Ethan’s eyes felt like weights hung from them. He blinked a few times, and once he could finally open his eyes, he saw a blurred scene. A throbbing pain reverberated behind his forehead, and he pinched his nose to try to relieve the pain. The parched sensation in his mouth was like a drought, and his tongue the texture of sandpaper.

  The rooms on Sanctuary were equipped with a small galley and a cabinet overhead housed some utensils and dish ware. He took a cup, then filled it from the sink, and drank the entire contents in one, rapid gulp. A sigh of refreshment escaped his cracked lips, and he refilled the cup again for another drink.

  Ethan turned his back to the sink while drinking, and he choked on the water when his eyes fell on his bed. A young woman lay naked beneath the sheets with her back facing him, her short, burgundy hair splayed out on the pillow.

  “Oh shit…” Ethan said between coughs, trying to clear the water from his throat. He set the cup down on the sink and rubbed his head, trying to remember what had happened.

  His memory recalled him and the others going to the beach and meeting Tom for a surprise party. He recalled the pizza and the beer—too much beer, he thought. They were having a great time, and then things got serious for a moment. Tom left, but they stayed out there…

  Ethan had trouble recalling the specifics. But he had flashes of him and Alexa moving closer to each other until they were soon sharing the same towel. His stomach rumbled, and a queasy sensation started to bubble up—literally.

  Knocking the cup over, Ethan rushed for the bathroom. He made it just in time to raise the toilet seat. The half-digested pizza and beer poured out of his mouth, staining the toilet bowel with an unsightly shade of brownish yellow.

  “You okay?”

  Ethan coughed a few times, clearing the last of the bile and vomit from his mouth. He pulled some toilet paper and wiped his lips, then dropped it in the bowel and flushed. Slowly, he rose up from the floor to address Alexa, who stood in front of his bathroom door, holding the bedsheet wrapped around her body closed right at her chest.

  “No…not really.”

  He washed his face and cupped his hands beneath the stream. Ethan sucked up the water, swished it around his mouth, and spat it back out. His hand pulled the towel from the rack and he dapped his face clean. As he dried off, he noticed the wet clothes hanging from the shower rail.

  “Did…did we go swimming?”

  Alexa nodded. “Yeah, after Liv and Rachel left. Don’t you remember?”

  Ethan shook his head. “Bits and pieces mostly.” He looked back at Alexa, then down at himself. For the first time, he became cognizant of his own nudity. Ethan grabbed a towel hanging from behind the bathroom door and wrapped it around her waist.

  Alexa offered a shy smirk, something a little out of place for her. “Don’t worry, I already got a close-up look at it last night.”

  Blood rushed to Ethan’s cheeks and he hoped the blushing wasn’t very obvious on his dark skin. “So…the two of us…”

  Alexa nodded. “Yup.” She bit her lower lip and broke eye contact with him as she held up three fingers.

  “Wow…I…umm…I’m sorry?”

  She perked up at that and looked at him with a cocked brow. “For what?”

  Ethan had trouble thinking of an answer. “I…uhh, well, I was really drunk…and you were, too…and…I…uhh…” He sighed. “I’m sorry if you feel like I…y’know…took advantage of you.”

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  Alexa just stared at him in disbelief for a few moments, then she laughed.

  “What’s…what’s so funny?”

  “Ethan, come on. I’m a big girl and I can make my own decisions,” she said. “If anything, I took advantage of you.”

  “Okay, but maybe we should talk about things?”

  Alexa shrugged and moved from the bathroom back to the main area of Ethan’s room. Ethan followed her, then watched as she started looking through his drawers. She continued to hold up the sheet with one hand, while the other rummaged through his clothing.

  “What’s there to talk about?” she asked. “We hooked up, it was fun, why don’t we just leave it at that?”

  “I dunno, just seems…” Ethan sighed, trying hard to find a way to express his thoughts. He’d never been in this sort of situation, so he had no frame of reference for how to navigate it. “What are you doing in my drawers, anyway?”

  She took out one of his green-trimmed Omega jumpsuits and quickly dressed in it. It was a few sizes too big for her, but she didn’t seem to mind.

  “My clothes are still drying and I can’t very well walk to my room with just a sheet covering me,” she said. “Relax, I’ll bring the jumpsuit back later.”

  “And you’re sure you’re okay? We don’t gotta talk about anything?” asked Ethan.

  Alexa smiled as she approached him. She stood on her toes to reach his height and give him a light kiss on his cheek.

  “It’s sweet of you to ask, but we’re good,” she said.

  “It’s just that I’ve never had a one-night stand before.”

  “The nice thing about them is there’s no overthinking necessary,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

  True to his word, Tom went out to the beach soon after waking to clean up what was left behind. But when he got there, the beach was already spotless. All that was left were the remnants of the campfire he’d built.

  “Took you long enough.”

  Tom spun to see Rachel walking towards him, holding two cups of coffee.

  “Was starting to think I’d missed you.” She handed him one of the cups. “Two sugars, no cream.”

  “Thanks.” Tom accepted the coffee and took a sip, relishing the bittersweet taste as the warm liquid flowed over his tongue. “You guys cleaned up before you went in?”

  “Yeah. We all gathered everything up, then Liv and I took it to the trash. And don’t worry, your speaker and cooler are in my room. I’ll bring them over later.”

  “Only you and Liv handled the garbage?” asked Tom.

  Rachel smirked. “I think Alexa and Ethan were otherwise occupied.”

  “Really? Didn’t expect a team romance to kick off that fast.”

  “Alexa doesn’t strike me as someone who’s big on wasting time,” said Rachel.

  Tom drew in a breath. “Guess not.” He stared out at the ocean, listening to the sound of the waves lapping the shore.

  “What the hell was that last night?” asked Rachel. “Telling the others the Heads only picked you out of sexism.”

  “It was the truth,” said Tom. “I always knew you were right for this job. Nobody was more surprised than me when they picked me. Hell, I was expecting to be kicked out. After what I did.”

  “What you did was do everything in your power to try and help your teammates,” said Rachel.

  Tom sighed. “No, I charged in and got separated from the others. If I’d been there—”

  “You might’ve died, too,” said Rachel. “You aren’t responsible for what happened to Scott and the others.”

  “I still freaked out when I realized what had happened.”

  “Yeah, so would anyone in that situation.”

  Tom’s head snapped toward Rachel. “You didn’t.”

  Rachel blinked a few times and looked away. She took a sip of her coffee. “Different circumstances.”

  “How’s it different?”

  “Because I wasn’t in love with one of the victims.” Rachel looked at Tom. “Even when you tried to bring me out of my shell, I still—I kept them all at a distance.”

  She looked down, digging her foot into the sand. “A good leader is about more than being the smartest or the strongest. A good leader has to be connected to their teammates. And I don’t really know how to do that.” She glanced at Tom. “You do. You proved that when you and I first met, and you proved it last night.”

  Tom sighed and sipped his coffee. “I somehow doubt that’s what the Tribunal was thinking.”

  “I agree. There’s no question in my mind why they made their decision,” said Rachel. “But the right choice is still the right choice—even if it’s for the wrong reasons.”

  It was a nice sentiment. Tom appreciated the effort she’d made to reassure him, even if he still didn’t believe it. At least now he felt a little more comfortable in his new role.

  “And hey, if you really wanna prove you’ve got what it takes?” asked Rachel. “I think I could use your help with something.”

  Tom glanced down at her. “What are you up to?”

  “That interface with my Titan. It showed me some pretty wild memories,” said Rachel. “I think there are some things about that crystal that the Heads aren’t telling us. I’ve got a hunch they know more about what’s going on than they’ve led us to believe.”