The sun had just set on the beautiful island. The sky was a strong pink color and the water slowly turned black. It was absolutely breathtaking. For someone who said he didn't do the whole romance thing, Andy had picked out a pretty darn romantic place to spend our time at.
We had shared a yummy dinner at an adorable barbeque-style restaurant. And once it became dark, the place turned into an open bar with candlelight and live music played by local musicians. I absolutely loved it.
Andy had me in his lap on one of the comfy lounges, pecking my neck so every now and then, while I watched the musicians play. Not all too many people were around, but it made it all the more enjoyable.
While Andy's lips were on my neck, he suddenly groaned. So I turned my head towards him, frowning curiously. "What's wrong, Daddy?" I whispered to him.
Without so much a word, he pulled his phone from his pocket and rolled his eyes as he stared momentarily at the lit up screen. "I need to take this." He murmured a tad bitterly.
As the phone kept buzzing, Andy practically pushed me off him during his attempt to get up. And so I just sat there, wide-eyed, as he started walking away from me.
Had I done something wrong?
But then Andy turned around again, walking back to me with a deep frown etched into his normally smooth forehead. "I'm sorry." He said, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. "Stay here, alright? Don't make me search for you."
I nodded quickly. "I promise." I then assured him, causing a barely noticeable smile to form on his lips.
I kind of figured at that point that it must've been a call from the office, or perhaps his mother. Maybe even Andrea? Who knew. . . I couldn't help but to have this strange feeling in my gut, though.
Only a minute or so after Andy had left, a group of women who had been dancing to the live music for quite a while, decided to sit down on the lounges adjacent to the one I was sitting on.
"Oh, hold on!" One of them said, gasping before she turned towards me. "Is it okay if we sit here?" She then asked.
I chuckled a little, nodding slowly. "Of course."
"Thanks! Are you here by yourself?" The same woman, with purple dyed hair and flowers around her neck, continued to ask me.
"No I uh- my boyfriend is over there, on the phone." I answered, nodding my head towards Andy, standing half in the shadow of the terrace looking slightly frustrated as he held the phone to his ear. I really hoped everything was all right.
"Oh, the handsome one with the Hawaiian shirt and black hair?" A different woman in the group wanted to know. And I snorted a little, remembering our little argument that morning about the orange and red Hawaiian shirt. I had told Andy he needed some color in his life, so I bought him a shirt from a guy selling them on the beach. He hated it, but he wore it anyway.
"That would be him." I sang softly, feeling a sense of warmth in my heart.
"He's gorgeous, girl! Nice catch!"
I blushed a little at that, but it was true; Andy was indeed a nice catch. The nicest, if I said so myself. And I was more than happy that things were working out thus far.
"Tied the knot yet?" The purple-haired woman asked. But I simply shook my head. "Oh, well I'm about to!" She then excitedly went on, showing me her sparkly engagement ring before she then showed me a photo of her fiancée and went on about how going to this place with her friends was her bachelorette party. It was really nice, honestly.
The owner of the place soon came up to us with a huge tray of drinks, which looked pretty interesting. The color of the drink was pink on the bottom half and orange on the top half. It held a straw, a toothpick with a cherry and a colorful umbrella, finished with some pink sugary stuff coating the edge of the glass.
The nice bachelorette, who I still didn't know by name, handed me one of the drinks. "If you like fruity, then you'll love this." She told me. And I was hesitant at first, but it was only a drink after all.
The rest of the group held up their glasses, smiling at the bachelorette as one of them made a little speech. "To the bride-to-be!" She said, finishing it. And everyone repeated her words, wooing and cheering before they all started chugging down their drinks.
It was only when the bachelorette threw me an encouraging nod that I finally drank from my own one too. It tasted really sweet and fruity, and definitely like more. And more was what I got.
From the corner of my eye I glanced at Andy so every now and then, watching him pace around, rubbing his forehead and occasionally swinging his arm in the air while he talked. But I wasn't going to bother him; I was going to stay right here, as I promised. I didn't want him getting mad at me.
So instead I just quietly listened to the group of women that surrounded me, enjoying their humor, silly stories and laughter. And meanwhile, the drinks kept coming, and in return, the laughter kept becoming louder.
It was only when I started feeling a bit woozy myself, that something finally dawned on me. And in that moment I had never felt so stupid in my entire life.
"These are cocktails. Cocktails with alcohol." I breathed, wide-eyed as I stared at the nearly empty glass in my hands.
The purple-haired bachelorette snorted and looked at me. "Of course they are, silly. Coconut rum and vodka. This is a party!" She blatantly pointed out to me. "Why? You're not, like, a recovering alcoholic, are you?"
I slowly shook my head from side to side. "No, that's not it, I uh-. . ." Oh boy, Andy was going to murder me.
As the shock settled in, I decided in only a second that I needed to go to Andy and tell him the truth about what just happened. So while some of the women shot me strange looks, I shoved my glass into the bachelorette's hands and wobbled over towards Andy. The moment I was on my feet, however, was when the alcohol surged straight to my head. Oh god.
I stumbled occasionally, the world around me going all blurry and unstable as a result. At one point I even bumped into a pole, which caused nothing but a fit of laughter to break out from deep down in my stomach.
"Okay, this is actually kinda funny." I admitted to myself out loud. But I had never had this happening before in my life. What was in those cocktails again? Rum and vodka? Jesus. I had never drank anything other than the occasional wine.
"Ha. . . I'm so drunk." I heard myself say, the words slurring from my lips when I was only a few feet away from Andy.
He swiftly turned around on his heels, a look in his eyes that held worry, shock, and quite something else too. "What did you just say?" He asked, clearly wanting me to repeat it.
I snorted at his tone of voice, which was kind of strange, considering that the tone of his voice at that very moment would normally terrify me. "Oopsie." Was all I managed to blurt out at first as I moved to lean back against a beam. "It's not my fault, Daddy, I had no idea there was alcohol in them. I didn't taste any."
Andy sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket. How long had he been calling for anyway?
"How many did you have?" He calmly asked me.
I rolled my eyes at his question. What did that even matter?
"It just does, now answer me."
Oh, did I say that out loud?
Biting my lip, I thought about it for a moment. But the more I tried to think, the more my head hurt. "I don't know, I forgot." I murmured, rubbing my forehead. Actually, I didn't even count them in the first place. "I'll just go ahead and ask." I then told Andy, thinking that was a great idea at the time.
But the second I tried to walk, I stumbled again. A burning sensation rose up from my stomach to my throat, and suddenly I just felt awful. "Baby, are you okay?" Andy wanted to know, worry evident in his voice.
And I could only get one word out, one single word. "Nope." I was quick to tell him, before my legs gave out and I dropped to my knees, vomiting into the sand.
Andy kneeled down beside me; wrapping my hair up in his hand and holding it up while his other hand caressed my back.
I continued to vomit, even when it seemed that all of the contents had already evacuated my stomach. It just kept coming. My head was throbbing; my throat was hurting, and just everything felt genuinely bad.
Once the vomiting and the heaving was over, Andy quietly picked me up in his arms and began walking. Of course I knew where he was taking me, and I was more than happy about that. And when I felt the softness of a mattress beneath my body and a pillow beneath my head just a few minutes later, I was relieved.
"I'm so sorry, Daddy." I whispered, my throat sore and my voice a bit hoarse. "I broke a rule, and I'm willing to take whatever punishment you see fit, Daddy. I'm sorry."
Andy gently hushed me, running his fingers through my hair. "I'm not going to punish you, baby girl. How you feel right now and will be feeling in the morning is punishment enough, I believe." He whispered back, trying his best to hide the part of him that was amused by this. Surely enough, he did just that and turned serious. "This is my fault, though. I should have been there to watch over you. I shouldn't have left you alone. And I won't, ever again. I promise."
He kissed the top of my head and pulled the covers over my body. "You should sleep some." He then said before turning away.
I turned over onto my side, trying to get comfy even though my body felt irritated and sore. And then I remembered. . . "Daddy?" I called out.
Andy stalled, looking at me over his shoulder. "Yes, baby?"
"What was the phone call about?" I asked.
A long sigh erupted from his throat. "We'll talk about that some other time." He simply said before switching off the lights and silently leaving the room.