Page 111 of Craving Paradise
“The spark is certainly there,” he tells me confidently.
“As much as it pains me to say this, I’m not talking sexually.”
“I know. I’ll see what happens. I’ll play it by ear.”
“Good. You know I only have your best interests at heart, don’t you?”
“Yeah, man, I know. Thanks for looking out for me.”
“No problem, brother. I’ll let you go and enjoy Paradise. Also, there’s no shame in trying a strap-on.” I crack one last time as he tells me to fuck off.
I sit there in silence and stare down at my phone.
Lauren’s at The Paradise Club Resort. I don’t understand. I’ve been there twice and never run into her. Did she know I was there and hid? Am I still blocked on her database so when I go there, they hide her?
I swipe open my socials and unblock Lauren’s profile. I stare at it as I realize the images she’s been posting, and with fresh eyes, I realize exactly where they are.
Fuck.
Next thing, I’m looking up her number, and my fingers are scrolling over the letters until I’ve realized I’ve sent her a text message, and it went through.
I’m not blocked.
When the hell did this happen?
33
LAUREN
Elle has just come back to the villa and dropped the biggest bombshell that the client of the girl she took over from who had broken her ankle was Alistair King. I know I was shocked too and a little jealous because she seems so happy reuniting with him again. She explained there was a mix-up at The Paradise Club, and there happened to be two Kings in the system but only one came up. It’s been a total misunderstanding, and now Elle feels horrible and sad that she walked out on Alistair like she did.
“I’m not happy here, Loz,” Elle says, dropping another bombshell on me.
She’s not happy here? I always thought she was. “You’re not? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you are.” She cries.
I watch as tears stream down her face and the look of pure anguish over confessing her real thoughts to me.
“Oh, babe,” I say, pulling her into a hug. “I would have understood. Of course, I’m having fun here, it’s Paradise, but I can take it or leave it.”
Leave it—that’s what I’ve wanted to do all this time. It’s been slowly killing me being here while Jasper is back in London living his best life without me in it. I’ve stalked his socials, and he’s definitely back on the party scene. Guess he didn’t love me after all.You’ve been gone for months. You expect him to be a saint while you fuck other men.
Sniffling, Elle says, “I dragged you halfway across the world.”
“That’s okay. You know I’m always up for an adventure. I wouldn’t have cared.”
I’m sick of lying to my best friend. It’s been so hard to keep a smile on my face all these months, but I promised her I would always be by her side.
“I know, but I promised you six months, and I owe you that.”
I wipe the tears from my best friend’s face. “Babe, you owe me nothing. If you were that unhappy, why did you not tell me? I would have understood. I know you haven’t been able to bake as much as you like here, and I could see that was frustrating you. But then you reassured me you were so close to reaching your dream, so I didn’t question you. Damn! Now, I wish I had. I never want to see you unhappy.”
Elle wraps herself around me and hugs me tightly.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. I was upset I had made this decision to leave because of Alistair hurting me, and I felt guilty that I dragged you away from London and away from your mystery man. I made it seem like going to the island was the greatest thing ever, but I was so wrong.”
“Why did you never tell me this? We could have left.”