“Maybe I didn’t really want her to know,” Brett said.
“So what happened about that ‘break’ you were so proud of getting before?” Ryan asked suspiciously.
“I don’t think she had quite the same thing in mind as I did,” Brett said, and Ryan thought that Brett actually looked chagrined for a moment. Chagrined! “Anyway,” Brett continued, “I’ll deal with her once we all get back. I told her that I’d be unavailable to take any calls this week.”
“Smart man,” Jamie said sarcastically. “Looks like you planned everything out.”
“Hey, I just wanted to have the best possible time with my boys,” Brett explained. “It’s our last spring break together as college students, after all.”
“Damn right,” Ryan agreed. “Shall we go, then? If you guys insist on leaving so early, I want to get to the airport in time to grab some breakfast.”
“Sounds good,” Jamie said. “I ordered a cab for us, and it should be waiting outside already.”
On those words, everybody picked up their bags and filed out the door. Ryan made sure the front door of their dorm was locked, and then followed Brett and Jamie down the stairs and outside the building to the street. Sure enough, a yellow taxi cab was waiting for them on the other side, and after squeezing all three bags into the trunk, the three of them got into the car. Jamie took the front seat, because he called the cab, and Brett and Ryan were left with sitting in the back.
It was still dark outside, and the clear night sky left hundreds of stars visible. Looking up at them as the cab drove off, Ryan felt a pang of nostalgia for the early college days. This really was his last trip with his friends as college students, and he still had no idea what he was doing next year. But, hard as it was, instead of dwelling on that, he resolved to focus on where he was going and on the excitement building for the trip. Who knew what could happen in Ibiza. If it was his last big hurrah before entering the real world, so be it – but he wanted to make sure it all started with a bang.
**
One long, agonizing, 12-hour flight later, Ryan found himself standing in the middle of a packed airport in Ibiza. Everywhere around him, college students talked excitedly amongst themselves as they all waited for their luggage to come down the carousel. At least three quarters of the crowd was female, and there was not a single unattractive girl in the bunch. It looked like everybody had come here to party over spring break, and, more importantly, the girls looked like they were desperate for some good hard cock.
“Wow, like kids in a candy store, huh boys?” Jamie grinned at Ryan and Brett.
“Tell me about it.” Brett’s eyes were wide, and he was looking around him without discretion, obviously enthralled by all the girls he was seeing.
“This is… so amazing,” Ryan said. “I couldn’t even begin to expect this when we left Boston.”
“You’re welcome,” Jamie laughed, and slapped Ryan on the back. “This’ll keep your mind off any dark, depressing things looming in the future, won’t it?”
“For sure,” Ryan answered.
“And don’t forget our little wager,” Brett added. “The man who slays the most pussy this trip gets the flight back paid for.”
“Oh, I know,” Ryan replied. Despite operating on only a few scant hours of sleep, and enduring a 12-hour flight, the excitement for going out to the clubs here hadn’t waned for him at all. In fact, he thought he was more amped to go out than even Jamie, who had been most excited in the days leading up to the trip.
“So what’s the plan, then?” Brett asked. “I think we should bring our things to the hotel room and then go out right away.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jamie replied. “Beachside bar or downtown club, first?”
“I think the clubs open earlier,” Brett said, “meaning we can get into them right away. We might have to wait a few hours for the bars to come alive.”
“Then our choice is made,” Jamie laughed. “To the hotel room, and then to the clubs!”
Suddenly, Ryan noticed the luggage carousel whir to life. “Check it out, the bags are finally coming down,” he said, and pointed to the mechanism. From a connecting pathway, various travel bags and belongings began to fall onto the rotating belt.
“Perfect timing,” Jamie said. “I was beginning to think we’d be stuck in this airport forever.” At a quizzical look from his friends, he added with a laugh, “not that I’m complaining, with this scenery.”
Ryan leaned back against a wall and watched as the girls – and some guys – made their way to the carousel to pick up their things. Watched, and waited for his own bag to come tumbling down. After ten minutes or so, he saw a familiar red handle on one of the bags that looked just like his own. “There’s mine,” he announced to his friends, and started making his way through to crowd to pick it up.
In his brief walk, he couldn’t help but notice all the tantalizing perfume smells from the girls gathered in the terminal. The thought of all these girls, drunk and partying later in the night, excited him to no end. He’d have the time of his life here.
He reached the carousel, and bent down to pick up his bag. He did so without really looking, though, and was surprised when his hand brushed against something soft, something warm. Startled, he looked down – and saw that another hand was already gripping the bag by its handle. A pale, delicate hand, with painted nails in a vibrant, bright red. His eyes quickly followed the arm up, and he was shocked to see one of the most… alluring… girls he had ever come across.
He could not call her beautiful, outright, but there was something about her pale complexion, contrasted starkly by the deep red lipstick she had on, that called out to him. Her lipstick was the same vibrant shade as her nails, and dark, straight hair framed an angular face. A sharp nose that was just slightly too big to be called pretty stood out beneath deep, dark eyes. Ryan could not see that she had any makeup on other than the lipstick, but at the same time, there was not a single imperfection to her. Her eyebrows were angled neatly to emphasize those big eyes, which looked like they could absorb all the light in a room. She definitely wasn’t beautiful by the usual standards, but instead looked very… exotic. And the shade of that red lipstick stood out above all else.
“Excuse me,” she said simply, and took the bag from the carousel. All the while, however, she maintained strong eye contact with Ryan.
“I believe that’s my bag you’ve got there,” Ryan said.
“Is it?” She raised an eyebrow. She had a way of slurring her words, in an accent that Ryan couldn’t quite place. But her voice was strong; both bold and powerful.
“Yes it is. I recognized the handle from far away.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Well, in that case, I’d suggest you take another look.” The way she said it left no room for argument. Ryan had to force himself to tear his eyes away from her face, and look back down to his bag.
What he saw caused him to do a double-take. The bag she was holding – the bag that he was certain was his own – was not the one he remembered trying to pick up. Instead, what she held was a deep red purse, with an extended handle. Ryan blinked, but the bag didn’t change.
“My apologies,” he said, scrubbing a hand haphazardly through his hair, “I was certain that was my bag, before.”
“Sometimes things are not as they seem, boy,” she said simply, and looked Ryan up and down. For a long, discomforting moment, Ryan felt absolutely naked – and not in the good way. It was like she was able to, with that gaze, look right through him and peer deep into the most intimate trenches of his mind. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Just as suddenly, she turned away, and Ryan couldn’t help but shiver. He closed his eyes involuntarily, and when he opened them – she was gone. She should be still visible walking away in front of him, but he couldn’t find her anywhere.
Well. That was a strange encounter if he’d ever had one. Her face was one that he would not easily forget. The almost blood-red col
or of her lipstick and nails stuck out in his mind above all else, especially its contrast to her milky white, smooth skin. And the way her gaze made him feel – that was unusual in its own rite.
There was also the dismissive way in which she addressed him – calling him ‘boy’. He’d never been called that before. Especially not by an attractive woman. It wasn’t like he was much younger than her – if he was younger at all. She looked to be about the same age as everyone else in the airport; that is, college age. Or maybe a few years older, at the most.
Ryan looked back to the moving carousel – and surprised himself again when he found his own bag on the floor beside his feet. Did he unknowingly pick it up? No – the bag that he tried to grab before was definitely the one that the girl had her hand on before him. So how did his own bag get there? He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. This was all very strange, very… unusual. An odd start to the Ibiza trip.
Shaking his head again, he picked up his bag – looking down again to make sure it was his – and made his way back to his friends.
“Dude, what took you so long?” Jamie asked upon seeing him. Ryan was surprised again to see that both Jamie and Brett both had their bags standing beside them. But they didn’t even have their bags when he left…
“What do you mean? I was only there for a few minutes?”
“A few minutes?” Brett snorted abrasively. “Try half an hour! We’ve been standing here waiting for you for ages.”
“What are you talking about? I was right over there…” Ryan began to point to the spot he’d just come from, but trailed off as he saw that the crowds he had thought were still there – the crowds that he was sure he walked through on his way back to his friends – had almost completely dispersed. “What the…?”
“’What the’ is right,” Jamie said. “Where the hell did you decide to run off to?”
“I’m… not sure. I don’t remember.”
“What’s wrong with you, man?” Brett asked. “You haven’t been sneaking drinks on the flight, have you?”
“No, I’m sober as can be,” Ryan frowned. None of this was making any sense. He clearly remembered walking over to the luggage carousel only a few minutes ago, and then having that encounter with the girl. Except that trying to remember exactly what happened with her made him feel… dizzy. It was all very strange.
“Well, now that you’re back from wherever the hell you were, we can finally get going,” Jamie said. Then, after looking at Ryan, he added, “you feeling good, man? You look like you’re about to throw up.”
“I’m fine,” Ryan countered. He really did feel fine, just a bit uncoordinated. “Let’s just get to the hotel and drop our stuff off.”
“Sounds good to me,” Brett said, and, picking up his bag, made his way to the exit. Jamie followed closely behind, leaving Ryan standing by himself for a second. Ryan looked around one last time, then, shaking his head again, took off after his friends.
~
CHAPTER FOUR
“Wow, this place is exquisite,” Ryan said as he looked wide-eyed around the room. After a small bout of miscommunication with the foreign taxi driver, they had finally arrived to their hotel, and had just made their way to their room. Ryan saw that he wasn’t the only one who was impressed, though – both Brett and Jamie also had their mouths hanging open.
The room they reserved was on the fifth floor of an ocean-side hotel. Brett’s cousin, who had set up the rooms, had promised that they would impress, but Ryan had no idea he meant it quite this way. The front door opened up into a spacious living room, which had a large balcony that faced the beach. Faux-leather couches decorated the center of the room, and three doors made openings in the two side walls. Each one of the doors led to a separate bedroom, where a king-sized bed was neatly done up in crisp black and white sheets. Each of the rooms also opened up to a private bathroom, with a large Jacuzzi in the middle. Ryan had never seen such luxurious accommodations.
“Well, boys, looks like we should have no problems bringing girls back to this place,” Jamie announced.
“No kidding,” Ryan answered. “I feel like a king in here.”
“Don’t get too cocky yet,” Brett laughed, “it’ll take some time before we get any girls back here.”
“Time?” Jamie scoffed. “Time is for losers. All we need to do is get to the club scene as fast as possible.”
“True that,” Ryan echoed. “Now that we know where we’re staying, we might as well start the party.”
“I’ve got just the thing,” Jamie said, and opened his bag to pull out a bottle of Patron.
“Tequila shots?” Brett asked.
“Why not? Take a couple right now, and then we go out right away. A little pre-gaming never hurt anyone.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ryan said, settling on the couch. “You got shot glasses?”
“Would you expect anything less?” Jamie laughed, and pulled out three shot glasses, along with a few limes in a Ziploc bag.
“You got limes bro?” Brett asked, amazed.
“Hell yea I got limes. I came prepared.”
“Nice!” Ryan said. “Come on then, let’s get going. I’m as amped to go out as I’ll ever be.”
“Damn right,” Jamie laughed, and pulled out a Swiss army knife from his back pocket to cut the lime into small slivers. He then tossed the bottle of Patron to Ryan to open, which he did eagerly and poured out three shots.
“We got any salt?” Ryan asked Jamie.
“Nah, just the limes.”
“Well, good enough anyway.” Ryan passed a shot glass to each of his friends, and Jamie did the same with the slivers of lime.
“Here’s to a mind blowing week in Ibiza!” Brett said while raising his glass in a toast. Ryan and Jamie did the same.
“Cheers boys,” Ryan said, and threw the shot back, following it up with the lime. Jamie and Brett did the same thing.
“What do you say, five shots and then we go out?” Jamie asked.
“Sounds good to me,” Brett said, clearing his throat. “Damn, this tequila is strong though.”
“It’s the best stuff,” Jamie beamed. “You’re not chickening out on me are you?”
“No way,” Brett protested, then looked to Ryan. “Pour us another shot, bro.”
“With pleasure,” Ryan said, and poured each of his friends another serving of tequila. They downed the second round as quickly as the first, and Ryan made a face as the second shot hit his taste buds. He thought he could already feel the liquor dulling his senses. He was drinking on a completely empty stomach, after all.
“Did you see all those girls at the airport?” Brett asked suddenly.
“Hell yea,” Jamie replied. “I bet they’re all itching to find guys like us out there in the clubs.”
“I bet they’re all as horny as we are,” Ryan said, “and will jump on the first guy they see tonight.”
“We better waste no time in getting out there, then,” Jamie laughed. “But I agree. Those girls looked fucking hungry for cock.”
“And we’re here to give it to them,” Brett smiled. “Bartender! Another round!”
Ryan obliged, pouring another three shots and handing them out quickly. Everybody took theirs, and on a count of three they all threw them back in their throats, followed up by another slice of lime.
“Starting to feel good yet?” Ryan asked.
“Fuck yea,” Jamie said. “Tonight’s going to be epic.” Then he stood up, and mimicked a deep thrusting motion in the air. “That’s what I’m going to be doing all night with these club bitches.”
“No way man, it’s more like this,” Brett said, and leaned back to put his hands in front of his crotch to move them up-and-down like he was guiding a girl’s head. “Blowjobs all around, tonight.” That caused everyone to erupt in boisterous laughter.
“Another two rounds and we’re gone,” Ryan said once the laughter subsided. “Actually, let’s do double shots.”
“Deal,” Jamie
said.
“Fine by me,” Brett followed.
“Who goes first?” Ryan asked. Jamie put up his hand quickly. “I’ll do it,” he volunteered.
Ryan poured a shot in two glasses, and slid them across the table to Jamie. “One after the other in succession,” he explained.
“I know how to do it,” Jamie countered, and took a shot in each hand. “You go next,” he said, looking to Ryan, and then took both shots. He slammed the glasses on the coffee table when he was done with a twisted face.
“That’ll keep you in a good mood for the next few hours,” Brett laughed. “Ryan, you’re up. I’ll pour them for you.”
Ryan handed the bottle to Brett, who poured the shots and gave them to Ryan. Ryan downed both quickly, and gagged at the taste. Five shots on an empty stomach definitely wasn’t the best idea. But he held his ground and kept it all down. He was definitely starting to feel a buzz.
Brett was up next, and took both shots like a champ.
“Time to go, boys,” he announced once he finished. “Last man standing tonight wins.”
“Last man standing with a woman beside him,” Ryan corrected. “Let’s get this party started!”
The three of them left the hotel room, loudly bounding down the stairs. When they got outside, Ryan could feel the excitement in the air. All around him, groups of people were running around, yelling and hollering and above all enjoying themselves. The girls he could see were barely wearing anything, which only added to his enjoyment. People everywhere wore bright colors and open shirts, clearly appreciating the hot weather.
“Wow, now this is spring break,” Jamie said to his friends.
“Hell yea,” Brett replied. He was already ogling a group of girls on the other side of the street. “Where are we going first?”
“Let’s just get into the first club we see,” Ryan offered. “That way, we stay close to the hotel, so if – or rather, when – one of us finds some girls, it’ll be easy to bring them back to the room.”
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