Roses in the Sand

by CS Patra

  Roses In the Sand

  CS Patra

  Cover by CoverMeDarling

  Editing by ultraediting

  Formatting by sputzie

  Table of Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.

  -Loretta Young

  We are, we are,

  We are timeless, timeless.

  Everything we have, we have,

  Everything, oh my God.

  You are, you are,

  The only thing that makes me feel like,

  I can live forever, forever.

  with you, my love.

  -The Airborne Toxic Event “Timeless”

  Chapter 1

  Lily Ballentyne looked out of the window of her hotel room and gazed at the sea that greeted her. She was so happy that she had come here for vacation. This place was truly as magical as they made it look on the brochure. The place had nothing but five star ratings and it was said to be better than Disney World. Being an avid fan of Disney and believing it was the most magical place on Earth, Lily was starting to think otherwise thanks to this place. The sea air was fresh and it stung her lungs in a good way. There weren't too many kids around this place and it was a very gay friendly area. She had seen many same-sex couples walking along the beaches. For her, it was nothing short of paradise.

  She took a quick glance at the mirror and wondered what was wrong with her image. She wasn’t a bad looking woman. Her hair had been dyed a dark red. It was almost maroon depending on the light. Her eyes were wide and brown and almost doe-like. Her skin was smooth and pale like the sand on the beaches. She had all the right assets and any woman would have been jealous of them. So how could she not find anyone?

  She was in paradise all right. The only thing that Lily was missing from this place was a partner. She had come here all by herself and it made her feel a little left out. She couldn't go to some of the parties because they were strictly for couples. On those nights, she was forced to stay in the room watching the Food Network and ogling food that she would never eat or make. There were only so many episodes of Chopped that she could get through before she went crazy.

  She saw so many pretty girls walking down the beach, but they already had someone with them. She was hankering for some action and so far, nothing good had come around. They were all beautiful, but none of them were for her. The men in this place weren’t doing anything for her either. As years went by, Lily found herself getting disappointed by both sexes. Nothing was appealing anymore. That was probably why she had writer’s block now. She couldn’t find a thing out there that was giving her any inspiration. Of course, she wasn’t supposed to be working here. She was on vacation. She was supposed to forget about everything related to work.

  Lily had taken a vacation due to work being so hectic. She worked in a pizzeria where the nights were long and the customers were too rowdy. Ninety percent of the people were lovely, but the other ten percent knew how to ruin her good mood. Some of them would come into the restaurant completely wasted and they would have no idea what to order. Others would make some rude remarks towards her. They would complain that she was too slow, she had made the food too spicy (even though she was not the cook), or that she was too stupid. It took a lot out of her not to chuck anything at their heads. No one deserved the treatment she got and for the little money she received for it. Sometimes, the assholes would ‘forget’ to give her a tip and that would make her blood boil. That was what added insult to the injury. She knew they didn’t leave a tip on purpose. She would do a perfect job despite what they said and they would pay her back with nothing.

  Fortunately, her manager Darlene was a good person and she could see how much Lily was going through. She was the one that gave Lily easier shifts to get through. She knew that Lily was a hard worker and did the best she could. It was her manager that suggested Lily go on the trip to begin with. It was to get her mind of the stress of the restaurant.

  “You aren’t firing me, are you?” Lily asked, worried that this was Darlene’s way of getting rid of her. What if one of the customers had complained so much that they got her fired?

  “On the contrary, you do a great job. I could never get rid of you,” Darlene said. “I do notice that you are a little stressed out though. You haven’t taken a day off since you were hired. I think it would do you some good to go somewhere nice for a little bit. I have a suite over in Florida if you want to borrow it. I think it will be a nice place for you to spend some time to yourself.”

  “Let me get this straight; you want me to go on vacation? This isn’t a trick or anything?” She asked. “Are you sure this isn’t your way of getting rid of me?”

  “No tricks. You do a fantastic job out here, Lily. You work very hard and the majority of the customers really like you. I really want you to go and have some good times to yourself. You deserve it.”

  As it turned out, Darlene wasn’t tricking her at all. She had given Lily access to her suite in Florida. The room had the most perfect view of the ocean and Lily would wake up every morning to see it. It was like something that had come out of a painting. If she was an artist, she would have painted this scene. In addition to the great view, the suite came fully furnished with everything.

  "Let's see...we've got some ramen noodles, mac and cheese, those skillet things..." She murmured as she shifted through the things in her pantry. "Oh, I really wish I had someone to share all this with. Eating it all by myself is going to make me fat."

  Dinner time was the worst. Sure, she could go to a fancy restaurant and get something to eat. Sure, she could eat by herself at a table. However, it didn't change the fact that she was lonely. It didn't change the fact that she desperately wanted someone to share a meal with. In her mind, she had pictured candlelit dinners, walks on the beach, picnics in the park, and sharing dessert with a special someone. It was no fun to eat by herself.

  “I really need to find someone,” she mumbled. “This is ridiculous. What kind of a vacation can I have here if I don’t have another person? It’s no fun staying here alone.”

  She felt strange talking to herself, but it was also very comforting. At least she could get some of that frustration out of her. The vacation did take away the stress from work, but it added a stress that she didn’t have before. It made her feel lonely. Seeing all those couples walking alongside the beach made her want to go down and find someone to walk with. Instead, she would go down there and start jogging. No one ran into her or asked her to join them. Everyone was lost in their own world just like she was. They were all here for different reasons and none of them were as lonely as she was.

  That wasn't the only thing that Lily craved out there. She wanted the soft touch of a woman against her body. She wanted to kiss someone so badly. She wanted to put her lips against another woman's lips and kiss her until they pulled apart. At this point, she was even willing to get someone's friendship. If it meant that it would lead to love, so be it.

  There wasn't a whole lot going on at the beach. Some band that called itself Black Widow's Kiss was playing and she already had tickets to see them. They were an all-female rock band that were slowly making their way up the charts. All of them were also very gorgeous and Lily wished that she could hook up with one of them. She had started listening to their music and grew to like it. Normally, she wasn’t into the rock scene, but they had her attention. They were all very talented and she was happy when she was ab
le to get tickets to the concert. At least she would have a good time doing something here.

  “All right, Lily,” she said to herself. “Let’s go meet some people out here.”

  Not expecting a whole lot to happen, Lily grabbed her things and locked the door behind her. She hoped that she would meet some people, but highly doubted she would find love. She would find something out there but not what she wanted.

  She just wasn’t lucky when it came to love.

  Chapter 2

  Johanna Villanueva stared out of the balcony of her suite, enjoying the sunset and the quiet time that she had to herself. Gone were her clothes of leather and studded spikes. Instead, she was in a simple pink robe and her pink streaked hair wasn’t even combed. She had been napping a few minutes ago after having put away a few tequila shots. She wasn’t the type to get drunk so fast, but the shots made her feel a little dizzy. That was why she had been sleeping. She hoped that a little nap would clear her mind of all bad thoughts. She had too many of them to begin with.

  So this is the life of a rock star. She thought as she watched the sun go down. Below her, there was a young couple walking down the beach. The girl looked very pretty, but she clearly taken. She was clinging to the man that she was walking around with. It was a pity. If Johanna had seen her sooner, she would have gone down and taken this young lady by the hand. She would have charmed her away.

  Black Widow's Kiss was here for only a few nights, but Johanna saw this as a vacation for her. Over here, she could relax, go out wherever she wanted, and not worry about the paparazzi following her. She could dress down and she would look like any normal woman. Out of the leather and the studs, she could blend in with any crowd. She could comb her dark hair, put on a little makeup, and cover up that tattoo of a spider that she had on her chest. Everyone in the band had that spider tattoo although it was in a different place for each member.

  This beach was filled with pretty girls all for the picking. Not that she was going to pick any of them up. She hadn't had much luck in the dating circuit. Every night, she met a few girls that were great to hang around, but they were already taken. A lot of them were straight so that didn't help. She had nothing against people who were straight. Her own bandmates were also straight and she knew a lot of great couples. However, it also meant that anytime she saw someone she liked, they were already taken or not into her.

  Johanna was the drummer of the band and enjoyed what she did very much. Most people probably didn't think much about drummers, but there was a skill to playing them. Without the beat of the drum, nothing happened.

  I can go anywhere I want. As long as no one notices me, I will be fine. She told herself. Dressing down usually got her from place to place without anyone recognizing her. If she covered up that spider tattoo, no one would know where she came from. Her pink streaks might give her away, but in this place a lot of people had colorful hair. It was the perfect place for people like her to disappear into.

  She loved being on that stage and hearing the cheers from everyone. She loved the sound of the screams from devoted fans. She loved traveling all over the world and recording new songs. However, there were times that all of this became overwhelming for her. As of late, she was having some trouble with coming up with lyrics. Everyone in the band took turns writing songs and now it was her turn. They were getting ready to put together their third album and they had about five songs right now. She needed to write lyrics to the sixth one and she had no what to write about. She didn’t have much luck with love and they already had enough heartache songs. She didn’t feel angry enough to write an angry song. She wasn’t sad or afraid or feeling anything else. Her inspiration had run dry.

  God, this sucks. She thought as she lounged around on the balcony. There were too many happy couples walking by the shore. She wished she was in their shoes at the moment. It would make things so much easier for her. She was kicking herself for not talking on a cowriter for her song. The other band members told her that they would help her, but she turned the offer down. She wanted to write a song on her own. She had written plenty with other people but this needed to be her effort. This needed to be something that she did alone.

  I’ve got to come up with something soon. The others are counting on me. She thought. She had hoped the ocean would stir up some inspiration, but it did no such thing. It was just beautiful to look at. She hadn’t even gone to swim in it yet. Not that she really liked swimming in oceans. They were always filled with so much junk and gross things floating around. The closest she was going to get to the water was standing there while the waves washed over her feet. She had stood a few times and let that happen. It was nice, but there needed to be more. She needed something to stir up the creative juices inside of her.

  Then it hit her that there was a bar nearby. One of her favorite places to hang out in was a bar. That was where she did most of her songwriting and the creativity usually came from it. She was also craving a drink right now and really could use one. Maybe she would meet some people over there. She hadn’t had a chance to go out on her own and talk to someone. This would be just the perfect moment to do that.

  She grabbed her leather jacket and her suite key off the counter. Her jacket was probably one of her most cherished items in the world. She had several jackets like it, but this was the one that she liked the most. It had silver studs everywhere and it wasn’t too long or short. It fit her like a glove and she felt most comfortable wearing it. She looked like a rock star, but felt like a normal person out on the streets.

  The rest of the band was going to be out doing things together. They had asked her to come along but Johanna felt better staying behind. She threw it over her shoulders and headed out. Something inside told her that things were going to be good. There was something that was around the corner and she was looking forward to finding out what it was.

  She was in paradise after all. Only good things happened in paradise.

  Chapter 3

  Lily met Johanna the next evening when she came down to the bar for a drink. Once again, she had opened up her laptop and once more, she had come up with nothing. The cursor just stared at her and blinked. She wrote a few sentences, but they weren’t inspiring very much in her. Staring at the ocean wasn’t helping her either. It was a beautiful scenario but she didn’t know of any story that she could set to it. Everyone out on the beach looked so happy and they were enjoying themselves. They certainly seemed to be in a better mood than she was. Feeling stressed out, more so than usual, she decided that this was the time to go and get a drink. Maybe some alcohol was what she needed to clear her mind. It could also inspire her if she wanted it to.

  Johanna was having the exact same problem. Songs were not coming to her this time around. She listened to the demos that everyone else had taped for inspiration. She didn’t know how anyone else could write under these circumstances. The air was wonderful and the sun was bright. The weather just wasn’t inspirational. She looked at all the happy couples and hated them. She hated that they were probably having a better time than she was.

  Lily ordered a beer and began to drink it while watching some sports on TV. Even though she didn't know much about sports, this was much better than staying indoors and growing more bored in her suite. Darlene had a nice place, but Lily only wanted to use it when she wanted a place to sleep. She looked up at the TV screen and watched some football players do something that had the entire place erupting in excitement. She pretended that she was also excited by clapping with everyone else.

  “You have no idea what’s going on, do you?” A female voice piped up from behind.

  Lily turned around to find a beautiful young woman dressed in a leather jacket. Though she looked familiar, she couldn't figure out who this was. Her pink streaks were absolutely beautiful and she had deep brown eyes that could look into anyone's soul. She also seemed out of place in this bar and she was drinking the same beer that Lily was.

  On the other end, Johanna was highly amused by
this redheaded woman. Her hair was almost purple thanks to the low lights in the bar. She could tell that the woman didn’t give two craps about the sports that were on the TV. She was just joining in because that’s what everyone else was excited about. She didn’t want to feel out of place. Not that Johanna could blame her. Earlier, she was also cheering for random teams even though she didn’t know what was happening. She had been watching the TV until she caught this woman cheering. She decided to see what the whole deal with her was.

  “Not a clue,” the young woman admitted. “I’m just cheering cause everyone else is cheering.”

  “That’s what I was doing too,” Johanna said. “I have never played any of these games before and I’ve got no interest in them. I just joined in the party.”

  “Me too,” Lily said. “It’s a change of pace, that’s for sure. I came here because I felt rather lonely back at my room. I thought I would find someone to talk to but so far, I’m out of luck.”

  “Didn’t find any guys out here?” Johanna asked.

  “I’m not a fan of guys that much,” Lily said, taking a sip of her drink. “I didn’t really come here to pick anyone up anyway.”

  “That’s too bad. This place is perfect for finding the right mate.”