Every Girl Does It (25 page)

We walked back to the room hand in hand, me with a ridiculously huge grin on my face, and Preston with a smug grin of his own plastered
all over
his handsome face. All in all
,
it felt like a pretty great trip
.
I mean
,
we went to prison together, stole some celebrity identities
…
you know
,
the typical American vacation.

I was just getting ready to lean into him and ask for a hug when one of the hotel security
guards
approached us
.
“Sir
,
” he nodded toward Preston
.
“Ma
'a
m
,
” he tipped his head toward me
.
O
h no
.
T
his is where we go to federal prison for impersonating
celebrities
.

“Do you happen to own a
,
um
,
hairless cat?” The man seemed amused by the description, making me want to punch him in the face, how dare he insult my cat!

“Yes
,
” I say timidly
,
not wanting to jump to any conclusions.

“Well
,
ma
'a
m, the cat somehow escaped out of your room and is now in one of the nearby coconut trees. We tried to get her down
,
but none of us know her name
. And
well
,
we figured she was yours
,
since you
’
re the only guest we have who
actually brought a pet from home to the Island. You see
,
we need to get the cat down
,
because
it’s
scaring the guests.”

“Scaring the guests?” I laugh
.
“
H
ow is that possible?”

The security guard sh
ifts
his feet and look
s
down while he answer
s,
“Our cats have hair
,
ma
'a
m.”

“That’s not even a good excuse!” I seethe
,
looking to Preston for help, but I don’t know why I rely on him for any
thing
right now
.
H
e
seems
like
he’s
about to double over
in fits of laughter
.

“Fine,” I say loudly
.
“He’ll get her down.” I point to Preston and smile
.
“Won
'
t you
,
sweetie
?”

Preston shoots daggers at me then smiles weakly at the security guard
.
“Where’d you say th
e
cat was?”

The security guard points back up
to our hut then to the tree next to it
. Sure
enough
,
there
’
s a small spotlight on Mrs. Butt
erworth
. She
must be so scared!

I run over to the tree while simultaneously tugging Preston
'
s shirt. “Can’t you just shimmy up there?” I plead.

“Shimmy
?
” He
sounds doubtful
.
“
Y
ou want me to shimmy up a coconut tree?
How do you suggest I do that?”

I look at him
and
throw my hands in the air
.
“
Y
ou’re a fireman!
You’re
supposed to be
able to shimmy!” I know it’s a lame accusation, but Mrs. Butterworth i
s suffering
.

“Didn’t know firemen shimmied
,
lady
,
”
t
he security guard pipes in
.
I s
ho
t him a
searing
look. He steps away from me.
“
Good boy,
”
I want to say
,
but instead I loo
k to Preston and start pouting.

“Try calling her first
,
”
h
e says obviously annoyed.

“Fine.” I say. I call her name
,
but alas
,
she doesn’t come down
. Then
I remember the song I made up for her
. It’s
the only thing she
’
ll come out of hiding for
. But
I can’t possibly sing it in front of everyone
.
Not
with Preston here, he’ll recognize the tune
.

I
feel my face get hot
as Preston eyes me suspiciously, then cup a hand over my mouth “
Little
kitty, little kitty, you are so pretty
,
pretty, little kitty, little kitty.”
It's
definitely
working
.
Mrs. Butterworth is climbing down. “Why are you so pretty
,
pretty
?”
I continue, this time louder, until Mrs. Butterworth is securely in my arms.

“I know that tune
,
” Preston says
.

“No
,
you don’t
,
” I argue and walk away towards our room.

“Um
,
y
e
a
h,
I do.”

“You don’t!” I
'
m full on yelling now.

Preston starts laughing so hard
,
I promise you he’s going to get a hernia, then falls over. “You made up words to your only choir solo ever? That goes t
o the tune of your first solo.”

I want to shoot him. “How do you even know?” I exclaim
,
stomping my foot.

“Um
,
I was there, remember?”

I
cringe
at the thought, of course I remember, I remember everything. The crowd, the applause, the turning down of the school nerd. It was painfully
vivid
, and I did already apologize to him.

“I don’t want you to apologize to me again
. Seriously,
it's
fine
.
I
was a nerd, I get it.” He
’
s match
ing my stride
,
and suddenly I don’t care about getting back to our room
.
I just want to hug him and tell him I’m sorry for yelling at him, but I don’t want to show weakness, so instead I let out a huge sigh.

“You can make it up to me later
,
”
he
says without stopping. “Trust me, you will
,
too.” He winks and walks off
,
while I stop and analyze every word.

“Where are you going
?
” I yell after him.

He
looks back
and smirks
.
“
G
iving you some alone time with your cat
.
I’ll see you in the morning
,
okay
?”

I nod my head and walk to our
room. It
seems
oddly lonely, as if a part of me
is
missing. Maybe I should marry Preston,
and then
I wouldn’t have to go ba
ck to a lonely room ever again.

I put Mrs. Butterworth on the floor
,
and before I know it, fall asleep on the couch. The warm sun woke me
. Well
,
that and the fact that Preston
stood
over me like a giant
,
grinn
ing like an idiot.

“
What?” I
grumble
,
angry that my
mouth tasted just as gross as I felt after sleeping on the couch.

“We’re leaving tomorrow
,
”
he
says happily.

I glare at him
.
“T
hank you for the obvious
.
N
ow leave, I have to get ready.” I point at the door
,
but he doesn’t move. “What?” I ask almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I switched rooms for the night.” His tone
sounds
serious and low
,
making my brow furrow all the more.

“Why would you do that?” I ask
. No
wonder I felt lonely all night
.
I was lonely
because
nobody was here
.

Preston
licks
his beautiful lips and
smiles
.
“
I
t's
just not smart to be in the same room, that’s all
. N
ow stop analyzing me and get ready. We
’
re spending our last day in paradise together
.”

I realize he brought the dog
.
I didn’t know what Mrs. Butterworth would do
,
but knowing her weird attraction to Preston
,
I could only imagine what
would happen
with the dog. Wonders never cease, I thought, as she curled up next to him and meowed. I need to find a better guard cat
. This
is bordering on ridiculous.

“Give me five minutes
,
” I
call out
as I run into my bedroom
. One
look in the mirror tells me it
’
ll take more than five minutes
.
“
Or
twenty
,”
I yell again b
efore stepping into the shower.

Is it just me or do I hear hi
m chuckling in the living room?

I smile and get in the shower
,
promising myself that today will be different. No more Angelina, no more pretending, no more reading other people
’
s texts. I feel great as I mentally decide on which outfit to wear for Preston. Who knew he would grow up to be such a
fantastic
guy?
I
t's
my fault for doubting the male species
.
I think women tend to
beleive
men stop maturing at the age of
sixteen,
which in
some
cases is painfully true.

I
throw
on some lip
gloss and pull my hair into a tight pony tail. I’m not usually one for shorts
,
but today
seems
like a shorts and tank top day. I slid
e
into my jean cut offs
,
which are
n’
t too short or too long
,
and take a glance at the mirror. I
’
m obviously tanner than when I arrived
,
which makes my eyes sparkle that much more
. Or,
I guess it could be love
,
too. I push the thought out of my mind the second I see my skin begin to turn an ugly red color.

“Ready!” I yell
,
pushing open
my bedroom doors.

Preston is
sitting
on the couch with the dog
,
and Mrs. Butterworth in his lap as if he
’
s Dr. Doolittle. I smile and cross my arms
.
“
You
ready?”

He takes in my outfit and scowls.

“What?” I say backing into the room again.

“No, you look great.” He looks down
.
I
s he embarrassed? “
It’s
just that
–” He
puts his fingers over his mouth
giving the appearance that he is trying to keep from talking.
“
It’s
not fair.”