Lies We Tell

6 : Turning Heads

Zahra had just finished cleaning up after lunch when her phone went off with a new text. Heart in her throat, she called out to the other islanders and waited anxiously for them to gather around. With shaky fingers, she swiped on the text and began to read, feeling a jolt of disappointment as she skimmed through the message. "'Zahra, Henrik would like to take you on a date. Please get ready to leave the Villa.'"

Bobby squeezed her shoulder. "There you go!" He was beaming.

Zahra was flattered that she'd been picked for a date, but she couldn't help be a little disappointed that it wasn't Lucas who had asked her. Although, if Henrik was getting a second date, that meant that Lucas-

Hope squealed as a text came to her. "'Hope, Lucas has asked you to be his second date. Please get ready to leave the Villa.'"

Marisol looked as sour as Zahra felt at this news. "Good for you, hun," she said. "Both of you." She walked off without another word, resulting in Gary jogging off apologetically after her.

Hope grabbed Zahra's arm. "Let's go, babes!" For once she wasn't looking at Zahra with thinly-veiled hostility; she was too excited about her date with Lucas to even remember her hatred.

With an answering smile, Zahra followed her to the dressing room where the two of them got ready in near silence. Zahra excused herself politely to change into her cheetah print romper in the bathroom, then the two of them were off.

Rocco met them at the front door landing, obviously waiting to talk to Zahra before she disappeared. Hope left to say goodbye to Noah, so they had a quiet moment to themselves before he started speaking. "Are you happy about going on this date?"

Zahra laughed, perhaps too loudly for it to seem legit. "Of course, babes. It's always nice to be asked for things like this."

He frowned. "I mean, do you fancy him? Henrik?"

She could have just said no, because she didn't, but she knew he'd ask about Lucas next, and she couldn't lie about that. "It's really too soon to know. They've both just come in, after all." She leaned forward and kissed Rocco on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

Rocco held onto her tightly for a moment, skimming one hand down her spine. "I'll be waiting."

Hope reappeared, and together she and Zahra set off for their dates. To her disappointment, Lucas and Henrik were set up in the same area, the space between them just far enough that sound would be difficult to carry. Hope sauntered over to Lucas easily, but Zahra was less sure as she joined Henrik. He was smiling so broadly, and it was a real effort on her part to try to match his level of enthusiasm.

"Alright, Zahra?" Henrik said as she drew close. He pulled out her chair for her. "You look amazing."

"Thank you, Henrik," she said smoothly, blushing slightly. As she sat down, he joined her at the other side of the table. Thankfully her back was to Hope and Lucas; briefly she wondered if that was intentional.

She had to give the mountain man some credit. He was a big, good-time personality that made conversation easy, so Zahra found herself enjoying the date. He wasn't quite her type, though. He was sweet enough, and flirtatious, but he was also adventurous and bold in ways she was not. She liked him as a person, but she couldn't see him in any light past just being friends.

If Henrik noticed, he didn't show it. He was so keen to get to know her that it took text notifications signaling the end of their date to interrupt them. Glancing behind her, Zahra saw that Hope was already heading back to the Villa. Internally, she rolled her eyes; of course Hope wouldn't wait for her. With a smile to Henrik, she got to her feet.