Love Island

Chapter 20 - Two New Boys

Instead of enjoying my first night in Noah's bed, I woke up miserable and drenched in sweat. Without the air conditioning running all night, the temperature inside the villa soared, making blankets unusable and clothes scarce. The guys had all stripped down to their boxers, and most of the girls had kicked off their fuzzy cotton shorts in a desperate attempt to cool themselves.

As much as I'd dreamed of curling up with Noah as close as I could, that was now impossible. Even holding hands proved to be too warm, so we turned our backs to each other. The lights flickered on even though everyone was already awake.

"I want to take an ice bath," Peach whined from her bed. "I feel like I'm drenched in sweat!"

"Same," Eli groaned. "I barely slept last night."

Noah sighed as he propped himself up on an elbow. "I need to take a shower," he announced. He reached over and tapped my exposed thigh. "See you at breakfast." He leaned over and kissed my forehead, then rolled out of bed.

Giselle planted her feet on the floor and twisted herself out of bed. "I think I'm going to take a shower, too," she said. There was a small change of tone in her voice that made the girls look in her direction. As we did, she gestured subtly to the door.

"Same," Peach yawned and crawled out of bed. "I need to get fresh for the day!" The girls slowly trickled out of the room to not raise suspicion and met in the girl's dressing room.

"That recoupling," Giselle started. She walked to her vanity and flopped down on the stool, then leaned forward with her head in her hands. "Was a nightmare."

Polly walked over to comfort her. "Who did you want to pick you?"

"I don't know, just not Eli!" She raised her voice and then quickly sucked in a breath to remind herself to quiet down. "The longer I'm with him, the more I know he's not the one for me. Not even as a friend; we're just not compatible. And his speech last night was-"

"Powerful," Katrina commented.

"Too much," Giselle corrected. "Why would he say those things in front of everyone without saying them to me first? And now I feel like I'm trapped in this couple because I don't want to hurt him. And I don't want him to think I was just playing the game just because it didn't work out between us."

Peyton's brows furrowed. "He wouldn't think that."

"He didn't say it directly, but he mentioned the idea." Giselle sighed and pushed her feet to the floor. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, don't let him manipulate you into making the wrong choice," I said. "If he's wrong for you, it's better to tell him." Giselle nodded at my response.

Peach sat down next to Giselle. "Is there anyone else you want to get to know?"

Giselle wiped a subtle tear from her cheek. "No. And I'm not even saying that to keep the peace, I don't really have an interest in anyone here. Maybe Lucas?" She whispered the words as if imagining the boys pressing their ears to the door. "I've failed with Michael and Eli now. Maybe I'll never find the right guy for me."

"No," Peach said and wrapped a comforting arm around her. "There's somebody for everybody. And you just haven't found your somebody yet! But once you do, he's gonna sweep you off your feet so fast that you'll lose a shoe!"

"Thanks," Giselle giggled. "Please, no one tell Eli about this. I should be the one to do it. I just don't think I can do it right now." She rubbed her arms nervously.

"Of course!" Peyton chipped in. "What happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room."

Once Giselle felt better, we all dispersed to our wardrobes to pick out an outfit for the day. With the villa hot and filling with humidity, every girl opted for their thinnest bikini. Hats and coverups were all left behind. We slipped our necklace microphones over our heads and fluffed our hair around them, then walked as a group downstairs to the kitchen. All six boys stood around the kitchen, either eating or preparing breakfast.