Save the Secret Date

by Ellie Cahill

  “I do, actually.” I hunched over to dig a pack of gum out of my backpack. I always traveled with it for just this reason. Phil accepted a stick and I offered one to Jake as well.

  He didn’t take it. Instead, his green eyes met mine and a shiver went down my spine. There was a something in there I had only seen once before.

  He beckoned for me to lean in so he could whisper to me once more. “Just so we’re clear. You’re good with things the way they were when we lived together.”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Because, we used to, you know, sit right next to each other on the couch, or rub each other’s backs and all that.”

  “I know.” I remembered it all. He had no idea what he used to do to my insides when he’d massage my shoulders while I did my homework.

  “I didn’t want to freak you out if I touched you, that’s all. We haven’t really done that since…that night.”

  I looked him in the eyes. “Jakey, I literally jumped on top of you in Dallas. What are you worried about?”

  Three loud bonging sounds announced the pilot coming on the PA system to tell us we were beginning out descent. Then, he rambled on about the weather and how much time was left in our flight. I sat back in my seat, staring straight ahead while the announcement dragged on. In the future, I was going to avoid having serious conversations on planes. This was ridiculous.

  Using some intangible sixth sense, Phil started talking to me the moment the announcement was over. “Once we land, you’re gonna wanna be careful which line you get into for the passports. The signs are all in Spanish.”

  “Uh huh,” I said, barely listening.

  Up ahead I caught sight of the flight attendants coming down the aisle with slips of paper. Customs forms, I realized.

  “These forms are in Spanish, too,” Phil advised me.

  “Oh, okay.” My thoughts had already turned to recovering my dignity. It seemed like Jake was doing everything in his power to remind me that we were only friends. I didn’t want to lay it out in so many ugly words, but at this rate I was going to have to. We were spending five days together and things were going to be very awkward if he was going to be weird about it.

  Then I felt Jake’s warm hand brush lightly against my knee. I turned, startled, and found his eyes.

  “So does that mean I can ask for one of your famous back rubs later?” he said.

  I smiled. “Only if I get one back.”

  “Deal.”

  He squeezed my knee. “I’m really happy to see you again.”

  7

  Classier Than Me

  The weather in Cancun was like a physical object we had to push our way through. It was hot and sticky even inside the airport, worse than anything I was used to in California. The sun was more intense, too. I could tell even from the brief minutes we’d spent on the tarmac that this was going to be a serious occasion for sunscreen. I wondered if I packed enough. I wondered if Jake had packed enough. I wondered if I had packed enough to share with Jake.

  Look, if you think that someone who cleans a plane with bleach wipes doesn’t think about sunscreen, you’re wrong. I was perfectly capable of thinking about skin cancer prevention and Jake at the same time.

  Jake wasn’t the confident leader in this airport. It was crowded and noisy, and it was all we could do to keep up with everyone rushing toward passport control. Thankfully my Spanish was decent enough that I had no trouble with the signs, as Phil had warned me I might. I picked the right line for foreign visitors easily.

  We wound our way through endless roped off chicanes of crying children, glassy-eyed honeymooners, and teenagers looking annoyed to be on vacation with their parents. The little girl behind me kept bumping into me every time we inched forward. The line moved at just the right pace that you could never really set your bag down to get a break. It was a constant step-step-pause, step-step-pause. Jake and I had to separate at the end, since we didn’t share a last name.

  Our final task was to find our shuttle to the hotel. Seemed pretty straight-forward, but the shuttle area proved to be another matter altogether. It was chaos come to life. Everywhere I looked there were men and women holding signs with last names that weren’t mine. Everyone seemed to be looking for someone or something or somewhere they couldn’t find.

  Eventually, we found a man in a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt who was wearing the right name tag for the service I’d booked. I wanted to ask him why he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Mexico, but I didn’t. Some mysteries just have to remain mysterious. He let us to a tall multi-passenger van and piled our suitcases into the back. We were the first passengers, and he had a lot more to pick up. He left the air conditioning running thank goodness. Even still, it was hot. When he offered us a Corona, I was more than happy to accept. So was Jake.

  He held out his bottle. “Here’s to…Emmy and Beck for getting us all to Mexico.”

  “Cheers to that.” I clinked my bottle neck against his. “And to five days of not answering call lights.”

  “Or getting patted down on my way into work.” Jake’s current placement for graduate school was in the county jail.

  We clinked our bottles again and took a sip.

  “And to…us. Being together again.” Jake gave me a shy smile.

  “Just like old times,” I agreed, tapping my bottle against his once more.

  “Do you still have my UC-I shirt, by the way?”

  My stomach jumped. How had he narrowed in on the one thing I’d hoped he’d forgotten so quickly? “I do.”

  His smile widened. “I don’t suppose you brought it along to return to me?”

  “Why would I do that?” I hid my non-answer with a sip of my beer. “It’s my favorite shirt to sleep in.”

  “You still wear it?” Jake’s surprised tone gave way to a resigned tilt to his chin. He took a long drink of his beer and looked out the window so I could barely hear when he added, “Looked better on you anyway.”

  Suddenly I was hot all over and my leggings felt too tight in the waist. Maybe he didn’t see me solely as a friend after all. I needed just a little more evidence. Something that let me peek under the curtains of Jake’s innermost secrets. Unfortunately, I could only think of a vague, weak attempt to keep him talking.

  “It’s too big on me.” I sketched an imaginary line across my mid-thigh. “Hangs down to here.”

  Jake looked at me for a long moment, then drew his fingertip across my stomach and up my ribs. “I remember it being about here.” My fingernails made a scraping sound against the upholstery as my entire body seemed to clench all at once.

  “Yea—” my voice cracked and I cleared my throat. “It has a habit of creeping up like that.”

  Neither of us spoke, but we held eye contact for a long, long time. I licked my lips against the sudden dryness of my mouth. Jake touched my wrist, rubbing his thumb gently over the small bones and tendons. I couldn’t breathe.

  The back door opened, and we jumped apart as the driver loaded in a new suitcase. I thought I heard a familiar voice and I twisted in my seat to get a look, but couldn’t. The door slammed shut and a moment later the side opened to reveal the newest passenger.

  I was already scrambling out of my seat. “Ash!”

  She did a double take, but her face brightened as soon as she recognized me. She did a frantic little dance in place. “Mary!” she screamed.

  I jumped out of the van and joined her in screaming. We threw our arms around each other as soon as my feet touched the ground. My beer sloshed, spattering the ground and our feet, but it didn't matter; I was too happy to see her.

  We screamed, and jumped up and down, both trying to speak at once without actually succeeding and saying any complete sentences. It was all a lot of exclamations and happy noises and hugs. My beer was half empty by the time we separated and looked at each other more thoroughly.

  “You look fantastic!” I said.

  “You too!” she said.

  “I’m so happ
y to see you!” I said.

  That set us off screaming again, with some more hugs and jumping around for good measure. It probably took us a good three minutes to get control of ourselves.

  Meanwhile Jake had climbed part way out of the van, standing on the bottom step, just waiting for us to A: notice him, and B: stop bouncing around like idiots and making it impossible for him to get out. Ashley finally noticed him and screamed.

  “Jakey!”

  “Hey, Ash!” He stepped down into her crushing hug.

  “Oh my god, how are you? Why haven’t I seen you in two years, why haven’t you come to see me in Vegas, what is happening, how did we all end up on the same shuttle? Oh my god!” The words were so mashed together it was hard to make sense of what she said.

  Jake laughed and squeezed her hard enough to lift her feet off the ground. “I’m good, Ash, how are you?”

  “We landed just a little bit before you! I should have known we’d be on the same shuttle,” I answered one of her questions.

  Ashley gasped. “That’s right! Jealous! Why did you two get the same flight?”

  “We didn’t do it on purpose,” I said.

  “Oh my god, it’s so good to see you guys!” She pulled us both into another hug, mashing our heads against hers.

  The driver was standing nearby, trying not to look annoyed.

  “Come on, let’s get in the van,” I said. “You want a beer?”

  “Hell yes, I want a beer,” Ashley said.

  The driver produced another bottle from his cooler, and closed us into the air conditioning once more. Ashley took a seat in front of the bench Jake and I were sharing and we started a high speed round of catch up. It was probably another twenty minutes before the van was full, but the time flew. There was no time to think about all the unspoken words with Jake. The three of us chatted non-stop, and it was like no time had passed since we’d last been together. We barely even acknowledged the other passengers who filled the rest of the seats.

  Ashley had to face forward when the driver started the van, so she wouldn’t get car sick, but that didn’t stop me from leaning forward to talk to her whenever I had anything to say. It was easier to keep up the chatter with her than to sit silently beside Jake, too afraid to ask him why his body language was pure flirtation when his words said he wasn’t interested.

  The drive took us down the Mexican Coast although we couldn't see the ocean from the highway. I've never been to this part of Mexico before; it was lovely. What I could see of it anyway. Although I was used to a lot of Spanish names for places in Southern California, the unfamiliarity of these names definitely gave me the feeling of being some place new and exciting.

  The driver had to make multiple stops at other resorts before we ended up at the compound where ours was located. There wasn’t much to see at the other resorts. In the van, we could only catch small views of the entrances. Each stop made me wonder what our destination would look like.

  And if we’d ever actually catch sight of the Gulf of Mexico. I knew it was close, but I hadn’t seen it since I was up in the plane. Still no hint that we were on the ocean as the driver guided the van through a pair of huge metal gates and we were finally on the grounds of our resort.

  There were four other resorts on the grounds, and we stopped at each one. The first was brightly colored, like a cheerful Holiday Inn, and there were lots of kids and young families milling around the paths and the open-air lobby. When the driver opened the door, the noise of children was evident. I was glad this wasn’t our hotel. I didn’t mind kids, but I had enough of that at home. I was looking for something else.

  The quality and opulence increased with each stop at the next resort. It was clear they were arranged in price order. There were fewer children present as the relative fanciness of the decor increased. One had a huge Mayan style pyramid on top of the hotel that was impressive to see even from the van. We dropped off couples at each one of the resorts. Jake, Ashley, and I were the last ones in the van.

  As we rolled up the curving cobblestone driveway to our resort, it was clear that this was by far the most luxurious. We arrived under a stone portico where the cobbled drive gave way to marble floors. Uniformed bellhops were waiting for us to unload our luggage. There was no chance we were going to carry our own bags here.

  Ashley cackled to herself as she got out of the van, then did a little shoulder shimmy with a pleased smirk. “Daaa-ha-ha-hamn! Well done, Beck and Em!”

  Jake came to a halt beside me, looking up at the soaring stone portico. “I’m not sure they’re gonna let me in here.”

  “Just you?” I understood him instantly. I felt entirely too shabby for a place like this.

  “I didn’t want to speak on your behalf, but…” Jake shot me a conspiratorial look and let out a low whistle.

  Ashley strolled to the back of the van and casually handed the driver a cash tip.

  “Oh, right.” I searched madly in my backpack for my wallet and came up with a $5 bill. I had no idea if I was over- or under-tipping, but it was the only thing smaller than a $20 I had.

  The driver seemed happy with it though, and told us to have a nice day.

  Immediately, the hotel staff took over. Someone presented us with cool washcloths to wipe our hands and faces. Doormen held the doors for us and greeted us with smiles and “Buenos dias,” while a bellhop led us into the lobby. It was just as grand as the exterior, wide open with a soaring ceiling, live trees under a dome of glass, and well-appointed seating areas scattered throughout the large area. It was fancier than any place I'd stayed before. I couldn't hold in a gasp.

  “Wow! This is incredible.”

  “They really went all out for this,” Jake said in a tone of wonder.

  “I approve one-hundred percent,” Ashley grinned.

  We followed the bellhop to a small wooden desk where a lovely young woman was waiting to check us in. The service was impeccable, including a waiter arriving behind us offering us a complimentary cocktail. We even had a choice between a mimosa and some sort of tropical punch.

  “When given a choice, always opt for champagne,” Ashley advised, taking a delicate flute from the tray.

  “Works for me.” Jake took another, and I followed suit. We all clinked our glasses before taking a sip.

  “I could get used to this,” I said.

  “Me, too.”

  Once we’d done the passport, credit card, paperwork thing, they fitted us with wristbands that would allow us to have access to this, and all of the other resorts on the property throughout our stay. Apparently guests from the other resorts couldn’t come to ours, however. We were the fancy ones.

  I held out my wrist to admire the band. It was just a typical plastic bracelet, like you get at a waterpark, but the meaning of this one was cause for admiration. “Usually I'm not the one in the exclusive group.”

  “I’m usually the one serving the exclusive group,” Ashley joked.

  “I don’t know,” Jake shrugged, “kind of reminds me of how I get to leave the jail and the inmates have to stay.”

  Ashley burst into shocked laughter. “Your job is so weird, Jakey.”

  When everything was said and done, the bellhop let us back outside. Turns out, the property was so large he had to drive us to our room on a golf cart. The ride began on a winding road that circled around an odd round building, which the driver informed us was the property’s theater.

  “Big shows! Every night!” he told us. “Top notch entertainment.”

  Ashley raised a doubtful eyebrow at me. She was from, and worked in Vegas. Shows didn’t get much bigger than that.

  The steeply curved, angled road ended on a path lined with tropical plants and landscape lights that would illuminate the paths at night. We drove along the length of the main building on the property, and then along the huge pool. There was a swim-up bar in the pool that seemed very popular with the guests. There was pop music playing from unseen speakers, and at end of the pool, water spille
d from a hidden chamber, creating a waterfall. The overall effect was very posh, very relaxing, and very enticing.

  “First stop pool bar?” Ash suggested.

  “We at least have to find out where everyone else is,” I said.

  “They're probably at the pool bar,” Jake said. “I would be.”

  “Maybe at the beach!” our driver suggested.

  Across an expanse of tightly manicured grass, well-maintained paths, and tropical plants I couldn't identify, the beach began. From here, we could only see a narrow band of the ocean, but the waves were making their beautiful sound. And the sand look white and inviting.

  “I'm never leaving this place,” Jake declared.

  It was stunning.

  The driver parked near an open-air courtyard between two buildings. There were elevators on either side to carry guests to the higher floors, and the bellhop began to unload our luggage into one of them. I took a deep breath, exhaling gratefully. Even living in sunny California, there was just nothing like being on the beach. And this was on the Gulf side of Mexico, so the weather was totally different than my Orange County home.

  I was sharing a room with Ashley, while Jake was bunking with another single guy named Luke. He was a cousin of Beckett’s, and although we’d never met him, Jake wasn’t worried about it. As Jake said in the group text months ago, I doubt we’ll be spending much time in the rooms anyway.

  First stop on the second floor was for Ash and me. The room was as lovely as the rest of the hotel, with marble floors, white linens on the large king bed, and huge sliding glass doors that revealed a balcony and beyond it, an uninterrupted view of the ocean. The hotel catered to a lot of couples, so the rooms with double beds went fast. Ashley and I would be sharing the only king in here, but it looked big enough for four people. It wouldn’t be a problem.

  “Wow!” I knew I was repeating myself, but it didn't matter. There weren't other words to describe this.

  Ashley walked straight to the sliding doors and opened one of them, letting a strong ocean breeze into the room. The bellhop warned us that leaving the windows open meant the air conditioning wouldn't work, but who cared about air conditioning when we had the ocean? Ashley stepped out onto the balcony, leaning on the railing. With her back to me I couldn't see her expression, but I was sure it mimicked mine.