Prisoners Of Paradise (CTBB Spin Off)

~6~

I'm so excited for you to read this chapter, which is dedicated to @NoorizaMaharani. Enjoy!

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So far on the trip, we had gone on picturesque hikes, tasted amazing cuisine, participated in traditional ceremonies, visited temples, swam in waterfall lagoons, zip-lined across a forest, snorkelled in the sea, gone sailing and water-skiing. And now, after all that, we had to leave.

"I'm gonna miss this place, it was just so...incredible," Talia sighed wistfully as we packed our suitcases on our last day.

"At least we can relive the experience with the millions of photos Huda took," Elif said, shooting me a teasing smile.

"Who's complaining now, huh?" I retorted jokingly.

"Aw, we had so much fun, didn't we?" Sofia reminisced. "Thanks so much, Elif. We owe you."

"No you don't," Elif replied brightly. "You guys being my friends is payment enough."

"Aw, group hug!" Talia loved hugs, so she spread her arms and we all gathered together, smiling and giggling and savouring the moment. These girls right here were my friends for life – no matter what. The girls and guys I had befriended in high school were nothing compared to what I had here. Yeah, back then you would promise all your friends you would stay together forever, but who knew what would happen in the future? Only Allah knew, and I was glad I had lost touch with the people who had been bad influences on me, replacing them with the ones who I considered family.

"So when's our flight again?" I asked, checking the time on my phone.

"Not until tomorrow morning," Elif replied. "So we have this last night to ourselves."

"Yay!" Sofia cheered.

Suddenly, Elif's phone chimed, and we all waited in silence as she read the text.

"My bro just texted me," she said slowly, as if this was a strange thing, and I exchanged a bemused look with Talia and Sofia.

"So?" I finally said when Elif didn't say anything more.

She spun around to face us, and there was an odd sparkle in her hazel eyes. "How would you guys like to go on a yacht...tonight?"

"What?" we all jumped up from the bed, unable to contain the emotions that overloaded our systems.

"Yeah, Ilyas just told me that the guys are going to this yacht party tonight, and he asked if us girls wanted to come," Elif explained. At the mention of party, I instantly became suspicious.

"Yacht party?" I echoed.

Elif nodded. "Apparently they met some people in their hotel that invited them to it, and it's just going to be casual."

"I'm in! Let's go, girls!" Talia bounced on the bed, dark hair as wild as her mood.

"Well, if it's a yacht, I'm definitely going," Sofia said, already unzipping her suitcase and rifling through it for an outfit to wear.

"But –"

"Huda, it's a yacht. How many times are you going to go on a yacht in your life?" Sofia fixed me with a determined but excited gaze, and her words instantly clicked.

"Yeah, we're going," I confirmed, before eliciting a squeal, grabbing Sofia's arms and jumping up and down with her. "We're going on a ya-acht; we're going on a ya-acht!" I sung, twirling around the room.

"Okay, Huda, pipe it down, we gotta be cool, okay?" Elif grabbed me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes while I felt like a fizzy drink that was about to explode. But I just nodded calmly and said nonchalantly, "Yeah, cool, okay, I can be that. As cool as a pool."