Our Perfect Storm
by Carley Fortune
Contents
Chapter Fourteen
Overview
The resort’s lavish honeymoon suite forces Frankie and George into a more intimate performance of being newlyweds, sharpening the attraction and awkwardness already building between them. As they joke through the staff’s assumptions, Frankie notices how naturally they look like a couple and how much George’s life has changed. The chapter turns when George tries to keep physical distance by offering to sleep on the couch, only for a revealing slip to suggest he may be hiding deeper feelings or attachments.
Summary
Frankie enters the resort suite and is stunned by its honeymoon staging: rose petals, candles, a drawn bath, and a sweeping view. The setup makes Frankie acutely uncomfortable because it is so intimate, and because it reminds her of the last time she and George were in a candlelit bedroom together as teenagers. While Kevin proudly points out the room’s luxuries, Frankie discovers that the bathroom also contains a "Romance Kit," which adds to her embarrassment.
Kevin keeps treating them as honeymooners and offers more romantic services, including an in-room couple’s massage. Frankie mischievously plays along, calling George "honey," but George abruptly dismisses Kevin by saying he would rather be alone "with my wife." The word intensifies the tension between Frankie and George, and Frankie notices another change in him when he smoothly tips Kevin, a small sign of how different George’s adult life has become from the one she knew.
Once Kevin leaves, Frankie jokes about the vibrator in the bathroom and cleans George’s smudged glasses, a familiar act that underscores their easy intimacy. Frankie then asks why George is letting the staff assume they are married, especially since they are not even wearing rings. George explains that newlyweds get special treatment and says people already assume they are together anyway.
Frankie recognizes that George is right: strangers read them as a couple because of their private shorthand, their glances, and the way they care for each other. At the same time, Frankie remembers that she once tried to turn their friendship into something more and that George stopped it. That memory gives the scene an added layer of tension as the pretense of marriage begins to feel emotionally loaded instead of merely convenient.
George then reveals that he already asked for a room with two beds and, when none was available, planned to sleep on the downstairs couch. Frankie rejects the idea because the suite is large enough to share. His reluctance makes Frankie wonder whether he has a serious girlfriend he has not mentioned, but George insists he is not seeing anyone. When he says there is "nobody else" and then tries to call it a slip of the tongue, Frankie realizes his answer may conceal more than he admits.
Who Appears
- FrankieNarrator; unsettled by the honeymoon suite, teases George, and probes whether he is hiding a relationship.
- GeorgeFrankie’s lifelong friend; plays along as her "husband," seeks distance, and lets slip a suspicious phrase.
- KevinAttentive resort staff member who treats Frankie and George as newlyweds and heightens the awkward intimacy.