Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 29279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Simona sighs.
“Yeah, but Danny and Jordan were hook-ups, girlfriend. They weren’t relationship material, especially after what you told me about Danny with his lack of hygiene. But anyways, hook-ups are fine, don’t get me wrong, but we’re not in college anymore. You should be looking for a relationship. You know, the real thing.”
I roll my eyes.
“You’re so dramatic,” I tell her. “I’ve had relationships before, just not long ones. Besides, who made it a rule that a woman has to have long term relationships all the time? Men don’t have to, so why should I?”
A gust of wind blows Simona’s hair in her face. Swiping at her brown curls, she nods.
“No one. You’re right, there’s definitely a double standard there. But I just want you to be happy, Brynn, and I feel like you haven’t been truly happy since…well, you know…”
I look out over the water and fall silent. I know what she’s talking about, but I try not to think about it. It isn’t easy. Simona knows there’s something missing in my life, and furthermore, I know there’s something missing. I know what it is, too. I just don’t want to go after it because life is much less complicated without it.
“That was two years ago,” I say stiffly. “I’m fine.”
My buddy looks at me from the corner of her eye, and I can swear I see pity in her gaze. But I don’t acknowledge it because if I acknowledge it, it’ll make everything hurt more. She takes a deep breath.
“You’re not fine. You’re punishing yourself and you shouldn’t.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say in a short voice.
Simona doesn’t respond to my tone, and we merely sit in silence for a few moments.
“Come on,” she says in a soothing voice. “I want another coconut drink. Don’t you?”
Laughing, I give in. I stand up and offer her a hand. But I’m not totally done talking about this yet.
“I appreciate you making me come, Simona, really,” I tell her. “You’re my bestie and you’re only looking out for me. I know that you’re only trying to help but sometimes, I just need to relax. So no more talk about men, or my lack thereof, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she responds with a smile.
I smile too and we stroll companionably to the bar. We enjoy the rest of the day on the boat, and after a great dinner and long night giggling and gossiping, we make our way to our rooms.
My cabin isn’t bad. It’s about as big as a shoebox, but for one person, it’s fine. The bunk folds out from the wall, and I have a small round porthole. Right now, it’s totally dark so I can’t see anything, but tomorrow, I’m going to open the window to catch some of the ocean breeze. In the meantime, I’m going to sleep, dreaming of palm trees and warm sands.
I wake up the next morning with the sun gleaming gently through the cabin window. Yay, we must be in the Caribbean! The awesome thing about cruise ships is that they continue to sail overnight, so you can go to sleep in Florida and wake up in a completely different location.
I heave myself out of bed and peer out the porthole. Sure enough, we’re docking and I can see people, boats and even animals milling about our destination. My head is still hurting a bit from the excessive number of cocktails I had the night before but I’m excited to get out and explore. After all, Simona signed us up for snorkeling today, and I’m hoping we’ll see more dolphins. That would be so amazing.
After a shower and pulling on a two-piece swimsuit and cover up, I check my reflection in the mirror. My brown curls, more spiral than wavy, are hanging loose past my shoulders and I swipe mascara on my dark lashes. Is that too much, given that I’m going in the water? I shrug my shoulders and decide I don’t care. If I end up streaky and vampiric, I guess I’ll just have to live with it.
“This is going to be a great day,” I say, feeling good for the first time in a long time. Then I make my way to Simona’s door and bang on it.
“Rise and shine!” I call sweetly. Inside, there are some fumbling sounds and then she opens the door, looking worse for the wear.
“Okay, okay,” she moans, rubbing at her eyes. “What time is it anyways?”
“Nine-thirty,” I smirk. “Had a hard night?”
She rolls her eyes.
“Just stalking hot guys on Instagram,” she says. “The wi-fi on this boat is incredible! But give me ten minutes, okay?”
I merely giggle and nod.
“Sure, but I’m going to go ahead and go to breakfast,” I say. “See you in the Paradise Dining Room?” Simona merely nods blearily and then shuts the door. I laugh again and make my way down the carpeted hallway towards the dining room. After I’m seated at a small table next to one of the large windows overlooking the ocean, a handsome Caribbean man wearing a white waiter’s jacket comes up to my table.