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She remembered they were hosting a girl’s sweet sixteen party in the main ballroom later that night and vaguely wondered if one of them was the birthday girl. She was about to ask when a blond girl spoke up loudly, obviously meaning for Jade and everyone else to hear.
“Can you believe all the old people they allow in here?” The fact that the girl was looking directly at Jade had her swallowing her inquiry. “This place is just so tacky. Everything and everyone is just…” The girl’s eyes narrowed at Jade. “Tacky.”
“I know.” A dark-haired girl with dimples giggled and looked at her. “When I have my next birthday party, I’m going to make sure my parents rent a more private venue.” She narrowed her eyes at Jade. “No uggos allowed,” she added as they moved off in a fit of giggles.
Uggo? Did they really just call her ugly? She must have stood there looking at the closed doors too long because Josie tapped her on her shoulder.
“Everything okay?” her friend asked her.
“Are we old?” she asked, turning around to look at Josie.
Her friend had chopped her long dark hair a few years back. The tips of her hair were bright blue at the moment. In the past few years, Josie had changed it to every color imaginable. Jade had always been super jealous of Josie’s ability to be free with her style.
Not that Jade didn’t like the business casual style that filled her wardrobe. But occasionally she wanted to cut loose.
“Old?” Josie rolled her eyes. “Do we look old?”
“To a bunch of sixteen-year-olds…” She scanned Josie and then herself. “Hell no.”
Josie smiled. “There isn’t enough money on earth to convince me to be sixteen again. Remember how awkward we were?”
Jade laughed and wrapped her arm in Josie’s as they started walking towards the tiki bar. Stepping under the cover of the grass roof, she smiled over at Wyatt.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited your tall, dark, and dreamy guy to lunch with us,” Josie said under her breath.
“No. I mean. He’s not…” Wyatt stepped around the bar top and moved towards them, and her mouth watered. Damn. He moved so… sexy.
“Yeah, he is,” Josie said, nudging her shoulders until she sat at an empty table.
“I ordered us lunch,” Wyatt said as he sat down, a tray of drinks in front of them. “Leon said he knew what you’d want,” he told her. “I figured we could use a round of piña coladas.” He held up his hand. “Don’t worry, they’re virgin. We still have several more hours of work left.”
“Thanks,” she said and took a sip of the cold drink. Then, since she needed to not start drooling, she turned to Josie. “So, how was it?”
“Great.” Her friend’s smile grew. “Nothing I can’t handle. It’s a little slow, but Wyatt has assured me things heat up later.”
“The indoor bar gets packed at night. Out here, we’ll be busy in about an hour until just before sunset, when everyone will make a mad rush to the beach for pictures and to enjoy the sunset before heading up to change for dinner,” Wyatt said.
“Resorts are a lot different than working a couple hours at a nightclub,” Josie said. “Not that I’m not up for the challenge.” She smiled. “If you can do it…” She bumped Jade’s shoulder. “So, can I. Besides, just look…” She motioned to the beach. “You can’t beat this view.”
“Right?” Jade smiled. “Plus, you get to see your bestie more,” she joked.
“And see a bunch of tourists walk around in… that.” She motioned to a rather large man wearing nothing but a Speedo.
Jade held in a burst of laughter until the man was obviously out of earshot.
“Don’t do that.” She nudged Josie and took another sip of her icy drink. “You will not get me to spew my drink out of my nose again. That was a one-time deal.”
“God, that was a great night.” Josie sighed and leaned back.
“College. Am I right?” Jade joked, and Josie laughed.
That was when Jade noticed that Wyatt was quiet. Too quiet. Feeling bad for leaving him out of the conversation, she started to explain what had happened that night a few years ago. Which led the conversation down a rabbit hole of her and Josie’s past escapades until their food arrived.
It was nice seeing Josie and Wyatt get along so well. The way he kept stealing looks at Jade ensured her that he was still thinking about last night.
When his leg brushed against hers, she caught her breath and felt her insides vibrate slightly. God. She was so screwed.
She made plans to visit them again later that evening, when Wyatt and Josie would move to the inside bar for the dinner rush. As she walked back up to her office, she thought about changing into the little black dress she’d bought in Miami but hadn’t had a chance to wear yet.
