Stupid Cupid

x

"So what happens now?" I ask as we lie on the beach, me nestled in Stefan's arms. I trace the contours of his stomach muscles and lick my lips, savouring his taste. "We can't make out and tell each other that we're in love but then go back to the other island and pretend this never happened."

Stefan sighed. "I know. It's just complicated with Larissa here, that's all. I should never have kissed you while I'm still dating her. That wasn't fair."

I nod in agreement. No, it wasn't fair, not on anyone. I may not like Larissa but I wasn't exactly thrilled that I broke girl code and snogged her boyfriend, but it also wasn't fair on me. What if we get back to the other island and Stefan sees Larissa, has a re-think and decides to stay with her after getting my hopes up. Plus, Stefan is kind of a cheater, at least in some people's eyes he would be. Putting that kind of label on him wouldn't be fair, either. It's just a messed up situation and I can't believe we ever got to this point. If I had come clean about my feelings earlier, all this could have been avoided. 

That said, when Stefan admitted that he's known of my feeling towards him for the better part of a year, I could have smacked him across the head. If he knew, why didn't he say anything? Why didn't he do anything? Why didn't he tell me that he felt the same way? As it turns out, he's liked me for far longer than I've liked him. The only reason he became friends with me is because he fancied me and was too shy to say anything. Apparently, I have a loud personality and that intimidated him at first. Too shy to speak up, he settled for being my friend and then when I started to push him into dating other women, he went along with it, much for the same reasons I was his wing woman: he wanted to get over me. Or at least, he wanted to see if he could lose his feelings for me. 

"Why was Larissa different from the other women I set you up with?" I randomly ask. It was something I wanted to discuss earlier but I was too caught up in the fact that Stefan and I had kissed and that we were in love with one another to mention anything. "I've set you up with tons of girls but Larissa lasted a few months. Why?"

Stefan played with my hair, wrapping strands around his index finger as he spoke. "Honestly?" I nod against his shoulder. I wanted the truth. "She's a nice person and she is very thoughtful. I mean... I don't know how to explain it without it sounding like I'm offending either of you but she was the total opposite to you, Lena. You're loud and outgoing and she's quiet and introverted. You're impulsive and she's laid back. Larissa's, you know, settled."

"I'm not settled?"

"You'd be like a caged animal," he laughs, much to my annoyance. He said that his words might offend Larissa but as far as I could tell, he was talking about her in glowing terms while practically highlighting all my flaws. "She's the complete opposite of you and I thought for a while, maybe that's what I needed, what would be good for me but all I've come to learn is that I don't want someone like her because that life would be boring. Who wants to go to stay in, drinking wine, watching art house films when they could be out, exploring the world and shooting vodka to steady their nerves before bungee jumping off the side of a bridge? You are every shade of exciting, Lena, and that is what I want in my life. Excitement and you."

Winning me over with his smooth talking ways, I couldn't help but plant another kiss on his lips, albeit a chaste one because just as I was about to really kiss him, we heard shouting coming from just off the shore. Our boat was here to take us back to our island and I had the sinking feeling that this blissfulness was about to be shattered. Gathering everything, Stefan made sure that he had all the polaroid pictures with him before making his way back out into the sea and swimming back to the boat. I'd learnt earlier that the drawstring bag wasn't actually a drawstring bag but a waterproof sack that managed to keep the camera dry while we were swimming. 

I couldn't tell if the boat ride back to the island was long or short. It felt like forever but at the same time, I swear I blinked and suddenly we were back. Dusk was settling and the colour of the sky calmed me as Stefan and I made our way up towards the house. We held hands right up until we came into view of the house, at which point, I let go of Stefan, much to his protests. I allowed him to overtake me, jogging up the steps after him and entering the main house to find it eerily quiet bar for some mood setting music. The dining table was laid out for two and dinner was plated, ready to be served. 

"She made you dinner," I dry comment. It was childish, I know. Stefan couldn't help the fact that he was in a relationship but I still felt put out by the fact that she'd made an effort for him. "You should go find her. She's probably waiting for you to get back."

Stefan nodded and started to make his way towards the bedroom but paused in his tracks when we heard giggling coming from outside. With a frown on his face, Stefan walked towards the set of doors that lead out to the decking where a hot tub was situated, overlooking the cove below. Following him, I walked into his back when he abruptly stopped and scoffed. Peering around his broad shoulders, I gasped. 

"Holy shit," I blurted out. "Casper, what the hell?"

He and Larissa stopped their frolicking. And by frolicking, I mean, Casper lifted his head from between Larissa's legs and shielded her modesty from us. To be fair, once you've seen a guy do that to a girl, no amount of hiding her behind his body is going to erase that image from my mind. I gawped at the pair, wondering what on earth was going on. Slowly, I turned my gaze onto Stefan, noticing the way a muscle ticked in his jaw. If I didn't know him as well as I did, I would say that he looks pissed off. Luckily, I do know him as well as I do and I know exactly what he's doing. He's trying to stifle a laugh. 

"Well," he said, taking his sweet time in pronouncing the word, prolonging Casper and Larissa's torture. "This is awkward. Did you two want some more time to, uh, finish up?"

Larissa winced. "Stefan, it's not what it looks like."

"I'd love to know what it is if it's not what it looks like," Stefan commented. Honestly, he deserved an Oscar for the way he kept himself together. Suddenly, he laughed and waved his hand. "Oh, God, this is just too funny. So, I take it that this means we're over, Larissa?"

"Stefan-" She looked as if she were about to protest but then she shook her head and looked at Casper. "Yeah, we're over."