I haven’t thought of anything else since she spoke with me.
As soon as the plane landed and we caught the shuttle to our hotel, I immediately checked in and changed into my pool attire. My body went through the motions, but my brain was stuck in first gear, my thoughts with a young lady back home with no one and how her last effort for a family lies with me. I should turn Jen loose on Campbell for putting me in such a difficult situation.
My mind wrestles with the possibilities until screeching from the other side of the hotel lobby puts an immediate halt to my wondering thoughts.
“Woohoo, hot momma!” Jen shouts from across the room, drawing the attention of everyone in the near vicinity. My eyes widen and I search the area for people who have honed in their attention on the obnoxious interruption. Completely mortified, I cover my face from onlookers and l scurry over to my friends as quickly as my legs can carry me. We agreed to meet in the lobby before going to the pool, and I’m now regretting that decision.
“Seriously, Jen, we are in public. You could exercise just a little restraint,” I say when I finally reach her.
She bounces up and down on her toes, excitement from the Vegas atmosphere written all over her face. “Oh, simmer down, girly,” she says, wrapping her arm through mine. “Look around. We will probably never see any of these people ever again. Don’t worry about what they think. We are here to let our hair down and have fun. So, get with it!”
With each sentence, her voice grows in volume until her pep talk feels more like a motivational speech for an audience of a thousand. I look back to both Campbell and Vivian, who are following behind us, grinning at the ridiculousness of Jen’s very public announcements and my embarrassment. I roll my eyes at them and allow her to drag me toward the pool entrance.
Jen smiles and giggles as she continues to speak about all of the fun we will have and all the men she will throw my way as a christening back to singlehood.
The sun nearly blinds me when we step outside, and I slide my sunglasses down off my head to block the light. Tanned bodies of twenty-somethings line the poolside and have taken over the first rows of lawn chairs.
Snaking through the chairs, Jen leads us toward a roped off cabana area that shows a “Reserved” sign hanging from the tent. Chairs, inside and outside the tent, as well as coolers and tables fill the space, but before we have a chance to enter, Jen suddenly stops, causing Vivian and Campbell to smash into us.
“Oh, sweet baby Jesus, what are you doing here?” Jen asks a man sunbathing outside the tent. She is absolutely not pleased with his presence and her displeasure is evident in her tone. “Casen may have invited you, but you are not invading my girls’ day.”
He doesn’t acknowledge her tirade, instead takes a sip from his fruity umbrella drink. I have a hard time looking at his face; my eyes are too narrowed in on his tanned muscles, which are covered in tattoos. His long mess of a hairstyle is piled into a man bun on top of his head, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Jen would be so angry at such a beautiful man.
“Royce, this is kind of a special day. Isn’t there another place at the pool you could be, or go hang out with the guys?” Campbell offers.
He sets his drink on the table next to him and stretches out in the lounge chair. “I don’t see the problem. I’m just catching a few rays with my girl here,” he says innocently. I look to the chair next to him, and how it escaped my attention before can only be attributed to his gorgeous appearance, because he is pointing to a blow up doll lying beside him. The plastic doll is dressed in a string bikini and is wearing a blonde wig. I laugh at the pure silliness of it, but I immediately stifle it when Jen shoots me a glare that could freeze every pool within a ten mile radius.
“Are you fucking with me?” Jen spouts off. “You brought that thing?”
“Sally was a gift, remember? It was only fitting that she come with me and ward off all the unwanted girl attention I might have to dodge.” He defends himself in a serious tone, but I can see the humor in his eyes.
I push my sunglasses onto my head to get a better look. This is a guy who enjoys having fun, even if it’s at his own expense. I’ve heard Jen talk about Royce before, and I remember briefly seeing him at a few of their concerts with the girls, but I couldn’t place him out of that context. Jen never had anything nice to say about Royce, and Campbell never stuck up for him, so he became forgettable to me.
Seeing him laid out before me, Royce represents a whole new level of enticement, and there is nothing about him I will forget this time. He notices my wondering eyes and shoots me a mischievous smile. My eyes evade his as quickly as I can. I feel like a high school kid who just got caught staring at her crush from across homeroom. Royce catching me is no less embarrassing than those torturous teenage moments.
Jen’s eyes follow his line of sight in my direction and I may have felt the world erupt around us. She spins around and grabs his Sally doll. He hops up to save her before Jen throws her into the pool. “You seriously have to leave. Stay away, Royce…from all of us.” She enunciates the end of her sentence, hinting that whatever that smile meant, he can just forget about it.
Her friends are off limits.
He follows Jen to the edge of the pool to retrieve his doll. All humor and fun has evaporated and anger is now rolling off of him.
“I’ll fuck who I want, princess,” he clips at her. “This town is full of easy pussy; I don’t need to go fishing in a small pond for someone who will follow me home. The beauty of Vegas is that it’s an ocean full of fish I’ll never have to see again.”
“You’re gross, you know that, right?” Jen answers back.
He tucks the Sally doll under his arm and bows to us, before offering me another beaming smile. “I’m sorry to have interrupted your gorgeous day, ladies,” he says politely. He then turns back to Jen and frowns. “And by the way, you’re just jealous I would never offer you this flesh rocket for your hot pocket.”
He turns on his heel and leaves our little group. Jen is left speechless-- for once. The three of us, however, can no longer hold it in. Together we burst into laughter, which only garners death glares from Jen.
“You guys suck,” she pouts as she passes by us to get to the tent. Her childish response only makes us laugh harder.
“He had a flippin’ blow up doll,” Vivian chuckles as she wipes the tears from her eyes.
“I can’t even explain why Jen hates him so much. I just let it go, but man that guy is funny,” Campbell adds.
“And pretty hot,” I add, pretending to fan myself.
“You guys still suck,” Jen shouts from inside the tent.
“Oh, simmer down,” I say, throwing her own words back at her. “We are here to have a good time.”
We walk toward the cabana and are met by a waitress ready to bring us whatever frilly drink we need, and from the look on Jen’s face, we may need several. Their service is included in the price of the cabana, and we will absolutely put this poor girl to work today.
Vivian orders margaritas for the group as we unpack our pool bags and head back out of the cabana. Throwing our towels across lounge chairs, we each take a place in the sun. We relax into the warmth of the rays, and let the sun pound down on our bodies. Well, except Vivian who puts a fashionable straw hat on her head and smothers herself in sunblock. She always says her red hair attracts the sun and she doesn’t need any more freckles than she already has.
A comfortable silence settles amongst us, and we enjoy the quietness of the moment. Jen was right; kids, jobs, divorces, all the stresses from back home fade away with each tranquil breath. Our server brings us our drinks and the refreshing coolness of the sweet and sour tang are a welcome relief from the heat.