Between Friends (4 page)

We walk in a painful silence up to the
line where Michael, Eric and Matthew have met up with the girls.
From the corner of my eye, I see Jessica giving me an once-over as
I push my hot coffee rigidly to my lips. While the group engages in
some casual banter, I find myself glancing around the airport in an
attempt to find anything to distract me from thinking about last
night’s romp. Just standing beside Ben, and inhaling his natural
scent is driving me crazy.

I have no idea what is going on with
me. Why on earth am I acting like a love-struck teenager? This is
Ben for heaven’s sake! My go-to-bud for a quick meal at the best
food-truck when they roll into town, or the friend I go with to a
Cubs game. My stomach flip-flops and I start to become consumed,
noticing little things about him I never noticed before. Like how
much his hands move when he talks (which could be blamed on his
Italian heritage), or the way his sparkling white teeth shine when
he smiles (which I know is from a home whitening kit, prescribed a
year ago by his dentist), or the way he nervously scratches his
chest when he makes quick one liner jokes (which he does a
lot).

“
How come you’ve got a
strange glow to you this morning?” Eric asks, interrupting my
thoughts by nudging me with his elbow.

I blankly stare at him and I stammer,
“I- I -I do?”

For a moment I actually question if
they all heard my insatiable thoughts about Ben. I blush and glance
around my group of friends, feeling like a transparent mess. I
purposely do not look at Ben, but from the corner of my eye I see a
small grin form at the tip of his lips hidden by his cup of coffee.
Before I can even defend myself against Eric’s accusations, Jessica
chimes in a singsong voice, “I bet I know why.”

I nervously bite my nails and insist
it’s because I had a really good sleep. But Jessica cuts me off, “I
found Marco’s hat in her room this morning.”

I hear Ben choke on his coffee and let
out a small chuckle.

Eric moans, “Not that douche
bag.”

Michael quickly adds, “Really Megan? I
don’t want to have to double date with Mr. Know-It-All ever
again.”

In Marco’s defense, he was a PhD
student with hopes of becoming a Professor. Around the time he
ended things with me, he landed a contract lecturer job at the
University of Chicago teaching Physics. He may have been a tad
overwhelming and extremely outspoken when it came to his opinions
and what he believed, but he was a decent guy with a big heart. I
always suspected our eventual breakup just came down to the fact he
didn’t find me intellectually compatible. Especially after I
indicated my belief in psychics, which I know is ridiculous, but
after watching TLC’s “Long Island Medium” series, I am truly a
believer.

“
You slept with Marco last
night?” Ben innocently asks, tilting his head to the
side.

“
No, I did not.” I say and
unzip my sweater to stop puddles from forming under my
armpits.

“
Well, she did say they
just talked.” Jessica says batting her eyes at me, “But I think
Eric’s right. You do have a guilty glow.”

“
Must have been some talk…”
Ben deviously grins and scratches his chest.

My face heats and my cheeks begin to
splotch. He has some nerve. I push in front of my group of friends,
feeling Ben’s eyes follow me as I storm away.

Thankfully, the lady at the counter
finally calls us up to check-in for our flight.

Once I get to my seat, I pop a few
Gravol tablets for some much needed shut eye. Flying has always
made me nervous. The main reason is because I can never seem to
wrap my head around how something so incredibly large and heavy can
literally float on air. It just seems physically impossible. More
importantly, ever since 9/11, the fear of being trapped in a
confined space millions of feet in the air with virtual strangers
who could be potential terrorists makes me ill. I have shared these
insane rationalizations with Ben on a few occasions and even more
so over the past few weeks leading up to this trip. He laughs and
tells me I am way too neurotic, which may be true, but at least I
am prepared for the worst.

As I am pulling out my eye mask,
Michelle abruptly stops in the aisle, looks down at her ticket and
moans, “Are you going to be sleeping the whole ride
there?”

“
That’s the plan.” I
say.

“
Will you trade spots with
Stephanie? I want to drink and have fun the whole flight.” She
pouts flopping into the seat beside me.

“
No thanks.” I decline when
I glance across the aisle and notice Ben is sitting next to
Stephanie. Had I slept alone last night, I would have gladly traded
in a heartbeat. This time definitely not.

I snuggle up against the window of the
plane, listening to Stephanie and Michelle start a gossip filled
discussion over the latest JLO scandal splashed on the front cover
of an In-Style magazine one of them purchased at the gift shop. I
hear Stephanie’s chipper voice promptly order morning mimosas’ from
the flight attendant, making me happy I am about to slip off into
la-la land.

****

I abruptly wake up to a hand caressing
my shoulder. When my eyes flutter open, I see Ben sitting beside
me. I think I stop breathing as he says, “Michelle and I switched
seats while you were sleeping. I couldn’t handle being stuck
between their constant chatter. I hope you don’t mind.”

“
No that’s fine.” I say.
Even though it totally isn’t.

“
Just so you know, we’ll be
landing shortly. Don’t worry, it’s almost over.” He ruffles my hair
and gives me a tiny smile.

“
Thanks.” I
mumble.

Ben leans back in his seat and clears
his throat “So…I guess I’ll have to throw out that hat
now.”

“
What hat?” I ask, playing
dumb.

“
Oh, come on Megan.” Ben
raises his voice, but then quickly brings it to a whispering tease,
“Since everyone thinks it belongs to your ex-lover-boy Marco. I
wouldn’t want to blow your cover.”

“
Only Jessica saw it.” I
snarl, but then add with humor, “But just to be safe, I am going to
torch it once I get back home.”

Ben’s eyes soften and he runs his
fingertip along my jawline, “Come on, it wasn’t that bad was
it?”

I blush feeling a knotted mess form in
my stomach. I am too scared to answer and even more scared of the
mishmash of unidentified feelings milling around in my brain. One
look at Ben and I know things have changed. He looks at me
differently. There is a mist in his eyes and a shadow of
uncertainty plastered on his face. Where has my best friend gone? I
don’t know what to say, so I force my gaze out the window, to catch
my first glimpse of the tropical paradise.

I am saved from any further
discussion, when the impact of the wheels hit the landing strip. I
nearly jump out of my skin from the jolt of friction, and see Ben
catch me in clenched fists. He flashes me a coy grin and gently
squeezes my hands for comfort. For a second, I want to squeeze his
hand back and give him a kiss on the cheek, but the thought
frightens me and I pull my hand away. Ben clenches his jaw,
straightens up in his seat, and looks away. I am so confused. What
is going on between us? I can barely handle being in his presence.
I need to get off this plane.

When the plane comes to a complete
stop, Jessica jumps up from her seat and shouts out to every
passenger, “We’re getting married!”

Michael quickly yanks her down and
scolds her for making a scene. Michelle and Stephanie give a few
claps and cheers, while Eric and Matthew share a high five. Jessica
pushes Michael away, “What is the big deal Michael? I am excited!
Aren’t you?”

Michael proceeds to explain he is
excited, but shouting out to the whole entire plane of people who
don’t care is tacky. Unfortunately, because they are sitting
directly behind me, I hear Jessica let out a groan and say in a
high pitch whine, “Well maybe they do care.” Then she pauses and
leans over my seat to involve me in their argument, “Right
Megan?”

I hate when she involves me in their
constant bickers. I smile at Jessica and say, “Of course everyone
cares.”

Jessica proudly grins and makes my
words the final closure she needed to win the battle. When it is
our turn to funnel off the plane, she tosses her large tote over
her shoulder, flicks her long blonde hair in Michael’s face and
leads the way off the plane to plant our feet on the luscious Costa
Rican soil.

The heat makes my skin itch and the
baking sun warms my brow. I love travelling anywhere tropical,
mostly because of the intoxicating smell of coconut and ocean all
mixed together. It just ignites something deep inside me. I have
been looking forward to this vacation for a long time. But if I am
ever going to survive this trip, I need to stay as far away from
Ben as possible.

Chapter 4

Just pinch me. How could this paradise
actually be my reality? The rolling hills and luscious greenery is
the perfect backdrop to the gorgeous villas spread out across the
resort. The shuttle winds down the cobblestone roads, and takes us
on a scenic tour of the impressive grounds. I sit back and let my
hair blow in the calm winds and listen to the sound of exotic birds
chirping in the distance. My eyes widen to the sight of iguanas
crawling through the grass and my ears perk up to monkeys howling
in the trees. I am perfectly overwhelmed by the beauty of the vined
and twisted trees and the scorching sun, because all these things
make me feel like I am immersed in my own private
jungle.

When the shuttle stops, the driver
jumps out and hands us girls our luggage. He points to a massive
villa overlooking a ravine, with stork-like birds bathing in its
water. He swipes our key card and pushes open the double paned
glass doors. Stephanie and Michelle funnel inside, oohing and
aweing over our extravagant amenities. I stay back, thank our
driver and hand him a few dollar bills. As the shuttle begins to
pull away, I wave goodbye to Matthew, Eric and Ben, still packed on
board, pounding back their welcome drinks.

Ben gives me a subtle wink and flashes
his pearly white grin as they take off down the road. I don’t know
why, but his actions send a prickling sensation up the back of my
knees and make me feel a bit weak. Luckily, Stephanie squeal
distracts me, and it reminds me to exhale.

“
Hey Megan get in here!
This fridge is stocked!” Stephanie shouts as I roll my luggage into
our villa.

Michelle and Stephanie have already
broken into the bar fridge. They rummage through with their
perfectly manicured nails and pull out a few cans of beer. They
giggle together at their findings and ask me if I want one, but I
politely decline and start to unzip my suitcase. Michelle thrusts
one at me, and insists that I have to have one. I shake my head and
push her away. She waves her free hand in the air, “Oh Megan,
lighten up. It’s party time!”

Michelle briskly walks across our
room, and immediately yanks out her makeup case while Stephanie
plugs in her straightening iron. They prop themselves in front of
the full-length mirror, and debate on using bronzer or blush for
tonight’s dinner plans. Stephanie reaches back into her luggage,
pulls out a tight fitting coral dress, and holds it up to her
chest, “Well? What do you girls think? Is this the dress for
tonight? Or should I wear something a little more
risky?”

I shrug and say it’s nice, and
continue to unpack. Michelle on the other hand, furrows her brow
and taps her index finger over her lips. A few minutes pass before
she suggests, “I think you should go for something a little more
island style.”

I turn around and roll my eyes when
Stephanie nods in agreement, because we aren’t even on an island!
We are in Central America!

I force myself away from their vain
happenings, and sort out our three bride-maids dresses thrown on
the sofa. I toss them over my forearm and neatly hang them up in
the closet to ensure they don’t wrinkle. I am clipping the last
hanger in place when I hear the phone ring. I shout out to
Stephanie and Michelle to answer it, but they don’t hear me over
their continual chitchat. I slam the closet door shut, tumble
across the marble floor, trip over the straightening iron cord, and
finally bounce off the sofa. Somehow, I manage to clasp the phone
in my hand, just in time to muster a hello. I rub my bruised ribs
and hear Jessica on the line.

“
Don’t forget our dinner
reservations are at seven o’clock sharp.” Jessica says and then
switches to a hushed whisper, “Listen Megan, I am counting on you.
Please make sure Michelle and Stephanie, do not get too drunk
before we meet everyone for dinner.”

I glance over into the bathroom and
see Stephanie shotgun a beer, while Michelle laughs and cheers her
on. I heave out a heavy sigh, “Honestly Jessica, I can’t promise
anything.”

“
Megan!” Jessica whines,
“Michael’s parents are way too uptight for any kind of stupidity.
As my maid of honor it is your duty to make sure this night isn’t a
total disaster.”

I bite down on my nails a tad bit
worried about this sudden responsibility, because I know Stephanie
and Michelle never listen to a word I say. Then just as we are
about to get off the phone, Jessica adds, “Oh, and don’t forget to
put on something sexy. Steven will be there. You don’t want to
disappoint.”