Page 4 of Inside the Penalty Box

Lorelai held true to her promise by trying to encourage me the entire afternoon. That was until the sunblock incident. That was when she finally gave up. The girls teased me the rest of the afternoon, while the guy gave me major glances for the rest of the day.

“How about a round of drinks?” Willow questioned as we approached a table in the lobby.

We all nodded just as our regular server approached our table, already carrying a tray full of shots and drinks. He placed a full glass down in front of each of us, smiling because he’d remembered our orders from the previous nights.

“Amazing!” Willow screamed, raising her hands above her head in excitement. “We have to get our friend here to loosen up so she can talk to the handsome man who’s been eying her all day,” she said, pointing to the four guys who’d been on our trip today.

“Oh god! He’s here,” I said, gripping Lorelai’s arm, causing her to scream out in pain.

I wanted to kill Willow as the bartender looked at the men she was pointing to and then looked my way. “Is that so…little shy, are you?” He chuckled.

Hannah reached for her shot of tequila and raised her glass in the air. “Ladies, come on, get those drinks and toss them back. This should help her loosen the hell up, Aurora. At least enough to go over and say hello and apologize for being so damn uptight.”

I glared at the girls, becoming annoyed.

Adalyn and Willow picked theirs up and looked at Lorelai and me. We looked at one another and, feeling the pressure, picked ours up as well.

“To being single and free,” Willow, Hannah, and Adalyn said in unison.

“And living without abandon like Aurora’s mother!” Willow added, which she had done many nights this week.

The five of us chugged our tequila and then stuffed the lemon slices into our mouths and sucked. As I put my glass down, I caught sight of the guy who had been on the tour with us. Once again, he was staring back at me with those brilliant blue eyes of his against his tan skin as he ran his forefinger around the rim of his glass, brought his finger to his mouth, and sucked the salt off. I shyly smiled, which, of course, attracted all my friends’ attention.

“Who are you smiling at?” Willow asked, looking over her shoulder toward the bar.

“No one,” I mumbled, turning my attention back to what Hannah had been saying. There was no use. All eyes were on me.

“It’s that guy,” Adalyn said, turning back to me.

“And I said, it’s no one. Now, continue with your story,” I said, waiting for Hannah. Finally, she started talking again, keeping them all occupied.

“Another round of shots?” Willow yelled as soon as Hannah finished speaking.

I looked over at the bar once again while Willow tried to get the server’s attention. The guy was still there, still staring at me. Once again, I shyly smiled in his direction. That was when he leaned over and whispered something to his friend, still not taking his eyes off me.

“No, no more for me,” Lorelai replied, gripping my arm. “I’m done. I actually feel like I’m going to be sick.”

“Yeah, Willow, any more and I think I’m going to be sick as well,” Hannah cried, helping Lorelai up.

“Adalyn, Aurora?” Willow asked with a huff, waiting for us to answer.

Adalyn shook her head. “Willow, I’m going to have to detox my liver when I get home. I just can’t.” She placed her hand on her flat stomach.

Willow let out a laugh and turned to me. “Aurora?”

I shook my head. “Honestly, I think it’s time we all turn in. It’s been a long day. We’ve all been out in the sun, and I’m exhausted.”

Lorelai, Adalyn, and Hannah all gathered their things as Willow turned to me. “You can’t abandon me too. What about the fact you are supposed to be reclaiming your life?”

I glanced over to the bar to see the guy still staring. This time, a chill ran through me as I watched his eyes make their way down my body, drinking me in. I couldn’t remember a single time in my life I’d seen a guy look at me that way. Then one of his friends handed him a drink and then leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He fist bumped the other two guys who were with them and they wandered off.

“Earth to Aurora?” Willow said, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

“No worries. I’ll stay for one more drink, okay?”

“Yes!!!!!” Willow said as she took off toward the bar, leaving me at the table to say good night to the rest of the girls and watch them leave.

I turned and sat down while waiting for Willow to return when a server approached our table and set two shots along with two drinks on the table.

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