“OH MY GOD! That did not just happen!”

Everyone at the table is clapping, happy for us regardless of their bet outcomes. Maybe it’s the fact that I bet a hundred on it or maybe it’s just that our energy is infectious. Either way, we have the attention of the entire casino.

“Kip.” Skyler is breathing erratically as she turns back to the table. “That’s like three thousand dollars. Holy shit.”

The rest of the table laughs and even the dealer cracks a smile as she calls over the pit boss to check the chips she’s piled up for me.

“Well, I guess we better find a really awesome way to spend it tomorrow on the island, huh?” I spin her around to face me. “See? You just needed to have a little more faith in your number. That’s all.”

Skyler smiles, her blue eyes reflecting the bright lights of the casino. “I think I just needed you. Maybe you’re my lucky charm.”

I swallow the lump building in my throat. If she knew why I showed up in her life in the first place, lucky would be the last thing she’d call me. Even though I’ve made up my mind about telling Dad the deal is off, I’m still hiding everything from Skyler and I didn’t think it would eat at me the way it still does. I feel like I need to tell her, to just explain it, but when I think about having the conversation, I have no idea where to even start. Every scenario I play out in my head ends with a slap to the face and the girl I want walking away from me for good.

I can’t risk that.

“I’ll take that title.” I grin. “Am I the kind of lucky charm you never take off? You know, the kind you shower with?” I waggle my eyebrows and she rolls her eyes, turning back to the table to pull our chips. But when she turns back to face me, her eyes are hungry again, hooded with a purpose.

“Well, I did say I’d show you my tattoo.”

Damn.

Thank you, black number four.

“I need to keep drinking or I’m going to start slipping into hangover mode,” Jess says, pouring up five shots in the little mouthwash cups from the bathroom. She hands one to me and even though it’s the last thing I want right now, I down it. I’m exhausted from being in the sun all day on the island. Plus, I had the women’s tournament this morning, too. I won, thankfully, which means I get free entry into tomorrow’s tournament. If I win tomorrow, I’ll officially have enough to pay the entry fee for Vegas. Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking tonight…

Meh, whatever. I’ll drink an energy drink in the morning.

It’s Spring Break! And I’m feeling more alive than I have in as long as I can remember. There are three blow-dryers going at once as the girls hurry to get ready for tonight, my skin is still hot from the sun today, and there’s a huge smile plastered on my face. After the tournament, I snuck into Kip’s room and we showered together. Everyone else was already on the island, but we took our time. After all, I had to show him my tattoo – four tiny dots near my left hip bone. They look like freckles, which was my intention, and I shiver at the memory of Kip’s wet fingers tracing a line between each one before he slowly bent down to trace that same trail with his lips.

On the island, we were together, but we couldn’t really be together. Everyone was around Kip all day. He took the liberty of completely blowing the three thousand dollars he won last night by buying drinks and cabanas for all his brothers and my sisters on the beach. Clinton and his brothers along with the Delta Beta Gamma sisters were kind of pissed off, but they understood and we all kind of hung out in the same place, anyway. There haven’t been any fights yet, no drama – just an insane amount of fun.

I love Spring Break.

“I want to get laid tonight,” my Big says, turning on her straightener and flipping through the clothes she has hanging in the closet. Jess, Ashlei, and Erin are all staying in one room and Cassie and I are in the adjoined one. We’ve opened up the middle door, though, and there’s clothes and makeup everywhere.

Jess and Ashlei hoot in approval and my Little smiles. “I like that attitude, Grand Big.”

Erin shrugs, pulling a short, sea-green dress from its hanger and laying it on the bed. “I’m serious. There are so many hot guys on this boat my ovaries can’t handle it anymore.”

“So no more worrying about Kip?” Ashlei asks and my eyes snap to Erin, anxiously awaiting her reply.

“Please.” She bats her hand at the empty air. “I’ve been over him. He was fun, but I think I put more thought into it than I should have. I mean, we dated in high school, for God’s sake.”

I let out a long breath of relief but try to hide it, focusing on applying my mascara in the mirror beside Cassie. After Kip broke things off with Erin, she was a mess, but only for a few days. Before the cruise, we talked about everything – the deal, the presidency, her and Kip… me and Kip. She had basically said the same thing then, that it was different with him and she wasn’t upset about it, but I know Erin, and I wasn’t sure I could believe she’d gotten over it that quickly. But now, she’s on the prowl looking for someone to bring home. If that isn’t the green light go sign, I don’t know what is.

Still, I wonder if it’s too early to let everyone know about me and Kip.

I’ve thought about what I would do if everyone reacted the way I think they would. If my sisters were pissed, if I didn’t get president, if everything just kind of went to shit. At first, it frightened me. Being president is in my “blood”, so to say. My Big is president, her Big was president, so on and so forth for who knows how long. I would break our biggest Greek family tradition if I didn’t step up next year, if the girls didn’t trust me enough to elect me. Maybe it’s Kip messing with my head, but for some reason, I don’t care as much as I used to. I want to be president, I think I would make an amazing president, but at the end of the day… I just want to be me. And me likes Kip. A lot.

“I like this plan.” Jess nods, taking another shot. “I vote we all bring someone home tonight.” She pauses, considering what she just said. “At different times, of course. No orgy business on Spring Break.” We all burst out into laughter and Jess shrugs, smiling as she hands a shot to Ashlei.

I nudge my Little, eying her in the mirror. “You think you’ll be cozying up with Kade tonight?”

She blushes. “I don’t know. He’s still… emotionally unavailable, I guess. We’ve been hanging out, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking.”

My mouth pulls to the side as I digest her words. Funny, Kade has been with Kip almost the entire cruise and I haven’t really seen Cassie with him. Maybe they’re sneaking around, too.

“He’s a boy.” I smile, handing her my favorite lip gloss. She returns my smile as she applies it, checking herself again in the mirror. “He’ll come around eventually. Just give him time to break down his feelings. For some reason, that’s hard for them.” And for me, apparently.

Cassie nods, handing back the tube of gloss. “Thanks, Big. I think things are looking up.”

After we’re all dressed and ready and the room is just shy of a hundred degrees from all the blow-dryer and curling iron heat, we head to the piano bar onboard. Everyone is pre-gaming there tonight before heading to the club. My palms grow sweaty the closer we get to the bar. I can’t wait to see Kip, and now that I know Erin has her own agenda, I can’t help but think tonight might be the night Kip and I make things official. I don’t want to push it too soon, but I feel like I’m the small ball at a circus with a large elephant balancing on me. I either need to make a move or I’m going to get crushed under the pressure, and that won’t end well for anyone involved.