Love Island

Chapter 27 - America's Choice

After two days of overthinking, I was finally able to enjoy the jubilation of Love Island once again. I still missed Noah but concluded that dwelling on my sadness would lead to nothing but sadness; I couldn't manifest him back into the villa. My only job for the rest of my time would be to enjoy the Fijian sun until the next recoupling. It was my twelfth day in the island country, and I planned to enjoy it as long as possible.

Peach and I agreed to meet on the balcony after lunch to talk through things and catch each other up in a makeshift therapy session. We sat across from each other on the patio furniture and hugged pillows to our bare stomachs. A slight oceanic breeze brought salty air to the conversation.

"How's it going with Gray?" I asked, a subtle gesture to scoot from our casual small talk to the more significant topics we both struggled with.

Peach smiled with one side of her mouth like she was trying to hide it. "It's going really well. I was cautiously optimistic because what I wanted to feel with Charlie, I felt with Gray right away. But I wanted to make sure I was really feeling it, not just settling because it was better than what I had." She cringed at her own words. "That sounds so mean. I loved being coupled up with Charlie, he's the best. But you can't fake a connection."

"I understand," I nodded to encourage her on.

"Gray is just... wow," Peach relaxed in her seat and allowed her grin to stretch across her cheeks. "He has this tough exterior. Like... like that guy from The Kissing Booth."

"Jacob Elordi?" I clarified.

"Yes! He's got this really athletic build, like, not to be shallow, but the first night we shared a bed..." She began fanning herself with her manicure. "Dude, he's fit. But I've gotten to know him better and talk with him, and he's smart! He's so smart! He's an accountant, did you know that? And he knows so much about history, too."

I smiled excitedly and sat up in my seat. "That's awesome, Peach! I'm thrilled for you. This is exactly what you deserve."

She blushed shyly and plucked at the feathered ends sticking out of the pillow fabric. "Thanks, Mads. You sure you don't mind me talking about this stuff? I don't wanna push my relationship in your face."

"Don't even worry about it, really. At the end of the day, I knew Noah for about a week, ya know? It's not the end of the world." A pit began to form in my stomach. "But I still care about him a lot."

"Time works differently in this villa, for real. There's no social media, no distractions. You get to know people much better and much faster than you would if you met out in the real world," Peach said.

"True. Still, imagine going to the bar with your friend and they're crying over a guy they'd been seeing for a week. You'd kind of want to slap them a little bit, right?"

Peach considered this for a moment, then dropped her argument. "Okay, fair. I'm still sorry."

"It'll all be fine," I smiled at her reassuringly and reached out for her hand.

"Do you still plan to meet up with him outside the villa?" she asked.

"For sure. We had a really good connection!" I said. "At the end of the day-" My phone chirped beside my leg before I could finish my cheesy anecdote. Peach perked up as I picked up my phone and read the first few words of the text. "Text!" I yelled. Peach and I leaped to our feet and hustled down the stairs to meet the others in the garden. "I got a text. Islanders, today you will be going on dates with who America thinks you should get to know better. #AmericasChoice #SinkorSwim."

"Do we have time to get ready? Or is it happening right now?" Giselle poked her head into the circle. Another text came through clarifying the answer.