pounds back a bowl of cereal and a few strips of bacon. She chats with me about her grand plans to wear her bandeau bikini top (so she can get a kick ass tan without the lines), and then hopes to pass out on a lounge chair by the pool. I tell her that sounds like a pretty good plan and glance down at my own pasty white skin. I polish off my eggs, bacon and toast and lean back in my chair to take an indulgent sip of my delicious coffee.
I startle when I see Steven and his family walk into the breakfast buffet. I smile at him and he gives me a polite wave then proceeds to pull out the chair for his mother. Wow, that is a true gentleman. Steven has yet again earned himself another point on his growing list of great boyfriend qualities. I watch him smile at his mother, and laugh with his father, which makes me do something I remember Michelle once telling me. She said that when you first start seeing a guy, if you can actually see yourself with him, then you should be able to envision your life together before it actually happens. So I decide to engage myself in this little exercise, and with minimal effort, I can suddenly see Steven and I holding hands and walking into the restaurant behind his parents. His mother would call me “Dear” and I would call her “Ma”. Steven would first pull out the chair for his mother, and then of course for me. He would gently kiss my cheek and tuck in my chair from behind me. He would whisper in my ear how beautiful I looked, and I would thank him. Then we would all turn our attention to his father, who would say how lucky Steven was to find a girl like me. His father would raise his coffee cup and we would all raise ours to meet his, and clink them together to toast the day.
It seemed simple enough, Steven and I in an actual real relationship. Besides, Jessica knows me better than anyone. If she had any doubts Steven and I wouldn’t hit it off, she would have never introduced us. I hold still in that thought, and wonder if Jessica knew Ben and I slept together (without Steven in the mix), what she would think about that. Would she tell me she always thought Ben and I would hook up one day? Or would she freak out and tell me sleeping with Ben was the stupidest thing I could have done? For a moment I actually consider spilling the beans to her as soon as I get the chance, because maybe if I did, it would make my feelings about Steven (whatever they are) a bit clearer, especially if Jessica thought the latter.
“Oh great.” I hear Michelle groan, knocking me out of my fantasy. I look up to see Jessica’s bubbly self, standing over our table with a bunch of brochures fanned out in her hands.
“Good News!” Jessica shrieks, “I just booked all of us a full day trip to the Volcano. There are zip lines, mud baths, hot springs, it’s a dream come true.”
She passes us each a brochure and vibrates with excitement. Michelle dramatically whacks her forehead on the table and tosses her arms in front of her head. Stephanie’s bottom lip protrudes and her brow furrows. She quietly pleads, and asks Jessica if we can go tomorrow instead, but Jessica immediately cuts her off, “No it’s already booked. It is going to be like old times with all eight of us.”
I remain quiet, nervously thinking about seeing Ben. When Jessica doesn’t see my enthusiasm, she stomps her foot and shouts, “Megan, say something! Aren’t you excited?”
“Of course” I smile, “Who wouldn’t want to zip line through the jungle hung over?”
****
An hour later, we are in the lobby waiting for our shuttle. Jessica is zipping around, talking to the hotel concierge, then whisking over to the tour guide, then back to us to update us on the itinerary for the day. She claps her hands together, and bounces up and down as she tells us that the bus ride to the “best day of our lives” is going to be about two hours. Michelle groans over the extensive travel time and flops down on a floral printed chaise, pulling her sunhat over her face. Jessica sits down beside me, huffs, and glances down at