CHAPTER 6

      I finally dragged myself out of bed just before noon and we went down to sit by the pool. Sophie made trips to the buffet every twenty minutes and returned with trays of fruits or chocolates and pastries. When I saw her eating Jell-O, taquitos, and baby shrimps all off the same plate, my stomach churned painfully. “That’s disgusting,” I moaned.

      “You’re missing out. It’s such a waste to be at an all-you-can-eat-and-drink resort and not feel like eating or drinking.”

      “Even if I didn’t drink too much last night I wouldn’t be eating that combination.”

      She shrugged and popped a shrimp into her mouth. “Are you up for a salsa lesson?”

      “No.”

      “Water aerobics?”

      “No. You go ahead. I’ll just stay here and try to get some reading done.”

      She stood and pulled her linen cover-up off over her head. I watched as she strutted over to the other side of the pool deck for the salsa lesson. Three guys who had been sitting near the dance instructor jumped up and joined the class when they saw Sophie. They did more ass-watching than salsa dancing.

      I struggled through a section of psychology without actually retaining much information on monkeys and attachment disorders. My head hurt and I couldn’t even take my sunglasses off to apply sunscreen because the sunlight felt like sabres through my eyeballs.

      “Can I get you a drink?” a male voice asked from over my shoulder.

      I turned to see if he was talking to me. He was a short guy with massive muscles and a nearly life-sized gold crucifix hanging around his neck. He slid his sunglasses down and peered over them at me. “Oh. No thanks. I’m nursing a hangover.” I turned my head back to start reading again.

      “What’s your name?”

      I glanced at him as he moved to sit on Sophie’s lounge chair. “Derian.”

      “Gino.” He held his hand out to shake mine. Then he pushed his sunglasses back into place and took a sip of his mojito. It felt as if he was staring at my body. “You’re beautiful.”

      “Thank you.” I glanced over to see if I could make eye contact with Sophie. The dance lesson was over and I couldn’t see where she went. I scanned the pool deck, but didn’t see her anywhere.

      “What are you reading?”

      “Psychology.”

      “You should take a break.” He pointed over his shoulder at the pool. “Let’s go for a swim.”

      “No thanks. I should finish this.”

      He took my textbook from me and closed it. “That’s boring. You’re in Mexico and you only live once. Would you like to go for a walk? There are some cool caves just down the beach. I would love to show them to you.”

      “No thanks.” I grabbed my book back.

      “You’re getting a little burnt. Pass me the sunscreen. I’ll do your back.”

      I looked over at the bar to see if Sophie was getting a drink. I couldn’t see her. “I already have sunscreen on. Thanks.”

      “My friends and I are staying in the presidential penthouse suite. Do you want to come up and party?”

      I pointed to my textbook. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I should really get back to reading. Nice meeting you.”

      He flexed his bloated pecs as if he thought that would mesmerize me into being interested in him. It didn’t impress me. I turned my head to see if Sophie was maybe on her way back from the buffet. She was standing right beside me. She smiled and leaned over to kiss me on the lips. “Hey, babe. Did you miss me?” she asked.

      I glanced at Gino. His mouth was frozen in a crooked smile, but his eyebrows were angled in a frown.

      “You’re on my seat,” Sophie said to him. He stood and stared at Sophie as she did a sexy crawl onto the lounge chair. She rolled over and extended her arm over to rest her hand on mine.

      Gino tilted his head in a cocky way. “I could be into that.”

      “No. You couldn’t,” Sophie snarled. “Go away. You’re in my sun.”

      He shook his head as if he thought she was a bitch, then walked away.

      I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Was that necessary?”

      “Apparently. I watched you trying your sweet method for like fifteen minutes and he wasn’t even close to getting the hint.”

      “Do you think, when we’re forty, you’ll still be a menace?”

      “Definitely.” She stood. “I’m going for a swim. If the vultures start circling, try to be less nice.”

      She dove in and swam underwater to the other end of the pool. She kicked off the wall and then backstroked towards me. Liam and his friends came running from somewhere behind me and did cannon balls into the pool. They almost landed on Sophie. Ben picked her up and acted as if he was going to launch her, which was an error. She did something to him under the water that made him groan and disappear below the surface. They all laughed.

      Liam turned and swam to the edge near where I was. He flattened his hands on the deck and did a push-up to heave himself out of the pool, streaming water over his tanned and fit body. He really was cute. He stood over me to purposely let water drip off his lean muscles onto me. “How are you feeling after last night?”

      I pushed his thigh to make him back away and stop dripping on me. “A little better. I won’t be doing that again.”

      “Too bad. It was fun.”

      “Was it? I don’t really recall.”

      “I didn’t leave a lasting impression? Ouch, that hurts.” He sat down on Sophie’s lounge chair. “Maybe tonight we can hang out again. You can try to show some restraint around the booze and I’ll do some charming things that you’ll actually remember.”

      “I have a boyfriend, remember?”

      “It’s just dancing.”

      “Right. Just dancing.”

      “That kiss Sophie gave you to get rid of that guide was kind of hot. It left me with an interesting mental image.”

      “Keep dreaming.”

      He stood up abruptly to slide one arm under my knees and one around my back. I squirmed and screamed as he picked me up, took a couple long strides, and leapt into the pool with me in his arms. We hit the water and I heard the splash through the muted watery sound in my ears. I made vicious eye contact with him for a second while we were submerged; he was smiling. I broke the surface before he did and waited for him. As soon as he appeared, I splashed his face, then pushed all my weight down on his head to dunk him. After I held him down long enough to make a point, I swam back to the edge of the pool and got out. The water actually felt great, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. I twisted my hair to wring it out, then rubbed a towel across my skin. When I turned back toward the pool, Liam held up my sunglasses, which he had obviously retrieved from the bottom.

      “Do you want these?”

      “Yes. My retinas are burning.”

      “Come and get them,” he teased.

      I walked to the