Page 10 of Passions & Peonies

The pool area is crowded and hopping. We sit on the edge of the pool and sway our legs through the water while we people watch. “Look at those guys playing water volleyball. Not a bad view from over here.” Sky clicks her tongue. “You played volleyball in college. You should join in.”

“I see your radar is on full blast already.”

“Of course. Why shouldn’t it be? I’m single, but I’m not looking to hook up here.” She lifts a foot out of the water and wiggles her toes. “Check out my new toe ring. I saw a picture of Jennifer Aniston with one. It looked so sexy. What do you think?”

I nudge her with my elbow and chuckle. “Everything looks sexy on you. You have long, slender toes, so it looks good and it matches your style like your nose ring. Don’t lose it in the pool, though. You’ll never find it.”

“Thanks,” she says, then hops off the edge, splashing me. “Let’s go.”

We swim to the crowded bar and share a seat that just became vacant. Do people leave because they see us coming, or is it pure luck? Our mouths drop open when we see the massive board with its long list of frozen drinks and their ingredients. My stomach growls. I’m not sure drinking is the best thing right now, but I don’t care.

“I love that this resort is all-inclusive. We don’t ever have to worry about money. Have I thanked you for finding this gem?”

“About a million times. We’re only here for a week. That’s not enough time to try all of these drinks, even if we share.”

“Who the hell said I wanted to share?” I snicker.

She rests her sunglasses on the tip of her nose and her emerald eyes pierce mine. “After we order, you’re going to explain to me what happened back there. Don’t think I forgot about it. I’m too curious to let it go.”

I huff. “Okay, okay.” My shoulders slump in defeat. “Let’s order something quickly before I chicken out. But let’s go back to our chairs to talk about it. It’s a long story.”

“Ilovelong stories.” Sky waves down a bartender. “What are you in the mood for?”

Will.

“I don’t know.” I scan the board again. “Something with strawberries but no peaches or pineapples.”

“Me too, but I’ll make sure it’s different than yours.”

The bartender comes back in record time with our drinks. We toast to our first day.

“Holy shit.” Sky’s face contorts after she takes her first sip. “There’s a lot of vodka in this. But it’s so delicious,” she says, slurping away.

I do the same. “We need to order some food. I’ll be drunk before I finish this thing.”

A couple other chairs have become free around us since it’s late in the afternoon. We rearrange ours so we can face each other. The sun beats on our sides. That’ll be funny if we get sunburned on opposite sides.

“Now that we’ve ordered some food, and we’re relaxed and refreshed, I want every detail. Start from the beginning. Who did you think that hot guy was?”

“If you think he was good-looking, a guy that looked just like him sat in your empty seat on the plane.”

“No way!” She taps my leg with her foot. “I got stuck sitting next to an old woman who smelled like mothballs and groaned all the time on the first flight. The second one was even more annoying. A teenage girl sat next to me and took a ton of selfies, then she started to whine to her mother because she didn’t have Wi-Fi connection for Instagram and Snapchat. She’s lucky I wasn’t her mother.”

I laugh. “Don’t forget how we used to play with Snapchat a couple of years ago, and we’re adults.”

She nods, then waves her hand. “Enough of that. Story, please.”

I take one more sip of my drink and begin. “Somehow I fell asleep before takeoff, and I didn’t wake up until drinks were served. I don’t remember him sitting down. When I woke up, I didn’t pay much attention to him, but I felt this magnetic pull or tingling feeling. Like he was watching me—but not in a creepy way. I tried to check him out from the corner of my eye but couldn’t see much. He wore sunglasses most of the time.”

“Who wears sunglasses in an airplane? Anyway, did he say hello?”

“No. I just kept to myself, but that urge to talk to him was crazy. The silence started to feel awkward.”

A waitress delivers a heaping plate of hummus and pita wedges to our table. We inhale it like we haven’t eaten in days.

“So who broke it?” Sky asks, wiping hummus off the corner of her lip.

“Huh? Broke what?”

---