Chapter Six
Ella
The ferry arrived at the dock and Ella felt all of the pent-up tension melt away in her shoulders. This is exactly what I needed, Ella thought. A week-long getaway with her best friends and no other distractions.
Ella stepped off the ferry onto the dock and took in her surroundings. The cove was absolutely gorgeous. The sun setting over the water reflected beautiful orange and red colors. It looked like something off a postcard. Ella took in a deep breath and let the salty air of the ocean course through her lungs. This is going to be an amazing week, she thought.
Ella had not realized until after brunch the other day how much she needed a break from men and dating in general. Her relationship with Gavin had been toxic on her wellbeing, and it had taken her the weekend to work through how she felt about everything. Gavin’s complete disregard for her had made all of her insecurities rise to the surface, and instead of the amazing twenty-five-year-old woman that she was, she felt like she was the shy, hesitant freshman girl that didn’t quite fit into her own skin.
Ella looked over to the amazing group of girls that she called friends. They will help me get back to myself, she thought. And this vacation was the beginning of that healing process.
Ella pulled out her phone to snap a few pictures of the amazing sunset that had formed in the lagoon. She moved her phone over towards the shoreline to get a few images of the water and was surprised to see that there were only women on the beach. Strange, she thought. Not that she was looking for a new guy, but some eye candy might have been nice to look at. Maybe this place just attracted a lot of groups of friends.
Sierra walked up behind Ella and snaked her arm around Ella’s waist and squeezed her into a side hug. Ella dropped her head on Sierra’s shoulder and let out a long sigh.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sierra asked.
Ella nodded into Sierra’s shoulder. “Thanks for suggesting this vacation, S,” Ella said. “I needed to get away for a while.”
“I know you did,” Sierra said. A comfortable silence fell between them. After a minute, Sierra cleared her throat. “I just want you to relax this week, Ella. It’s good to go to a new place and experience new things. Just promise me something.” Ella picked her head up from Sierra’s shoulder and looked at her.
“What is it, S?” she asked.
“That you will keep an open mind about things this week, and take each thing as it comes.”
Ella nodded. She knew Sierra was looking out for her like she always had, and if anyone would be able to pull her out of the horrible funk she felt after Gavin, it would be Sierra.
Amanda, Maggie and Rebecca were already at the end of the dock and calling out to them. Sierra squeezed Ella again and walked with her to the end of the dock, where a petite woman stood. “I am Pearl,” she said. “Welcome to Mystic Breeze Resort!”
The blood drained from Ella’s face. Mystic Breeze Resort, Ella thought. That was the new all-inclusive resort to hook up women with men. Just last week Ella had heard her favorite morning radio show hosts discussing the new resort and how it was quickly becoming the next big thing in dating.
Sierra’s arm tightened around Ella’s waist. Ella snapped her head towards Sierra, who looked down at her feet. She looked at the other girls, who were conveniently occupied with either their luggage or on their cell phones. This had to be some kind of joke.
Ella stepped away from Sierra. “Why would you bring me here?” Ella asked. “You of all people should know how uninterested I am in finding someone else to date right now. ” Heat rushed to Ella’s cheeks as she tried to contain the anger building up inside of her.
“We knew you wouldn’t come if you actually knew where we were going,” Sierra said. “That is why I took care of booking everything for you. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, but we thought it might be the best distraction for you.”
“Yeah,” Amanda chimed in. “We thought being on a secluded tropical island with a bunch of swoon-worthy eye candy might be exactly what you needed to get Gavin out of your head.”
Ella crossed her arms and felt her body slightly start to shake. The tight control over her anger was starting to lessen. Sierra tentatively walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.
“Look, Ella,” Sierra said. “You don’t need to get with anyone. All you need to focus on is having a good time. No pressure, okay?”
Ella sucked in a calming breath. The shaking of her body subsided and she felt the color of her face slowly turn back to normal. Ella knew she couldn’t really blame her friends for trying to make her have some fun. This was not a malicious prank on her; it was just a misguided attempt at forcing her into having some much-needed fun.
The problem was Ella’s heart was just not in it. Her insecurities had taken a stronghold over her mind, and she could not seem to feel sexy or attractive enough to want to be around men, let alone ones that could shift. Ella would play along with her friends, but she was determined to find a way to sneak out of the mixer activities that the resort was famous for. She would not be put on display for some stupid guys, no matter how hot they were.
“Come on,” Sierra said. “Why don’t we put our things in our rooms and go get a drink?”
Ella smiled. A drink was exactly what she needed right now.