Problems in Paradise

Chapter Eight

‘What?’ Morgie mimicked her, tilting her head to scrutinize her expression. ‘What’re you thinking?’

‘Well, it all seems to be getting a bit serious, doesn’t it?’ April said. ‘I thought you two just mucked around together; I didn’t realize it was more than that.’

‘We were just talking,’ Morgie explained. ‘Nothing… well, nothing mad.’

‘Exactly!’ said April. ‘That’s a serious connection there!’

Morgie smiled down at her hands. ‘Ah, I don’t know.’

April gasped. ‘Morgan Skelton!’ she shrieked. ‘You have a crush!’

Morgie buried her head in her hands. ‘Noooo!’ she protested, but April knew her too well, and was already half dancing around the room, squealing something about the fact that she’d known it all along, and about not being able to believe it.

‘Oh my god! You two are meant to be, though, seriously, I think you-‘

Morgie rolled her eyes. ‘April, nothing’s going to happen. He thinks we’re friends.’ She twiddled her hair between two fingers, a nervous habit she had when she thought too much. ‘Hell, the other day I only thought we were friends!’ she continued. ‘I still don’t know what I think about it.’

April smiled. ‘What did you talk about?’ she inquired.

‘Everything,’ Morgie said. ‘Just… everything. I don’t even know. It was one of those moments, you know? The ones where time just seems to become a completely different entity.’

April nodded. She hadn’t had one in a while, but she knew precisely what Morgie meant. It wasn’t really something you could put into words.

Morgie closed her eyes, thinking back to the previous night. She could see him now, holding her shoes for her, at his insistence, see him smiling at her in the moon light, smell him, his scent mingled with the fresh smell of the night air and the sea.

April shook her head in disbelief. She’d always hoped Morgie would fall for Oscar, and vice versa, but this was such a giant step in the right direction that she could barely believe it. She hopped up from the bed. ‘We need to get on,’ she said. ‘It’s a beautiful day, again.’

Morgie opened her eyes and smiled. ‘God, I am not going to be happy about going back to England,’ she said.

‘Don’t remind me,’ April warned. ‘We need to enjoy this.’

Morgie suddenly sat up. ‘Oh my god, you need to spill about your enjoyment with George last night!’ she burst out. ‘Tell me!’

April grinned. ‘It was brilliant,’ she said. ‘We just spent the whole time together. There were all these gorgeous girls who wanted to talk to him, but he spent the whole time with me.’ She grinned dreamily. ‘I felt so lucky.’

Morgie squeaked. ‘I’m so happy for you!’ she said. ‘He seems such a sweetie.’

April nodded. ‘He seems really different to all the other guys I’ve met,’ she said. ‘He’s just so genuine, he says what he thinks.’ She sat back down on the bed, using one hand to pull the towel around her more tightly. ‘He’s blunt, but in all the right ways.’

‘That’s brilliant,’ Morgie replied. ‘Are you going to meet up again?’

Her friend nodded. ‘Yes. He said he’d text me, but we were going to go out tonight.’ She looked at Morgie. ‘You’ll come, right?’

Morgie nodded. ‘As long as I won’t be a third wheel,’ she said teasingly.

April nudged her. ‘Bring Oscar, and get busy getting your feelings sorted out with him,’ she advised. ‘Okay?’