by M. Ullrich
Emma’s face turned hard. “I always take my job seriously.”
“Did you flirt with anyone? In the spa or in the pool?”
Emma let out a strangled laugh but didn’t answer.
“I appreciate you not lying to me.”
Emma pulled open the tropical-colored shower curtain forcefully. “It doesn’t matter if I did.”
“Yes, it does, and that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Caroline marched into the bathroom to make eye contact with Emma. “You should be with me. All the time. That’s what couples do here. They don’t go looking for other women. Or men.” Caroline looked Emma up and down before adding, “In your case.”
Emma looked away before smiling stiffly. “You don’t know that.”
“That’s what got us in this mess in the first place. If you want to review this place properly and save your job, stop acting like you’re in this alone.”
“That’s not how I work. It’ll mess with my mojo, my process.”
“You’re not Picasso.” Caroline took a deep breath to calm herself and pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is a couples resort. Treat it like one.” She left the bathroom and slammed the door.
Emma stared at the closed door for a minute before stripping down and starting the shower. If Caroline was going to nag her about the same thing every day, this was going to be a long week. She stepped under the stream of water and relaxed as the warmth seeped into her muscles and washed the chlorine from her skin.
Caroline might have had a point, though. While Emma was out earlier, couples were everywhere and she’d started to feel like an odd girl out. She met with couples and swam with couples. Everyone talked about plans for the next day and neglected to invite Emma because she’d be a third wheel. Emma stopped washing her hair. That’s what couples did here. She had to be one of those couples to write a good review.
She finished rinsing and turned off the water. After drying herself off quickly, Emma wrapped one of the small bath towels around herself, tucking it between her breasts as she stepped into the room.
“You’re right,” Emma said loudly.
Out on the balcony, Caroline spun around and crossed her arms over her chest.
Emma could feel Caroline’s apprehension from across the room. “I said you’re right, and I mean it. I understood what you were saying this morning, and I really get it now.” She approached Caroline slowly and extended her right hand. “We’ll tackle this place together, partner.” When Caroline didn’t take Emma’s hand right away, Emma laughed. “I’m not hitting on you this time. I promise.”
Caroline shook her hand slowly. “You’re in a towel,” she said, looking visibly uncomfortable. She kept looking at Emma’s bare shoulders and wet hair.
“Are you always like this around bare skin, or is it because I’m a woman? Because being straight isn’t going to hurt us, but it’ll definitely hurt us if you act straight.”
Caroline looked at the sky and took a deep breath. “It’s not your skin or your gender, it’s your confidence. You have no problem with your appearance, and that makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s not something I’m used to or have.”
“Oh,” Emma said dumbly and backed away from her. Caroline’s honesty surprised her. She wanted to laugh it off or assure Caroline she should be proud of her body, but she didn’t want to make Caroline more uncomfortable than she already was. “I’ll get dressed.”
“And I’m not straight,” Caroline blurted out, stopping Emma in her tracks. “Or bi like you are. I’m gay, a lesbian, and have been since I can remember.”
Emma grinned. She didn’t know Caroline well, but she knew when someone wanted to shrink away. Emma was willing to bet Caroline would jump off the balcony if she wouldn’t get injured just to exit the conversation now. “I’m a lesbian, too,” she said, laughing at Caroline’s skeptical look. “I’m attracted to women, all shapes and sizes and colors, they’re all lovely. But every once in a while, a guy comes along that’s an exception.”
“That makes you bisexual.”
Emma shook her head. “I think I get to define my sexuality,” she said, tightening the towel around her. “I have a friend who’s as straight as an arrow, but we hooked up all through high school.” She shrugged and walked back to the bathroom to get dressed.
When she reemerged, Caroline was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were closed, and she looked the most peaceful Emma had ever seen her.
“Let me take you to dinner,” Emma said, her voice cutting through the silence and startling Caroline. “Neither of us have tried any of the restaurants on premises, and that’s one of the most important parts of the review. Bad food equals a bad stay.”
Caroline rushed to look through her clothes. “Which of the three places should we try first? One’s casual, while the other two are fine dining with romantic atmospheres.”
Emma smirked. “Let’s keep it casual tonight. We have a lot to talk about.”
Caroline turned to Emma slowly, moving more like a frightened animal than a person getting ready for dinner. “Talk about what exactly?”
“Each other and our relationship. I think we can both agree the group activity earlier could’ve been a disaster. We need to get to know each other and come up with a story.” Emma grabbed her phone and started tapping away at the screen. “And the casual place has Cuban sandwiches. That’s all I’ll be needing.”
“If you eat a Cuban, I’ll throw up on the table.”
Emma winced. “An immense hatred for Cuban sandwiches, got it.”
“It’s meat on meat.” Caroline made a disgusted look.
“What do you have against that?”
Caroline stared at Emma blankly, her mouth slightly agape. “Really? Are you serious right now? I’m a vegetarian.”
“I know,” Emma said, pulling a face. “Hurry up and get dressed.”
Once Caroline locked herself in the bathroom, Emma released a long breath and made a mental note to stop forgetting the meat thing. She laughed and considered all the ways a real relationship between them would never work. Heck, Cuban sandwiches alone were a deal breaker. Emma turned back when the door opened, watching Caroline step out of the bathroom. Emma swallowed hard.
The way Caroline wore a short, black dress almost made Emma forget about her diet restrictions.
Chapter Eight
Emma watched as Caroline buttered her bread delicately before she grabbed a roll for herself, tore it in half, slathered it with butter, and took the biggest bite imaginable. She was hungry, not making art. She swallowed and took a sip of water. “So where should we start?” she said. Organizing a plan of this size was not in Emma’s wheelhouse, but judging by Caroline’s proven skill of research and foresight, Emma knew she must’ve had a few ideas.
Caroline placed her knife gingerly atop her plate. “I’ve been thinking about this.”
“I figured you were.”
Caroline smiled shyly. “Let’s just talk to each other. And before I forget, give me your phone number.” She pulled her phone from her small clutch purse.
Emma grimaced and relayed her number. “I’m sorry for being such an ass. I’m not used to working with someone, let alone being assigned someone. I took it out on you when I should’ve realized you were in the exact same boat.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“You seem genuinely shocked.”
“I am, I mean I didn’t think you were the apologizing type.”
Emma frowned. “I apologize when I’m wrong.”
“Okay, that came out wrong. I just didn’t expect you to ever admit you were wrong.” Caroline winced. “That didn’t sound much better, did it?”
Emma opened her mouth but their waiter approached.
“Are you ready to order?”
“I’ll have a frozen margarita with extra salt,” Emma said with her eyes on Caroline. Caroline looked down to her phone. “The grilled octopus as a starter and a burger cooked medium well. Is a burger okay?�
� Emma didn’t hide her attitude when she asked Caroline for her approval, but that didn’t mean she didn’t genuinely care if it’d make her uncomfortable or not.
“That’s fine,” Caroline said quietly. “I’ll have the chopped salad. Whatever dressing comes with it is fine, but may I please have it on the side?”
“Of course.” The waiter took their menus and left them just as quietly as he approached.
Emma turned her attention back to Caroline and her phone buzzed. She glanced at the unknown number and smiled the moment she opened the message. Two words and a small sad face beside them extinguished Emma’s ire.
I’m sorry.
Caroline’s face was the textbook definition of sadness when Emma looked up from her phone.
“Apology accepted,” Emma said. “Do you think we’ll be able to get through a day without arguments, insults, or apologies?”
“Probably not. But we stand a better chance of it if we get to know each other.”
“So we talk.”
“Yes, we talk. Imagine this is a first date. What would you ask me on a first date? What would you want to know about the woman you were interested in? Hard to imagine with me, I’m sure, but try.”
Emma wanted to know where Caroline’s insecurities came from, but that seemed more like a third date topic. “Let’s review what I already know.” Emma cleared her throat and raised a finger to start the count of her observations. “You’re a vegetarian, you don’t travel, you always wear black, and I’m fairly certain you packed at least three tubes of red lipstick.” Emma grinned and wiggled her four raised fingers as her margarita and appetizer were set in front of her. She took a sip and savored the sharpness of lime and the bite of tequila. “How’d I do?”
“I only packed two tubes, and I don’t always wear black. I just wear it a lot.”
“Why is that?”
Caroline picked at the corner of her linen napkin before answering. “Truthfully? Women who wear black always look professional and authoritative.” Emma nodded. “And it’s a slimming color.”
“You wear it to look thinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? You don’t have to.”
Caroline opened and closed her mouth several times, shaking her head. “This is silly. You don’t want to know about this.”
“Yes, I do. This is our first date, remember?” Emma reached and grabbed Caroline’s hand on the tabletop. “You can tell me.” She started to pick at her appetizer, hoping Caroline would feel more comfortable talking if she weren’t in the spotlight.
“When you get picked on for your thick thighs or big butt enough, you start to look for tricks that’ll help those things go unnoticed.” Caroline pulled her hand away and shrugged. Her body language screamed of defeat, but she still smiled in gratitude when her salad was brought to her.
Emma wanted to know how often she hid away, how many of Caroline’s smiles were fake, and how used to burying her own pain she had grown. Someone didn’t become so damaged overnight. “How old are you?”
“I tell you that, and you ask for my age?” Caroline sat back. “I can’t decide if I’m offended.”
Emma cut her burger in half and then pointed her knife in Caroline’s direction. “Age is simple, basic knowledge. It helps to know someone’s timeline. I’m twenty-nine. I’ll turn thirty in December, and I’m not worried about it in the slightest.”
“I welcomed thirty with open arms,” Caroline said with a faraway look in her dark eyes. “It felt more like a fresh start than anything else. Anyway, we already know each other’s age. We went over this in group, remember?”
Emma stuffed as much burger into her mouth as possible and eyed Caroline curiously.
“I’m thirty-six.”
Emma’s eyes lit up as she chewed. “Older woman,” she said with a salacious smirk. “We can definitely use that to our advantage as a couple.”
Caroline looked outraged. “I’m hardly an older woman.”
“We’re over five years apart.” Emma took another drink. “That counts.”
“Let’s not embellish our story any more than we need to. We need to keep track of our lies.”
“No lies here,” Emma mumbled around another mouthful of burger. “I’m really into older women—months or years older. Doesn’t matter.” Emma ate three fries in rapid succession.
“Watching you eat is like a train wreck. It’s atrocious, but I can’t look away.”
“That’s why I rarely go on dinner dates.” Emma winked. She looked down at Caroline’s barely touched salad. “Are you not hungry? Did I ruin your appetite?”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. I’m just a little anxious, that’s all. I’ve never been entirely comfortable talking about myself at length.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’ve been taught our private lives are meant to be just that, private. My business is no one else’s.”
“Doesn’t that get a little lonely?” Caroline didn’t answer Emma’s question. Getting to know Caroline was going to be a bigger challenge than originally expected. “Would it make you more comfortable if I let you ask me some questions first? You can ask me anything. I’m an open book.”
Caroline chewed a forkful of salad and nodded. “How do you eat the way you do and keep your body looking so great?”
“You think I have a great body?” Emma asked with raised eyebrows. The slight flirtation must’ve caught Caroline off guard because she fumbled with her fork.
“I’m asking the questions.”
“The only reason I work out regularly is so I can eat whatever I want.”
“Have you always wanted to be a travel reviewer?”
Emma laughed. Travel reviewing hadn’t been around all that long, but she knew Caroline’s real question. “I was actually studying to become a physician’s assistant, but I dropped out my senior year of college and hit the road a year later. I’ve been traveling ever since. I did everything I could to make a career of it. Thanks to social media and people’s trust in reviews, I’ve done just that.”
“That’s a pretty big career change.”
Emma could practically see the unspoken question on Caroline’s red lips. “You want to know what happened?”
“I don’t want to be nosy.”
“Caroline, please, ask me anything you want. If I’m uncomfortable talking about anything, I’ll let you know.” Emma pushed her empty plate away.
“Okay. What happened?”
“My aunt died,” Emma said, reaching for the dessert menu.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Caroline looked genuinely ashamed.
“You really need to stop. There’s no eggshells around me, I promise.” Emma smiled genuinely. “My aunt Beverly was ten years older than me but could’ve passed as my twin. She was everything I wanted to be, but I came from a family of doctors and professionals who worked nine to five Monday through Friday and preferred suits over sweatpants. I never felt like I fit in, but I tried.”
Caroline covered her full mouth and giggled. “That definitely doesn’t sound like you.”
“It wasn’t, and Beverly knew it. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was twenty. Her prognosis was good, and my family had nothing but positive things to say. I didn’t question any of it and I went about my life.” Emma took a long sip of her slushy margarita to wash the lump from her throat and buy herself a moment. “But when I got home for spring break the following semester, I knew they weren’t telling me the whole truth.”
“Oh no…”
“At first I was mad at Beverly for not telling me herself, but that’s just who she was. She never wanted to be the reason why anyone had a hard time, and she definitely never wanted anyone’s sympathy.”
“Did Beverly like to travel?”
“Not exactly. She loved to dream about traveling. She’d go on and on about what she’d do in Las Vegas or California or The Virgin Islands. But she never got around to making the trips.�
�
Caroline finished her last bit of salad. “So you decided to travel for her?”
“Our last conversation was very typical. We talked about how unfair and short life was,” Emma said. She picked a grain of salt from the rim of her glass and rolled it between her fingers. “She told me to stop caring about fitting in, and how living someone else’s story will bring nothing but regret and unhappiness. And missed opportunities.”
Caroline wiped away a stray tear from her cheek. “Like it did for her.”
Emma nodded. “I quit school right after the funeral and got two jobs. I worked my ass off for a year to afford my first three trips and a nice camera.”
“Where did you go?”
Emma smiled proudly. “Vegas, Cali, and the Virgin Islands.”
“Good for you!” Caroline slapped Emma’s hand.
Emma was delighted by Caroline’s genuine happiness at her story.
The waiter stepped up to the table. “Can I get you ladies anything else?”
Caroline shook her head quickly.
“Key lime pie, please. And bring two forks.” Emma waited for the waiter to be out of earshot before saying, “I’m determined to try every key lime pie this area of Florida has to offer.”
“I really shouldn’t…”
“Why? There’s no meat in it, I promise.”
Caroline laughed loudly but covered her mouth quickly afterward and looked around. She wouldn’t even allow herself to enjoy a moment of laughter.
Emma studied Caroline’s eyes, which were full of concern. Her face was drawn down with embarrassment. Emma couldn’t help but wonder if someone in Caroline’s life told her her laugh was horrible or little girls should be seen and not heard. Emma could only hope their time away together would help Caroline forget about restrictions and learn more about the beauty of life’s freedoms. Emma knew Beverly would want her to help Caroline.
“Emma?” Caroline was looking at her with concern and a fork in hand.
Their pie had been delivered. “Here we go,” Emma said as she picked up her fork. “Key lime pie number one.”
They spent the rest of their meal laughing and comparing notes on the pie, which scored a four out of five-star rating. Emma snatched up the check the moment their waiter placed it between them.
