Love Island

Chapter 61 - Finale Part 1

"No, I've got it," he reassured me.

"You cooked, I'll clean. Equality," I smirked. He finally passed me his plate and I took them both to the kitchen, giving them a quick rinse before placing them in the dishwasher. Peach and Polly met me upstairs to get ready for the day, sitting at our vanities as we applied our SPF and moisturizers.

"I'm just happy that I've managed to go most of this trip without being sunburnt," Polly smiled. "It only took applying sunscreen every two hours, but it paid off. Plus, I got a tan! I've never gotten a tan before."

"Really?" Peach asked. 

"Well, not one this exaggerated," Polly said. She lowered her cotton shorts on the side of her hip to reveal a tan line where her bikini bottoms would rest. "See?"

"That's awesome, Polly," I smiled as I combed out my eyebrows. "I got a little darker... it's about the same when I go to Hawaii for Christmas."

Peach nodded. "I barely got dark at all. There's like... the smallest line where my bikini straps go."

I dabbed tinted moisturizer across my face and blended it in. I picked up a spoolie from my vanity and brushed through my eyebrows. "Are you guys excited to write your vows?"

Polly considered this for a moment as she filled in the light hairs of her eyebrows. "I'm excited, but nervous. I just hope I'm able to put into words how I feel about him."

"Definitely," Peach agreed. "That's what I'm worried about, too. But I know our guys will still appreciate the effort, no matter how it turns out."

I nodded and capped my tube of mascara, tossing it onto my vanity as I finished my makeup. 

Across from me, Peach's phone vibrated. "Oh, text!" She leaned over and read the screen with a big smile. "Ladies, we're going shopping."

-

Not exclusive to the ladies of the villa, all the Islanders were sent to shops to pick out their outfits for the finale. To keep the element of surprise, the guys and girls were sent to two separate stores. Inside a lush boutique, the girls and I held mimosas in one hand and skimmed through racks of dresses with the other. 

"What shape should I go for?" Polly asked as she skimmed through the dresses. "Should I be super sexy tonight? Or is that cliche?"

"You should dress however you feel like it, Polly," Peach suggested.

"I feel like a lot of things." Polly stared at a dress for a long time.

I stepped over and looked at the dress she was looking at. It was a pale yellow body con that would clash with her blonde hair. "That's a cute dress. Some dresses over here reminded me of you." I led her to one of the racks I'd previously looked at and showed her three separate dresses that were Polly's vibe: pink, blue, and mint. She excitedly clapped her hands at the styles I'd picked for her and began examining each one.

It took a few hours and a dozen different dresses to try on, but we all found our outfits. Peach looked stunning in a mostly sheer white halterneck. The neckline was plunging, revealing a rhombus-shaped cut out of her chest exposed. The white geometric lines of the dress were strategically designed to cover intimate areas and exaggerate body areas as needed. 

Polly stepped away from her signature pink for the night, opting instead for a powder blue gown with a sweetheart neckline. The fabric of the upper portion of the dress was decorated with hand-sewn butterflies that scaled from the upper panels down to her waist and trailed into the tulle skirt. 

The dress I chose for myself was a gold princess line, with a shimmery upper half and matte skirt beneath the waist. The absence of cheap sequins made the dress still soft, despite the glimmering detailing.

"The boys are going to be sweating when they see us tonight," Polly said. We tucked our dresses in boutique bags and changed back into our villa clothes to return to our temporary home. We ducked into the town car and shut the door as the engine shuttered to life and began our return trip.

Peach glanced into her bag with a small grin. "I hope we can keep these. This is the most beautiful dress I've ever seen."

"I hope so, too. My hips have never looked better in a dress," I commented with a smile. "My hips are broad! I can't wear body con dresses with a pattern because my wide ass hips will warp the design."

Peach giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry, that reminded me of something that Peyton said. She has to get her clothes tailored all the time because normal-lengthed pants are capris on her."

"Gosh, she was tall!" Polly said fondly. "I miss when we would hug, and she would rest her chin on the top of my head!"

"Yeah, she was pretty tall. But you're also pretty short, Polly," Peach teased and ruffled her hair. Polly laughed and brought her hands to her head to smooth out the strands.

"It's so crazy... today's our last day," I spoke up, considering the magnitude of that statement. "I mean... last night was the last time waking up beside our boys. I guess Charlie and I have it easy compared to you guys."

Polly put a hand over her mouth. "I didn't even think about that! I didn't even prepare myself to enjoy it. I'm in New York, Lucas is in Colorado... oh, I did not think this through." She placed her head in her hands.

Peach frowned and rubbed her back in smooth circles. "It's alright, Polly. You're not alone."

"I'm sorry, Polly. But Lucas loves you so much! I know he'll come to visit you, and there's always Facetime. That's what Charlie and I will probably do for the first week or so being home," I said.

Peach looked over at me. "You're not going to see Charlie right away?"

"Well, realistically... no? I mean, I love him, but I want to go see my parents and friends that I haven't seen in a month. I've been with Charlie every single day for a month; I'm sure he'll understand."

"That's a good point," Polly nodded.

Peach understood and dropped her hand off Polly's back. "I guess that's fair. Plus, when I go home, I'm sure I'm going to have to deep clean the apartment. It gets really dusty; I can't imagine what it looks like after a month."

The town car rolled up to the villa and we stepped out with our bags in tow. Needless to say, we returned after the boys. As we made our entrance into the garden, they made an exaggerated scene of how long it took us. 

"Oh, finally! I shaved twice in the time you were gone," Gray teased.

"I spotted a gray hair," Charlie frowned.

"That just makes you a silver fox," I said.

Polly dropped her bag and ran over to Lucas, throwing herself onto him and clinging to his torso like a koala. He recovered from his surprise and held her against him as she wrapped his legs around his waist.

"Promise me you'll visit?" Polly asked. She leaned back to look at him and ran a hand through his hair.

"Of course I will!" Lucas agreed. He gently sat her down and pulled her in for a warm hug. "If you think I could go more than a month without seeing you, you're crazy."

Satisfied with his answer, Polly gave him a quick kiss before running and snatching her bag off of the ground. "I'm going to go hang this up!" she announced. Peach and I agreed to follow her lead and part from the boys, carrying out bags to the girls' dressing room to hang our dresses for later in the evening.