| MIAMI |
STAR RESORT MIAMI
I find myself boarding the plane to Miami only slightly bemused. Here I am, one whole month of Brooks-detox under my belt and I'm already throwing caution to the wind, prepared for my ultimate relapse. Divine relapse. Maybe flying on Friday the 13th will bring me good luck. Maybe the three Jack & Cokes will bring me even better luck. Ya, my go-to is mimosa but I need the hard stuff today.
I look at my phone one last time before turning it to airplane mode and sticking it in my bag. I smile when I see my background is still set to the selfie Brooks and I took in front of the food truck. You can see us each holding a taco to our mouth. Brooks looking at me and me mid-sentence right before he snapped the picture. Our faces with weird shadows thanks to the orangey glow of the streetlamps.
He stormed out an hour after this photo was taken. An hour after he set it as my wallpaper.
I turn on my phone and text him.
LANDED
No response. If he didn't invite me to come, remind me, and buy me the ticket then I might think he didn't want me here. The brightly colored shuttle bus is waiting just outside the baggage claim area. Star Resort in sprawled across the side in metallic teal letters next to a coral colored palm tree. It's sitting in a long line of Hotel shuttles, busses, and taxis.
The humidity in Florida is something else. It should be its own country.
I climb into the shuttle, happy to find the air conditioning blasting down on me. I haul my duffle onto a rack and stand next to it. I'm too nervous to sit down. Too nervous to think about how I feel.
The ride is hardly 20 minutes. And in the time I've finished my ice coffee and vegan cookie I'm still too nervous to think about how I feel. We didn't exactly leave things on a great note last time. Still, I think. He invited you.
Tall towers come into view. They're creamy beige like the underside of a seashell. The roof is outlined in the same teal that's painted on the shuttle. Star Resort Miami is huge. I don't know what else I expected. It is the flagship hotel, the OG. But still, it's HUGE. It's got this luxurious Caribbean vibe going on and the air around it smells like sunshine.
The shuttle stops under the covered canopy in front of the quadruple double door entrance. I grab my bag and step off the bus. Palm fans are stirring the air above the entrance. Even the outside of Star Resort is air-conditioned. The 'gate' around the entryway is really a giant wall of water. The water cascades down the flat stone like slow-falling snow.
This place is so extra.
It hits me. We are together without the false pretense of hanging out with Trix and Travis or Alex and the rest. Our last conversation plays on a loop in my mind, spinning like a dangerous wheel that's about to go off-track. Is he still mad at me? What do I expect? How will be act?
Which Brooks is waiting for me inside the seashell tower?
I don't need to wait for an answer. Just then he walks out from the lobby. A breath of fresh air condition comes with him.
"Fancy meeting you here." The smile on his face is almost unreadable.
"Are you stalking me now?" I can't help but laugh.
"That," he pauses, grinning. "Or I got your text and was waiting in the lobby for your shuttle to arrive."
He's about to do some weird hug thing. I sidestep and put my bag down. WHAT?
Did I forget how to act around him? Did we forget how to be normal humans around each other? The pseudo hug side step was painful.
"Let's get inside. I'll show you the room," he says, without looking at me.
...
I step off the elevator and walk to the second-story deck where Brooks told me to meet them. After my alone time to de-plane myself. There's a wide bamboo bar overlooking one of the 37 pools at this resort. I see Brooks from the doorway. He's leaning against the railing talking with Brody and a blonde girl whose face I cannot see. I walk toward them and Brooks smiles when he sees me.
"Hey," I say joining them.
"Hi, Em!" Brody swoops me into a hug.
"Long time no see!" I laugh at him.
"Emmy, this is Lauren." Brody indicates the hot blonde next to me. She reaches to hug me. A HUGGER. Omg, I'm gonna hate her.
"Hi Emmy, I've heard so much about you." Lauren flashes a dazzling smile. I notice how she's hardly wearing any make up but still looks like a model.
"You too," I lie. My eyes catch Brooks's and he shrugs like he's communicating oops.
"I was so glad when Brody said you were coming. Not that I don't love hanging with these two." Lauren nods to Brody and Brooks, "But it's nice to have another girl around."
"I feel that," I smile.
So she loves hanging with Brody and Brooks. So she hangs with them a lot. She must have been around for a while. Not sure why this makes me almost jealous. I'm jealous of the adoring way Brody is looking at her, that's for damn sure.
"How long have you two been dating?" I ask before I can help myself. Brooks moves beside me, still leaning casually against the railing.
"Since sophomore year," Brody answers. "She practically begged me to date her."
"Oh yea!" Lauren giggles. "If begged means avoided his drunk ass hitting on me at parties!"
"That's not how I remember it." Brody laughs at her, keeping his hand around her waist.
"So is everyone ready?" Brooks interrupts before the cuteness level gets too out of hand.
"Ready!"
"Yup!"