Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 8

I woke up early to the feeling of cool morning air on bare skin. I looked over to search for the duvet, only to find it wrapped around Rocco's body.

Figures.

With the morning came the memories of the night before, and I knew I needed to get my head sorted before having a much-needed chat with my new partner.

Beach hut, then a workout.

I rolled off the bed and gave my body a stretch, then made my way upstairs to the beach hut. I sat in the large chair, made myself comfortable, and took a deep breath.

"So, last night... Gary kissed me." I smiled, raising my fingers to my lips as I remembered the feel of his mouth against them. "That was a nice end to an otherwise shitty night. That kiss was... wow. For a first kiss, I don't know how you top that! I know I should probably tell Lottie about it, but I'm kind of scared to go there. Especially after our chat in the bathroom, she was already feeling down about losing Rocco and Hannah... oh my god, and then Gary and I kissed!" I felt my eyes widen and buried my face in my hands. "Shit, I didn't even think about her feelings. There's no way I can tell her. I mean, I was straight with her about wanting to be with him, but to immediately go and kiss him like that? Fuuuck, shit's gonna hit the fan if she finds out."

I ran my fingers up into my hair, taking another deep breath, then composed myself and looked back at the camera. "The recoupling was unexpected. I mean, not the recoupling itself, but how it went. Priya is an absolute goddess, but Noah chose to go back to Hope instead? I mean, Hope is a nice girl for the most part, but I know who I would've picked if I were in his shoes. Rahim got lucky with his pick, that's all I'm going to say there. I reckon she might be happy with him, they seem to get along. He certainly talks more around her than the other girls..." I trailed off as I remembered seeing Noah and Rahim walk off together last night prior to the recoupling.

They weren't talking about Priya, were they?

I paused, the thought taking root in my head, but I was unable to allow myself to vocalize it. No, I couldn't jump to conclusions like that. Not without more information.

"And then Rocco went and picked me... I still haven't talked to him yet, but I just have no idea what he was thinking. I haven't given him any encouragement; I've barely talked to him at all! Bobby picking Marisol surprised me a bit, I thought he and Lottie were getting close. But maybe he knows already that she could only ever be a friend and thought Marisol had more potential as a romantic interest?" I shrugged. "I'll have to talk to him, see what he's thinking. And then poor Gary. It couldn't have been easy sending Hannah home, even if it was obvious he wasn't into her. She's a nice girl, I'm just not sure Love Island was really the place for her."

I ended my monologue there, and headed to the dressing room to put on some workout gear for part two of my self-prescribed therapy.

I crossed the lawn where some of the show crew were setting up tables and an assortment of food.

Are we getting brunch? Awesome!

I reached the gym and started doing my warmup. As I was stretching, Gary came out of the villa and started heading towards me. His face brightened when he saw me, and he picked up his pace.

"Good morning!" I said, smiling up at him as he approached. "Come to lift something heavy?"

"That's exactly what I'm here for. Things were getting a little heated in there," he said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb towards the villa.

"Oh? What's going on?"

"Lottie," he grimaced. "She's getting on Rocco's case for last night. Do you want to do weights? I can spot you."