Love Island

Chapter 57 - Meet the Parents

"Good morning!" Peach skipped into the dressing room the next morning with her hands up in the air. Her water bottle was hung on one finger as she made her way to her vanity. "It's a beautiful day in the villa!"

"I see you slept well," I smiled up at her.

"The best, my darling." Peach sat down in front of her mirror and began spreading moisturizer on her face. "I can't even explain it. I woke up this morning, and I just felt so good! And I'm excited about the dates today."

Polly popped her head out from behind her vanity. "Oh, my gosh. I forgot about the dates." She stood, revealing her thin bikini. "I should go change!"

Peyton nodded. "I'm skipping the bikini today, too. Unless Anthony's going to take me to a waterpark." Her face dropped at the thought. "I hope he knows me better than to take me to a waterpark."

"Me too," I laughed. "I'm not trying to get too excited, just in case Charlie completely drops the ball. So if it bombs, I won't react. But if he does well, I'll be super happy."

"Where could he take you that it would bomb?" Peach asked.

"Let's see... hunting, fishing, a worm farm, a landfill, a karaoke bar, littering at a beach-"

Peyton burst into laughter. "These are so specific; I love it. No karaoke, though?"

"God, I hate karaoke," I laughed. "I don't mind going to a bar and doing something else while karaoke is going on, but the anxiety of the bar pulling a High School Musical and forcing me onto the stage is my irrational fear."

Polly stepped out of the bathroom in a white crop top with navy blue shorts. "God, I feel that. I hate singing in front of people. If I could actually sing, though, I'd never shut up. I'd be running around this dressing room singing every word!"

I slipt into the bathroom to put on my own outfit. For the final dates, I wasn't sure exactly the occasion, so I opted for a crowd-pleasing outfit. A light blue bell-sleeved top tied at the front just above my belly-button in a neat little knot. I paired this with white high-waisted shorts and comfortable wedges.

I returned to the dressing room to find the girls wrapped in a completely different topic, though all of us were now dressed.

"But what about ketchup? You don't like ketchup?" Peyton questioned.

"No tomato products!" Polly declared. "Actually, pizza sauce is okay. But only if there's lots of cheese. I can't eat a super-saucy pizza. I just can't! The taste, the texture-" she cut herself off with a shiver and a gag.

Peach giggled at her friend's reaction and clipped in gold earrings. "You guys are weird. I'll eat a lot of things, but I draw the line at meat that's in the shape of the animal."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I approached my vanity and began looking through my accessories.

"Well, like fish! I'll eat it in a sandwich, or fish sticks. But if you lay a plate down in front of me, and it's still in the shape of a fish, I can't eat it. Forget sardines! Or whole-roasted pigs, I'm sorry, that's gross."

"Oh, I can see that." I nodded and picked up a silver necklace with a small butterfly pendant. "I could never get into the kalua pig. My Tutu makes it a lot, but it freaks me out."

Peyton smiled with a devilish grin. "Well, I'm from Texas, y'all," she said in a highly exaggerated accent. "We ain't scared of nothin'!"

With our conversation fading into a new topic, we picked up our roots and traveled downstairs to the garden to continue our chat. We planted ourselves at the loungers, enjoying the shade's protection from the intense sun.