by Violet Paige
That wouldn’t even cover the cost of a muffin at the food court. I took my new boarding pass and the not-so-generous voucher, and returned to my seat.
I had to remind myself that even if Branch hadn’t dumped me, I would still be traveling to South Padre by myself. He had bought his airline ticket a month before I did. Maybe I should have realized then that he didn’t care whether I was on this trip. He always liked his independence. If we had a date, he’d ask me to meet him there. He was the kind of guy who would rather go to a movie without me, than wait two hours for me to get out of class.
“Attention passengers traveling to Brownsville. We will begin boarding in twenty minutes. Please have your boarding passes ready.” The loud speaker crackled overhead.
Finally.
4
Kaitlyn
When the plane came to a complete stop, I wasn’t expecting to disembark down a flight of stairs and onto the concourse. The Brownsville airport was small—extremely small. I slung my bag on my left shoulder and descended the stairs. I inhaled the warm Texas air. Ok, maybe salt breezes weren’t that far away.
The flip-flop girls from my flight giggled as we crossed the tarmac. I thought I overheard them discussing cocktails and something about body shots.
“Ladies, wait up!” The flask guys pushed past me, sending one of the cola bottles in the air.
“Hey!” I yelled as the lid slipped off and the pungent concoction washed down the front of my jeans.
If they were trying to stifle their laughter, they failed. “Dude, you just spilled your drink all over that girl.”
“Hey, I’m sorry.” The offender barely uttered the words before he plunged into the crowd and disappeared.
I looked down at my jeans and the stain that had bled from my thigh to the mid-point of my shin. At least I was entering baggage claim where I could retrieve my bag and change clothes. Only, the carousel circled several times, the flip-flop girls were on their way with their luggage and mine was missing.
I trudged over to the baggage desk. “Excuse me. My luggage didn’t arrive from Raleigh.”
“Fill out this form.” The man behind the counter didn’t even bother to look at me. He typed something with one hand and tossed a pen with the other.
“But, I’m supposed to catch a shuttle to my hotel. Can you try to track it first? I was bumped from my last flight and maybe it arrived before I did. I have my baggage claim ticket right here.” I held up the small barcode stapled to my boarding pass.
“Like I said, fill out the form.”
I took the pen and inserted all the necessary information into the blanks.
“Do you think you can tell me where it is?” I asked sweetly, hoping he would take pity on me.
The man glanced over the sheet on the clipboard and resumed his typing. “We’ll call you when we locate your bag.”
There was a line forming behind me. I wasn’t the only one who had an issue with traveling today.
“Ok. Thank you.” I didn’t want to thank the man. He hadn’t done anything and he wasn’t the least bit helpful, but the fate of my suitcase was in his hands.
I thought back to the pictures on the website of the resort. When I checked in, I could take a hot steamy shower and curl up in one of those fluffy robes while I waited for my luggage. I smiled. A twenty-minute shuttle ride was all that separated me from resort luxury.
I stepped out into the baggage pickup and searched for the shuttle the resort advertised. I felt empty-handed as I watched the travelers around me struggle with their suitcases. At the end of the sidewalk was a small bus marked with the emblazoned sun logo for the Wave Oasis. I marched toward it.
The driver jogged down the steps. “No luggage, young lady?”
“No. It’s lost.”
“Maybe they’ll find it for you by the end of the week.” He laughed. I hoped he was joking. I didn’t have a stitch of clothing with me other than what I had on. I couldn’t spend the entire week in a spa robe.
After an hour, the driver pulled into the side entrance of the Wave Oasis, designated for guest arrivals and departures. Everything looked exactly like it did on the website. Palm trees and tropical flowers lined the sidewalk. I loved the deep red hibiscus blooms, climbing the trellises. Flames flickered in the gas torches by the front door.
I smiled as I stepped off of the bus and inhaled the salty air. I tilted my head to the side confirming that the rumbling sound was waves meeting the shore. I made it—I finally made it to South Padre. It didn’t matter that I was alone and couldn’t claim a group like the flip-flop girls as my spring break buddies. Even the fact that my luggage was missing didn’t frustrate me like it did at the airport. All the perfect paradise ingredients surrounded me. Warm beaches. Sun in my face. Salt breeze in my hair.
I approached the front desk and pulled out my ID, feeling the rush of the trip lighting all my senses.
“I’m here to check in,” I announced.
The girl behind the counter smiled and brushed her bangs from her eyes. I instantly liked her. “The name?” She couldn’t be much older than me.
“Sinclair. Kaitlyn’s my first name.” I slid my ID across the counter.
“Hmm.” She typed quickly and scrunched her nose. “Could it be under another name?”
“No. I made the reservation months ago. Kaitlyn Sinclair. I have the credit card here. Do you need it?” I flipped open my wallet.
She shot me a friendly smile and started punching the keys again. “I just don’t see it. Did you have a roommate by chance or did someone else make the reservation?”
My stomach lurched. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. “I did, but I’m certain he’s not here. I mean, that’s just not possible. Is it?”
“Why don’t you give me the name and I’ll check?” she offered.
I sighed before saying his name. “Branch Richards.”
“Oh yes, he’s here. He checked in.” She seemed relieved to have solved the mystery of my missing reservation.
“What?” I didn’t want to cause a scene at the desk, but my voice rose from calm to shrill.
“He checked into room 852.”
This was unbelievable. Branch had checked into my room. I guess it was his room, too, but he lost that privilege when he broke up with me three days ago.
“Can I please have a key?” I pleaded.
Her smile evaporated. “I’m sorry.” She whispered across the counter. “Your name isn’t on the reservation, so I can’t give you one. I shouldn’t have even told you the room number.”
I clutched the shoulder strap on my bag—the only thing I had on this island. “But it was my room—our room. He took my room.” I inhaled deeply through my nose. “Ok, well, can I make another reservation?”
The thought of staying in the same hotel with Branch wasn’t appealing, but I was running out of options and this resort was huge. We probably wouldn’t run into each other, and if we did there were thousands of people to hide behind.
“Actually, no. We were booked up two months ago.” I saw a look of pity in her eyes.
No, no, no. This wasn’t possible. I was homeless in South Padre. I stood at the counter, closed my eyes, and tried to grasp my options.
“Are you going to be ok?” The girl whispered.
“Yes. Thank you, for your help.” I was visibly rattled from the information.
But suddenly I was in a trance. I walked into the open elevator with a group who had just left the pool.
The elevator stopped on the eighth floor and I ran out.
I searched the room numbers. I pounded on room 852’s door. “Branch, let me in! Branch!”
I didn’t care if I looked like a crazy ex-girlfriend. This was possibly the most horrible day I had ever experienced, and Branch had compounded all of it by stealing my hotel room.
The door flew open, but instead of my handsome ex, I stood eye to eye with a petite brunette wearing a hot pink bikini and holding a beer in her hand.
“Who ar
e you?” I barged past her, not all that interested in her answer.
“Branch?” she called out frantically. “Branch, there’s a crazy person in our room.”
“Me? I’m not the crazy one.” I spun on my heels to face her. “You are in my hotel room with my—” I stopped short of saying boyfriend. This must be what people meant by an out of body experience. My words were soft and calm, but inside, I was losing it.
Branch emerged from the bathroom with a towel draped around his waist. Little beads of water trickled over his smooth chest.
“Kaitlyn, what are you doing here? And what happened to your hair? Have you been drinking?” He eyed me suspiciously while reaching for the beer from the girl. He chugged a few swallows before passing it back to her.
“Why does everyone keep acting like I’m not supposed to be here? I paid for this trip. You know that.” My fists dug into the sides of my hips to keep from slugging him. “Is this your definition of keeping your options open?” I nodded toward the girl who had taken a seat at the edge of the king-size bed.
“You’re obviously upset. I think you should go.” Branch placed his hand on my shoulder. The gesture irritated me.
“I’m not leaving. This is my room. If anyone should leave, it should be you. And you.” I glared at the girl. “I can’t believe you would do something like this.”
Seeing Branch half-dressed and smugly tossing out orders disgusted me. I didn’t know when he had transformed into this pompous ass, but I was actually glad I couldn’t be tied to him anymore. He was right—we had grown apart. However, he was the one who had grown into a royal dick.
Branch launched into one of his smooth explanations. “Look, I paid for the room—it’s not in your name anymore. I tried to call you a few times, but you didn’t pick up. I’m sorry there was a mix-up, but I think we both know what this is really about.” His forehead creased. “You’re taking this breakup hard. It’s understandable you’d be upset, but don’t make a scene. You know I hate girl drama.”
That was it. The words were like the cue I had been waiting to hear. My fist flew up from the side of my hip and caught him under the chin. He reeled back into the arms of the girl.
“What the hell, Kaitlyn?” He massaged his chin.
“Oh my God, Branch. Are you ok?” The bikini girl leaned over to look at his chin. The way she touched him, I knew they weren’t new acquaintances.
I exhaled. I couldn’t decide what I hated more: Branch or people saying “girl drama.” I had never punched anyone in my life, but I felt so much better.
“Bye, Branch. Enjoy your vacation.” I swung the door open and slammed it behind me with as much force as I could muster.
I didn’t know where I was going to find a place to stay for the week, but anywhere far from Branch was fine with me.
By the time I returned to the lobby, the line of guests checking in had dispersed. The nice girl at the counter smiled when she spotted me.
“No luck?” she asked.
“Not exactly. Ex-boyfriend disaster.” I sighed. “I know this is kind of a strange question to ask you, but could you recommend another hotel? I’m homeless and luggage-less.” I laughed. The whole scenario was absurd.
“Oh my God, that’s terrible. Everywhere is going to be booked up. This is one of the craziest months of the year on the island.” She pulled out her phone. “But I might know somewhere that isn’t booked—it’s not great, but at least you might have somewhere to stay.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate anything right now. I haven’t had dinner, or lunch, and I think I’m actually delirious.” That was going to be my excuse for punching Branch, even though he completely deserved it. He was the asshole.
“Ok, my friend just texted me and said the Dune Scape is open and has vacancies.” She reached for a sticky note.
“Dune Scape?” It sounded like something out of a 1950s beach movie.
“It’s a motel, but there are open rooms. Here’s the address.” She handed me a Post-it with an address and a phone number. “I’m Sasha, by the way. If you need anything else, I put my number at the bottom too. Just text me. If any open rooms turn up here, I’ll let you know—just give me your cell.”
“Thank you. This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me all day.” I jotted my digits down for her.
“I can’t let your first trip to South Padre be anything but amazing. It’s the kind of place that’s hard to forget.” Her brown eyes softened. “It didn’t start out so great for you, but I have a feeling the week will turn around for you.”
I winced at the tenderness in my knuckles as I tucked her number in my bag. “Thanks, Sasha. I already feel like there’s no way I’ll forget this trip.”
I turned toward the sliding doors.
Before he could hop in his van, I asked the first driver I spotted if he knew where the Dune Scape was. His raised eyebrow should have deterred me, but I was desperate and according to Sasha the motel was the only place on the island I could stay. He motioned for me to sit in the second row, and peeled the van away from the curb. From the wide windows, I watched the Wave Oasis, its fluffy white robes, endless sunset cocktails, and tropical flowers roll out of view.
5
Kaitlyn
“Here you go.” The driver parked next to a cabin-sized building. A red vacancy sign blinked in the waited. He waited for me to pay him the five dollars it cost to drive two minutes from the Wave Oasis.
“This is the Dune Scape?” Nothing about the place looked open. I already missed the bright hibiscus flowers and the nice girl from the front desk.
“Yep. You’re here.” The driver strummed his fingers along the steering wheel
I handed him a five-dollar bill and pushed open the car door. Before I could climb back in, he had made a full U-turn and was back on the highway. I pivoted on my heels to face the Dune Scape. This was it—my only option.
I smoothed out my shirt and took a deep breath. I reached for the handle on the office door, but it was stuck. I jiggled it a few times, trying to move it left or right until it broke off in my hand. Great, I already had damage charges and didn’t even have a room yet. I knocked on the door.
The door whipped open. A towering figure stood in front of me. The light behind his head made it difficult to make out the features of his face, but I could see the outline of a chiseled jaw and broad shoulders.
“I—uh—I broke your doorknob.” I offered the part to the shadowed guy.
“Damn it,” he mumbled.
“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to break it.” I followed him into the dim-lit office. In the side, a window-unit hummed and blasted cool air into the small space. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been meaning to fix that door.” He placed the doorknob next to the phone. “What do you need?” He exhaled through his teeth and glared at the broken piece of metal.
“Maybe if you took better care of this place it wouldn’t break when your customers walked through the door.”
My spine tingled. My breath caught. Holy shit. I would know that voice anywhere. I should have recognized it sooner, but everything was out of context.
“Cole?” I eked.
He rubbed his palm along the side of his face that I guessed hadn’t seen a razor in a week. His stubble was dark, like the rest of his brown hair. For the first time since I had walked in the office, he looked up.
It’s not every day you see eyes like that. Eyes that held depth and soul. Eyes that made me forget why I was so annoyed. Eyes that kept me locked in place. I stared a little too long, remembering what those eyes used to do to me.
“Kaitlyn?”
I nodded.
“What are—why are you in Padre?”
I bit my bottom lip. Cole Thomas had been the man of my dreams once. Although, he never knew that my crush for him was as big as the state of Texas. And it didn’t help he was seven years older than me, which meant when I was in high school, I was a considered a baby.
“Va
cation,” I answered.
“With?” He looked around me.
“Myself.” He had always thrown me off balance and it was happening all over again. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen him in years. I could only spit out one word at a time.
He folded his arms. “I doubt Ryan knows.”
“He’s my older brother, not my dad.” I matched Cole’s tone with one just as confident.
My heart beat wildly. Holy shit my mouth was going dry. How did Cole Thomas always do this to me? I wasn’t a teenager anymore.
“I haven’t talked to him in months. Have you heard from him?” he asked.
“Yeah. He’s still in Afghanistan. He keeps getting assignments. You’re lucky you got out, Cole.”
I saw instant darkness in his eyes and I regretted I had said it. I tried to cover up my mistake. “I mean because Ryan told me you have a son now, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
My stomach rolled. I didn’t know what was the worst part about this scenario: knowing Cole Thomas was taken off the market, or the fact that I had screwed this up. Either way, I immediately felt like I was sixteen again.
The smell of fresh paint permeated the office. The corner of a paint can was exposed on the floor behind the desk. I watched as he nudged it out of view with his foot.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight. Do you have a reservation?”
“No, but I need one for the week. Apparently, this is the only place that has open rooms. Now I know why,” I teased pointing at the doorknob.
“Well, if it’s not up to your standards, don’t let me keep you.” He huffed.
“No, it’s—” I searched for a word that wouldn’t insult him further. “—quaint. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry. I’m saying all kinds of stupid things. I’m exhausted.”
“Did you say you needed a room for the entire week? Where’s your luggage?”
“The airline lost it. You wouldn’t have those fluffy robes here, would you?”
