At the <b>edge </b><b>of </b>the deck, Charlotte and Megan leaned against the raling, letting the sea breeze tangle their hair,
Megan lifted her wine ss toward Charlotte. The <b>crisp </b>clink of ss on ss rang out against the sound of crashing waves. She took a sip. Her cheeks were already flushed from the alcohol. She had quite a bit tonight.
Megan, a little tipsy, patted Charlotte’s shoulder and said softly, “Lottie, I really am sorry about what happened earlier. <b>That </b>card I picked—Summer had marked it ahead of time. She nned the whole thing. I had no idea. I swear it wasn’t me.”
Charlotte took a sip of wine and let out a smallugh. “Honestly, there was a moment when I did wonder about you. But after what you said tonight, I believe you.”
Megan smiled. “I figured you’d understand.”
The party was over, and the other guests had already turned in for the night. Only the wind and the waves remained.
“I hope you and Seanst forever,” Megan said, brushing a strand of hair from her face and smiling gently. “I mean that.”
“Thank you,” Charlotte replied, holding her gaze. “But I’ve been wondering–earlier you separated our rooms and didn’t want us staying together. What changed your mind tonight?”
Megan let out a quiet, self–deprecatingugh<b>, </b>her smile tinged with bitterness. “Because I finally saw things clearly and gave <ol><li>up. </li></ol>
She turned to face the ocean. The wind swept her hair back as her voice blended with the sound of the sea.
“I split you two up because I was jealous. I didn’t want you staying in the same room. Back then, <b>I </b>still had unrealistic hopes.
“But after what happened with Thomas, I realized just how much Sean cares about you. You probably don’t know this, but after they pulled Thomas out of the water, Sean didn’t just let him go. He had him taken to a private room and… let’s just say he didn’t go easy on him. Thomas was begging for death by the end of it.”
Charlotte frowned slightly. “I really didn’t know.”
“Well, he deserved it,” she added.
Megan continued, “The other thing that made me give up… was that game this afternoon.”
She stared out into the waves. <b>“</b>I’ve seen Sean y games like that before. He’s always had girls crushing on him. At one friend’s birthday party, someone confessed to him during Truth or Dare.”
“What did he say?” Charlotte asked, curious.
“He just gave her a cold ‘oh‘ and ignored herpletely,” Megan said with a wry smile. “Didn’t even spare her another nce.”
Charlotteughed. “That’s so harsh.”
“That’s not all,” Megan added. “Another time, someone dared a girl to kiss a guy of her choice. She picked Sean and asked him for a kiss. He shot her this deadly re. Seriously, it looked like he could kill someone. She immediately backed off and picked someone else.”
“He’s that scary?”
“Oh, absolutely. No exaggeration,” Megan said with a faint smile. But I know he’d never look at you that way.‘
Her smile slowly faded, and her voice dropped. “Do you know what it felt like, watching him kiss you in front of everyone today?”
She let out a dry, bitterugh. “It felt like getting stabbed in the heart over and over again. I mean it. I really envy you. You have all of him. Every single part.“.
<b>She </b><b>paused</b><b>, </b><b>her </b><b>tone </b><b>growing </b>even softer, <b>“</b>That moment made <b>everything </b>crystal clear. I never stood a <b>chance</b>. <b>Maybe </b><b>I </b><b>never </b><b>did</b><b>. </b><b>I </b><b>was </b><b>just </b><b>too </b>blind to see it.”
When Charlotte returned to her room<b>, </b>the lights were still on.