Vacations from Hell
His hand is resting on her shoulder.
“Booooo,” I moan. “I think my boyfriend already has a girlfriend.”
I stomp my sandaled foot against the deck.
“You’re cuter,” Hailey says.
Liz nods. “You can take her.”
I shake my head. “I can find a single guy. I don’t need to rob someone of her boyfriend.”
“It’s not a girlfriend,” Liz says. “It’s some random girl he’s flirting with. I saw her last night at the casino with a whole other group. She’ll be history by dinner.”
“You think?” I ask hopefully.
“I promise,” she says.
We all split up in the late afternoon: Hailey claims she needs a nap, Liz hits the gym, and I check out the spa. We all meet for dinner and a little YMCAing at the disco. Later we find James Bond back at the casino bar.
The good news: Liz was right—the girl from the afternoon is nowhere to be found.
The bad news: He’s with two new girls. He’s smiling at both of them, his teeth gleaming against his pale skin.
Sigh.
“Next,” Hailey whispers.
“But he’s so perfect,” I say. “Look at him.”
“Kristin, you can’t just hook up with someone who’s already hooked up with two people in as many days,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s skanky. No offense, Liz.”
“None taken,” Liz says cheerfully.
“It’s not like I want a deep, meaningful relationship,” I mumble.
“But he’s a creep. What happened to the girl in the hot tub? Has he forgotten all about her already?”
His arm is gently brushing against the back of one of the girls, the one in a pink halter top. The other girl, wearing her hair in a tight bun, is twirling on a bar stool, looking bored and annoyed. She whispers something to Miss Pink Halter Top and then takes off.
“Great. Now the lovebirds are on their own.” I throw my hands in the air. “I give up!”
“Let’s go get ice cream sundaes,” Hailey suggests. “They’re giving them out in the dining room. I bet there are better guys there. Ones that aren’t so cocky looking.”
“But I like cocky guys,” I say sadly.
We step back out into the lobby. “You two go ahead,” Liz says. “I have someone I need to talk to.”
“Your friend from last night?” Hailey asks knowingly.
Liz winks.
We go for ice cream. Hailey takes two bowls: one for her and one for her alleged mother.
“Not that she’ll eat it,” Hailey says. “It’ll probably just melt into a pile of gunk.”
“Has she not left her room?” That is so weird. Could that even be true? How could we not have seen her at least once?
“I think she has a few times. But only at night. She sleeps all day. It’s ridiculous.”
“Want me to come check on her with you?” I ask. To see if she really exists. Maybe she’s the vampire. Ha-ha.
“Oh no. Don’t worry about it. She’d hate it if I brought someone back to the room. Wanna go to yours and hang out? I can meet you there after I drop this off. Don’t you have a balcony?”
“I do, but…” Not a good idea. “My roomie might have a friend there. And we don’t want to…ruin the mood.”
“This is it,” Liz says the next day at the pool. “Our last full day. Are you ready to make your move, sweetie?”
“I’ve been ready for three days.” Kind of. Hopefully. I scan the pool area for his gorgeousness. “He’s not even here.”
“He will be,” she says.
“If you really want to make it happen, I think you may need to choose someone else,” Hailey says. “You’re practically out of time.”
“But he’s my dream man,” I say. “I just need to get him alone.”
“And I doubt you will any time soon,” Hailey says, pointing with a toe across the pool. “Look who’s over there by herself.”
The girl with the bun from last night, the friend of Pink Halter Top girl, is talking to one of the waiters.
“Oh great,” I say.
“Her friend is probably all cuddled-up with your boy. Time for you to move on.”
The girl sees us staring and hurries over.
“What could she want?” Hailey wonders aloud.
When she reaches our chairs, she says, “Hey, sorry to bother you guys. But you were at the casino last night, right?”