PART 4

The volleyball game was exactly what she needed to clear her mind. Jumping, blocking, spiking, and diving into the water helped dull the pain she felt every time she thought of Mike. But then, Emily dove into the sea to make a save, only to surface with just her head visible.

“What’s wrong?” Anna asked, approaching her.

“I lost it…” Emily whispered softly.

“What did you lose?”

“My top.”

“Hahaha!”

“What are you laughing at?”

“Emily, you need to stop wearing triangle bikinis,” Anna replied, laughing.

“What’s going on?” Diana asked, approaching them after noticing their strange behavior.

“I lost my top.”

“Okay. Let’s find it,” Diana said, holding back a laugh. “Don’t move.”

“Sure. I’ll just swim around, feeling the water flow, and let my breasts bump into a barnacle or two, right?”

“You wouldn’t be the first, or the last,” Anna added, still laughing.

“I’ll go tell the guys to help us look for it.”

“Nooo,” Emily stopped Diana, embarrassed. “How humiliating.”

“Fiiine. But it would be easier that way, before someone else finds it.” Diana stood in front of her to cover her.

“Did you drop something?” Andrew’s voice came from behind the girls.

“How do you know?” Emily asked without turning around.

“Because I have it in my hand.” Andrew lifted his hand, holding the bikini top.

“Give it to Anna,” Emily requested, mortified.

“Since when are you shy around me?”

“Just give it to her,” she insisted, her voice so high-pitched that if there had been dogs around, they would have been startled.

“Alright,” Andrew said seriously, realizing that their relationship was clearly not what it used to be.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

With a quick motion, he tossed it to Anna, who then helped Emily put it back on. While Diana watched the situation unfold, she noticed Andrew’s serious expression and tried to lighten the mood by splashing water at him. When he turned towards the splash, he smiled and splashed back, starting a water fight between the two, much to the surprise of their friends.

“Seriously, I think I’ve missed something. Since when do these two get along so well?” Johnny couldn’t help but say aloud, confused by what he was seeing, as Mike grew increasingly irritated.

◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎

The moon shone brightly over the hotel. Everyone had returned to their rooms. Oscar and Johnny were finishing up in the bathroom after a refreshing shower. Meanwhile, Mike and Andrew remained in the bedroom in complete silence.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Andrew asked his friend, sitting on the bed.

"No," Mike replied, standing up without looking him in the eye.

"You’ve been really serious lately, not just with me but also with Diana," Andrew remarked as Mike turned his back on him.

Seeing that Mike didn’t respond, Andrew tried to speak again, placing a hand on his shoulder; but Mike spun around and landed a punch right to his face. Still dazed from the blow, Andrew regained his composure and launched himself at his friend, returning the punch.

"What’s going on?" Johnny asked, peeking out of the bathroom. "Oscar, help me!"

He shouted desperately as he threw himself on top of Andrew to pull him away from Mike, just as Oscar came out to hold Mike back, who was ready for another round.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Andrew shouted angrily.

"You tell me!" Mike yelled back, still struggling against Oscar’s grip. "I’m out here acting like a fool in front of the only person I’ve ever liked in my life, and what are you doing? What are you trying to do with her?!"

"Mike! Listen to me!"

"Listen to you?! Go to hell, Andrew!"

"Mike!"

"Let me go!"

"Mike! Diana is my childhood friend!" Andrew finally shouted in anguish, surprising everyone.

The confusion in the room was so intense that the anger dominating the atmosphere suddenly subsided, replaced by a stunned silence.

"It’s hard to believe, but…" Andrew continued as Johnny finally let him go, seeing that he had calmed down. "Diana is the girl I used to tell you all about. The only reason I never got serious with anyone else was because I only thought of her. Diana is the one who has the matching earring."

"This sounds like a soap opera," Oscar added, not realizing the tension in the room.

"All we’re missing is popcorn," Johnny, who would normally scold Oscar for such comments, was so shocked that he went along with it.

"You really kept that to yourself," Mike said, shaking off Oscar’s hold with anger.

"I only figured it out recently, Mike. You’re my best friend, I had no bad intentions."

"And that’s why you couldn’t tell her the truth, so you could have time to fix things with her?"

"I know you’re speaking out of anger and not thinking about what you’re saying. You know perfectly well I’d never do that. In fact, that’s why I wanted to take a walk with you, to tell you everything and let you know that you can tell her the truth."

"You know what? I don’t need your permission to do that," Mike snapped, waving his arm in front of Andrew as he stormed out of the room.

"You know how Mike gets when he’s angry; all his sensibility and calmness goes out the window," Johnny said, grabbing Andrew’s arm to stop him from following his friend. "Let him go and clear his head."

"Honestly, I understand why he’s usually so calm and composed… because when Mike gets mad, he’s a completely different person," Oscar added before the room fell into a tense, heavy silence.