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Ron, Amy’s husband, opened the front door, giving Juan and me a full view of the entry. The double staircase was a sight to behold. The chandelier that hung down from the thirty-foot ceiling was nothing short of glamorous. “Hello, Juan.” He eyed Juan with suspicion. Knowing that Ron knew Juan was a guy, but I guess a husband has the right to be jealous of any man going on a weekend trip with your wife, regardless of his sexuality. “Tammy.” He looked me over like I was leftover turkey. “How have you been?”
“Well, thank you. It’s nice to see you again.” Once a year is too much, but I refrained from saying so. I smiled as we saw ourselves in and laid carried our bags into the living room. “She is upstairs with a few of the girls. The others are in the back under the newly renovated ramada, enjoying a morning mimosa. Would you care for one?”
“Definitely. Let’s get this weekend started,” Juan said as he side-eyed me and headed toward the backyard.
“I’m good for now. Thank you,” I told Ron as I followed my arrival buddy, hoping to not feel so, I don’t know, odd is the best way to describe it, when I walk into the den of lionesses. I have never been comfortable in a group, especially a group of women who are working to measure you up and see how far you have climbed in the last year in comparison to their life. It’s exhausting. Can’t we all just be happy with where we ended up and live our best life? Apparently not.
Thank goodness I arrived with Juan; he seemed to break the ice and just melt right in with the group. They were all so busy oohing and awing over him that I went hardly unnoticed. I said hardly.
Shelly sidled up to me. “Hey girl, heyyyy. How have you been?”
Shelly was a party girl if I ever saw one. Last I knew, she had still been married to a police officer. The two of them were tighter than O.J. Simpson’s glove. Seriously, they were cute together and loved to attend shows at the casinos with performances from cover bands. I can see the nostalgia in going to those things, but I have never been, so I don’t know what all the hype is about. She aimed to please and be everyone’s friend. That is the one thing that drew me to her. Her kind eyes spoke volumes, yet I couldn’t keep up with her. The small, petite blonde with piercing blue eyes could drink any one of us under the table, and there lay the problem. We all tried to keep pace with her since we were so easily persuaded. Each of us followed in her steps with the shots until someone did something that couldn’t be undone.
“Hey. I’m good.” I smiled back at Shelly. She gave me a full-on hug, squeezing tight. Awkward. “Um. Okay. That’s nice. Thanks.”
“I so needed this weekend,” she offered, pulling me into her little secret conversation.
“Oh really. Why’s that? I thought you and your husband would be off somewhere on a weekend getaway or attending some concert.” They seemed to have the perfect life.
“Oh yeah. All that is great. I just really wanted to get around the girls. You know…”
No, I don’t know and truly don’t care. But that is me. I waited while she looked at each woman and Juan, smiling like a five-year-old in a toy store.
“I just need this girl time.”
“I’m sure it will be one you won’t forget.” I smiled back at her, watching as she took another sip of her mimosa while her head nodded in agreement.
Before long, Amy and the rest of the group joined us under the ramada. “Okay, ladies, gather round.” Amy clapped her hands, garnering our attention as she and the rest of the girls entered the ramada. She was wearing gold bangles around her tiny wrist. Her chestnut hair flowing over her shoulders. The long Spanx dress hugged every asset she had, and her cork platform heels gave her an extra four inches. The little powerhouse was dressed to impress and ready for her weekend to begin.
“As you know, I never reveal what we are doing until you all arrive. Well, girls, I have a fun weekend ahead and you’re going to love it.”
One of the women raised her had like she was in sixth grade. Rolling my eyes, I waited for her question.
“Are you going to tell us what the agenda is?”
“Of course, silly. That’s why we’re all standing here.” Amy held out her hand, and Rhonda, her sidekick, handed her a handful of white papers. No doubt this was our itinerary. Amy proceeded to pass out the sheets of paper to each of us as she began to lay out the weekend’s events.
I scanned the sheet and thought this was indeed my kind of weekend. No rowdy bars. No high-flying ziplines through a tropical forest. Just lounging on a boat, in the middle of the lake. No doubt it was one her husband owned or sold and took out on loan.
Looking down the page further, I noticed Saturday evening was left with no details. Only a smiley face. What is that supposed to mean?
Rhonda raised her hand again.
Amy’s brow rose. “Yes, Rhonda. What is it this time?”
“Um. What is planned for Saturday? I only see a happy face.”
“That means it is a surprise, and you all will love it. Okay. So, let’s all get our bags and start heading to the front. Mike and Ron are going to be our drivers to the lake, where our weekend will begin.”
I had only heard Mike’s name in passing. If I recall, he was Ron’s brother. I had never met him, but if he was anything like Ron, I wasn’t sure which vehicle I wanted to get into.
The girls were chatty as they were all ushered to the front of the home, where two SUVs with trailers hitched were waiting for us to load our luggage. I stood back observing, waiting to see which vehicle Ron was going to drive. I figured it was better to get into a car with someone I knew versus one I didn’t. At least I knew how to handle Ron and tune him out when need be.
As I made my way down the last step of the front porch, a man as sexy as John Schneider from the Dukes of Hazzard appeared as he came around the back of the driver’s side. My mouth watered. I couldn’t recall the last time a man made my heart stop on a dime and my mouth go dry. Never. His eye caught mine, and he smiled like I was… what I didn’t know, but boy did his smile melt my panties if they could be melted.
Deciding to take my chances, I was going to go ahead and ride in the SUV Mike drove. Closing my eyes, I wondered what he smelled like. A shadow appeared before me, blocking out the morning sun.
“Hey, you want me to get those for you,” a deep timber voice expressed as I opened my eyes. Mortified that he was standing in front of me, and I was just imagining what he smelled like. Could I get any more pathetic?
“Um, sure.” I handed my bag over to him. His hand brushed mine as he took the handle from me leaving only tingles that ran from the tips of my fingers all the way to my toes. Dear Lord, I began to pray.
He stood before me holding out his other hand. “Hi, I’m Mike. Nice to meet you.”
Hold out your hand. I knew how to act in front of men. I worked with them every day. Shaking hands was part of business. But for some reason, that all went out the window. I had to tell myself what to do, otherwise I would act like a limp fish.
Smiling, I reciprocated, “Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Ronnie.”
“Nice to meet you, Ronnie. Is that short for anything? Veronica, maybe?”
I placed my forefinger to my nose. “Got me.”
“Veronica,” he said, smiling as he turned away from me with my bag. Looking over his shoulder, he said. “It’s nice to meet you, Veronica.”
Dear Lord, bury me now. No one ever calls me by my given name except my mom, and that is when I’m in trouble. Yes, even as a grown woman, I still manage to get in trouble with my mom. Lord knows how, when she lives thousands of miles away, but I do.
“Great.” I piled into the vehicle and got comfortable as the rest of the women did the same. Rhonda made sure she sat in the front seat. No doubt she was trying to flaunt herself in front of the hunk of a man who would be driving. Shame on her. She’s married for the love.
As we pulled out of the drive. I looked toward the front and noticed that Mike looked directly at me. It seemed I was in his line of sight. His eyes danced, and I could see a lift of his lip. Was he making fun of me? Did I have something on my face?
Paranoid, I tuned to Roseann sitting to my left. “Hey, do I have anything on my face?”
“No,” she said as she turned and started talking to one of the other girls in the third row.
I settled in for the two-and-a-half-hour drive and opened my Kindle to read the next installment of a book I had just finished. The SUV was full of gossip and topics I would rather not discuss. Looking up again, I saw Mike glance at me. Was he watching me? I could feel the pink begin to crawl up from my neck to my cheeks with his constant eyes. I couldn’t wait for this little road trip to be over.
Stay tuned next month for part 3 of The Accidental Heartthrob you won’t want to miss it.
This was written by our contributing writer, Shannon Hrimnak.
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