Unexpected Friendship

Come on, you can do this, Rita motivated herself. What’s the worst that could happen? It was the third day of her all-ladies summer vacation, and regardless of their pact, Rita was catching feelings hard. The man had been leaning on the hotel’s front desk when her unwilling eyes grazed over him. While the receptionist found his reservation, he noticed Rita and her friends walking past notably slower than they originally were. A polite smile was thrown toward the girls, the sculpt of his lips nearly turning Rita’s knees to gelatin. The next couple minutes had been filled with laughter and jokes about the speed of the ladies’ hearts. 

The other girls on the trip had not mentioned the man again for the last two days, but that smile lived rent free in her mind. It was fuelled by her overactive imagination and she knew it would not stop until she was satisfied with quick loving or until she was crushed by a complete rejection. Rita’s mind is one that ponders the possible until it is done or effectively deemed impossible. And now she had a choice to stop pondering.

Each day, the girls had agreed to have one hour before dinner all to themselves to do what they wanted as individuals. When the other girls went off, half to the beach and half into the city for shopping, Rita decided to roam around the hotel grounds. Just as she was about to get into the hot tub, the person she had tried so hard to forget walked by in swim shorts. Most girls look for abs, but Rita was never picky; any muscle mass was fine with her. His back was turned to her as he lowered into the hot tub, and she deliberated on the thought of an introduction. 

Only forty five minutes of her alone time remained, and she could not rest until she knew this man. Whether it would last four minutes or four days, she needed closure or an opening. With that thought in mind, she rose from her spot in front of a hot tub jet and began walking toward the man with the brightest smile she’d ever seen. 

A look of confusion passed over him, but then he put on a polite expression. Rita extended her hand, and he took it. “Hi, I’m Rita.” She decided to keep it basic and hopefully cute. Thankfully it worked because he introduced himself as Leo. 

“I’ve noticed you around these last couple days, and was wondering if you were maybe interested in some company?” She fidgeted with a fringe on her swimsuit. Leo looked to her hands and back to her face, then patted the back of the seat next to him. Excitement bubbled up in Rita’s stomach as if the hot tub was inside her. She sat down in the designated spot and closed her eyes for a short moment. There, she thought, now the hard part is over. Next is to talk. 

However much she tried, though, the words didn’t come. She thought about asking about his job, or his family, but who wants to talk about work on vacation? And he might have a bad relationship with his family. She did not want to start off by opening a wound. Leo turned her way and began to speak. 

“So, you came here with girlfriends, yes?” the man asked politely. Rita let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and answered. After explaining that they had made a deal to have free time for an hour before dinner, he nodded in understanding. “I would love to have that,” he put in. “Are you staying long?” 

Rita hesitated. This is a stranger, albeit a very handsome one. She decided not to lie. It would be fine, she was convinced, since it wasn’t a private detail like her room number. “Four more days,” she informed him. A nod was his short reply, so she asked him the same question. 

In the next half an hour, she found out that he was twenty two, single, and was staying at the hotel for two more days on a business trip. Unfortunate, but probably a good thing in the end. After all, if Rita’s friends saw her with a strange man, they would either think she was in trouble and get her away from him or they would see through her weak mask and get angry. She would face several angry girls who were feisty, strong, and pretty terrifying to be honest. 

Rita broke off conversation with Leo when she needed to go get ready for dinner. When she stood, though, Leo grabbed her hand. Quickly, he pulled her down into a smooth kiss, just a small touch on the lips. He smiled as he pulled away, and Rita’s heart picked up at the thought of what she had just done. She walked away as fast as she could with water resisting her. On one hand, Rita could just get his phone number and ignore him to enjoy the rest of her vacation. But she really doubted that would turn out well because she realized he hadn’t mentioned where he lived. The other option was just as likely to turn out badly, which was to continue the fling for a couple of days and break the promise more. 

The promise! Her body overflowed with opposing emotions and whirlwind thoughts as she closed the door to her room. There was, she concluded, only one option. With as much sass as she could muster, an orange cocktail dress fit her body snug, black ombre frills highlighting her hips. Black pumps showed her perfect white toenails. Rita walked into the hallway where the rest of the girls were emerging, dressed much the same in all the colors of the rainbow. The group headed away to the immaculate dining room for another amazing dinner of seafood and lovely pasta. 

Twenty minutes into the meal, the very thing Rita had almost forgotten walked in. It would have been fine with her, she didn’t care, but there was a blonde woman on his arm. For a moment Rita felt hurt, because he had kissed her just that day. The longer she sat, watching the couple sit down, the angrier she became. How can he play on the feelings of a woman at all, let alone two at once? Before she felt herself do it she was moving to the other table. Leo looked up at the approaching woman and struggled to keep up his poker face. 

“Hello, miss…” he began before Rita cut him off angrily, turning to speak to the woman he came in with.

“Hi, my name is Rita. How are you this evening?” The lady answered politely with her name, Lilly, and that she was fine. Rita nodded and continued speaking. With two more questions, she found out this was his four month girlfriend who works at the same company as he does. “Honey, I’m sorry,” Rita spoke with true kindness, “but this man kissed me earlier today in the hot tub.” 

Lilly looked to her boyfriend, tears welling up in her eyes. “Is this true? And don’t even think of lying to me,” she warned. Leo sighed and tried puppy eyes. Rage boiled inside Lilly, causing her to stand and regard Rita. “Would you mind if I have dinner with you, an honest person?” 

Rita smiled, and led her new friend to the table filled with rowdy ladies ready to spill all the tea.