Breakaway: A New Adult Anthology

by Jay McLean

  "Way I see it," Claire added, "if Juanita leaves a door open, she's practically inviting us in."

  "I thought you said she was in LA filming her reality TV show?" Juanita Fernandez was the newest 'it' girl, a feature in all the tabloids and weeklies. I did feel a thrill of excitement at the thought of actually being in her home.

  "'Zactly." Claire beamed at me as if she'd made a valid point."We're the bling ring in Mexico, Susanna. An adventure. Don't you wanna see Juanita's house?"

  Sure, I'd love to see the home of the Mexican singing sensation who'd successfully crossed over to American pop. But—"Bling ring?" I said. "Weren't they thieves?"

  "Shut the fuck up, dipshits." Donte glared down on us from his superior height. "If we get caught, you won't be spending a night in jail. More like ten to twenty years."

  I sucked in a sharp breath. I'd been joking about the night in jail.

  "Claire?" I started to rise from from my cramped position. I couldn't imagine the palm trees on this tiny island in the middle of a circular driveway were actually hiding us.

  "Tiffany's checkin' for cameras," Claire hissed. "Don't worry. She's done this before."

  I bit down on my tongue to keep from saying anything else. My head spun as if I were upside down on a merry-go-round, and my brain seemed to have mostly stopped functioning. I couldn't even remember how we'd gotten here. Last thing I remembered was dancing crazily in some loud, strobe-lit nightclub, my drink safely held in one hand, and my head feeling like it needed to be held in the other.

  The square white stucco house in front of us was large and imposing. I remembered walking down the narrow alley alongside the house, after being dropped off by a cab in the street out front. I remembered laughing uproariously during the crowded cab ride, and thinking this was exactly the sort of fun I wanted to have on spring break. As long as we were laughing, it was all good.

  "Come on." Tiffany materialized in front of our group.

  Her long, poorly dyed blonde hair hung in her face, not that it occurred to me that she wanted to be sure no one could identify her if she were spotted. It did occur to me that I didn't seem to like her as much as I once thought I did.

  "There's no camera," she added, "and I found an open window in the back. It's like she wanted us to come in."

  Donte snorted. "You go through the window then, and open the front door and welcome us in like we fucking deserve. I'm too big to go through a window."

  "Fine. Whatever." Tiffany motioned impatiently to Claire. "You're the smallest. You come with me. Hurry. We don't fucking have all night."

  I winced a bit at all the f-bombs. Someone should tell those two they lost their effectiveness when they were lobbed continuously. But I didn't know Donte very well and Tiffany had disappeared.

  Two minutes later the front door opened. We ran across the white pebbled driveway and into the house. I was swept up in the mini-stampede.

  "Partay!" Tiffany hollered, waving her arms wildly. "Wait til you see this fucking house." Tiffany had a loud voice that made her sound like a gym school teacher. In fact, she had other attributes of my least favorite boarding school coaches, including her thick, straw-like hair, her stocky build and her superior attitude. But she was popular at college, and a lot of fun most of the time.

  "Gotta find the drugs first," Donte snapped out. "Couldn't bring a fucking thing through airport security."

  "That's your job, dude. The ladies and I are going shopping!" Tiffany headed up the stairs. We all trooped after her like she was a flipping Pied Piper.

  "Is this really Juanita's house?" I asked Claire. "How do you know?" Why I expected sense out of her, I don't know.

  "I told you." Claire heaved a big sigh at my cluelessness. "Tiffany checked it all out. I guess this is Juanita's vacation house, 'cuz she lives in LA now."

  "Okay, that's kind of cool, I have to admit." I looked around with new appreciation. Had the star of Sing a Song chosen the abstract art I'd seen on the main floor? Were these her Havaianas littering the upstairs hall?

  The second floor made a square around a balcony which overlooked the main room on the first floor. Tiffany started down one hallway, opening each door she came to. We passed a bathroom, a linen closet, and a couple of empty rooms before she hollered, "Ta da!" We swarmed into a large bedroom with fiesta red walls, an enormous king bed, and crap everywhere.

  Clothes, shoes, purses littered every surface.

  Tiffany screamed with joy. "Pay dirt! Look at this shit! Dig in, ladies!"

  I glanced at Claire, my brows raised in question. Were we planning to play dress-up, to pretend that we might be a reality TV star? That was a strange idea, but no stranger than actually finding myself standing in the bedroom of a person I didn't know.

  "We talked about this at the bar," Claire said.

  "Talked about what?" For some reason, okay I knew the reason, but whatever. For some reason, due to the excessive number of Tequila Sunrises I'd consumed recently, I still didn't know what the hell we were doing here.

  "We're going shopping." Claire grabbed a gorgeous leather jacket off the floor, only to be halted by another shriek from Tiffany.

  "The closet! I'm in fucking heaven!" Tiffany flung open a set of double doors leading into another room which was barely smaller than the bedroom.

  I saw shelves stuffed with sweaters, rods of hanging dresses and pants, and an entire wall of cubbies displaying shoes and purses.

  "Size 7," Tiffany shrieked, waving a gold shoe. "What the fuck? Who wears a fucking size 7?"

  At a guess, I muttered to myself, the owner of this house. Who is going to hear you all the way in LA if you don't stop this shrieking.

  "I do," Claire sang out. "But forget about the shoes. Check out this jewelry." She waved at an annex in the back of the closet which we hadn't noticed until she turned on the light switch. A small chandelier lit up a mirrored wall which reflected necklaces and bracelets in a dizzying array of shapes and colors.

  Tiffany bounded over in her girl-guide way. "Is that shit real?"

  "Who cares?" Claire grabbed some necklaces. "It's gorgeous."

  Stephanie, the fifth member of our bling ring crew, had been quiet, but now I saw she'd been collecting luggage.

  Luggage? What did she need that for? She dragged two roll-ons behind her and heaved one of them onto the upholstered bench in the center of the closet.

  "Let's start collecting," Tiffany said merrily. She began to toss garments into the suitcase, almost randomly. "Look at this dress! Versace! Oooh!" she gasped. "This sweater is from The Row!" In it went.

  I looked from her to the other girls. "What is she doing?"

  Stephanie shrugged. "She has a thing for clothes, you know?" Stephanie always spoke with a question at the end of her sentences, even when stating a fact.

  "I like purses," Stephanie added, marching over to the cubbies where at least fifty bags were displayed. She picked up a large leather tote and actually held it up to her cheek, like a baby might cuddle a blanket. "Dior," she crooned.

  "Claire," I called. "I am out of here." I marched out of the room, only to encounter Donte coming up the stairs.

  "No dope here," he announced morosely. "Fuckin' waste of time."

  "There are five dopes here," I snapped. "Once I've left, there will be only four."

  I fled out the front door, heedless of the security camera filming from the island of palm trees.

  Chapter 2

  The next day, my mouth fell open in shock as Claire and I flip-flopped our hungover selves onto the wooden pier at the Quintana Roo Water Park. The dreamboat from my Calc 2 class was standing, in living, breathing, stud-muffin flesh, under the long tiki hut. I know some people think 'dreamboat' and 'calculus' shouldn't be in the same sentence, but math was my favorite subject, so I was okay with it.

  I was more than okay with Joaquin de Cardenas. I only knew his full name because the math professor passed our assignments back through the class, so I'd seen his papers.

 
; "Susanna!" Claire clutched my arm as if she might fall off the dock and into the Gulf of Mexico without my presence to stabilize her. "That gorgeous creature is smiling at you!"

  "I know him," I answered a bit absently, since I was busy returning his smile. My insides were fluttering like a whirligig in a stiff breeze. Even though I saw him in class three times a week, we'd only spoken that one time.

  "I knew it!" Claire squealed. "I've seen him around campus, haven't I?"

  "Yes, he's in my calculus class."

  "And you've never mentioned him?"

  "He's very quiet. I couldn't imagine anything happening with him." But now that I'd spotted him, and he'd given me that delicious smile, I knew immediately that he would be my spring fling.

  "I'd make it happen if I had any chance," Claire said firmly. "Look, he's walking our way."

  The black wet suit outlined his body like a lover's caress. I felt my cheeks begin to flush at the thought, but I figured even though my pale blonde coloring showed everything, here in Mexico, everyone would assume I was beginning a sunburn.

  "Hello, Susanna." His deep voice stroked over my nerves.

  "Joaquin." My voice was breathless. "What are you doing here?"

  Damn, that was a stupid question. Obviously, he was working...and we were vacationing. Awkward.

  But he fielded it easily with another smile. "I work here," he said. "You here for the dolphin swim?"

  "Maybe. Please let me introduce my friend, Claire Conley. Claire, this is Joaquin de Cardenas."

  They shook hands and he gave her his bright-as-the-sun white grin. Jealousy reared its ugly head inside me. Claire had that Selena Gomez look going, with her shiny black hair and short, curvy body. Joaquin, clearly, was Mexican, which I'd known from class since he had a slight accent. His straight black hair fell over his forehead and his permanently tan face was the color we all were trying to achieve during our one week spring break.

  I'd been looking at him too long. I had to say something. "What do you do here, Joaquin? Do you handle the dolphin swims?" I pretended to look at his bare feet, but looking down was only an excuse to give him a once-over and see if I could notice anything interesting below his waist. Oh, yeah. The wet suit hid nothing.

  He shook his head. "I'm barely a trainer. Mostly, I do a bit of everything during vacation week, especially organizing the tourists."

  "But the wetsuit—" I gestured.

  "We're all prepared to go in the water if necessary." He grinned. "You know, in case one of the dolphins develops a taste for tourists."

  "Eeek," Claire backed up in pretend horror, almost tripping over a little girl sitting cross-legged on the dock. "That's not funny."

  "Don't worry." Joaquin winked at her. "It almost never happens."

  Jealousy stabbed me again. What the heck? Why was he flirting with Claire? I had to find a distraction before I made a fool of myself.

  "We're not worried," I said airily, in my best imitation of bimbo Barbie. "It's spring break! We're here for fun!"

  On that inglorious note, I sank down on my heels to look at the little girl who was sobbing her heart out.

  "What's wrong?" I asked. "Are you lost?"

  She shook her head fiercely.

  "Where are your parents?"

  She pointed to a couple standing with a boy who looked about two years older than the girl.

  "Is that your brother?" He was putting on a life jacket.

  She nodded.

  "It looks like he's going for a swim with the dolphins."

  Fresh tears spilled from her blue eyes. From the corner of my eye, I could see Claire and Joaquin talking together. I wanted to be with them.

  "It's his birthday," the little girl said on a hiccup. "So he gets to go and I don't."

  Well, at least that was some kind of reason. The dolphin swims were expensive.

  "Hey." I leaned closer. "Maybe you can help me out."

  The girl's tears stopped as she looked up. "Me?"

  "I have a ticket to go dolphin swimming. I don't want to waste it, but I just ran into a guy I know, and I don't want to get my hair wet now. That would be a disaster, right?"

  The girl nodded, her eyes wide. "I—I guess so." Clearly, she wasn't old enough to be noticing boys.

  "So," I went on, warming to my story as I invented it, "can you ask your mom and dad if you can use my ticket?"

  "Me?" the girl repeated.

  "Please. Just ask them. You'd be doing me a big favor."

  The girl scrambled to her feet. "Are you sure, miss?"

  "Yup. You'd better hurry. There's a group going out right now."

  "My brother's in that group." She stuck out her bottom lip. "I want to go with him."

  "Hurry then." I watched as she ran over and tugged on her mother's hand. Then I turned to Joaquin. "I want to pay for that little girl. But don't tell them."

  He frowned. "What are you doing?"

  "She wants to go and her brother got to go and she didn't."

  "That's up to her parents."

  "Never mind that. Just get her out with that group that her brother's in. I'll pay."

  "Why would you do that?"

  "Random act of kindness." I smiled at the look on his face. He definitely thought I was one fish short of a school. But I wasn't going to let him spoil my fun.

  "Do a random act of kindness for me," Claire said. "I want to go for one of those swims and I want you to come with me."

  "I already told you I don't approve of the use of captive dolphins for entertainment." I frowned at Claire. She and I had argued all the way over, which didn't improve my hangover. I hadn't even wanted to come to the water park, but it was on our agenda for today, so we'd decided to make the effort. But I wasn't going to do a dolphin swim. I did not approve of capturing wild animals and using them for profit.

  "You just paid for that little girl to swim with a captive dolphin," Claire pointed out.

  "I don't need to follow logic on vacation," I said, tossing my head in my best blonde twit fashion. Joaquin knew I was smart from math class, but that hadn't gotten me anywhere on campus. I didn't mind showing another side of myself here.

  "Fine," Claire huffed. "I'll go alone."

  Joaquin broke into the conversation. "If you girls prefer, I could give you a private swim with a dolphin who doesn't do tricks and isn't used for 'entertainment'." Giving me a look I couldn't interpret, he made air quotes around the last word.

  "Of course," he added, "you wouldn't be able to have the ride that the trained dolphins give."

  I was ready to jump in the water with him, and not just because he'd said the word 'ride'. Here in Mexico, Joaquin seemed more approachable, more talkative. At school he was a silent presence in class, hot as sin, but, unfortunately, not interested in sinning with anyone as far as I could tell.

  Claire toed a line on the wooden dock as if she were entering a drawing contest. "I was hoping to get one of those rides. I hear they're lots of fun."

  "You should stick with the group, then," Joaquin said. "I'll speak to the trainer and make sure you're chosen for a ride."

  "Thanks." She gave me a look that said, You owe me.

  Chapter 3

  I paid for the little girl's ticket, while Joaquin showed Claire to a waiting group. He also spoke to an older man with a badge, a clipboard and no wetsuit. Some sort of employee.

  I did owe Claire, I reflected as I walked alongside Joaquin under the long, thatch-roofed wall-less hut, which provided shade for groups waiting to go in the water. She'd given me a perfect opportunity to get to know this guy better, and I wasn't going to waste it. My determination to have a hot fling during spring break had just taken shape in front of me.

  "Rosa is in a pen in the back, away from the crowds of people," Joaquin said. "She's shy."

  "Pen?" I didn't like to think of a dolphin being confined.

  "It's large. You won't see walls," he said. "We treat our dolphins well, but they aren't wild."

  "You think of th
em as people?"

  "Not at all." He slanted me a questioning look.

  "You gave her a name, and a personality trait, just like she was a person."

  He nodded. "We do name them because each one is an individual. And they do have definite personality traits. But, despite popular lore, they are a long way from human."

  We'd reached the far end of the dock. I couldn't see any dolphins, but Joaquin leaned over and slapped the water.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "Calling Rosa."

  "You aren't going to get in trouble for missing work, are you?" I couldn't believe I said such a dorky thing, but I didn't want him to jeopardize his job just to give me some attention.

  He flashed a quick grin. "I cleared it with the boss."

  "Nice boss."

  "Yeah, he's my uncle. I told him one of my college classmates is here."

  "That matters to him?"

  The grin disappeared. "It's very important to my family that I complete college."

  "Ah." I didn't know what to say. It would sound prejudiced if I asked if he was the first in his family to attend college. Besides, I didn't care. It was enough that I was about to go in the water with him.

  "Put this on," he said, handing me one of the yellow life vests and donning one himself. I kind of hated to see his chest disappear, but he didn't clip the sides together so I still had a view. I also noticed that when I clipped my vest, my boobs were pushed up to give me an obvious cleavage.

  A dolphin swam up, rippling through the green water and lifting her head in a big dolphin "smile" she directed right at Joaquin. He slid into the water and rubbed his shoulder against the dolphin's head. Then he held up a hand to me and I wondered if he'd rub up against me if I did what he wanted.

  "Come on in," he called up to me. "But don't approach the dolphin. I presume you can swim?"

  "Yeah, I'm a good swimmer." I treaded water. The life vest made it easy.

  "Rosa doesn't work with the public," he explained. "She has to know that I accept you before she can be comfortable around you."

  "Is she like your pet?" I pushed my long hair out of my eyes.

  "No. She was born a few years ago and when it became clear she wouldn't be successful working with people, my uncle let me keep her. It was very generous of him. But she's not a domesticated animal." He stroked her as she swam by again.