Page 63 of Big Stick Energy
If that’s what it takes to get rid of this headache, I guess I’ll try it. I close my eyes as Darcy’s fingers return to their magic. The room is so quiet that I can hear the waves hitting the beach nearby. So I make myself focus only on that.
A while later, I’m briefly aware of a pillow replacing Darcy’s thigh beneath my head. And then the soft click of the bedroom door as she retreats to log in to her class. But the switcheroo only relaxes me further, because it means that she’s not missing her lecture on my account.
I listen to the distant surf, and nothing else registers for a nice long time.
Muffled footsteps in the hallway.
Ocean.
Quiet.
But then, like fingernails on a chalkboard, I hear Tessa’s chirpyvoice. “Darcy? Is this reallyyourroom? I didn’t believe it when I read it on the manifest.”
My eyes spring open, but when I look around, I’m still alone.
“Yep,” says Darcy from the hallway. “I got upgraded. Why do you need to know?”
“Everybody gets a gift basket. So open the door already? My arms are kind of full here.”
“Oh.” A pause. “That’s very nice. I can just take…”
“No, show me your room.”
Another silence. “Eric is napping. He has a headache.”
“I’m up!” I slur, rolling over onto my side.
I hear the beep of the key card mechanism, and then the door opens a few inches as Darcy peeks inside. “Hey! How’s your head?”
“Better.” It’s probably even true. “And yours?”
“Fantastic!” She gives me a conspiratorial wink and opens the door all the way. “I brought you a cappuccino.”
“You’re my favorite.”
She gives me a bright smile and carries a cup holder over to the coffee table.
Tessa follows her into the room, uninvited. She’s weighed down by four or so baskets, wrapped in some kind of shimmery gauze. “Eric! I brought you guys a gift basket. Just some little treats to enjoy during the Wedding Experience.”
“Oh, thanks.” I swing my legs off the couch and force myself into a sitting position. Although there’s nothing less interesting to me than a gift basket from Tessa. Unless it contains a pair of earplugs for whenever she opens her mouth.
Tessa marches over to the coffee table and hefts a basket onto its surface. Then she sets the extra ones down on the rug and commences snooping around the suite. “Damn, this room,” she says,walking over to the curtain and yanking it open. My head gives a stab as the sunlight slices into the room. “Wow, the view! My room looks out at the parking lot. How did you score this room? Eric must have some pull.”
“Oh, he does,” Darcy says, not bothering to set the record straight. “So much pull.” She winks at me again and then walks into the bedroom.
Her evil stepsister, the queen of boundary stomping, follows her in there andshuts the door.
Chapter 21
Rectangular and Heavy
Darcy
Is there something you need from me?” I ask Tessa, baffled as to why the little snoop is still on my heels.
“Why is Eric sleeping on the couch?” she demands, crossing her arms.
“Nap attack?” I shrug. “Why do you care?”
