Chapter 141

The three of us had learned since the first day or two and were all wearing decent shoes or boots to do our mini-hike across the rocky terrain to the spot Leia had in mind for the photoshoot. We needed to use our phone lights for much of the walk because it was still so dark out, and Leia got turned around a couple times, but she ended up leading us to a natural little plateau ringed about halfway by a little rock shelf with a cleft in it that would make a fantastic backdrop.

The sky was turning that warm blue on the horizon as the sun was just about to break the horizon, but as I set down the bag with our equipment Leia touched my arm. “Sorry, could we just- can we talk for a minute, guys?”

“Sure,” I said.

“What’s up? Are you not comfortable with this?” Cassidy asked in concern.

“No, no,” Leia assured us. “I just ... I just need some clarity.”

She looked nervous, like yesterday when she’d lost her nerve for a moment while we’d been gaming. In the half-light of pre-dawn, she looked beautiful, her cute lips accented with lipstick to be just a touch more heart-shaped, or ‘bee stung’ or whatever the girls called the shape. Not fake with filler like Instagram clout chasers, but more old-fashioned. Her skin was washed out in the light, looking even more pale than usual and giving her this ethereal quality that reminded me of how the elves were depicted in the Lord of the Rings movies.

“Ask, and we’ll try to answer as best we can,” I said, reaching down and taking her hand to squeeze it softly and reassure her.

“Can we sit?” she asked.

“Of course, babe,” Cassidy said, and soon we were sitting in a little circle on the towels we’d brought so that we didn’t get grit on mine or Leia’s swimsuits. “What’s up? You look like you might literally burst.”

Leia smiled a little and looked down at her hands in her lap, then back up at me, and then at Cass. “I made out with Robbie yesterday,” she said.

Cass smiled a little and furrowed her brow, tilting her head a bit. “Oh, babe, I know. Robbie told me. And let me tell you, he thinks you’re a great kisser.”

I hadn’t put it like that, but I had told Cass just like with everything else that was happening. Leia bit her lower lip a little as she blushed and glanced at me again before turning back to Cassidy. “And that’s OK? I mean, I know it’s OK, but I don’t know why. I don’t- I know what’s been going on, I guess I should say. Everyone knows about Cattie at this point considering Sherry won’t shut up about it, and the girls spilt the beans about what happened yesterday during the movies. And Becca keeps drifting off to somewhere else when she isn’t actively talking with someone, and has this little smile, so I’m guessing she hooked up too. So I know, but ... I don’t know if that makes sense?”

“It does,” Cassidy smiled sadly, taking Leia’s hand in hers. I reached over and took her other, and Cass glanced to me to get permission. I nodded softly, and she turned back to Leia. “You may have heard through the grapevine since enough people know by now, but I cheated on Robbie several years ago. I was young and very, very stupid, and I hate myself for it. I tried to excuse it in my head for a while because it was only with women and he was my only guy ever, but when I realized how awful I was being I stopped. Now that we’re engaged, I- I couldn’t keep it in anymore, and I told him. And part of my apology, one that I’m insisting on, is that I’m sharing him.”