We say our goodbyes and part ways. I head back to my apartment singing along to the radio as I go. I’m starting the think the trip to Mexico might be even more fun since I can now tolerate Eric without wanting to punch him. What a difference a day makes.
Chapter 5
I’m such a procrastinator! I’ve been like this for as long as I remember but you’d think I would have learned something in all that time. But nope, it’s 10pm on Friday night and I still haven’t packed. Our flight leaves at five the next morning which means I need to be at the airport a couple of hours before then. I should be sleeping right now but instead, I’m packing. Char is here helping me because she doesn’t trust my outfit choices. She’s such a tomboy but she has the best fashion sense. It’s the best of both worlds, I guess.
My new suitcase sits on top of my bed with only my new swimsuits in it. I also have a hanging bag with my dress for the wedding in it. I’m not in the wedding but Lauren wanted a specific color scheme for the ceremony so I bought a pretty pale pink dress from Nordstrom for the occasion. I’m so short so I had to get it tailored for me since it didn’t come in a petite size but it was so worth it. I look banging in that dress.
“I’m so upset that you’re not coming! This trip would be epic with you there!” I can’t believe she is missing this but she swears she couldn’t get the time off work.
“I know, Mace. I wish I could be there. But you’ll still have fun! Parker will be there and you can strut around in your new bikinis and have him drooling all over you. He’ll wish he never put you in the friend-zone.”
I haven’t told her that I’ve abandoned my plans for Parker. I also haven’t told her about my brunch with Eric. Or that I’m actually really excited to hang out with Eric on the trip. She wouldn’t understand that we’re just friends and that he’s actually nice to me. Even though she knew him before he flipped his douche switch, unlike Dan, she doesn’t believe the old Eric is still there. I’m now starting to agree with Dan though. I keep all of this information to myself. It’s weird because Charlotte and I share everything but I’ve decided some things are best left unsaid. The friendship between Eric and I is so new and I kind of want to protect it. I want to give him a chance.
Char is going through my closet and picking out outfits for me. I’m so tired that I am now just laying on the bed as she packs my suitcase.
I wake up to Char shaking me. I’m a little disoriented since I’m still half asleep but Char just snaps her fingers in my face until I wake up.
“It’s time to go!” She announces. She’s driving me to the airport and it looks like she finished packing for me too. She really is the best friend ever.
Once it’s time to board the flight, I find my seat. Luckily for me, it’s a window seat. Dan and Lauren are in first class while all of us common folk are in coach. I can’t really complain though because they paid for everyone’s tickets and that was very generous of them.
I put my headphones in and position my neck pillow. As soon as I close my eyes someone bumps my shoulder. I open my eyes and see Parker sitting next to me smiling. Honestly, I forgot he was coming on this trip. I smile back at him and take my headphones out so we can talk.
“Since I’m taking Charlotte’s place on the trip, Dan gave me her ticket.” He explains. “You don’t mind, do you?”
I laugh, “Of course not. I could do a lot worse than you as my seatmate.”
As I’m talking to Parker, the rest of the passengers find their seats. Griff and Eric walk past our seats. Griff leans over Parker to ruffle my hair as he walks by. Eric winks at me. It was subtle and I don’t think anyone noticed it but me. I kind of like our secret friendship we have going on.
“What are you grinning so big for?” Parker asks.
I didn’t realize I was grinning so I go for the most logical answer to that question. “Because we’re going on vacation! You should be grinning too!” I slap his knee to drive my point home.
It’s still so early by the time we take off and I’m tired because I only got a few hours of sleep. I let Parker know that he is by no means boring but I’m in desperate need of a nap. The flight isn’t terribly long but I want to take advantage of it as much as I can because I don’t want to be tired the entire first day of the trip.
The next thing I know I’m being woken up by Griff and Eric. Apparently, it seems I fell asleep on Parker’s shoulder and he leaned his head against mine and passed out as well. At least that’s what I gather as I start to come to and realize I’ve just drooled all over Parker’s shoulder. Great.
I’m sure we looked adorable and that’s why Griff is taking pictures on his phone. It’s not because my mouth was hanging open very unattractively while I drooled on my seatmate. That surely couldn’t be the reason.
Griff is laughing and Eric looks like he has a stick up his butt. He should probably relax since we’re on freaking vacation. I guess I’m going to have to remind everybody that we’re going be at the beach for the next week and a half and that equals happiness.
Once we’re off the plan we search for our luggage and then we search for Dan and Lauren. They’ve arranged a couple of cars to take us to the condos. Lauren’s friends were on the flight too so they’ve joined our little pow-wow as we are instructed on what to do next.
They’re all in matching outfits with their monograms on them. The shirts also have the phrase “I’m with the Bride” on the back. I barely manage not to roll my eyes and I desperately wish Char was here to make fun of them with me. I’ve already been instructed by Char to Snapchat the whole trip to her so she won’t miss anything. I pull out my phone and pretend I’m reading something on it while I start taking pictures of the sorority girls from hell, as we’ve dubbed them. They’re like carbon copies of Lauren. I think I’m being discreet but apparently, I’m not because Eric makes his way over to me. He leans into me and I freeze.
His mouth is at my ear and he whispers, “Your flash is on.”
Shit! I put my phone away as fast as I can and just hope no one else noticed. Luckily, Lauren’s entourage is too busy flirting with Griff and Parker to notice anything else.
I’m wondering why we’re standing around since the cars are already here and we’ve already discussed the plan for the day. As I’m about to voice my question aloud, I see the reason we’re waiting running up to our group. Lauren’s sister. I’m so glad she’s here. I actually like her. She’ll make fun of the Stepford wives with me.
“Sorry! It took me forever to find my luggage and while I was waiting I talked to this sweet older couple and we had such an interesting conversation that I didn’t want to just leave in the middle of it! But I’m here now. Let’s go celebrate these two knuckleheads.” She hugs Dan and Lauren. Lauren looks pissed and Dan looks relieved that she’s finally shown up. Chelsea is Lauren’s opposite but she also happens to be her twin. They’re fraternal so it’s not like I’m staring at two Laurens but they are equally beautiful. Chelsea got the “decent person” genes and Lauren got the bitch genes. Too bad Chelsea wasn’t the one marrying my brother. I’d be over the moon about having her as a sister.
We all start heading outside to the cars. Chelsea runs up beside me and gives me a hug.
“Where’s Charlotte at? You two are usually joined at the hip and I know how close she is with your brother so I know she wouldn’t want to miss the wedding.”
“She couldn’t get the time off work. It was so short notice, you know.” I explain.
“That makes sense. She’s busy saving lives.” Chelsea says.
“More like, changing bedpans but she does love her job.”
Once we get to the cars, SUVs really since they’re large enough that we only need a couple to take everybody, we go our separate ways. I climb in after Parker and Eric is directly behind me. I’m expecting him to smack my ass since it’s right in front of his face and that would be par for the course when it comes to him but he keeps his hands to himself. I’m slightly disappointed. So weird. I mean,
now he’s being nice and a gentleman but I find myself missing part of the douchey Eric. But only part. The part that flirted with me shamelessly.
I sit beside Parker while Griff and Eric sit in the third-row seats behind us and Dan sits up front.
I decide to tease Parker because it seems like fun.
“So Parker, since you took Char’s place on the trip and her seat on the plane are you taking her room too?” I ask this very innocently.
“I guess so. Why?” He looks at me curiously.
I smirk. “No reason…. Roomie. I hope you don’t mind but I sleep diagonally in the bed.”
I don’t really expect him to room with me. I am totally joking but of course, he doesn’t know me that well so for all he knows I’m being completely serious.
Before he can respond, Griff starts making some awful choking noise. The water he was drinking, apparently went down the wrong windpipe. After Eric pounds on Griff’s back for about a full minute, he turns to his brother and says, “Don’t worry, Park, you can room with me. You’ll never get any sleep with Mace’s snoring.”
I’m immediately on the defensive. “I do not snore!”
Parker just looks between us and asks Eric a pointed question. “How do you know she snores?”
Eric isn’t phased by the misdirected implication. “I’ve been around long enough to have seen Mace napping at Dan’s house snoring like a freight train.”
I do like my naps so that part makes sense but I don’t snore! I feel like that’s something I would know.
I pull out my phone and start texting Eric even though he’s sitting directly behind me.
Me: I thought we called a truce!!
It takes a few minutes but Eric finally pulls out his phone and checks his message and I hear him laugh. It’s like my new favorite sound but I’m not going to let that distract me from my anger. I turn around to look at him and he glances up from his phone and winks at me. That’s two winks in one day! What is this world coming to?
Eric: The truce is still in place. But you do snore. I’m just trying to make sure everyone has all the facts.
Me: Whatever.
Eric: Haha, you’re cute when you get all flustered.
Eric: Your neck is bright red so I can only imagine when you turn around again your face will match.
I don’t turn around. I’m having mixed emotions from a combination of being upset about the embarrassing snoring conversation and being happy about the fact that he called me cute. I put my phone away instead of responding. I turn to Parker and we start chatting about our summer plans for the rest of the car ride.
Once we arrive at the condo, I can barely contain my excitement. It has a private beach!! I’m almost regretting not wearing my swimsuit beneath my clothes on the plane so I could immediately go to the beach.
Parker grabs my suitcase for me and while I pride myself on being independent, I’m totally okay with him lugging my heavy suitcase up the drive. Does this make me a bad feminist?
The condo is really nice. The kitchen is completely updated and there is a large flatscreen in the living room. The furniture is what you’d expect in a beach house, meaning lots of wicker and fun patterns.
I take the first room off the common area. It has a full size bed and is the smallest. Dan was going to have the master to himself but he’s now bunking with Griff so Parker can stay in Eric’s room. Dan and Griff have a king size bed in their room which must be nice. But given their sizes, they definitely need it. Eric does not look pleased when he walks back out of his room. I take a peek in their room and notice that it has a full size bed as well which won’t be fun with two full grown men. I’m sure someone will end up on the couch.
I head back to my room and quickly change into my bathing suit because I intend to take full advantage of the beach. Once I’m in my bikini, I lay down on the bed for just a minute because I’m so tired and I want to rest my eyes before heading down to the beach.
The next thing I know, there is a hand on my back shaking me awake. I groan and tell the unknown intruder to go away. Apparently, this person has a death wish because they just chuckle and shake me again. But wait, I know that laugh. It’s pretty much been playing over and over in my head for the past week. I roll over and look up at Eric who immediately directs his eyes to the ceiling. It takes about two seconds for me to realize that my bikini top has come untied during my nap. I hastily retie the strings. So much for magical boobs. He didn’t even look! I guess he was trying to be a nice guy but I’m slightly offended. Before it gets too awkward, I decide it’s time to actually have a conversation.
“How long was I out?”
Eric looks anywhere but at me even though I’m fully covered. Ok, I’m wearing a pretty skimpy bathing suit so I’m not fully covered but all my lady bits are covered which is the important part.
“You’ve been asleep for hours. I only woke you up now because I figured you’d sleep the whole day and be pissed you wasted a beach day when everybody else is out there already toasted from the sun”
He’s 100 percent right. How does he know me so well? I try to think of random things I know about him and I surprise myself when I find that I’m able to do just that. He always orders olives on his pizza and then picks them off and eats them in a big handful. It’s so gross. When he gets nervous, he always rubs the back of his neck. It’s his tell when he’s lying about something. He listens to pop music but pretends he only likes classic rock. There are so many little, non-significant things that pop into my head.
“Why aren’t you at the beach?” I ask as I get up and search for my cover-up. Aha! I find it at the bottom of my bed under my clothes from the plane. I don’t know how it got there.
“Wasn’t feeling it earlier. I took a nap, too. I figure I won’t get much sleep tonight sharing that tiny bed with Park.”
“The bed’s not tiny, you’re just huge.”
“I’m not huge, you’re just tiny, Mace. Did you stop growing in the 4th grade or something? And I do not understand how Dan is over 6 foot while you’re barely 5 foot.”
“That’s because Dad was really tall and mom is short. I take after her in height and Dan takes after dad in that sense. Of course, I’m the one that got his sense of humor.” I grin, remembering what he was like.
“I’m sorry I never got to meet him, that’s for sure. I’ve heard a lot of great stories over the years and he sounded like a lot of fun.” Eric can look at me again now that I’m covered so he says this while looking me straight in the eyes.
I always get a little emotional talking about Dad. He passed away when I was in high school so it’s been a while but stuff like that never really gets easier. Everyone always says it does but they’re all liars because it doesn’t. This time I’m the one that looks away. I don’t want Eric to see the moisture collecting in my eyes.
Apparently, he noticed anyways because he sits down beside me on the bed and wraps an arm around my shoulder. It should be an awkward embrace. I don’t think we’ve ever hugged before. But it’s not awkward. It’s nice. We don’t say anything but I lay my head on his shoulder and he lets me. We sit like this for a while until I’ve got my emotions under control.
I hop up off the bed and grab his hand, eager to start my day.
“Come on, let’s go to the beach!”
He grins and I finally see why all those women swoon over him. The force of that smile nearly knocks me down but I just smile right back and drag him out of my room.
He tells me he’ll be right back and he heads to his room. I grab my sandals and a towel and wait for him by his door. I’m day dreaming about the beach when he opens his door and runs straight into me. He’s currently not wearing a shirt which I must say is a good look for him. He’s changed into his swim trunks for the beach. He grabs both of my arms to steady me since he almost knocked me over. I look up at him and momentarily forget where we are and what we’re doing. In my head, I’m right back in my car, wanting him to kiss me even as I tell myself th
at I don’t.
Normally I’d make a sarcastic remark and I’m about to do just that until he speaks.
His voice is low, almost a whisper. “Sorry, Mace.”
There is no reason for him to be whispering. There isn’t really a reason for him to be sorry either. There is also absolutely no reason we should be pressed against each other while we stare. And I swear his head moves a fraction of an inch forward and down. Just as I’m about to close my eyes and accept the kiss that I so desperately want, I hear a door open and people talking. I jump back and start heading towards the commotion without looking back to see if Eric is following. Though, I know he is because I hear his footsteps. When I walk into the common area from the hall, I see that Dan and Lauren are arguing about something, again.
“Dan, I swear to God if you’re as red as a lobster for our wedding pictures, I’m going to murder you.”
Dan laughs but Lauren does not see the humor in this. Lauren silences him with just one look.
My brother looks at me. I’m standing there staring like it’s a spectator sport. I don’t know why. I usually avoid any conflict, even something as stupid as this. I guess it’s a lie to say I don’t know why I’m standing there staring. The alternative would be to acknowledge what almost went down in the hallway. And I can’t quite wrap my head around that yet so I’m staring at my brother and Lauren fight about what appears to be Dan’s sunburn.
“Macy, do you have any sunscreen with you?”
“I don’t know, I’ll have to check. Char packed my bag for me last night though and knowing her she put the highest SPF in my bag. You know how she is.” I smile my affection for her.
I turn around to head into my room and look for the sunscreen and of course I run smack into Eric’s bare chest. I didn’t realize he was so close behind me. I mutter an apology and basically sprint into my room.
I pick my luggage off the floor and start going through the pockets. I immediately find a bottle of sunscreen with a pink sticky note attached to it. It reads, “Have fun but use protection.”
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