Page 8 of Buzzer Beater

We left our room and I slid the note under their door.

I was used to being the downer. The one that skipped out on what other people considered fun. It was nice to have Elena to hang out with, even I did feel self-conscious around her. It was hard to feel good when she was several inches taller than me, thin, and blonde. She was gorgeous and looked like a supermodel in a bikini, but she was also one of the sweetest people I’d met. She was genuine and intelligent. She didn’t play dumb with the guys that had been around today. I liked that she was real.

“I love that dress,” Elena told me as we walked down the hall to the stairs.

I stopped and looked down. And she found something to compliment me on every few hours. A few days with her and it will start going to my head.

“Thanks, I needed more resort appropriate dresses and fell in love with it.” The flowy, one-shoulder dress cinched around my waist. The pattern wasn’t something I’d ever wear in my normal life. The coral, pink, and orange blurred together like a sunset. It was bolder than anything I’d wear to the office.

“It’s perfect on you. I wish I had your curves. I keep praying for the day I’ll actually look like a woman.”

I stopped and stared at her. She noticed I’d stopped walking and turned to me. “What?”

“You have the perfect body. I would pay millions to look like you.”

She smiled gently. “I guess we always want what we can’t have. I feel like a beanpole. I have no butt, no curves. You’re like the epitome of femininity.”

My brain would not compute.

I stared at her in a floral wrap dress that she wore open over her bikini, revealing her perfect cleavage. Another thing I lacked. She was insane.

No, she was just being nice.

“You’re sweet.” I continued down the path to the restaurant and she fell into step next to me. The tropical plants almost overtook the walkway. I stared down at the different leaves and flowers as we walked. The humidity wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. This place was paradise.

We didn’t have reservations for one of the restaurants, so we decided to try the international buffet. I had a feeling the resort felt that name made it seem special, rather than a modge podge of options that didn’t necessarily go together. I had a thing. A belief, that any restaurant that doesn’t specialize in anything means everything is mediocre at best.

Elena flicked a glance at me as we dished up from the buffet. “Amber hasn’t mentioned, are you single or are you seeing anyone?”

I dreaded that question. It usually came from my family, the people I didn’t see very often. I had a feeling Elena wasn’t asking to be intrusive, though.

“I’m single.”

She beamed. “Me too. I just got out of a relationship a few months ago. Three years together down the drain just like that.”

I cringed. “I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s for the best. We weren’t meant to be together. We were too different.”

“What do you mean? You didn’t have similar interests?”

I had a strange fascination with why people’s relationships ended. It was a morbid curiosity. I needed to know, in case I was ever in a similar situation. I wanted to know the signs so I could avoid them myself.

She led the way to an open table and we sat.

“No, I wanted to have kids, a house, and settle down. He thought he could continue living his bachelor life, with the added plus of having me around when he was home. He travels for work and didn’t see the point in stopping. I felt like we were together out of convenience. We talked about marriage, but he didn’t want the future I did. I know I should have figured that out earlier in the relationship, but honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted. It wasn’t until I heard his plans that I realized it didn’t work for me.”

“I understand. It’s good you figured that out before it was too late.”

She nodded. “So, no traumatic stories for me?”

“Nothing recent.” I cringed. There was only one story to tell. Only one serious boyfriend. I’d dated through the years, but there was only one man I’d ever loved. Only one man I pictured a life with and only one man that broke my heart.

“Life is busy. They don’t warn you about that in college. You think studying and classes are hard to balance, but the real world is so much worse. I’m dreading having to date again. I don’t even know how to do it.”

“It’s true. I barely have time to eat, sleep, and work. I don’t know how people fit a social life into the mix.” I was glad to find someone else who understood the burden of balancing a demanding career.

She stopped and smiled at me. “I have an idea.”