I loaded the last of my bags into the trunk of our Uber with a heavy feeling in my stomach. All I could think about was seeing Grayson again. It had been a couple years since we were around each other in person. It was a disaster. He had gotten a little too drunk at Caesar and Della’s engagement party and was caught going down on Della’s sister, Eden. Caesar wasn’t really mad, he actually found it kind of amusing. Della on the other hand was furious. Once again, her little sister stole the attention at one of HER celebrations in any way she could. Della made it a point that Grayson would not be invited to the wedding. Eden got a slap on the wrist but there was no real consequence. After all, she was Della’s sister and had been promised the position of Maid of Honor since her and Della were little. I’m sure Della wasn’t happy about Grayson being part of the wedding party. But he and Caesar went way back. Caesar must’ve talked to Della when they needed a last minute groomsman.
I was dreading being stuck with him for a whole week. But a little part of me felt… impatient? Maybe it was because I wanted to get this party week started. After all, it was all Nat and I could talk about for the last month. We were ready to shake ass.
Natlie hit it off with our Uber driver. Andres was from Venezuela and boy did she like that. She had a thing for thick accents and foreign languages. Natalie made this very clear and Andres used it to his advantage. He would call her “hermosa” and she’d eat it up. She had no chill when it came to flirting with people.
By the time we had pulled up to the Uber drop off at DFW, Natalie and Andres had exchanged numbers and promised to “hang out sometime”. Andres helped unload our bags and gave Natalie a deep kiss. To anyone observing, they would appear to be a couple parting for weeks. After a final goodbye, we left Andres and headed inside. We got through security and found our gate without much hassle. Nat had the idea for us to take edibles right before going through security so by the time we were found our seats on the plane, we were both grinning stupidly for no reason.
An old lady sat by us in the aisle row. She glanced over at us, clearly aware something was up. “Dude we’re gonna be high while we’re high.” Natalie stared at me for a minute. Looking back now, it wasn’t really funny, but I couldn’t stop giggling when she said it. We continued on like this for a while.
The plane took off and I started to think about Grayson again. Because I was high, I didn’t feel so irritated or nervous about seeing him. I thought about Della’s engagement party and how my heart ached so bad when he was found with Eden. It’s true that we hadn’t dated for years and he caused me so much pain when we split. But still, I guess a part of me was stuck on him.
After some more time, I felt the plane shake a bit and realized we were close to landing. I hadn’t realized it then since time was passing differently for me, but I thought about nothing but Greyson for the whole flight.
When we finally landed, Natalie was making her way through my plane snacks.The old woman next to us had struck up a conversation with her about the pot in the sixties and how it was weak compared to nowadays. Natalie was sharing snacks with her and had exchanged numbers, promising to smoke together sometime back in Dallas.
The moment we stepped off the plane and onto the jet bridge, I could feel the change in humidity. Sure, Dallas was hot and humid in the Summer, but it had nothing on Miami. Every breath I took in felt heavy and hot, as if I were breathing in steam. My sundress felt sticky on my skin. My hair was already overheating my head. For a moment I wished I hadn’t chosen to grow it out. A bob would’ve felt great.
“Fucking hell! I need a cold drink man. It’s hot as tits out here.” Natalie slid her Victoria’s Secret duffle bag onto her shoulder, hot pink acrylics typing furiously on her phone.
After a stop to the bathroom, we made our way through the stampede towards the pick up area. As soon as it started to clear, I heard a voice scream my name.
“Chloe! Over here girl!” I stood on my tippy toes to see over a woman in front of me. There, 20 feet away was my Della. I ran as fast as I could with a heavy suitcase and a crowd of people in my way. When we finally reached each other, I jumped into a hug and wrapped my legs around her. She spun me around and gave me a kiss on my cheek.
“I missed you so much! It’s been fucking forever!” Della squealed and squeezed me. Natalie ran up behind us and joined the hug. “I’m so glad you guys are here for this. It wouldn’t be the same without you two!”
Caesar appeared from the crowd of people with a smirk on his face. I let go of Della and hugged his side. “What’s up, Little?” Caesar hugged me back and patted my head. Him and Natalie did the same before we left to get our luggage from baggage claim.
After getting our too-large-for-a-only-a-week bags, we headed out to the car. “Holy crap! Get a big enough car, Del?” Natalie was checking out the white Escalade with a gigantic grin. Della shrugged, “You like? I figured we’d need it with so many people.”
Once we had our stuff loaded in the car, we were on the road and headed to the resort. On the way, we caught up on everything we’d missed over the last year. Della and Caesar found a house they wanted to buy after they were married, a beautiful 2 story, Spanish style home in Palm Beach. Natalie and I finally graduated from college, she’d majored in English, me in Biology. Caesar’s mom broke her neck falling off a ladder while painting the house, but she was okay and actually met her now boyfriend (and then doctor) while in the hospital.
After we were all caught up and the car went silent for a bit, I worked up the nerve to ask, “So… Grayson?”
Della clicked her tongue. “Yeah. Don’t remind me. Caesar wanted him at the wedding anyway. Then Zach got into his accident and well, we were down a groomsman.”
“I wanted him to be my groomsmen initially, but then he and Eden happened.” Caesar flashed me a small reassuring look in the rearview mirror. We’d known each other since middle school and he knew my history and feelings for Grayson. “Anyways. Sorry you’re stuck with him for the week. But your heights match and Della is kinda anal about how perfect the wedding needs to be.”
“Am not!” Della said between selfies with Natalie.
Everyone continued talking and joking. I’d chime in once in a while, but my thoughts were on Grayson. I wondered how he was and what he’d been up to. I wondered if he was dating anyone. I hoped he wasn’t. I figured this week would fly by and we’d tolerate each other for the sake of our friends. But part of me wished that something would happen between us. I wasn’t sure exactly what.
Natalie and I were dazzled by our surroundings when we pulled up to the resort entrance. Huge, open glass doors beckoned you in with the smell of tropical drinks. Palm trees and bright flowers decorated lush grass. Under the car was an ornate mosaic made of brilliant stones depicting native Floridian animals. Valets and bellhops rushed around with gleaming smiles. A handsome man in a suit walked over to greet Della and Caesar. “Ms. Ishida. Mr. Bernal. Welcome back. Are these some of your other friends?”
“Yes.” Said Della. “These are two of my bridesmaids, Chloe and Natalie. Guys this is Mr. Baker. He’s the resort manager. We’re VIP guests here.”
Natalie and I looked at each other. I could tell we were thinking the same thing. ‘Sweet!’
We said hello to Mr. Baker and were shown inside the hotel. If we thought the outside was amazing, this was incredible. The first thing you noticed was a giant twinkling chandelier, two stories up. Then the 30 foot front desk with more people working than I could count. Twin marble staircases framed the sides of the lobby, their iron railings conjured up romantic, dreamy feelings. In the middle of the lobby was a large fountain with a sculpture of the goddess Persphone dancing.
Natalie and I followed a bellhop to our suite. We were trying but failing to take everything in. Luckily, we had a week to enjoy the beauty. We got to our suite and the Bellhop let us inside. He handed us our room keys and told us to call the front desk if we needed anything. Natalie picked out her bedroom and I picked out mine. She said she was tired from the flight and went into her room to take a nap.
I still felt sticky from the heat and humidity, so I decided to take a shower. I walked into my bathroom and got undressed. As I looked at my body in the mirror, I noticed red marks around my breasts. I knew it was because my bra was too tight. I had gotten a boob job a couple years ago, nothing major, just to fill my chest out a bit more. I’d replaced all of my old bras, but decided to keep this one. Grayson had gotten a matching set for me for our 6 month anniversary and I just didn’t want to let it go. The panties had been chewed up by Natalie’s dog but I managed to take good care of the bra. Thinking about Grayson while naked wasn’t anything new. But knowing I was going to see him again gave me butterflies. I reached down and touched myself, thinking about the impossible but wishing. I started to get wet and moaned.
“Grayson.”
I inserted my middle finger. Slowly and gently moving in and out. I bent over the counter, supporting myself with my other arm. The euphoric pressure slowly started. My finger went deeper, as deep as it could go. Juice dripped off of my hand. Then I inserted my index finger and bent them towards my palm, rubbing lightly. My legs started to shake. My body collapsed onto the counter, caught only by my arm. The building pressure was almost too much. “Grayson. Fuck. I… still lo- ughh!” My muscles spasmed and my knees buckled. I continued to spasm and shake. After taking a minute to catch my breath, I slipped my fingers out and stood up. I took a shaky breath and closed my eyes.
“Wow. That was fucking hot. Didn’t realize you still thought about me.”
I whipped around to see Grayson sitting on my bed, watching me from my bedroom. My heart skipped several beats.