An Unlikely Reunion

Seven

"So," I said after we talked some more about times long past, "I suppose we should get back before anyone gets suspicious."

"We should," Ian said and paused for a moment. "In a second."

I was going to ask him why, but before I could even say the words, he answered by pressing his lips to mine again in a passionate kiss. His arms wrapped around my body and I melted into his embrace.

When we broke apart, I chuckled. "That was... nice."

He raised an eyebrow. "Nice?"

"Fine. That was perfect," I corrected myself.

"Much better." He kissed me again. "We really should get going, though."

After one more short kiss, we left and returned to the others.

Ian went back to the pool, where Liza and Anastasia immediately asked him what we'd talked about. I rolled my eyes as I walked up to the table, Martin still sitting there, waiting patiently.

"That must've been quite the talk," he said as I sat down next to him.

I bit my lip. "It was. I think we'll get along better from now on."

"I don't know if I like that," Martin said, clearly trying his best to sound like he was joking. The tenseness of his body told another story.

As I was contemplating what exactly to tell him, we were interrupted by someone shouting that they'd received a text. Martin immediately jumped up and I followed.

Not long after, we were all gathered around Kylie, who had a phone in her hand.

"Islanders, you all know Ian is about to choose who he's going to couple up with in a few hours. To make his decision easier -- or harder -- we're going to have you all play a game of truth or dare. Hashtag: old but gold," she read from the screen.

Everyone started talking excitedly as we made our way over to a lounging area. I wasn't sure what to think of it. I'd only ever played truth or dare in the middle of the night when I was completely knackered. It was ten in the morning now, and we were all sober.

Two baskets with small pieces of paper sat on a table, one labelled truths, the other labelled dares. "This should be fun," I sighed as I sat down on a bench, right next to Martin.

"This seat taken?" Ian asked, pointing to the spot on my other side.

Martin went tense next to me, waiting for me to answer.

"Maybe you shouldn't--"

Before I had even finished my sentence, Ian had already sat down. Oh, yes. This would be so much fun.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as everyone was settling into their seats.

"So? Who's going to start?" one of the guys asked, and I opened my eyes so as to not miss anything.

"I think Ian should do the honours," Liza said sweetly. "After all, the text said this was about influencing his decision."