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“Only you, my friend, could politely call someone a liar and not hurt their feelings when you do.”
I curtsy, accepting their applause and give a princess wave at what I feel is an honor. They grin at my antics and we share a laugh. “Live a little…” That’s from Cam, though Tara can’t resist chiming in.
“Or a lot.”
“…what she said. This is your chance, sweetie. Your days are your own. Nobody there knows you. You won’t see anyone from your new position.” The school I’ll be teaching at is quite strict about what we can and can’t, or shouldn’t, do. There’s even a morality clause in the contract I had to sign. If they deem anything inappropriate, I can be fired. “Let loose.”
“Have fun for us,” Tara pleads. Topped only by moms, friends excel at guilt. Originally, they were coming with me, but family obligations derailed Cam and an abrupt business trip with her boss, her new position having started a month ago, meant Tara couldn’t make it either.
My attempts to postpone it until we could all make it were vetoed. They insisted I go, claimed I needed it. They were right. It’s weird being here by myself, but I also kind of like it. There’s no demands on my time. No schedule to follow. No appointments to arrange, no calls to make.
As guilty as I feel about escaping my reality, though, I know I need it, even if only for a few days. I need this time to recharge. To mentally get prepared for what’s to come, to accept that I don’t have to do everything on my own. To remind myself that it’s okay to be me every now and then.
That I can simply be Isabel O’Rourke and the world won’t fall down around me.
I hope.
After ending our conservation, at their urging, I put on a cute little sundress, more of them making up the majority of my luggage as opposed to the shirts and shorts I’d packed, and head downstairs to the hotel bar. This entire thing is out of my element, and while that would usually make me somewhat anxious, I’m determined to enjoy this.
I’m not saying they were right about everything, but I can easily get behind the sand and sun part. Sex in the form of a fling? That’s not me. I need a connection, and what are the odds I’ll find that on vacation?
**Parker**
I know my mom had ulterior motives for sending me on this trip, but right now, I don’t care. I’m not at my job nor doing anything related to it for the first time in…I don’t have that many fingers to count unless I use my toes and I’d rather not do that. I’ve been on my feet all day and freeing them from my shoes would not be pretty.
Granted, my lack of vacation is no one’s fault but my own because I have this almost all-consuming need to prove myself. To show the board that hiring the youngest principal they’ve ever had in school history wasn’t a mistake. I worked my ass off to get to this point in my life and I won’t let anything mess this up for me. Not even myself.
Mom sees this trip as her opportunity to maybe get grandkids, believing I’ll meet my soulmate while I’m gone. I view it as my chance to get away from her expectations. I have enough of them haunting me as it is.
Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but she’s got baby brain, and since I’m her only child, the responsibility to procreate falls on me.
Which would be a miracle considering my last date wasn’t even in this decade. Not that I’ve missed the awkward introduction at the beginning of each meeting, or the uncomfortable silence when it’s immediately apparent there’s no connection, and we’re both okay with that. Then leaving hungry when neither of us want to prolong the agony and stay for the meal. I don’t think any of them lasted past five minutes. After the third, I officially gave up trying. I’d only done those to appease my mom.
Too bad I don’t get frequent flyer miles for all the guilt trips she gives me. She let me be, surprisingly, once I’d told her I was done with the pretense of acting like I was honestly giving it a go at finding my one.
I knew I wouldn’t with those women and didn’t put forth any effort. I’ve always known when I do meet her, that I’ll just know. I’ll feel it.
My fear, though? I’ve been alone for so many years, will I even notice it when I do?
–––
I worried about that throughout the flight, check in, and dropping my bag in my room. So much so that I knew if I didn’t get out of my head, I’d go crazy. To do that, I needed to occupy my mind somehow.
I could drink myself to a stupor, but that has never been my way. I indulge here and there, though never to excess. I don’t like that it loosens my control, my inhibitions. I’ve gotten to where I am because of them, so why fix it if it isn’t broken? That being said, I could actually use one right now. It couldn’t hurt to let my guard down just a bit.
With that decision made, I head for the door. When I reach the bar that’s conveniently a part of the hotel, I make a beeline for the stools, not wanting to take up a table. Plus, I’ve found that if you sit there alone, people tend to feel as if you need company.
I never want company. I’m content by myself and don’t see that changing anytime soon.
At least I didn’t until a woman takes the open spot next to me, her scent teasing my nostrils. I struggle to decipher it, instinct telling me it, and the lady it belongs to, are now vital to my well-being.
It smells like…sugared lemons. Sweet, yet tart. And when she turns to face me, her gaze widening as she takes me in, just as mine is doing to her, I realize it suits her. Appearance wise, she comes off as innocent, but the grin curving her lips, the bottom fuller than the top, seeming to beg for me to nibble it, tells me she’s that and so much more.
Her opening question confirms it. “Do you want to know a secret?”
“Most definitely.”
She snickers, the sound making my stomach pitch like I’m on a rollercoaster that’s speeding down a hill. The anxiety of what’s to come, and the excitement for it just the same. “There’s a catch,” she warns me and I grin.
