Chapter Eight
Ella
Ella and her friends followed Pearl down from the dock. When they reached the hotel’s entrance, Ella’s mouth dropped open, surprised by the sheer size of the hotel.
“Whoa,” Ella said as they walked inside. Sierra linked her arm with Ella’s.
“This make up for not telling you all about the resort?” Sierra asked tentatively. Ella smiled.
“You guys aren’t fully off the hook yet,” Ella said. “But this does certainly help.”
Pearl led them up to the reception desk, where they were given their keys. Ella was surprised to find that they each had their own rooms.
“Ladies,” Pearl said. “We are very happy that you all have chosen to stay with us for this week. We have the Charlestown clan here staying with us, and we hope that you each find someone you would like to be with.”
Heat rushed to Ella’s face. I’m not ready to find anyone I want to be with, she thought. Sierra wrapped her arm around Ella’s shoulder and hugged her lightly. Ella smiled at her comforting gesture.
“There are even numbers of clan members to women,” Pearl said, “however, we cannot always predict what the heart wants, so there may be some of you that do not match.”
Ella let out a small sigh of relief. She could easily avoid getting close to anyone and instead spend her vacation relaxing on the beach. Pearl handed out their individual keys to their rooms and they made their way to their bungalows.
“It’s about dinner time,” Sierra said. “So why don’t we all go get ready and meet in the lobby in about an hour?” Everyone nodded in unison. Ella watched her friends walk to their individual bungalows. Luckily they were all right next to each other; the only thing separating them was that they were each on different small docks. They all seem so happy to be here, she thought. Ella didn’t want to ruin the vacation for them, but she certainly did not feel like leaving her private bungalow.
Ella walked down her individual dock to her door and turned the key. She let out an audible gasp once inside. The room was practically the size of her apartment. There was a small kitchenette that opened up to a large living room with a big-screen TV and an extremely comfortable-looking couch. To the right of the living room was the bedroom, complete with a large king-size bed and connecting bathroom. Ella placed her bag down on the bench near the bed and fell into the fluffy comforter. She closed her eyes and let the sound of the ocean through the open balcony start to drift her off to sleep.
***
Ella was startled awake by the loud sound of the phone on the nightstand ringing. Ella rolled her eyes and reached for the phone.
“Hello?” she said groggily.
“I knew you just collapsed on the bed,” Sierra said. “Come on, get your ass up and start to get ready. Don’t you want dinner?” Ella’s stomach started to grumble at the mention of food.
“Yeah…I am,” Ella said as she fought to keep her eyes from closing. Sierra chuckled into the phone.
“Good,” Sierra said. “I’ll swing by to pick you up in fifteen minutes.” Ella’s eyes snapped open. Holy shit, she thought. Fifteen minutes?
“Gotta go,” Ella quickly said and hung up the phone. She jumped off the comfortable bed and stripped out of her clothes from the plane and walked into the bathroom. There was a Jacuzzi-style bathtub with a separate shower that looked big enough to fit three people in. Ella snorted out a laugh when she thought about how many couples of three had found their way into one of these showers.
Ella let the hot water cascade down her body, and with it she hoped her anxiety. Remembering she was under a time crunch, she sped up her shower routine and quickly hopped out. To save time, she ran the towel through her auburn hair and quickly twisted it up into a bun, and let a few strands fall down, framing her semi-round face. She lightly rubbed her tinted moisturizer on her skin, and used her liquid eyeliner to draw thin lines that accentuated her green eyes, making them look bigger. She completed her makeup with bronzer, a quick brush of eye shadow, and maEllaa.
Ella looked down at her watch and realized she had about five more minutes before Sierra pounded on her door. She ran to her suitcase and pulled out a short black dress that fit her body like a glove. She called it her magic dress because, despite how form-fitting it was, it was able to hide all of her problem areas but accentuated her curves in all the right places, making her feel hot as hell. She needed a confidence booster, and this dress was it.
As soon as she zipped herself up and put on her strappy heels, Sierra knocked on her door.
“Coming!” Ella called. She rushed to her bathroom and applied her red lipstick. She pressed her lips together and took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought. She smiled and quickly ran to the door.
***
Ella followed her friends into the large open restaurant that led into the bar area. They were led to a table in the center of the room, and as she sat down she took a moment to take in her surroundings. Every table in the restaurant was full, and the bar was getting more packed by the minute.
“Did you guys hear anything yet about the guys yet?” Amanda asked. Maggie quickly nodded.
“I heard that they are from Boston,” Maggie said.
“Really?” Amanda said. “Well, that could be a good thing for us.”
Ella looked down and pretended to be very interested in the cocktail menu. Of course they had to be from Boston. That meant the likelihood of Ella running into one of them again was higher. Why couldn’t this just have been a girls’ vacation? Ella thought.
The waitress came to their table. “What can I get you ladies this evening?” the waitress asked.
“I’ll take a margarita,” Ella responded quickly.
“Oh, that sounds good,” Sierra chimed in. “I will take one too.”
“If you all plan on drinking margaritas, we can get you a pitcher,” the waitress smiled.
“Yeah, let’s get two pitchers,” Ella answered. Sierra stifled a laugh next to her and Ella kicked her under the table. The waitress nodded and walked away.
“Two pitchers, huh, Ella?” Sierra teased.
“With the amount of sexual tension in this room all around us, I think two pitchers might not be enough,” Ella said. Sierra and the rest of her friends burst out laughing.
***
Ella leaned back in her chair. The food at the resort was absolutely delicious. She had gotten Mahi Mahi, and it was possibly the best meal she had ever had. She was finishing up her fourth margarita when her table was interrupted. A tall, dark-haired burly guy walked up confidently to their table.
“Hi ladies,” he said. “I’m Logan. A few of us were wondering if you would like to join us over at the bar.” Sierra looked over to Ella and smiled. Ella knew that Sierra would start pleading with her eyes if she said no. She quickly nodded and downed the rest of her drink and poured another glass. As she stood up from the table she wobbled a bit. A warm rush filled her body as she quickly caught herself, hoping that none of her friends noticed. She pressed her lips together, realizing that they were slightly numb. She followed her friends to the bar and realized she was surrounded by a group of guys. Ella took another long swig of her margarita, hoping to calm her nerves, and claimed an empty seat a bit outside of all the commotion.
Sierra, Maggie, Rebecca and Amanda pushed themselves into the center of the crowd. Ella was used to being the odd man out in situations like this. Sierra had always loved being the center of attention, while Ella much preferred standing on the sidelines and participating when necessary. Sierra searched for Ella, and when their eyes met, Ella smiled at her to let her know that she was all right where she was. Sierra smiled back and turned her full attention to Logan.
Ella turned away from the crowd and continued to sip her margarita. She looked to the right of the bar and noticed a long hallway. Curiosity got the best of her. She looked back to her friends, who were completely occupied and she quietly slipped off the bar stool and made her way down the hall.