by Claire Adams
"Oh yeah? That will be nice to have someone to hang out with in your down time."
"Try again. The guy's a jerk, Jon. We need to look for someone else. He has no ethics, and he thinks that everyone owes him something." I moved out of the elevator as we reached the top floor and typed in the code on my key before slipping it into the reader.
"He's a little unconventional, but honestly he's a great writer, and it's hard as hell to find a food critic that has the ability to express flavor and write well. Most of their time is spent giving less-than-stellar reviews. You know how it is."
"I do, but we can do better than him. He's an embarrassment to the company."
"Find someone, and I'll interview them. Good luck with it, too. They're hard as hell to find with experience."
"Are we looking for experience or can we perhaps think about talking with someone green, just out of college?" I walked into the room and felt a fluttering of regret. I should have had a beautiful woman by my side to enjoy the room with. It was extravagant and bled lust and wealth.
"I'm willing to talk to someone if we think we can mold them.”
"Let me call you back. I just got into my room. I need to take a few notes on the experience. Later." I dropped the call and pressed the audio recorder on my phone. "Extravagant, breath-taking, luxurious. The room is spacious and built for housing an all-night party with the rich and famous. The view from the living room balcony is befitting a king, and the crimson and gold decor reminds me of old money. I need a glass of brandy and a robe...but don't we all?"
I turned the recording off and pulled out my stylus, starting to take notes as I moved room to room analyzing, judging, critiquing. There was very little I could find wrong with the penthouse, which would be a golden jewel in the resort’s proverbial crown.
The fact that I couldn't shake Viv from my mind during the entire tour was a bit unnerving. I stood in stony silence at the entrance to the master bedroom and let my imagination go wild. The bed was large enough for a family of five to spread out comfortably, but how exquisite it would be to have the pretty girl in her panties and bra, laid out before me. Her hair spayed wildly along the silk sheets and that sultry look in her eyes that said she was more than ready for a long night of staining each other with our lust.
My body hardened, and I groaned, sliding my hand over my erection as it pressed against my slacks. Why was I having a hard time not thinking about a woman I just fucking met? It made no sense, and yet there she was...already in the middle of my fantasies. It had to be because of my family's belief in fate. They felt that there were no coincidences. I'd run into Vivian in the airport because we were meant to meet. She was my seatmate because she was meant to be in my life.
She was checking into the same hotel as me because she would most certainly be in my bed.
I chuckled at my faulty reasoning and pulled out my phone, glancing down at her number once more and letting out a long sigh. If we were meant to be anything other than a casual oddity, then we would be.
I started to press the delete button, but didn't. Instead, I dropped onto the bed face first, wanting a nap before I had to begin the arduous task of analyzing everything around me.
Chapter Seven
Vivian
"I feel ridiculous in this." I held my towel in front of me as we walked down the beach.
Casey reached over and tugged it away, grimacing at me. "You look fucking hot. Stop hiding yourself, silly. You have the best body of anyone I know."
"You don't get out much, do ya?" I smirked and pulled the towel away. "It's all those years of playing volleyball and swimming, though I think guys actually prefer a little more meat on a girl’s bones. I want to be curvy like you."
"Yeah, we call this fat in my house." She winked at me and pointed ahead of us. "Enough about us. Let's talk about them."
A group of guys stood around a margarita hut situated in the middle of the sand, just a hundred feet from the crashing waves. They were laughing loudly and trying to talk over each other.
"No thanks. Grab me a drink while you're over there. I'll go get us a seat on this crowded beach." I smiled, pulling my sunglasses down and doing an about-face. I wasn't shy around guys, but grabbing the attention of a gaggle of them was out completely.
Casey was a ham and wanted everyone’s attention, which I was good with. She'd always been out in front in our relationship, and I was rather comfortable with my supporting role to the princess.
A laugh left me as I laid out my towel and dropped down onto the cold sand. The sun pulsed above me in the cloudless sky, but its warmth was thwarted by the cool breeze coming off of the ocean.
Closing my eyes, I let my head drop back and let out a slow breath. Nothing could disturb the peace that wrapped around me. My life back in New York could stay there for the week. Casey was right. I needed the vacation more than I could have imagined.
"You missed out." She dropped down in the sand next to me and pressed something cold to my bare shoulder.
I yelped and sat up, turning to threaten her as a good-looking guy dropped down in the sand next to her and lifted his beer to me.
"Hey." He smiled and nodded to Casey. "Your friend here says you guys are from New York. I've always wanted to visit."
"Me too," a deep voice resounded on my other side, and I jerked around to see a muscled guy leaning toward me.
"Here's your beer." Casey wagged the sweaty bottle in front of me, and I yanked it from her grasp and gave her a look.
"You bring the party with you every time, don't you?" I pressed the bottle to my lips and turned from Casey to the guy beside me. "I'm Vivian. Nice to meet you."
"Chase. Pleasure’s all mine, good looking." He winked and pressed his shoulder against mine. "You guys wanna come out for drinks and dancing tonight?"
"Sure," Casey responded a little too quickly.
"Maybe. We just got in, so I think we were hoping to scope out the place a little before making any plans." I took another drink of my beer and sighed internally as some of the guys behind us called for their friends to rejoin them.
"Casey, you got my digits, right?" The meathead beside my friend asked as he watched me with interest.
"Sure did." Casey pushed at his shoulder playfully as I dropped back down into the sand and ignored the behemoth next to me. "They were cute, right?"
I turned my head so that I could see her better. "Is that a joke?"
She laughed and stretched out beside me. "Well, they're no hottie with a thick wallet from the plane, but they were pretty to look at."
"Speaking of the guy from the plane..." I bit my lip, wondering how much to divulge to my bestie. It was more than obvious that she was interested in Easton too, but the question was whether I was or not. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Fate? Naw, I mean, not really." She brushed my hair from my face as she propped her head up on her hand. "Why? You think that was fate that had you running into him more than once?"
"I don't know. I don't think so." I shrugged as best I could while lying down. "I need to let it go, but something about it is nagging me."
"So then let's do this...if you see him again while we're here, let's call it fate. If you don't, then it was just an odd by-chance sorta thing." She sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest as she looked out toward the water.
"That sounds fair." I ran my fingers through my hair rhythmically until my eyes grew heavy. "We should get up and do something. I'm going to pass out if we just lay here."
"You slept on the flight. What's up with you? You coming down with something?" A concerned look slid across her features.
I sat up and picked up my beer, taking a long drink of it before responding. "No, just haven't been sleeping well at night. I know it's stupid, but having Jackson cheat on me really did a number on my mental state."
"How so?" She turned her attention to me, her expression a bit tight.
"I just feel like maybe I deserved it somehow. I know it's stupid, but if I was
prettier or sexier or–”
"Shut that shit up. That's the dumbest thing you've said since we were kids and you thought a quarterback was a refund." She pressed her arm to mine and pushed against me a little as I chuckled.
"I know it is, I just can't figure out why, Casey. Ten years of being together, and now it's all over because he slept around on me. Why would he do that? What was missing that he was looking for?" I fought back tears. "I want to forgive him, but we're not talking about a one-time mistake, but a series of times that he slept with other girls. This has been happening for years. How are we supposed to get past that?"
"You're not supposed to get over that. You're supposed to take time to heal, and then let things happen as they may. The right guy will show up. I promise." She reached over and brushed sand off my shoulder as I ignored the pity in her gaze.
"I don't need a man. I'm fine just like I am. If I decide I need sex, then I'll just have it." I shrugged and got to my feet. "I'm going to walk the beach, and then you and I are going to find one of those bicycle vendors. I've always wanted to ride on one of those two-seaters. It's your lucky day. You're the extra rider."
"No freaking way. Do you know how ridiculous we'd look?" She chuckled before leaning back and stretching back out. "Not happening."
"Yeah it is. I don't care what you say. I'm not trying to impress anyone, including you." I gave her a cheeky grin and walked down to the edge of the water. It was a little depressing that Easton hadn't called, but most likely a good thing. I needed time to find myself again, and that was impossible to do under the attention of a handsome man. And he was incredibly handsome. Visions of him brushed by my mind's eye as I let the sun, the sand, and the sound of the waves usher in rest to my soul.
*****
"That was a freaking blast!" I turned around and smiled at Casey as we pulled the two-seater bike back up to the rental place. "I love it. We need to get one for New York."
The look on her pretty face had me cracking up. She didn't say a word, but she didn't have to. We'd been friends so long that I was well aware of what the tight line of her mouth meant. She would never, ever be found on another two-seater bike with me. It was a shame.
"You need a man to do this with, and last I checked, that ain't me." She got off and almost fell due to the height of the seat and her short stature.
"Then I'll make sure to take one of my future boyfriends on a bike-riding date."
"Good luck with that." She glanced up at the sky. "You ready to head back to the hotel? I think I got a little burnt. I don't want to add insult to injury."
"Yeah, besides, I'm starving." My tummy rumbled as if to validate my words.
"Me too. There was a taco shop a block from the hotel. I read up on some of the restaurants before we left, and that one is supposed to be the best in the city." She shrugged and turned toward the beach as I returned the bike and rejoined her.
"I love tacos, and the best in the city sounds like my kind of place." I slid my arm into hers, locking us together at the elbow as we walked back to the hotel. "Did I get burnt? It feels like it."
She glanced toward me and nodded. "Yeah, but somehow it looks good on you. I swear, I have no idea how you don't have guys crawling all over you. You have to be one of the prettiest girls I know."
I brushed the comment off and changed the subject like I always did. Casey was as jealous of my looks as I was of hers. "Can you believe graduation is coming up in two months?"
"No. I'm actually not looking forward to it at all." She ran her fingers through her hair with her free hand. "You know I went to visit my mom and them over Christmas. They were... ugh."
"Yeah. You left me to fend against my family alone. It was less than pleasant." I awarded her a look that expressed my feelings perfectly.
"Was your dad there?" She nodded toward the small building beside the hotel across the street. "There's the taco shop."
"Cool." I looked both ways before jogging across the street and pulling her a little with me. "He was there, but I think it would have been better if he wasn't."
"What happened with them? They used to be so into each other. Did you ever find out what went wrong?" Casey stopped at the door and seemed to be scanning it. "Good. We can wear our bikinis."
I pulled away from her and lifted my bag from my shoulder. "I have our t-shirts. You don't think we need them?"
Three girls walked out of the door in front of us wearing bathing suits that made ours look like full-coverage jumpsuits.
"I'd say no." She opened the door and walked in with me at her heels. The smell of tortilla chips and roasted tomatoes filled my senses, and I growled softly. I loved food more than almost anything.
"Let's order, and I'll tell you about my folks. You owe me the rest of your conversation with your mother anyway." I moved up to the counter and let my eyes scan the menu that rested above the cashier’s head. "I'll take the Taco Madness Platter."
"Damn, Viv. That's five tacos. You just want to share it?" Casey moved up beside me as I worked to get my wallet from my bag.
"Sure, but I want a bite of each of them." I turned back to the cashier. "And two cokes please?"
We moved to the side and filled up our drinks as I caught Casey chuckling over something that had to be running through her head.
"What? You know I'm going to be a food critic eventually. I always look for the meal that lets me try as much as possible." I poked her side.
"I know. I'm just laughing at the fact that you eat like a linebacker and look like a runway model. It's disturbing on so many levels."
"Hush." I popped her outer thigh and moved to get our taco platter. "Even if I wasn't going to make food a part of my career, I would still eat like this. I'm a foodie. The gym and I have become close friends over the last few years, and you know how much I hate working out. It's somehow worth it."
She grabbed some napkins and walked with me to the only available booth in the place. Several guys turned to watch us, but I assumed they were looking at Casey. She was the curvy, cheerleader type that guys seemed to like. I was tall, thin, and a ginger. Funny how having red hair seemed to matter more than it should.
I dropped down onto my side of the booth and pulled out a small notepad before unwrapping the tacos one at a time. "Tell me about your visit with your mom while I test these tacos out."
Casey leaned back and nursed her coke, her eyes moving along our meal as she spoke. "She's not happy about my decision to leave the cheerleading team at NYU."
"You did that over a year ago." I glanced up.
"I know, but I just told her about it. You know how she is about wanting me to do everything she did, and be what she is, and marry a man like she did." Casey's face contorted as if she'd eaten a lemon.
"She hates your dad."
"Right?" My best friend let out a long sigh. "I don't know. She's pissed about me changing my major a few years back. I want to help people, and counseling in the schools seemed the best plan of action. She wants me to be an accountant or lawyer or doctor."
I picked up the mango chicken taco and examined it. "That's not you at all, unless you were doing pro-bono work."
"Which would get old after a while. I'd be the only broke lawyer in the state." She gave me a cheeky grin.
A handsome, dark-skinned guy moved up to the table and pressed his hands to the top of it as he glanced between us. The smooth curves of his chest and stomach muscles were on complete display as he looked like he'd just come in from the beach as well.
"Hi girls. Just wanted to stop by and let you know that we're having ladies night at Halla every night this week." He pulled a card from his back pocket and dropped it on the table. "Hope to see you there."
"You just might," I mumbled, getting lost in the beauty of his eyes. They had to be the lightest blue I'd ever seen. He smiled and walked toward the next table as Casey picked up the card.
I took a bite of the taco and closed my eyes briefly, letting the flavors roll over my tongue as I iden
tified the ingredients. I opened my eyes and jotted down a quick description of the taco and the experience it provided.
"My turn." Casey reached for the taco in my hand, and I gladly gave it to her.
"It's delicious, but a little hot."
"I like them hot." She wagged her eyebrows. "Like I like my men."
"Oh brother..." I picked up another and moved through the rest slowly, taking time to enjoy each of them. My dream of being a food critic wasn't something I could see in my near future, but I had a hard time giving up on it. I'd wanted it for far too long.
We finished our meal and cleaned up, depositing our trash by the door before walking into the cool, late afternoon weather. I wrapped my arms around myself and glanced back at Casey.
"I can see why people love that place. It was delicious, fresh and authentically unique."
"You have such a way with words." She slid her arm back into mine. "Tell me about your folks. How are Linda and Mark?"
"Same as the last time I visited. They're still living together, but I can't imagine either of them going on like they are for much longer. It's so weird too..." I paused, trying to get a hold of myself. I didn't want to be emotional. Our day had been too fun to ruin it with tears. "They used to be the epitome of a love story, you know?"
"Yeah. I remember thinking your dad was dreamy, and that if I could just have what your parents had, I'd be set." Casey released me as we walked into the lobby of the hotel. "What happened? Any clue?"
"No. I don't know. I haven't asked my mom about it, and she hasn't offered any information. Everything changed earlier this year though. I would assume one of them cheated on the other, but it's a thought I just can't entertain." I shrugged and turned, stopping dead in my tracks as Easton walked off the elevator and our eyes met.
"That's because you're going through something like that now. I'd not wish that on anyone. I just can't imagine Mark hurting Linda." Casey stopped a little ahead of me and turned around. "You coming? What's up?"
"Fate, I think," I whispered under my breath, not quite sure how I felt about the handsome businessman being a part of my day once more so soon.