Love Island

Chapter 21 - Peach's Dilemma

I read the text out loud as the other islanders came to listen. "Islanders, America has voted for who they want to go on a date with the new boys. The girl going on a date with Gray is... Maddie." I looked up from my phone in surprise.

Polly's phone chimed next. "The girl going on a date with Leo is... Polly!" She grinned and grabbed my hand. "Let's go, Maddie!"

I laughed as she pulled me away from the group. "I'll be back!" I announced. We rushed into the villa and slid robes over our bikinis, and found Leo sitting at a table in the living room. He informed me that Gray would be in the kitchen. I left the two of them and stepped into the kitchen to see Gray sitting at the breakfast table. The casual tabletop had been covered with a white cloth and was decorated with candles and flowers.

"Hey," Gray smiled and gestured at the chair across from him.

"Hi!" I took my seat. "America thinks I should go on a date with you."

"America's got good taste," he smiled and poured me a glass of wine. "How's your day been so far?"

"Pretty good. Quite exciting, actually. You guys are already stirring some stuff up in the villa." I took the glass from the table and took a sip. "They still haven't fixed the air conditioning, huh?"

"Doesn't feel like it," Gray commented. "Yeah, it's hard to come into the villa and not stir something up. So between you and me, do I have a shot?"

I swallowed my wine and put my glass down on the table. "I would love to get to know you as friends, but I'm really comfortable with Noah," I explained.

He nodded understandingly. "Alright, cool. Thanks for your honesty, I won't annoy you then," he smiled. "Well, new friend, what can you tell me about Peach? I know you guys are close."

"To put it simply, she's one of the best people I've ever met," I said. "Tell me about your guys' date."

"Well, I had her giggling a lot, which is good. She's got the best smile, too. I think there might be something there. And I saw her go to the hideaway with Charlie, but she wasn't there emotionally yet. I feel like there could be some wiggle room," he said and took a sip of wine.

I thought about it for a moment. "Makes sense. But if you're going to pursue her, you're going to have to pass the best friend's test," I teased.

He leaned back in his chair. "I look forward to it. Do you think Peach is open to getting to know other people?"

"Maybe. She and Charlie are really determined to get things to work, but I'm not going to tell you to throw away your shot."

"Interesting," he said and leaned forward in his chair. He raised the glass of wine. "It's kind of improper to do this with half-full glasses but screw it. Cheers, to stirring up the villa."

I laughed and clinked my glass against his. "Cheers."

-

Once all the dates had ended, the girls gathered on the balcony while the guys crowded around the loungers, discussing the same topic with a different audience.

"And then Leo reached across the table and kissed my hand!" Polly smiled and pretended to fan herself with her fingers. "It was one of the most magical dates I've ever been on." She recounted the date with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Giselle smiled. "Well that's nice, I'm happy for you. I had a good date with him, too." She paused and thought carefully about her following sentence. "I'm going to pick him at the next recoupling."