Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 41

The mood was sombre in the bedroom the next morning, as the islanders contemplated the previous night's dumping and the knowledge that by the end of the night, another couple would be leaving. It could be any of us, and it was sobering to think that we could make it this far only to fall short right at the end.

"Hey," Bobby whispered as he pulled the duvet over our heads. Neither of us was quite ready to face the day yet, choosing instead to take a few moments to ourselves. "How you feeling?"

I answered his question with a yawn, still exhausted from the previous day's challenge on top of the cumulative effects of long, drama-filled days in the Spanish sun doing almost nothing. As much as Love Island sounded like a vacation, it really wasn't. And while I wanted to make it through to the end, I also was feeling ready for this whole ordeal to be over.

I shuffled closer and he reached out to brush his thumb across my lips and cheek, his eyes soft as they followed the movements of his fingers. I closed the distance between our lips, my hand cupping his jaw as his trailed down to my waist, pulling me closer.

There was a quiet giggle followed by a soft thump as someone threw a pillow at us and it hit Bobby's shoulder.

"Hey!" He pulled the duvet back down, twisting his neck to look around for the culprit. "Gary!"

Gary held up his hands in innocence. "Wasn't me, bruv!"

Bobby's eyes narrowed as he looked around until I took his chin between my fingers and pulled him back toward me, kissing him briefly before pulling away.

"C'mon, let's get up," I said as I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

He reluctantly followed and we went about our morning routines, then headed downstairs to the kitchen, where he whipped up a quick batch of pancakes for ourselves, Priya, and Arjun.

We tried to keep the conversation light as we ate, but inevitably the talk turned to the previous night's vote.

"Last night was shit," Arjun said after swallowing a bite of syrup-covered pancake.

"I know, I feel horrible about it," Priya nodded.

"Yeah, it was mad," I agreed. "I didn't expect it at all. And I mean, who wants to sit there and say who deserves to be in the final and who doesn't?"

"Right?" she threw her hands up. "We're all in couples, we've all done what we needed to do. It's not fair to make us choose."

"The worst thing is knowing that a couple's getting dumped tonight, and not having any idea who it's gonna be. I feel like I can't look anyone in the eye because of it."

Bobby frowned as he slowly stirred his tea. "So many of us have been here since the beginning," he said. "We're all friends with each other."

"If people are in here for the wrong reasons," Arjun said, "they might vote tactically. Even the strongest couples are at risk."

"I hope not," I said. "I'd hate to think that anybody would be that cold. It shouldn't be about the money."

Bobby placed his hand on the small of my back and smiled at me. "Glad to hear you're not just using me to win," he winked.

I rolled my eyes and reached out to give his knee a light squeeze. "As if the public would vote for me to win anyway. I'm just surprised to still be here at all."

"What?" Priya exclaimed. "I would totally vote for you!"

I shrugged. "No big deal, but I wouldn't be surprised if we got some votes last night. Who knows, this could be our last day."