomed into someone who could make friends with anyone, who was the life of the party in any room.

There was a knock on the door and I tensed, glancing over to see that Casey was asleep. I crept out of bed, careful not to wake her, and went to the door. I slipped out and shut it behind me, leaning against it as Travis stood in front of me. He put his hands to my waist, pulling me against him as he took my mouth in a slow, relishing kiss.

“Casey’s in there,” I said. “We can’t—”

“We’ll just go to my room,” he said, kissing my neck then. The touch of his lips on my sensitive skin spread pleasure throughout my body. I kissed him again, unable to help myself.

“If Casey wakes up, she’ll get suspicious if I’m not here. And we can’t do it with her in the room.”

He shook his head, a small frown on his lips. “I wish we didn’t have to hide this.”

“But we do,” I said, looking up into his eyes. “Just imagine how good it’s going to be once we’re alone again.”

“You have no idea, baby,” he said, leaning in to kiss me one more time, his lips lingering on mine. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I said, and went back into the room, turning off the TV and lying next to Casey in my bed. Travis was running through my mind, not only his touch but the fact that it seemed like he was genuinely interested in being with me. I was hesitant to believe that, though. He had said before that he wasn’t interested in a relationship at all—why should I be any different?