by Smoak, Ivy
"The three of you are ridiculous. None of you are single. Stop ogling the wait staff."
"Speaking of being single," Alina said. "That host was totally staring at your breasts. You should tap that."
I could feel my face turning slightly red as I pulled the neckline of my dress up a little higher. "I don't do one night stands, you know that."
"Yeah, but we're here all week."
"I'm not hooking up with a stranger in Costa Rica."
"But it's my bachelorette party! I have to live vicariously through you."
I glared at her. "You already picked the movie on the plane, Bridezilla."
Alina made a pouty face.
"Good evening, ladies." Our waiter had appeared at the table, and he was dressed exactly like the host. His body may have been even more ripped. I quickly glanced up at his face after I realized I was staring at what he was barely hiding behind his tiny shorts.
"I'm Pablo and I'll be your waiter this evening. Is this your first time at the Jaguar's Den?"
Kristen put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. "It is indeed, Pablo."
He smiled. "Then I must tell you about our spicy shrimp skewers."
"How spicy?"
"Oh, very spicy." He rolled his "r" slightly and winked at her.
"That sounds delicious. What's the best drink that the Jaguar's Den has?"
Pablo rubbed his chin. He looked like a statue. I bit the inside of my cheek.
"Our bartender makes the best piña colada I've ever had."
"Well, maybe we can start with a round of those?" Kristen said.
"I'll just take a water." The champagne had made me feel slightly queasy earlier. I wasn't used to drinking very much. And I couldn't handle anything else on an empty stomach.
Kristen elbowed me. "She'll take a water in addition to the piña colada. And maybe we'll take two orders of the spicy shrimp to start?" She looked around the table.
"How big are the skewers?" Layla asked.
"Oh, very big," Pablo said. "And there's two per appetizer. But we find that most people can only handle one at a time."
Layla blushed. "That sounds perfect."
I wanted to snap my fingers. Bring me food already! My friends were being terrible.
"I'll let you ladies have a moment to look over your menus. And I'll be right back with your drinks and appetizers." He smiled and walked away.
"His ass is amazing," Layla whispered. "Why don't all men wear shorts like that?"
"Do those even count as shorts?" Kristen asked. "I have the weirdest urge to bite him."
I rolled my eyes and looked at the menu. Everything sounded delicious. "Why are there no prices?"
"Everything's included with the price of the resort."
"Really?" All the menu items just got even more delicious looking now that I knew they were free.
"He was totally talking about how big his penis was, right?" Layla asked.
"It sure seemed like it," Kristen said.
Yum, Chicken Oscar! I tapped my foot as I waited for Pablo to return. I was so hungry I could literally eat anything.
"I'm definitely getting a rib-eye," Alina said and closed her menu. "Don't look now, but the guys at the bar are totally checking us out."
I turned around to look.
"I said don't look. They'll see you!"
But it was too late. I had already made awkward eye contact with one of them. I immediately turned back around when he smiled at me.
"Here's the drinks for the beautiful ladies," Pablo said as he walked up with a tray of drinks. He put the four piña colada down on the table.
For some reason his words made me blush. Maybe it had something to do with how I was normally called cute. I could count the times that I had been called beautiful on one hand.
"And the big, spicy shrimp skewers." He put down the two plates of appetizers. "Are you ready to order?"
"Yes," I said immediately. "I'll have the Chicken Oscar. But could I have the sauce on the side in a separate cup?"
"Absolutely." He jotted it down on his notepad. "It comes with asparagus and..."
"Is the asparagus steamed?"
"No, grilled."
I scrunched up my face. "Could I substitute the sides?"
"Of course."
"How is the broccoli cooked?"
"It's grilled as well."
"Do you have any steamed vegetables?"
"We have a sautéed vegetable medley with zucchini. But nothing steamed."
"Okay, I'll take the sautéed vegetables."
"Great. It also comes with mashed potatoes."
"Are there skins in the mashed potatoes?"
"I'd have to ask the chef."
"That won't be necessary. I'll just take a baked potato with sour cream. No butter or chives or cheese, or anything like that. Just sour cream."
He nodded his head as he wrote down my order.
"I'm sorry about my annoying friend," Kristen said. "I'll take the tilapia with wild rice."
I drowned out the rest of their orders and lifted up one of the shrimp skewers. If Pablo had been referring to the size of his penis when talking about this, then he was very well endowed. I put the first shrimp in my mouth and almost melted into my seat. I was pretty sure it was the best thing I had ever put in my mouth.
After Pablo took everyone's orders he excused himself with a smile.
"I forgot how embarrassing you are to eat out with," Kristen said.
"What? I just know what I like," I said with a mouthful of shrimp.
"Mhm."
"Those two guys are coming over here," Layla said and nodded behind me and Kristen.
I tried to finish chewing all the shrimp in my mouth.
"Hey, ladies," the first guy said as he leaned against the side of our booth. "I was telling my friend all day that he should save his card for someone special. It looks like we made the right call."
"And what does your card say?" Kristen asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Absolutely." She seductively took a sip of her piña colada.
The man pulled his card out of his pocket and put it on the table, sliding it toward her.
She covered it up with her hand before looking down at it. "Actually, it's my friend's bachelorette party. I feel like she should get the first card." She slid it over to Alina.
The guy stared down at Alina's breasts and shrugged. "Fine by me."
Alina frowned as she looked down at the card. "Wait, seriously? I'm not doing that."
The card was too far away for me to see what it said.
"Kristen," Alina said. "Please don't make me do this."
"What how bad could it be?" Kristen picked it up and laughed. "Wow. Okay, what does your card say?" she asked the guy's friend.
"Dance with me." He smiled.
"Alina will do that one."
"Thank you." Alina looked relieved and immediately took the man's hand. I had never seen her look so happy to be escorted to the dance floor by a stranger.
"So," the first guy said and put his hand down on the table. "Does that mean you'll do my card?"
"Fine. But I'm going to ask the front desk about counterfeit cards after this." She pulled down the straps of her dress, exposing her bra.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled.
"Thanks, babe," the guy said and waved his card in front of Kristen's bracelet. It immediately clanged onto the table.
"It's just a game, hot stuff. Move along." She pulled her straps back on a shooed him away.
"What the heck did his card say?"
"Show me your bra."
"Really? That's so ridiculously inappropriate. We're in the middle of a restaurant!"
Kristen shrugged. "No one saw except you guys. It's not a big deal. But I do have a few questions for Javier. How risqué do you think this game gets?" She put her bracelet into her purse.
I moved my hand so that it was underneath the table. I didn't want anyone se
eing my bracelet and getting any ideas.
"Come on, let's go dance too until our food comes," Kristen said.
"You two go. I'll stay here and wave you down once our food comes."
"That won't be necessary," Layla said. "Because the food is here! Oh my God, I'm so hungry."
Pablo smiled as he set down our entries. "Enjoying the bracelet game ladies?"
"I take it you were watching?" Kristen said with a smile.
"I may have been." He raised his eyebrow.
"I guess I'm lucky it wasn't any worse. I wouldn't have wanted the whole restaurant to see me naked."
"You'd be surprised how often that happens."
I was already cutting into my chicken. "Wait, does that seriously happen?"
"The cards go from very tame to very, very wild." He rolled his "r's" again in that sexy way of his.
"How wild?"
He winked. "I'm sure you'll find out during your stay. Enjoy, ladies."
"Seriously, how wild do the cards get?" I asked Kristen and Layla as he walked away.
"I don't know, but he was totally insinuating sex, wasn't he? It seems like he was," Kristen said as she stared at his ass.
I laughed awkwardly. "I'm sure he's just messing with us." I tried to pay attention to the delicious food, but my thoughts kept wandering back to the cards. I didn't want to play this stupid game. Couldn't I get out of it?
Alina sat down and picked up her fork. "That guy was super handsy, though. You would have thought his card said, 'let me grope you.'" She shook her head and took a bite of her steak. "This is soooo good."
We all were silent as we shoved our food in our mouths. Apparently they were all as famished as me.
"I need to pee, bitches," Layla said after she finished her piña colada.
Alina stood up and Layla slid out of the booth.
It only took a second for a guy to approach her. Hopefully she didn't have to go to the bathroom too badly.
"What do you think he's going to make her do?" I asked.
"By the way she's laughing? Maybe tell a funny joke?"
I wish the cards were that innocent. A second later, Layla turned around and the guy spanked her.
Kristen finished her last bite of tilapia. "We should probably go save her. I want to go dance anyway. You guys in?"
"Absolutely," Alina said.
"I'm still eating," I said and tried to slow down my ravenous eating so that it would look like I wasn't done yet.
"Come on, Momma Bear," Kristen said.
Alina laughed. "Oh, stop torturing Daphne. She'll dance when she's done eating, right?"
I nodded, even though I was planning my escape route as we spoke.
"Fine," Kristen said. "Man the fort."
I watched them walk over to Layla and steal her away from the guy. I didn't even notice Pablo come back over to the table. He was as quiet as a jaguar. His voice almost made me jump.
"May I interest you in some dessert?" He was holding up a tray of the fanciest desserts I had ever seen. "The triple chocolate mousse cake is our specialty. And it is my personal favorite." He gave me a seductive smile.
"Could I get a piece to go?"
"Certainly."
Five minutes later, I was sneaking out of the restaurant, trying to hide my wrist and hold my boxed dessert. I made my way to the front desk. I needed to have a word with Javier about this stupid bracelet game. I refused to play. It wasn't fun. It was simply degrading to women.
But as soon as I arrived in the lobby, I saw a group of guys walking toward me. One of them smiled. They would intercept me on the way to the front desk. I was not going to risk having to do whatever was on their stupid cards. I bolted to the elevator, got in, and pressed the close-door button until the doors slid closed. I sighed. That was a close call.
I looked both ways before exiting onto our floor, and hurried into our room. I had somehow escaped playing the game tonight, but I wasn't sure how long my luck would hold out. We were going to be here for a whole week. I plopped down on the bed and opened up the triple chocolate mousse cake. Tomorrow I'd have a heated conversation with Javier. Tonight, I'd just watch that movie I had wanted to earlier.
Chapter 6
Daphne
Someone pushing my shoulder woke me up. I groaned in my sleep, trying to ignore it. I was used to sleeping alone. Which meant I always spread out like a starfish in bed.
"Move over," Layla said and pushed me again, this time with both hands, forcing me to roll over.
"Ow!" I yelled as I fell off the bed. I landed with a thud on the wood floor. I reached down to grab my hip and noticed four gold bracelets on my wrist in addition to the one I always wore. What the heck? I stood up and looked over at my sleeping friends. Oh my God. Had they robbed a jewelry store last night? I didn't remember them coming back. They had plenty of time to become jewelry thieves. Crap! The evidence was all over me. Why did they put the evidence on me?
I tried to unclasp the bracelets but there didn't seem to be any visible latch. I can't go to Costa Rican prison! I tugged on the bracelets, trying to break them off. And then it hit me. These were the gold bracelets that were part of the bracelet game.
And there wasn't just one of the terrible bracelet on me, but four. Which meant I'd be expected to do four borderline inappropriate things throughout the day. No. I stared at the bracelets in horror. "What did you guys do?"
My question was greeted by someone snoring in their sleep. I tried to pull the bracelets off my wrist as I stood up, but they wouldn't budge. It was bad enough having one of these stupid bracelets to deal with. But four? No, no, no!
"Layla, I asked you not to let them draw a mustache on my face!" I pulled the covers off of her. "This is so much freaking worse!"
"What are you talking about?" she mumbled.
I shoved my wrist in her face. "You put your stupid bracelet on me. All of you did." I pulled the covers off of the bed that Kristen and Alina were sharing.
Kristen sat up. She looked at my wrist and started laughing.
"It's not funny." I felt like I was about to cry. I tried to get them off again, but to no avail. What the hell are these things made of?
"I'm sorry," Layla said. "But I really don't remember doing that. I don't actually remember much from last night." She rubbed her hand against her forehead.
I glared at Kristen.
"Don't look at me." She put her hands up, feigning innocence.
"I know it was you, Kristen. Now help me get them off."
"That's not how it works. Guys have to swipe their cards against them. It's part of the game."
"Which is exactly what I don't want to have happen."
Kristen shrugged. "It looks to me like you're going to have a fun day. I'm totally jealous."
"Then you should wear all of them instead. Help me get them off." I held my wrist out.
Alina giggled. She had pulled the covers back up over her head.
"Alina!" I pulled the covers off of her. "Did you do this to me?"
"Maybe?"
I pressed my lips together. It was her bachelorette party. I shouldn't be mad at her. But I was pissed. She knew that I thought the game was inappropriate.
"Don't look at me like that," she said. "You left me with these two crazies last night! And it seemed like appropriate payback for you not having to lose your bracelet last night."
"Payback would be two bracelets then, not four."
"Ok, Miss Math Teacher. I'm sorry! I was drunk."
"Drunk isn't an excuse for torturing someone."
"But it's my bachelorette party."
I sighed. "Can someone please just try to get them off?"
Kristen crawled to the end of the bed and grabbed my wrist. After looking at them for just a few seconds, she gave up. "I think the clasps are only activated by those cards. Sorry, babe."
"You guys are the worst." I pulled my wrist away.
Kristen smiled. "I think this will actually be good for you. Besides, we're all i
n relationships and you're not. It makes sense for you to wear all the bracelets."
"It was your boyfriend's idea to send us here. Maybe he wants you to do all these things. So you should be the one wearing all of them."
She laughed. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. But really, enjoy it. I think the game is really for the singles here. Anyone up for a swim?"
"After I get some Tylenol and a glass of water," Layla said.
"I'm sure Momma Bear has some," Kristen said and scooted off the bed.
I grabbed the bottle of Tylenol I brought and tossed it at Layla. "Just for the record, payback's a bitch, girls."
"Oh, come on," Alina said and gave me a hug. "Kristen's right, you're going to have so much fun all day. And after that thing at the ITAs, Bryce gets really jealous of other guys. I was going to ask you to wear my bracelet for the rest of the trip anyway."
"You know, you could have just said you wanted to watch a movie with me last night. Then you wouldn't have gotten stuck with the two crazies. No offense."
"None taken," Kristen said as she pulled on a bikini that barely covered anything.
"Thanks for the Tylenol, Momma bear," Layla said.
I bit the inside of my cheek. It hadn't taken that nickname long to spread.
"But we're in Costa Rica!" Alina said. "I can watch a movie any night back home. I am sorry about the bracelets, though. If I was sober I never would have done it, you know that. Please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad, I'm just nervous about all the awkward things guys are going to make me do all day." I had just gotten a great idea. Maybe I wouldn't have to do anything weird at all. Javier seemed like a reasonable guy. I'm sure I could just explain the situation to him and he'd let me at least remove the extra three bracelets. "You guys go on ahead. I'll meet you at the pool later. I need to stop by the front desk first anyway."
Alina shook her head. "Nope. You're coming with us. You already ditched us last night." After seeing the expression on my face, she added, "just hide your wrist under your towel. You'll be fine."
"Fine. But we're going to the least crowded pool."
"Deal."
I grabbed my swimsuit out of my suitcase and went to the bathroom. I quickly got ready and applied tons of sunscreen. If I didn't have four bracelets on my wrist I would have been so excited to go to the pool. I tried not to think about it as I left the bathroom.