A Night to Forget (5 page)

“No way,” Jill said. “The bungee swinging and jumping into the cenote was amazing though.”

“Yeah, the
cenote was gorgeous,” I agreed. The cenote was an underground open water pool partially enclosed in a cavern. The water there was a clear hue of deep blue and turquoise. It was a breathtaking place.

I looked in the mirror as I finished my makeup. I was wearing a short Kelly green form-fitting dress, gold strappy sandals, and a coral gemstone necklace. My long blonde hair was in a large, messy fishtail braid down the left side of my shoulders. A number of loose wavy strands feel around the braid.

“Wow Emma, you look great. That dress really brings out your emerald eyes,” Jill said, as she zipped up her turquoise strapless dress.

“
Aww, thanks. And thanks for doing my hair. It looks amazing. You really have a knack for it,” I said as I looked at myself in the mirror one final time.

We were going on the booze cruise tonight, and thanks to
Steph, we were going to the VIP pre-party at the Omni hotel before the cruise.

“We should get going,”
Steph said as she put on her heels. “It’s going to be our last wild night in Cancun, and we need to get the party started.” We all giggled and headed out the door.

***

The Omni hotel was one of luxury five-star resorts in Cancun, and was located a few hotels away from us on the beach. We walked through the grand expanse of the lobby and through the doors that lead to the pools and beach. The VIP party was in a sectioned-off area of the pool area near the pool bar. Steph gave her name to the bouncer at the entrance of the VIP area, and within a minute, we were on the other side of the velvet ropes. I looked around and I wasn’t sure I had ever felt so exclusive in my life.

There were about 20 other people laughing and talking at the party. They all looked young, glamorous, and chic. If I had to guess, I’d say that some of them were a few years older than college students. There were about half a dozen hot shirtless waiters walking around with platters of fancy hors d’oeuvres and champagne.

“This place is amazing,” Jill whispered to us.

“I know, everyone looks gorgeous,”
Steph said with excitement in her eyes.

I laughed, “
Steph’s out on the prowl tonight.”

“You mean,
we
are on the prowl tonight,” she corrected. “Girls, it’s our last night in Cancun, and I’m going to make sure we have an amazing time tonight.” She motioned for a waiter, who immediately came over with a bottle of champagne and empty flutes.

“Ladies, would you care for some Dom
Pérignon?” he asked.

We each happily took a glass before walking around. The champagne was delicious, and before I knew it, I was on my second glass. The bubbles from the champagne made me giddy, which made me want to drink more.

I noticed the other girls were also equally giddy. Steph was chatting to the promoter who gave us the tickets. Gloria was talking to the bartender, a handsome man who looked to be in his early 30s. Jill was giggling and talking to a hot blonde who resembled the actor Alex Pettyfer.

Before long, my head was slightly spinning and I decided to sit down for a minute. I was not sure how many glasses of champagne I had consumed, but at that moment, I had not seemed to care. I was relaxed and I sighed deeply. The cool ocean breeze felt nice against my warm face and my thoughts gravitated towards him again. The man of my dreams. I felt a pang of disappointment shoot through the hazy fog of my drunken stupor.
Did I really see him that day on the beach? If so, how come I haven’t seen him since then?

I felt a warm tear roll down my cheeks and realized that I was crying.
Emma, get it together! He’s probably not even real, and it was all just another silly dream.
More tears were falling now.
God, it must be the champagne because why else am I acting like some obsessed psycho and crying so much.

“Emma?”

I looked up, and for a second, I was confused by my surroundings. It was Jill, and a flash of concern crossed her face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No,” I said as I quickly wiped the tears from my face. “I think I’ve had just a little too much champagne.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Really I am. Don’t worry,” I said.

“Okay. Well, the boat is here and it’s leaving in 30 minutes, so we need to get on board soon. Are you ready?”

“Well, I should go to the restroom and fix my makeup,” I said.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Jill asked.

“No, you guys go ahead. I can meet you on the boat. See, I have my ticket right here,” I said as I pulled out my booze cruise tickets from my purse.

Jill looked at me unconvinced.

“Really, don’t worry. I’ll just be a few minutes behind you guys,” I said. I got up and gave her a hug before I head back inside the hotel to look for the restroom. “I’ll see you soon.”

***

“Shit!” I said in disbelief as I watched the cruise ship moving further away from the beach several hundred yards away.

It had taken me awhile to follow the directions to the restroom, and once I found it, I seemed to have lost track of time, because by the time I got out to the shore, the cruise ship had already left.

“I’m sorry,
señorita,” the man at the dock said. “The booze cruise was scheduled to leave at 6 p.m. and it’s already 6:20 p.m.,” he said as he pointed at his watch.

My shoulders hunched in disappointment, and I was at a loss for words.
How did this happen? This is not how imagined my last night in Cancun to be.
Okay, so maybe I secretly imagined spending my last night in Cancun with
him
, but I was
expecting
to at least have a great time with my best friends. And neither was going to happen.
What a mess.

“
Señorita?” the man from the dock spoke up again.

I looked up at him, the feeling of disappointment was palpable in the air that surrounded me.

“I spoke with the cruise ship captain. He said that your friends wanted to see that you’re okay. Would you like to talk to them?” he asked.

“Yes, please,” I said weakly.

He handed me his portable communication device, which was already crackling with sound.

“
Ohmygod, Emma?” said a voice through the device.

“
Steph?”

“Emma, are you okay? We thought you got on the ship first because we ended up taking a detour with some guys, but couldn’t find you when we got on the ship. What happened?”
Steph asked with concern.

“I don’t know. I think I got lost finding the restroom and then lost track of time, and by the time I got to the dock, the ship had already left,” I said, disappointment flooding through my body a second time.

“That’s horrible! Is there anything we can do? Can they bring you out to the boat with a jet ski or something? There must be something they can do,” Steph said, an air of defiance in her voice.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said and tried to keep my voice light and upbeat. “It’s really okay. This was my fault. Please don’t worry and have fun tonight! I’ll just have some drinks at the Omni, walk around the beach, and talk to some people,” I continued, trying to sound convincing.

There was a pause on the other line.

“
Steph, trust me, I’ll be fine here. Please have some extra fun for me, okay? And tell Jill and Gloria to not worry and to have fun.”

“Emma, they
must
be able to—”

“Really, have fun tonight. Hey, I
gotta run, love you,” I interrupted quickly and then clicked the device off. If I stayed on the phone any longer, I knew I would not be able to hold back my tears.

I handed the phone over to the man at the dock and thanked him.

I then returned to the outdoor bar at the Omni, and ordered two shots of tequila. When the waiter brought the shots, I immediately downed one and grimaced as the alcohol burned on its way down.

I let out a deep sigh. I was devastated and had never felt my spirits so low.

ARGH! Where is he?
The second the thought popped into my head, I knew that my disappointment had nothing to do with missing the booze cruise tonight—I was heartbroken over him.

For the last couple of months, he had consumed my dreams, my thoughts, and my life.

Then I saw him a few days ago on the beach, and the minute I realized that he was actually real
and
that he was right here in Cancun, I thought that this must have been a sign—a sign that maybe there was something more to my dreams, that maybe he was the
one
that I’ve been waiting for.

It was serendipitous
, I had told myself.
It was fate.
And over the last few days, these thoughts became more pronounced as he became more of a reality in my mind—and in my heart. In fact, I had caught myself daydreaming about our future together.
Our future?
I shook my head, and downed the second tequila shot.

By this point, I couldn’t even register the taste. What was I thinking? I was 22, not some lovesick teenager. How could I possibly think that fairy tales could come true?
Think about what happened to you that night years ago. Think about what happened to your mom. Don’t be silly and think a happily-ever-after can happen to you.

I sighed deeply as I buried my face in my hands. I felt dizzy and my head was pounding in pain. But that was nothing compared to dull ache that was spreading like molten lava from the center of my chest.

Just as I was about to order another shot, a voice from behind me interrupted my thoughts.

“Hi, excuse me?” said the deep, smooth voice. Something about that voice pulled me out of my misery.

I turned around to see who it was, and I gasped. Everything around me froze and the world stopped spinning.

I was looking straight into his warm, brown eyes.

It was
him
.

He gave me a dazzling smile, and my heart skipped a beat when those dimples appeared on his handsome face.

“It’s
you
,” I let out uncontrollably. I realized then that I stopped breathing the second I saw him.

He gave a soft warm chuckle, and my despair quickly melted away as happiness radiated through my body.

“Well, yes, I guess it is me. Have we met before?” he said, looking at me with curiosity.

“Umm, no. You just look like someone I’ve met before,” I said, thankful that I was still able to speak. I could feel my face growing hot.

“Hi, I’m Brandon Fisher,” he continued as he held out his hand.

I stared at him silently as I held out my hand to meet his. The second our hands touched, a spark of electricity coursed between us. His hand was warm, rough, and protective, and I knew it was the same hand that had touched me every night in my dreams, and a need began to grow inside as my body responded to his touch.

“Emma—Emma’s—Emma is my name—” I blurted out incoherently. I cleared my throat, “Um, I mean, hi, I’m Emma. Emma Anderson.” Whether it was the alcohol or his presence, I was in a fog and was unable to think straight.

“Emma’s a pretty name. It’s very nice to meet you, Emma,” Brandon said, his voice was warm and sweet like caramel.

“I’m the marketing consultant for the booze cruise company you and your friends had purchased your tickets from. I was informed that you unfortunately missed the cruise tonight, so I wanted to come and personally apologize for the situation we’ve put you in. If there’s anything I can do to make the rest of your night better, please let me know.”

“Well, umm, that’s really nice of you,” I said, my eyes never leaving his.
Wow, he is gorgeous.
It took all my willpower and common sense to resist the urge to grab him towards me and kiss him.

“I was just planning on having a few drinks, maybe walk down the beach, and wait until my friends get back from the cruise,” I continued.

Brandon looked at his watch and frowned. “But the ship won’t be back until after 2 a.m., which is not for another seven hours.”

“Oh, really?” That caught me by surprise and woke me out of my drunk trance. “Crap, I guess you’re right.”

“Well, I’m done with work for the night. Would you like some company?” Brandon asked with a smile.

“God, you’re gorgeous—” I blurted out. I immediately buried my eyes in my hands and cringed with embarrassment. “Oh God. I’m sorry ….” I said as I shook my head.

He let out a warm chuckle, “No, don’t be. I’m actually flattered. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Yes. Sure,” I said, still mortified and trying desperately to gain my composure.
God, why did I drink so much champagne and tequila shots
, I thought. I frantically tried to will myself to sober up as I felt the effects of the alcohol cloud my thoughts.