ROMANCE: The Bad Boy Meeting (2 page)

After a well-deserved nap, Jessica woke to find the festivities of the evening in full swing. She rolled out of her twin bed in the room she shared with Grace and went straight for the mirror, hoping that she would be able to fix herself up a little before she went into the common area of the small bungalow they had rented on air. As she stood in the bathroom staring at her smeared eye shadow and eyeliner, and her faded red lipstick, she sighed to herself. It was in that moment, as she stood alone in her bathroom, listening to the sound of whiz kalifa’s voice ringing through the rest of the house that she realized that the last thing she wanted to do was go out there and join the rest of her classmates. But, instead of using the bathroom and dropping back into the bed, where everything was simple, she sighed. “You paid your share. You’re in Mexico for Christ’s sake. Just go out there and pretend you don’t care.” She told herself.

With that, she ran some hot water over her face, redid her make-up, but on a fresh outfit, then went outside to join the others. Without the barriers of separate rooms to keep the noise down, the rap music was at full blast. All of her friends stood around, a corona or a shot in hand, excitedly talking to each other. Bryce, a relatively short guy with a thing for Grace happened to be the only guy who had thought to bring a lab top. He sat there with it opened, staring at an article for the top ten most fun things to do in Cancun. Grace leaned over his shoulder. “Ooh, let’s go to this beach.” She muttered in his ear.

He glanced up at her. “I don’t know. Apparently there have been shark sightings there lately.”

Jessica grabbed a Corona from the cooler and joined them, looking over Bryce’s head at the screen. “I don’t mind a shark or two.” She replied in an mischievous voice.

Bryce looked up at her, an expression of full-blown amusement on his face. “You know what? This bitch has the right idea.” He replied.

Grace crossed her arms, “But-“

But Jessica rounded Bryce’s chair so that she stood by her side and placed her arm around her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll protect you.” She replied.

Grace laughed at this, giving Jessica a playful punch in her arm. “Okay, go tell the others.”

Jessica sighed, surveying the common room as her lips folded into a frown. “The others,” were currently in the throws of a day drinking party. Madison found herself sitting on top of Jack’s lap and Jessica could just hear the last bits of their conversation. “… No I’ve never given a lap dance before…” she murmured.

He laughed at this. “But, aren’t you a stripper?” he asked.

Madison rolled her eyes. “Exotic dancer, there’s a difference. I don’t do private dances.” She replied.

Jack laughed at this, the sound easily elevating above that of the rest of the party. Jamie, who stood in the kitchen, a blender and a recipe for margaritas in front of her, looked up at this, her laugh joining in with his. “Stop lying to the poor man.” She ordered, just as she activated the blender, the sound of it filling the entire house.

Jessica winced.

Madison had begun to laugh as well. She chugged the rest of her beer, then stood up. “All right fine, but nothing comes for free,” she joked.

He shrugged, rummaging in his back pocket for something. “Look, I always come prepared,” he replied as he presented a massive wad of cash.

She erupted into a fit of laughter the sound of it competing with the blender. “Bryce!” she called, pointing at him, “Give me my song,”

As soon as she said this, Bryce cut the rap music, then, after a short pause, the first lines of Nicky Manage and Beyonce’s “Feeling Myself,” filled the house. Everyone stopped what they were doing to cheer Madison on.

“Whoot!!!” Jack yelled as he began to throw note after note of Mexican money at her. She danced harder, throwing her leg over him and straddling him.

“Take it off!” Jamie yelled as she began pouring margaritas and handing them out one by one to everyone in the room.

Jessica was more than ready for that drink by the time it hit the back of her throat. She winced at the taste; a bit too sour and dangerously potent, but either way, it did the job. She continued to watch with the rest of the party, even rolling her own hips a little, much to Grace and Jamie’s encouragement as she watched Madison roll harder and harder against Jack’s crotch.

Eric, a brunette who was also an all-star on the Harvard wrestling team turned to the two of them and yelled, “Look at Jack’s hard on!”

So, of course, everyone looked, and Jessica couldn’t deny being slightly turned on by the sight of Jack’s excitement. She giggled at this and took a generous gulp of her margarita in the process. By the time the song was over, Jack had dropped every bit of cash he had withdrawn at the airport onto the ground surrounding Madison.

Bryce laughed at this. “Dude, pick up your shit. No one’s going to spot you.” He demanded.

Jamie laughed and chimed in with, “Yeah, no one is responsible for any cash lost in the process of this dance.” She replied as Madison continued to laugh, playfully messing with his hair.

He laughed as well, but retaliated by picking Madison up and shoving her onto the couch. She let out a playful screech, but everyone could see that she was turned on by it. “Get a room!” Eric yelled.

We all laughed at this, but as soon as it died down, Jessica spoke up. “Not quite yet. I don’t know about you guys, but I came here for the white, sandy beaches.” She yelled. “So what do you guys think? Moonlight beach party?”

Bryce shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t really come here to get eaten by sharks.”

Jessica cocked her head to the side. “Well, that’s funny, because I didn’t really come here to play it safe.” She replied.

Everyone else laughed at this, while Eric spoke over everyone else. “That’s the right idea mami!” he hollered.

Jessica shrugged as she lifted the cigarette she had hidden behind her ears and put it in her mouth, “Does anyone actually care about this security deposit?” she asked.

Jack shrugged. “I don’t think we could get it back even if we tried.”

Jamie let out a singular humorless laugh. “Oh fuck that.” She replied.

Jessica laughed at that as she lit her cigarette and took her first drag. As she blew it out, she glanced around the room, pleased to find consenting looks from everyone. “All right, great. I got ‘I do’s,’ from all of you, so let’s get going! Sunset is only in a few hours and the beach is a thirty-minute bus ride away. Where is Benjamin and Vanessa?” she demanded.

Jamie shrugged, lowering her gaze. “In my room.” She replied.

Jessica raised an eyebrow, so her efforts had not worked to deter Vanessa from potential heartbreak. She shrugged. Her moments of heroism were dashed, now she wanted to get to the beach before all the good bonfires were gone. The thought of denying the two of them a climax was a little too enticing to resist, so she charged through the living room, down and down the short hallway to the space in front of Vanessa and Jamie’s room.

Once she reached, she raised her hand to knock on the door, but the sound of their voices pressing through the doorway, was a little too much for her to resist. She stopped, lowering her hand, and pressed her ear to the door.

She caught Vanessa mid-moan, “Oh, yeah baby. C’mon. I’m almost there. Yes.”

And Benjamin, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” The sound of skin slapping against skin accompanied his voice.

Jessica pressed her palm against her lips to stop herself from bursting out in laughter as she continued to listen.

“Touch me there. Touch me…” she murmured.

Jessica cocked her head to the side, as, less than a second later, she continued with, “Ow, ow, ow. That’s too hard, stop.” She practically screamed this.

It was swiftly followed by, “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” and more skin slapping against skin.

It was then that Jessica chose to make her sweeping entrance. She yanked the door open and stepped inside. “Oh. I am scandalized!” she gasped in an over-dramatic voice.

Vanessa gave an over-indulgent screech, then collapsed onto the bed her busty chest bouncing up and down. “Jessica!” Benjamin yelled as he fell onto the bed. Apparently the rest of the party was privy to their activities, because as soon as he landed on top of Vanessa, the rest of them burst into laughter.

“Jessica!” Jack mocked him in a high pitched voice.

“Oh that’s funny.” She murmured mainly to herself as they scrambled with the sheets of Vanessa’s small, twin-sized bed and covered herself with her quilt. The hilarious thing was the fact that his hard on was still poking through the quilt when he got back on his back.

Vanessa glared right at her. “Jessica, what the hell?” she yelled.

Jessica just shrugged, hollered, “We’re going to the beach, bitches,” and shut the door behind her. She had just been metaphorically crowned queen of the hour.

Jamie, the supplier of the group, somehow, found a way to score enough weed for all of them to have an incredibly fun and faded night at the beach. As Jessica predicted, they arrived as soon as the sun had started to hang low and glow crimson. She was the first to jump out of the bus, and practically ran until her feet touched the beloved sand below her. She sighed to herself, happy to find that Grace had caught up with her. “Oh, this is fantastic.” She muttered at her.

Jessica shrugged. “What can I say? I know how to pick em’.” She murmured back as they stopped to wait for the others and take in the sights in front of them. There were other groups of college-aged people hanging around; the sand was dotted with towels and beer cans and the air held the heavy scent of cigarette smoke and cannabis. Jessica stepped out in front of Grace, cupping her hand over her brow-line and preparing herself to snag a bonfire pit. Luckily for all of them, she was able to spot one just off in the distance.

Jack caught up with all of them first. “All right. Where to, guys?” he asked, swinging Madison’s beach bag over his shoulder.

Jessica chuckled at this. “One lap dance and you’re already whipped?” she joked.

Grace giggled at this, while Jack raised a questioning brow. “Wait, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied, in a confused voice.

Jessica gestured at Madison’s bag. “Right, of course not. This is just the new fashion right?” she replied.

Jack scoffed, instinctively taking it off from over his shoulder and putting it on the sand.

Grace laughed, “Oh you better not do that. She’ll never dance for you again.” She replied in a mocking voice.

As she finished saying this, the rest of eth group caught up and Jessica began to realize that everyone had already begun to pair up. One look at the group of singles she had come to Cancun with told her that her choice to exclude any remade couples from the excursion had been made completely in vain. Once again, she found herself as the third wheel to everyone else and she didn’t like the feeling. “All right! Let’s go!” she yelled as she charged through the sand, heading right for the empty bonfire to the far right. Once they arrive, Benjamin offered to help Jessica light the fire, and, seeing as she did not have a lot of practice with setting things on fire, she decided to put her complicated kiss with him in the past and allow him to help her. Luckily he was able to get it started quickly, which allowed her to cut her contact with him down to a minimum.

By the time the smoke from the fire had mixed with the rest of the atmosphere, Jamie took her seat on a tapestry she had ripped off of her college dorm wall as a replacement for the beach towel she swore not to by and began to roll the joints for the party.

Jessica sat next to her, watching as her deft fingers worked through the grass and the papers, expertly creating tight, funky cigarettes. As she rolled each one, Jessica went around handing them to the grateful members of the party. Lighters were share, the cannabis came to life, and alcohol was forgotten as people settled down to fly high. Jessica found herself sitting in front of the bonfire, its flames separating her from the ocean. She watched the red and orange light grow, glowing in the night, as the smoke slowly drifted up to the sky. As it disappeared the ash from the burning wood split the sand, covering it with its toxic carbon.

It wasn’t long before clothes began to fall off and her friends darted at the water. Jessica laughed at this. They seemed to have completely forgotten the threats of losing their limbs to water predators. Jessica could hear the shrill laugh of Vanessa, growing louder and louder as she approached.

She let out a low sigh, then looked up to find her, now no longer hating her since she had already secured her new lover, looking right down on her, a smile designed to execute her superiority on her face. “Why don’t you come out with us, honey?” she asked in a voice that suggested she really did not care whether or not Jessica joined the lot of them.

Jessica shrugged. “Nah, it’s okay. You guys can brave the sharks without me.”

Vanessa’s eyes went wide at this. She looked from the ocean, which was slowly filling with her friends, back to Jessica, who maintained an infuriatingly straight face. “You’ll be fine.” Jessica urged.

But, all of the sudden, Vanessa wasn’t so sure. “Okay, fine.” She replied. “You can stay there if you want. I’m gonna go in the water.” She called as she turned to run on to the ocean.

Jessica let out a blissful sigh. This was what she wanted all along; just her, the ocean, the fire and the moon. No sooner had this thought crossed her mind did she hear the sound of someone fast approaching. Her sigh quickly morphed into a moan.

“Say, do you have a light.”

The moan caught her throat at the sound of that perfect Australian, accent. She tilted her head towards the man with the curly blond hair, that came, uninvited, to sit on Jamie’s tapestry with her. “Well, all right then.” She replied. “Obviously.” She waved her joint in the air.

The man’s lips folded into a crooked smile. “Is that a joint?” he asked in a profoundly curious voice.

Jessica giggled. “My cigarette is better than yours!” she teased, looking pointedly at his Marlboro.

He shrugged. “I really can’t argue with that.” He replied as he graciously took the lighter from her.

“You here on vacation?” she asked.

He nodded. “Is it that obvious?” he replied.

She shook her head. “Oh no, you blend in perfectly.” She replied.

He shrugged. “Yeah, well it’s not very much of a vacation.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?” she asked.

“I’m bored as hell.”

“Tell me about it.” Jessica replied. “You have any ideas for an excited day?” she asked.

He scoffed. “It just so happened that I was researching this patch of rainforest, just a couple of miles away from the all-inclusive.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Oh were you really?” she asked. “And what’s so special about it?” she asked.

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to think it’s silly.” He replied.

Jessica laughed. “At this point, I’m desperate. You could tell me money falls from the sky at the top of a certain hill and believe it or not, I would be at the top of that hill tomorrow morning with selfies to prove it.” She replied.

He laughed at this, then lounged back onto his elbows, an action that brought him closer to her. She could smell his Calvin Klein wafting towards her in the evening air. “So, apparently, the natives used to make sacrifices to something called the Dragon-God.”

Jessica chuckled at this. “I’m sorry, are you high?” she asked. “Because there is no way you are enjoying this as much as I am.” She replied.

He shook his head, joining in her laughter. “I can’t lie, I am a little bit inebriated.” He replied.

She shrugged. “Aren’t we all? So, this dragon God….”

He nodded. “Right. He’s rumored to still be there.” He replied with a raised eyebrow. “So, I’d love to go find him. The natives say that he has been sighted on many occasions.”

“That’s really exciting.” Jessica replied, but before she could say anything else, Jamie came running, half naked back towards her with Grace in tow. “Jessica!” she yelled.

Jessica rolled her eyes. “You better go. This sounds like a crisis.” She replied.

The man’s lips folded into a frown. It was only then that Jessica realized he assumed their conversation was going to go somewhere semi-permanent. She couldn’t help but to roll her eye. “Look, it was nice meeting you.” She replied. She turned back to face Jamie as he stood up and left her tapestry. “What’s up?”

As soon as they got to the tapestry, Grace collapsed onto it. “Grace is cross faded. She just vomited in the water.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “And they’re all still out there?” she asked. It was more of a rhetorical question anyway.

“I just really need you to take her back to the house.” She explained.

Jessica was all too happy to. She stood up, helped Grace up and began to get her things together. The fact of the matter was that she could not wait to get back to that she could research this dragon god the man had mentioned.