Lies We Tell

22 : Call It Like It Is

Waking up in Lucas's arms the next morning satisfied Zahra. As she opened her eyes, though, the bright sunlight that assaulted them wasn't as satisfactory. With a muted groan, she rolled over to shield her face.

"There you go moving around right away," Lucas mumbled, his voice gravelly and thick with sleep. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

Zahra lightly jabbed her fist against his sternum. "I'd like to see you get blasted in the face with sunlight and try not to squirm," she mumbled back.

He chuckled, pulling her closer. One of his hands slipped into her hair while the other traced the length of her spine. "That's what sleeping inside is meant to prevent."

She craned her neck up, pressing her face into the curve of his. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who convinced me to stay out here instead," she remarked, her lips brushing his skin as she spoke. She smiled when he shuddered at the sensation.

"There's more privacy out here," he argued. "You can't possibly tell me you'd prefer waking up in a full communal bedroom. There are more eyes in there to catch me kissing you like this." He planted a long, intentional kiss on her lips.

Pushing away gently, Zahra gave him a coy smile. "I don't know, babes. The last time we had a real morning in bed in there with the other islanders around, well, it was... memorable." She stretched languidly, trying not to laugh when she caught his reaction.

"So that's what you're into?"

She sat up, still grinning, and prolonged giving an answer until she had swept her hair up into a knot atop her head first. Echoing his words from the night before, she replied, "I'm into anything that has you."

That made Lucas laugh as he rolled onto his back, scrubbing a hand down his face. "You'll be the death of me, I swear it."

She blew him a kiss as she slipped out of bed. "I need to grab my water bottle. I'll be back."

He waved her off, and she padded away, slipping into the bedroom as unobtrusively as possible. The lights were on inside, but a bunch of the islanders were still in bed. Priya waved her over immediately, so Zahra dropped onto the foot of her bed.

The older girl jerked her head over to Zahra's empty bed. "Where'd you sleep last night?"

Zahra rubbed her face with a sigh. "We fell asleep on the daybeds. Habit, I guess."

"Mhm. Have a good night?"

Zahra blushed a little as she remembered his hands on her, her hands on him, and their tangled kisses. "Yep."

Priya laughed. "You little minx."

Zahra shook her head. "It wasn't even like that. Last night, it was different. He was just sweet and attentive, and we just enjoyed each other's company with no interruptions. We just got comfortable and fell asleep, honest."

Lottie came over, then, and scooted across the bed to huddle up next to Priya. "Are we spilling dirty details?"

"No dirty details to spill, sorry," Zahra said, shaking her head.

Lottie scrutinized her carefully, looking for any hint of a lie. "That's what all people with dirty details say."

Zahra shrugged but said nothing else, and a moment later she got up to grab the water bottle she'd come in for. Just as she moved to head back outside, fully prepared to laze around with Lucas in bed a little longer, he met her at the door. "I was wondering where you got to."

"We kept her," Priya commented. "Sorry, babes."

Lucas waved off her apology, watching as people started getting ready for the day. He looked at Zahra, his expression a little dejected. "It would be too much to head back outside for a little more privacy, wouldn't it? We should probably get ready."