Mixed Connection (Cypress Lake Reunion #1)

10. Chapter 10

10

Lo

It’s poooool day!

Your mom still making the sharkcoochie board, right?

J-babe

How are you even awake right now?

UGHHH! Go back to bed!

Lo

No can do amiga! Get your asses up!

The next morning comes fast and loud, my head thumping to the rhythm of my heartbeat reminding me that maybe I shouldn’t have made that last pitcher of Sunrise Sangria. Damn you, Benny! The recipe is his, after all. He should be the one to take the blame here. I certainly won’t accept it, even if he did give me the recipe.

Walking down the hall, I stop at the guest room door and knock twice before popping my head in. Janelle is nowhere in sight until she pops her head out from the bathroom on the other side of the hallway.

“Morning, bird’s nest.” She giggles, toothpaste dripping down the side of her mouth, she points her toothbrush at my hair before tucking herself back into the bathroom. At that moment, a loose curl falls to the front of my face and I run my hand through my hair. Or I try to. Just as Janelle suggests, my hair is a bird’s nest and it feels like there is a whole family chirping away up there. That’s what I get for not changing my pillowcases back to satin, I’m going to pay for it when I try to detangle this monstrosity.

I continue down the hall and find Paloma dancing in the kitchen. She can’t be a real person, she has to be a robot, because there is no way she isn’t hung over. Bopping her head, she twirls in my direction before offering me a drink that looks much too thick to be anything I want near my lips right now.

“Oh, you are so drinking this. I promise it’s worth it and it’ll make you feel brand new before you strap your nips in a bathing suit,” she says matter-of-factly, pushing the drink back in my hands and popping a straw in the dark-green sludge.

I toss the straw in the sink, eyeing her suspiciously and down the earthy-tasting smoothie. I stand there for a moment, caught in the thought of how I feel about the taste. “I guess it isn’t that bad, but it isn’t good either.”

“You’ve drank worse. Go get your suit on babe! I want to catch the rays while they’re out.” She waves me away.

Heading back to my room to get ready, I pick up my phone and see a text from Jameson.

Jameson

Good morning, beautiful.

Hello, handsome.

I quickly get ready, loading my tote bag with sunscreen, a change of loungewear, and a few extra essentials before I hear Paloma yell from down the hallway. I pop my head out to see her tapping her foot. Janelle is already dressed in a pair of my joggers and a white tank.

“Come onnnnn bitches! It’s time to get our tan on!” Paloma wiggles her ass, throwing her hands up in the air as she twirls to snatch up her towel and bag. She has on the cutest red bikini. The woman is blessed and bodied; I think about throwing a pillow at her head. But she’s competitive and we don’t have time for that. “I’m so glad I left this one here!” She tells me, the red strings of the bottom of her thong bikini dangle with gold charms, it’s tied high up on her hips. Her top is made up of barely-there triangles tied at the neck and back. She reaches for a pair of jean shorts and pulls them up her legs before folding the corners flaps down, leaving it open, rather than buttoning them.

“Don’t rush me, and watch it before one of your titties pops out.” I point my finger at her before flicking my hair over my shoulder in a flourish. “I’m not throwing any dollars today babe,” I joke as I pretend to rain down dollar bills.

I look down at the lavender polish on my toes, my favorite color, then back at my reflection in my floor-length mirror, smiling because I know it’s going to be a great day. I can just feel it in my bones. I slide my feet into my mustard-colored sandals and toss my canvas bag over my shoulder. My swimsuit is lavender as well and is a deep v-neck top that wraps around my torso several times and ties at my side. My bottoms are high cut and rest at the highest point of my hips, giving me the illusion that my legs are longer and my waist more cinched. I blow a kiss and snap a picture of myself. Opening Jameson’s text thread, I quickly change his name to something more suitable and send him the picture before making my way to Paloma and Janelle.

Having a pool day with the girls. *devil face* What do you think of my sandals?

Bulldozer

Girl, don’t nobody care about them sandals. What sandals??? *crying laughing emoji*

I snicker and another text comes in.

Bulldozer

You look sexy as hell. Have a good time, siren!

You gonna get trapped by my song? What are you doing today?

Bulldozer

Wrapping things up at the flip before I pack up and head to the airport.

Already captured by your siren song. Got it on repeat, Babygirl. *winky face*

I send him a mermaid emoji and before I fully close our text thread, a link to the song “Addict” by Don Louis comes through from him and I click to listen. I am curious to know if it’s my vibe before I respond. Immediately my head starts to bob in place, enjoying it immediately. The singer’s voice is deep with a country drawl, reminiscent of Jameson’s and tingles flutter across my skin. The song encourages me to sway my hips, and the sound of the door closing brings me back to reality.

I make my way to the living room, enjoying the song as the chorus comes back on, and your skin, your hair upon my skin feels just like a drug to me , the words that feel like they could have been written by the bulldozer himself. The girls have already made it downstairs by the time I lock up and I run down the stairs to meet them in the car.

We take Paloma’s car when the weather is as nice as it is today, allowing the top to roll back so the wind can whip through our hair. She turns the radio on and blares Buckle Bunny loud enough to drown out our terrible singing, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to sing louder.

The sun feels good against my skin as we lie out by the pool, warming me from the outside in and tanning my skin to a lovely cinnamon color I love so much. Keeping my eyes closed, I allow the sounds of my friends’ chatter to keep me in the moment and not drift off to sleep. Lord knows I don’t want to be a crispy piece of bacon by making the mistake of napping. As I open my mouth to say something, it’s quickly forgotten when Lo sprays her sunscreen for the umpteenth time.

“My mouth was open!” I snatch the sunscreen out of her hand before I stand, hand on my hip I point it at her. “If you were going to be a lobster, you’d already be one.”

“Yeah, but I am not reliving that burn again. I will never forget it and you two haven’t let me live it down a single summer since.” She laughs.

Janelle jumps into the pool and I watch the clear water lap up onto the heated pavement, almost making my mouth water, knowing the cool salt water will be as refreshing as it looks. “Girl please, let’s play mermaids,” I shout, jumping in after Janelle, listening to Paloma’s laugh as my body hits the water.

Being at Janelle’s childhood home brings back so many memories of my teenage years: the sleepovers, getting caught sneaking into the kitchen to eat her mom’s snacks, sipping mango margaritas, crying over boys we thought we loved for all of a day. Anytime Lo and I came over, it was like the three musketeers were banded back together. Mrs. Paxton, Janelle’s mom, would make a big lasagna with a garden salad and it felt more like family than a group of friends.

Resurfacing in the water, I prop my arms up on the edge of the pool, not wanting to get out from the cool salty oasis just yet. “So, where are we going? I vote someplace new.” Getting together to have a pool day is amazing, but I don’t want us to forget about planning this girls’ trip that we mentioned during brunch at Eggs Benny.

“You mentioned Tulum at brunch,” Janelle says, a mischievous smirk ghosting on her lips. “You could invite Jameson. I’m sure he’d be happy to blow—” She she isn’t fast enough to avoid my splash and it catches her in the face, drowning out what she is about to say.

“Oop!” Is the only noise Paloma makes as she chokes on her soda.

“As I was saying, he could blow your back out under the moon, make it real romantic-like.” She laughs, splashing back at me.

Paloma finally gains her composure, reaching toward the platter next to her. Mrs. Paxton had a busy day today and wouldn’t be in the house while we enjoyed our pool day, but she did leave us a fully prepared charcuterie board and a pitcher of her famous mango margaritas. Janelle’s mom always welcomed us with open arms and I’ve missed her.

After my parents passed, and we all lost touch, I didn’t have the nerve to reach out, I didn’t want to be a hassle or a burden. I realized many years later that I’m not a burden to those who love me. Paloma smears some creamed honey on a cracker before placing a piece of salted meat on top.

“Hm, maybe he’ll spread me open like that char-coochie board right there.” I dip my head back, allowing the cool water to dampen the heat rising in me anytime I think of Jameson’s hands on me, feigning innocence. I pull myself out of the pool to get my own taste of the adult form of Lunchables.

“Bitch! No, you did not!” Lo says on a squeal as Janelle hoots at me from the pool, urging me on. I so did, and I meant it.

“But seriously, what are you girls thinking?” I ask, genuinely wanting to know.

“Well, I know we mentioned going to Tulum or on a cruise, but what if we did something more cozy?” Janelle pipes in from the avocado floaty she’s lying on, tanning herself.

“Oh! Like a cabin?” Lo says, before stuffing more of the adult Lunchable in her pie hole.

“A cabin would be dope! We could get a really luxurious one, with a hot tub, and maybe even have a chef come in and cook for us a couple of times. What are you thinking? A couple of weeks maybe? Oh, or is that too long?” I ask. Finding a cozy log cabin in the mountains would be such an amazing experience. We wouldn’t be able to top that kind of girls’ night.

“Not at all. I can get time off around wintertime! We can enjoy the snow, maybe Vermont?”

“Let’s do it!” I yell, excitement coursing through me at the thought of going on a two-week vacation with my girls. I can’t recall the last time I went on a vacation, it had to have been before Paloma and I opened the bar. “This is going to be amazing!”

Janelle and I both climb out of the pool, hovering over Paloma as she looks at cabins that look more like little mansions. We end up picking one that has a huge ten-person jacuzzi, a game room, and a decked-out kitchen so we can bring in a chef at least one night for dinner. Before I know it we have a chalet booked and the sun is beginning to set.

With tear-filled eyes we all say our goodbyes, knowing Janelle will have to be up before the crack of dawn to make it to the airport. It’s almost harder to say goodbye now that we had an extra day together.

Pulling Janelle into a three-person hug, I squeeze her with all my might, not wanting to let her go, but knowing I have to.

“You’ll text before you take off right?” Paloma asks Janelle, tears lining her eyes.

“I promise,” she whispers, her voice cracking as tears flow freely down her cheeks.

“Love you so much,” I whisper back to her, pulling her in for a deeper hug.

Paloma and I get into the car before we can act out our plan of kidnapping Janelle and becoming fugitives of the country. It’s just not something I want attached to my resume right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t seriously consider it.

For my girls, I would do just about anything.