“You guys,” Madison called, strolling across the living room with a huge suitcase in tow. “I’m off. Wish me luck for the worst spring break ever!”
Alice interrupted her own packing and emerged from her room to say goodbye. “Oh, come on,” she said. “It won’t be that bad!”
“A week stuck on a tiny island with my entire family?” Madison rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it will.”
Haley joined them. “If it’s any consolation,” she said, “I’ve been conscripted by my parents as well after skipping Christmas.” Haley hugged Madison and then eyed Alice sideways. “She’s the only one who’s going to have a good time.”
“I’m sure you guys will have just as much fun,” Alice said defensively.
“Yeah.” Madison snorted. She lifted one hand and lowered the other as if weighing options on an imaginary scale. “Boring family wedding on freezing Martha’s Vineyard.” She reversed the height of her hands. “Or amazing trip with hot boyfriend in sunny Miami. Mmm… you’re right. It’s hard to call!”
“Oh, shut up.” Alice shoved her away playfully.
“At least you’re going somewhere, and weddings are fun,” Haley protested. “I’m just going to be confined at home for a week.”
“Trust me,” Madison exhaled. “If you’d met even half my family, a week in your house would look like paradise.”
“You could always meet cute wedding guests,” Alice offered.
“I don’t know.” Madison frowned. “All Vicky’s friends are lawyers.”
“What’s wrong with lawyers?” Haley asked.
“Seriously?” Madison said, incredulous.
“I mean,” Haley continued, “aren’t you supposed to become one as well?”
A shadow crossed Madison’s face. “We’ll see.” She sighed. “I’d better go or I’ll be late. See you guys.”
They did a three-way hug, and then Madison left.
“Are you leaving today as well?” Haley asked, once Madison was gone.
“No, Peter is picking me up tomorrow,” Alice replied. “You?”
Haley checked her watch. “I have an Uber booked in half an hour. I’d better go finish packing!”
A short while later, Haley called out again to announce she was leaving. Alice hugged her friend goodbye, walked her to the door, and turned around to an empty apartment. She wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging herself. It felt weird to be here alone. Should she call Peter and ask him to spend the night? It would make sense as they had to leave for the airport early the next morning. As sensible as it was, the idea did not appeal to Alice. She’d rather be alone.
You’d rather be with Jack, a treacherous voice echoed in her head.
“No, I wouldn’t,” Alice said aloud.
Liar.
Alice sank on the couch. Okay, she was lying. The thought of being away from Jack for a week was depressing. Even if they didn’t spend as much time together as they’d used to. She still saw him in class every day, and most weekends at games. Even at Christmas, seeing him in small, annoying doses had been better than not seeing him at all.
Alice threw a pillow across the living room and let out a frustrated scream. “Why can’t I just forget him?” she asked the ceiling.
No reply came.
***
After an uneventful trip, Alice and Peter landed at Miami Airport mid-morning and took a cab to Peter’s house. His parents owned a condo apartment in South Beach, and they’d agreed to let him use it during spring break. Alice couldn’t have afforded to pay for a hotel on top of the flight, not after Christmas’s detour to Hawaii.
Peter’s house was a glassy, two-story apartment. Wall-wide windows and white, minimalist furniture were the main theme. They stopped there only long enough to drop their luggage and change for the beach, and then they were off. When they reached the sandy shore, Peter rented two lounge chairs from a booth and collapsed on his as soon as it was delivered. He was asleep in a matter of minutes.
Alice coated herself in sunscreen and tried to relax by reading a book. Too soon, her skin heated up. The wind wasn’t cool enough to counter the smothering midday heat. Half-bored by the book and definitely too hot, Alice decided to take a walk along the beach to distract herself. She dipped her toes in the ocean, then returned to the loungers and picked her book back up. When she got bored again, it was back to the water. She repeated this cycle several times, and Peter slept through all of it.
By the time he finally stirred, Alice was itching to make plans for all the things they should go see and the nice restaurants they could visit. It was her first visit to Florida, and Alice couldn’t wait to explore a new city and, possibly, the Everglades and Key West. She’d also heard the Cuban food was great here. Maybe Peter knew a good place to have an authentic taste. He said he didn’t.
“Do you think we can drive to Key West?” Alice asked next.
Peter groaned. “Yo, it’s a four-hour drive.”
“So?” Alice stiffened on her chair. “We have a week.”
“There’s not that much to see, plus I’d like to relax. Spend the week with my friends here in Miami. It’s really not worth it to waste a day to drive down there.”
Alice bit her lower lip in frustration, trying to suppress the angry retort that wanted so badly to come out. She really wanted to see the Keys, but this was Peter’s vacation too. If he wanted to stay in Miami…
“How about the Everglades? I’ve always wanted to ride one of those crazy boats with the giant fan in the back.” They look so exciting in the movies.
Peter shaded his eyes with one hand to look at her. “A hovercraft?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Can we go on one?”
“Sure.” He tilted his head back toward the sun, eyes closed. “A friend of mine has one he uses to fish. We can get a ride with him.”
At least Peter had finally agreed to do something fun.
“You want to take a walk down Ocean Drive with me?” she asked.
“Babe, relax.” He threw her a reproachful, one-eyed stare. “Can’t you just enjoy the sun? I’m chilling here.”
Alice fought hard to keep her temper in check. “Is ‘chilling’ all you plan to do while we’re here?”
“Don’t worry babe, I have it all planned out. We’re having a party at the house tonight.”
“A party?”
Shouldn’t he at least have asked her if she wanted to have a party on their first night in Miami? Alice was anticipating a quiet, romantic dinner, not a house party.
“Yeah, I’ve invited a few friends over,” Peter said casually.
“Should we buy something? The house is a bit understocked.”
“Nah, there’s a liquor store a block from the house.”
“What about food?”
“They have Doritos and stuff at the store.”
This didn’t sound like the kind of party Alice would enjoy. She had a sinking feeling this trip would not end well, possibly even worse than Hawaii. “I’m going for a walk,” she snapped. “See you back at the house.”
She stood up from the lounging chair to go have a look around Ocean Drive by herself. Dread filled her as she thought about the party they were supposed to host in a few hours.
***
At three in the morning, Alice had had enough. What were supposed to be a “few” friends had turned out to be half of Miami. The worse half. Peter’s friends were either too drunk to talk, or too obnoxious if they could still manage to string two words together. She felt like a fish out of water. There wasn’t a single person in the house she wanted to meet or try to chat up. Her head was throbbing, thanks to the loud music drilling a steady boom-boom-boom in her brain. She’d even considered calling the cops on her boyfriend just so she could finally go to bed. Enough was enough.
Alice walked toward Peter and poked him in the shoulder. “I’m going to bed,” she said.
“Oh, baby. Already?” He slurred his words. “But the fun is just starting.”
“I’ve had enough fun for tonight,” Alice hissed, sure that Peter would miss the sarcasm in her voice.
“All right.” Peter ruffled her hair, and it took all her self-control not to swat his hand away. “Go to the upstairs bedroom, the guys know it’s off-limits.”
The fact that the downstairs bedrooms were clearly not off-limits made Alice’s stomach heave.
“Good night,” she said, her tone glacial.
Peter grabbed her by the waist. “Night,” he said, then tried to kiss her on the lips. As he drew closer, a whiff of his breath—a disgusting mix of beer and cheap vodka—smacked Alice. Repulsed, she turned her face and Peter’s lips landed on her left cheek.
Alice wiggled away and almost ran across the room and up the stairs to the safety of the upper floor. She changed into her PJs and locked herself in the master bedroom. She didn’t care that Peter might not be able to come in later in the night. There was no chance in hell she would sleep with him tonight—literally or otherwise. She hoped this horrific first day had been a one-off and that Peter would get all this frat-boy partying out of his system for good. Because if this was how he planned to spend the whole week, Alice could see herself renting a car and driving to the Keys alone.