Love Island

Chapter 6 - The First Recoupling

Later that day, just before I went upstairs to get dressed for the recoupling, Blake pulled me aside. He sat me down on one of the kitchen barstools and filled my water bottle with fresh water, then washed and began slicing an apple.

"I just wanted to, you know, check where your heads at," he said. I could feel the nerves in his voice as he stared intensely down at the red fruit. "I was just thinking, because it's guys' pick again... do you want me to pick you?"

A smile stretched across my face. "Yes, I want you to pick me," I laughed.

Blake's shoulders released their built-up tension. "Okay, good. Cool. I just wanted to make sure I didn't pick you and then have you go, 'Ugh! I can't believe he picked me! I hate that guy!'"

I shook my head. "No, I try to be as honest as possible. If something was really wrong, I'd speak up."

Blake plated the apple slices and placed them in front of me. "Good to know. Thanks, Maddie. I'll let you go get ready."

I stood up and kissed him on the cheek. With apple slices in hand, I made my way upstairs and into the girls' dressing room. Peach, Giselle, and Katrina were already at their vanities, beautifying themselves. I took my seat in front of my own and began to prime my face.

"Can I have one?" Peach asked. My left hand offered her the plate while my right hand smoothed the serum into my skin.

"Where are Amelia and Polly?" Giselle asked, looking around the room.

"Here I am!" Polly entered the room, nearly out of breath. It was evident she'd been running.

Katrina looked up from her reflection. "Where have you been?"

Polly shrugged. "Here and there."

"Vague," Peach noted. She crunched down on her apple slice and hummed. "This villa has the freshest fruit."

"I know! I had a pear the other day and the juice got all over me! Down my elbows, my chin, everywhere!" Giselle said.

Amelia tiptoed into the room. She kept her head down and took a place at her vanity.

"Amelia, is everything okay?" Katrina asked.

"Yeah," Amelia said. We decided not to press.

Polly was more frantic than usual, trying yet failing to get a good wing with her liquid eyeliner. Her hands were shaky as she pulled at her eyelid, creating a smooth surface for her to draw her line.

"C'mere, sweetie," Amelia walked over to Polly's vanity on the other side of the room and took the eyeliner from her. "Don't pull your lid like that; you'll get wrinkles." Polly nodded and looked down as Amelia aided her makeup application.

The mood in the dressing room felt off. I knew Peach could feel it too. Her eyes looked around the room more than once as she patted her makeup gently into her skin. Finally, Amelia capped the eyeliner and stood up.

"I just want to say how much I treasure honesty. In our weird, unpredictable situation, if we're not honest and true with ourselves, what do we have? Lying only makes things worse, and the last thing that I would want is to step on anyone's toes or make anyone uncomfortable. But I have to do what's best for me. That's why it's called Love Island!" Amelia sighed and walked over to her own vanity. She picked up a lip pencil and passed it between her hands, reconsidering whether she should continue. "Maddie." All of the girls' eyes turned to look at me. "I asked Blake to choose me at the recoupling."

My lips parted in disbelief. "When? I was around him almost all day after hide and seek!"

"Right before I came up here," she answered.