Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Jocelyn
“Mom! Val! I’m leaving!” I yell as I slide my shoes on and look around my bedroom once more, making sure I didn’t forget anything.
My mom comes out of the kitchen and gives me a hug. “Have a great vacation, sweetheart. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“Thanks,” I say as I try to get oxygen in my lungs from her tight squeeze. She releases me, and I suck in some air.
“Have fun, loser!” Val says from her bedroom door.
I stick out my tongue and she does the same. Mom groans. “You girls will never grow up, will you?”
Val giggles, and I grin. “Nope,” we say in unison.
“Well, be safe. Text when you land. Did you pack condoms?” she asks.
I nearly choke on my saliva. “Mom!”
“What? You’re in your mid-twenties. I’m your mom, but I’m also not oblivious to the fact that you may want to enjoy male company,” she explains.
I close my eyes and shake my head a little. “Mom, this trip is about relaxing with friends. I will definitely not be hooking up with randos.”
“Well, some of those men are single, so…” She trails off, and I open my eyes.
“And they are my friends. Just friends,” I repeat.
She puts up her hands. “OK, OK. Just make sure to have them bag it up if you suddenly decide to be more than friends. I’ve seen these men on your social media, and they are good-looking. If I were fifteen years younger…”
I groan, holding up my hand. “Please stop. Let’s pretend we never had this conversation.”
“Too late,” Val says, snickering.
I glare at her, and she bats her eyelashes and makes a pretend halo over her head with a finger.
“You should make sure Val has some too,” I say as Mom turns to her. I stick out my tongue, and Val flicks me off.
“Valentine Isabelle Martinez!!” Mom scolds.
“OK, I’m out. Bye!” I say as I hurry out the door and down the steps to a waiting party bus.
Now, Hutch did say he was getting a bus limo to take us all to the airport.
What I didn’t expect was a bus with “Wild Times Party Bus” painted on the side in neon letters.
Hutch is standing by it and smiling at me.
“You ready?” he asks as he grabs my suitcase and hands it to the driver, who puts it in a cargo hold under the seating part of the bus.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say as he ushers me inside.
I stop as I turn toward the seating area, if that’s what you call it. Everyone is here, but it’s not the seats that draw my attention. It’s the two stripper poles in the middle with a spinning disco ball overhead. And Margie is twirling around one while holding a glass of champagne.
“Pinky Pony Club” by Chappell Roan blares from the speakers. Al claps his hands excitedly as Cornelia downs a shot of something. Kasen and Piper are in the way back next to Roxy and Gray. Cam and Fletcher are sitting by Carly, Ava, and Bray.
Ava has a pink feathered boa wrapped around her neck, and she’s tapping her feet to the beat of the song. Bray has a princess crown on his head.
A few of them wave at me.
“Everything OK?” Hutch asks as he stands directly behind me. I can feel the heat of his body, and it momentarily distracts me from the insanity I’m staring at.
“Joc, grab a seat!” Margie calls out.
“You want wine or champagne?” Cornelia asks.
I lean my head toward Hutch’s. “What exactly is happening here?”
He grins. “We’re going on vacation.”
“No, I mean, here, like, right now,” I clarify as I look back at our friends.
“Well, Margie and Cornelia found the liquor. Ava found the party bus supplies. And everyone else is just chilling,” Hutch explains as he puts his hands on my hips and steers me toward two open seats.
I sit, and he joins me, both of us watching our friends and their antics.
“If this is everyone before we leave, what are they going to be like when we arrive?” I whisper into Hutch’s ear.
He turns to me and grins. “Freaking awesome, that’s what.”
I shake my head and laugh. I suppose, if anything, this will be an entertaining trip. And hopefully, I’ll be able to find a little time to write.
* * *
Our fleet of four SUVs pulls up to an enormous home.
I take in its Mediterranean style and large wooden double doors.
The house could easily be in the south of Spain or Italy.
We park in front of a garage that has four wooden garage doors that match the front doors.
The gate to the property closes, and I turn in my seat.
Kasen drives the SUV behind us with Piper sitting next to him and Margie and Cornelia in the front seat.
Behind them is a car driven by Bray. Carly, Ava, and Al get out of the car. And Fletcher and Cam bring up the rear.
I take in the house again, marveling at its architecture and also wondering why a home in a gated community has its own gate. I roll my eyes. Rich people.
I swivel to face Roxy and Gray in our backseat.
“Guys, I think I made a terrible mistake,” I announce.
Roxy gives me a curious look. Hutch’s mouth falls open, and Gray raises his eyebrows.
“I should have become a football player,” I state and then giggle.
Roxy laughs, and Gray rolls his eyes as he opens his door.
Hutch leans over the center console. “Well, thankfully, you did the next best thing. You befriended one.”
His smile is contagious, and we sit grinning at each other like fools for about five seconds.
“Come on, weirdos. Let’s go explore this monstrosity of a dwelling,” Roxy says as she gets out of the car. We join her and the others a moment later.
Hutch pulls out his phone and enters a passcode on an app, and then enters it on a keypad by the front door.
There’s a place to insert the keys we picked up at the guard station, but apparently, those are just for backup.
The door unlocks, and everyone “oohs” and “aahs” as we file into a three-story foyer.
But it’s not the vertical ceilings with their dark wood beams that draws our attention. Nope, that would be the epic view of a pool and beach through enormous windows and doors at the back of the home.
“Is this a palace?” Ava asks, her hand tucked in Bray’s.
“Nope, peanut. It’s better than a palace. It’s a beach house,” he replies.
Everyone walks up to what turns out to be bifold glass doors that open the giant living space to a covered veranda and the pool beyond.
A pathway to the right leads to a small cottage-style dwelling.
We push open the doors and step out by the pool.
It’s beautiful with big coconut trees and colorful flowers around the edge of the yard.
“Our rooms are out in that,” Hutch says from behind me.
“Oh?” I answer as I turn to face him.
“What about everyone else?” I ask.
“This is my room!” Ava yells from above us.
Wait? How did this kid get upstairs already?
I look up and see Ava on a small balcony that overlooks the pool. There is a bistro table and two chairs on it. She waves at all of us like a damn queen.
Margie and Cornelia snicker, and Carly sighs. Bray comes out from behind Ava.
“This room has a little attached reading nook and the chair in there doubles as a single bed, so I guess we can share if need be,” Bray says with a shrug.
Suddenly, everyone is trudging inside.
“Us old ladies are claiming this suite on the first floor,” Margie says. She cranes her neck out from the hallway. “Al, you can have the other bedroom down here.”
Roxy and Gray walk upstairs, followed by Kasen, Piper, Cam, and Fletcher. They all seem to settle into their own suites.
“Our turn,” Hutch says as he pulls me by my hand and ventures toward the cottage.
“Oh no! I left my hair rollers at home,” Margie says loudly, her voice coming from a nearby window.
“Just wear a hat. It’s so humid here. You might as well just forget it,” Cornelia replies.
“But what about the men? I can’t meet men without my hair done,” Margie insists.
I giggle.
“Ladies, there’s a spa just across from our community. I’ll book you in there tomorrow,” Hutch says.
“You are such a dear,” Margie calls out.
“Come on, wanna be a football player. Let’s go see this guesthouse,” he says, and I let him pull me toward it.
His thumb brushes the back of my hand as we walk.
He’s busy looking ahead. Does he even realize he’s doing that?
Can I handle being in a guesthouse alone with Hutch every night?
I’m supposed to not have a crush on my best friend. This is about to get complicated.