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A/N - I hate having to do this, but since NovelHD has already started to pirate some of my books, here we go. These works are mine. My poor little brain came up with the plots and characters, and I'd really prefer you to not steal them. If you're reading this on a site that is NOT Wattpad then it is most certainly stolen.
Thanks!
Loiosh
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As soon as the Fasten Seatbelts sign dinged and disappeared I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood up to stretch. I was thankful that I was sitting in the aisle seat on the plane so I could raise my arms to try and undo the tightness that had settled into my muscles as it seemed as though I'd been on the plane all damned day. Which, I guess I was. It isn't a quick journey when you fly from Boston to Caracas with multiple layovers.
"Mira! We made it!" called Zoe from a few seats ahead of me.
I just nodded with a smile as she and Faith shared a hug and a quick peck on the lips. I'd love to know why I agreed to go on this trip with two of my exes, who are now happily together, and with another girl who they seem to think will be 'perfect' for me though she already turned me down last year. Not going there again thanks. She was still a good friend though.
"Michelle, wake up, we're here." I nudged the non-ex who was still sleeping next to the window.
She blearily opened her eyes and then mumbled incoherently before unfolding herself from the seat. I didn't know about the other girls, but I needed a shower and a nap before I did anything else. But for now, I stood and waited for the flight crew to get the door open so we could deplane and be on our way.
We'd all just graduated from the same college, UMass Amherst, and this was our last hurrah before joining corporate America in whatever job we decided to try to make a living in. I wasn't looking forward to that decision, and I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my business degree. I knew I'd have to think about that in a couple of weeks when we went back home, but right now I just wanted to enjoy myself. College life hadn't been nearly as fun as I thought it would be, with a string of breakups that had soured me on finding someone special, and a course load that kept me panicked every week with deadlines that I thought would make my brain melt.
But there were some good points. While my relationships with Zoe and Faith didn't pan out, there was just no spark between us, we did end up as good friends. Did it hurt to see them so happy and in love? Sure, but I was only a little bitter because I did want them to be happy. Maybe not in front of me all the time, but I did like that they were good together. Even Michelle was cool, even if we weren't right for each other romantically either.
Other relationships had been bad though. Like Mike in my sophomore year who I was very glad left school last year and moved to Texas. I hope he became a rodeo clown and ended up getting gored a few times by giant bulls. He was the last guy I'd dated and had made me want to turn in my bisexual card. I didn't see myself dipping my toes back into in the male waters again any time soon. I'd been dumped by enough girls to know they weren't all perfect either, but none of them made me feel as crappy as he had.
Whole body shivers were invented for people like him.
But now, I had two weeks to enjoy myself in an exotic foreign country with three friends and a chance to maybe get my spirit back. Technically, I wasn't a college girl anymore, and maybe that would change my luck. Perhaps two weeks of fun and beaches were just what the doctor ordered so that I could get my heart and mind back in the game.
If they ever opened the door to the plane!
When the door finally did open, it was like a wave of moisture slammed into me. Don't get me wrong, summers in Massachusetts suck. Nothing is built for the heat since the winter is so cold, so they build for that instead. Most houses are lucky if they had air conditioners placed in the windows of some of the rooms. But the humidity is usually manageable unless it is about to rain. The humidity here in Venezuela was a lot higher, like there could be a storm at any time.
"Luckily, we came during the rainy season," scoffed Michelle as she took her overnight bag from the overhead compartment.
"Hey, it wasn't our fault. It was the dart's," I reminded her while getting my own bag down. The rest of our stuff we'd have to get at baggage claim.
"Only because we were too stupid to research where we should go instead of just throwing darts at a map!" she retorted. I was sure this wasn't her first choice, but she was the only person among us that spoke Spanish, so I hoped her attitude wouldn't be too bad while we were here. Lucky me, I learned French in school, not that I remember it, and that wouldn't help at all!
"We weren't too bad though! We did veto when Faith threw the dart into Siberia!" We'd tacked a world atlas on a cork board and took turns throwing darts at it to determine where we went. We may have also had a bit to drink beforehand, which is why Michelle and I missed the board entirely. When Faith took her turn, she hit Siberia, and there wasn't even a discussion. It was an immediate no vote from everyone. Then Zoe hit Venezuela and all of us just shrugged and said sure. We hadn't been there, and it was unique, so here we are.
"That was just common sense. We should be on a yacht in the Mediterranean or something!" Michelle complained. She was the one with money in the group, and could have done whatever she wanted, but tagged along with us anyway. It was nice of her to come when she didn't have to, so I couldn't give her too much of a hard time for her being cranky. I did hope her mood would improve, but we were probably all in an off mood right after the flight.
Thankfully, the people ahead of us on the plane had finally started to move, so I quickly grabbed my travel backpack, and handed Michelle hers. We merged out into the aisle and caught up to Faith and Zoe who had been kind enough to wait for us. They both hugged us happily, which shocked Michelle and I, as we were not in a touchy mood at all. Zoe and Faith had missed the be grumpy after flying all day memo.
"Come on people!" I directed. "Let's get our bags and go through customs. I need a nap and a shower in the worst way!"
"And then dinner and drinks and dancing!" Zoe said while doing a little dance up towards the cockpit.
"Those are the only D's I want for the next 2 weeks!" I snorted. But yeah, I was damned serious, no guys and their D's.
"I bet you could be tempted by a pair of double D's" Michelle joked from behind me.
Okay, she got me there. Truthfully though, as much as I loved them, I'd prefer a tiny girl with a great ass that I could pick up and let her wrap her legs around me and then cuddle with all night. Cuddles are criminally underrated, and I needed some badly. As crazy as it was to think, I needed cuddles more than sex. Having both would be perfect though.
The group of us made our way to baggage claim, Michelle and I trudging while Faith and Zoe skipped, and stood waiting for the bags to be delivered. It wasn't too bad of a wait, and I took the time to work through my softball stretching exercises. I'd been playing since middle school and was good enough that I got a scholarship out of it. I had nowhere to play any more unless I joined a league at a rec center or something similar. But the stretching routines were good for my body, and helped me feel a little better afterwards. By the time my bag came, I was feeling a bit less cranky.
Customs was about like I expected. Nothing to declare. Here on vacation. Get the evil eye because I'm an American and we suck. I mean, we do, and we all know it by now. Why anyone would like us I can't understand. But they let me in anyway once they stamped my passport, and now I could get that nap. It was my first passport stamp, so that was kind of cool. My mom would be happy.
Oh!
I pulled out my phone, then sent a quick text to my folks that I was here safe just so they wouldn't worry. I was under strict orders to do that every day, so they could be sure I wasn't doing anything too crazy. Really, like they'd never done anything when they were younger?
Once we were all through customs, we made our way to the ground transportation. Our hotel had mentioned a free shuttle to and from the airport, and I was happy that they delivered on that. We only had to wait 5 minutes, and then we were in a nice little shuttle van and headed towards my new best friends, the bed and pillow in my room.
We were staying at the JW Marriott, a nice place right downtown within walking distance of a lot of good places to eat and drink. We planned to hit the beaches a lot, but for the first few days I wanted some food and fun and maybe the hotel pool. Then I would hit the beach to get a nice tan, something not always available up north!
Once the van dropped us off, Zoe and Faith squealed while racing for the check in desk, while Michelle and I continued to lag behind. "They're seriously perfect for each other," I muttered.
"Yeah, but if they have kids, they'll probably have the same energy," she said with a smirk.
I had to laugh at that and felt much better about things suddenly. I'm sorry, that was petty, I shouldn't think those things. Wait, yes I can. I'm allowed.
Michelle and I stood behind the happy couple who were sharing a room together. Michelle and I were also sharing, but only because she was kind enough to be paying for me since she knew her parents were a lot richer than mine. Not that we were scraping by, but when she said we could do the yacht in the Mediterranean, it's because her family actually owns one that is already over there.
"Mira Sheridan and Michelle Freeman, checking in." I said to the man at the front desk. He quickly took Michelle's card for incidentals and then passed us a pair of hotel keys.
Faith and Zoe were long gone by the time we hit the elevator banks, and most likely trying out their bed so they can say they'd done it on another continent. We took the elevator to the 14th floor, and then found our room, number 1412. I didn't bother unpacking. I just collapsed on the closest bed. I had the foresight to set an alarm for 2 hours, perfect for a good nap, and then crashed. I know, it was rude to just sleep instead of hanging with Michelle, but I was pretty sure she was asleep before me. We may not have been interested in a relationship with each other, but that might also have been because we were too much alike.
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A/N - I don't tend to make a lot of authors notes, but I'll make an exception here. This book wouldn't be possible without who was a wonderful collaborator every step of the way during the writing of this book. No matter what, we had a ton of fun creating this, and it was worth the effort.
On a side note, we tried to get as many pictures that were actually from Venezuela as possible in here, though we had to cheat in a few places since not everything was available, and I couldn't fly there to take my own!