Escape From Paradise
Copyright © 2013 Gwendolyn Field
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without prior written permission of the author except where permitted by law.
Published by Gwendolyn Field
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Image license from iStockphoto with the following names:
©
Ilya Bushuev
Interior Design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats
To all the women out there struggling to do it
all
.
You are amazing, and this is for you.
Full blown guilt didn’t hit me until I stepped off the plane into Mexico’s heat.
Crap...If Mom and Dad find out I went to Cancun for spring break behind their backs—
“
Wooo!
We’re in Meh-hee-co, baby!” Sabrina, one of the three sorority sisters I’d come with from Texas, screamed right in my ear. She was ready to go with her sunglasses and floppy sunhat covering her red curls. “Cheer up, girl.” She linked her arm through my elbow and pulled me tighter. “Nobody’s gonna find out. What happens in Cancun stays in Cancun.” She bumped her hip to mine and I tried to smile.
“God, Angela, I hope you don’t whine about your parents the whole three days we’re here,” said Caryn from behind us.
And just like that my smile disappeared.
“Chill, Caryn.” Sabrina shot the warning over her shoulder, squeezing my arm.
Caryn decided to come at the last minute, much to my disappointment. We used to get along great, and even joke about being twins with our straight, blonde hair. But she had this weird competitive jealousy toward me ever since we were pledging last semester. Rumor had gotten around that her boyfriend left her to try and hook up with me. He never attempted to talk to me, probably because rumor also got around that I wanted nothing to do with him. I was newly single after an emotional breakup with my high school boyfriend, so the last thing I wanted was drama. But the damage was done, and Caryn had been bipolar toward me ever since.
“Everything’s gonna be great, guys.” Megan slid on her sunglasses and tugged my ponytail. I loved Megan, our resident peacemaker, always positive and as boy crazy as could be. Her dark spirals bounced on her shoulders as she pulled Caryn up and linked arms with the rest of us. The four of us—Caryn, Megan, Sabrina, then me—set off from the airport together.
I did all the talking with the cab driver and hotel personnel. Even though most of them spoke English, I enjoyed the opportunity to practice my Spanish skills. It was one of the main reasons I’d wanted to come so badly. I was majoring in Spanish and minoring in Communications. Nothing beat real life conversation. Plus, the locals seemed happily surprised when this little blonde American girl spoke the native language, and I liked crushing some of those stereotypes about how most of us spoke nothing but English. Even though the stereotype was true.
The concierge was so pleased with my efforts that he sent four rum punches to our room. We cheered when we saw the beautiful glasses with cherries, lime wedges, and little umbrellas.
“Cheers to Angela and her mad Español skills,” Caryn said in one of her kind moments. I felt myself warm to her when she smiled at me. When she was nice like this it made me miss her.
“Cheers,” we all said, clinking glasses.
I took a tentative sip and coughed.
“Damn!” Sabrina laughed.
“This has to be local rum.” Megan took another drink and smacked her lips, raising her eyebrows. “We’re not in Texas anymore girls!”
I wasn’t a huge drinker. The girls had come to count on me as their designated driver, and that worked for me because alcohol made me puke every time.
But I drank half of the strong punch before handing it to Sabrina. She rewarded me with a loud kiss on the cheek. Caryn and Megan went out on our tiny balcony and made cat calls to guys walking by.
I reached for my phone, checking for missed messages from my parents. Sabrina took it from my hand and tossed it to my bag.
“They think we’re camping somewhere with no reception, remember?” Sabrina whispered, “We made a pact not to post any pictures. They’ll never find out. Now get your suit on and let’s have some fun.”
I nodded. It wasn’t that I’d never lied to my parents before. I’d snuck out back in high school, and forged notes to skip class, but this was different. They’d specifically told me “Absolutely not” when I asked to go to Cancun. Yes, they were overprotective of their only daughter, even though I was a sophomore in college now, and that was annoying. But they trusted me and I’d used that to manipulate them.
After that, when I’d approached them with Sabrina’s fake plan for a camping trip on her grandparent’s land, they thought it was a great idea. They gave me way too much money to buy supplies and food. Their money coupled with money I’d earned over Christmas break was just enough to cover my flight and hotel.
If I’d have known the guilt would be this bad I wouldn’t have gone. But now I was here for three nights, and there was nothing I could do to take it back. So I reached for my bathing suit and told myself I’d use the experience to hone my language skills for when I was a translator someday. Everything was going to be fine.
It was easier to let the guilt slip away when my toes dug into the soft, hot sand and I was peering out at crystal blue water. Texas beaches were nice, but nothing like this. The sand here was white, and the atmosphere up and down the beach was like a huge party. Most of the people were U.S. college kids on Spring break, but some were from other countries, and then there were the local hotties with their dark tanned bodies. I had to admit it was kind of awesome.
“I
so
need a guy,” Megan said, eyeing the group playing volleyball near where we sat on our towels.
“So does Angela,” Sabrina said. She tried to hand me her margarita.
“No thanks.” I was still slightly lightheaded from half a freaking drink. “And I don’t
need
a guy.”
“Need, want, whatever,” Megan said, flipping her dark curls at a six-pack who walked by. She giggled when he grinned at her.
“How long has it been?” Sabrina asked me. “A year?”
My face warmed and it had nothing to do with the blazing sun.
“Ten months,” I mumbled.
All three of them snorted as they tried to hold back laughter, even Caryn, though she looked asleep as she lay on her back, soaking rays on her flat belly.
“Bitches,” I said, falling back on my towel and closing my eyes. When they laughed harder I cracked a smile too. “It’s not like I never hook up.”
“She’s a relationship kind of girl,” Megan offered.
It was true. I liked the comfort of being committed if I was going to have sex, and I’d only had that with one person in my life. Too bad our love hadn’t been strong enough to last through the long distance.
Sabrina scoffed and leaned on her elbows. “We’re
all
hookin’ up in Cancun.”
The three of them raised their margaritas and I raised my lame bottle of water.
“Cheers to boys,” Megan said.
“
Hot
boys,” Caryn corrected, and we all drank to that.
