One More Time

“Holy fuck, does he ever.”

“Did you come? Finally?”

“Over the past three encounters, I stopped counting at five.”

“Oh shit, girl! If I wasn’t so damn hungover, I’d be ordering us mimosas. But none of that for me until tonight. My head’s a mess,” she said.

“Yeah, you were a wreck last night. You remember looking up at Rhett and telling me to bang him?” I asked.

“Nope, but I take it you took it as an opportunity?”

“Oh, yes,” I said. “On the private balcony of the dance hall.”

“Finally! Chanel’s getting some nasty ass action. You know I want all the damn details, right?”

“I know, I know. But this note. Who the fuck would leave this note?” I asked. “And what the fuck are they trying to accomplish?”

“It’s probably some jealous asshole who wants to sleep with you, but you’re taken. At least for now. You planning on sleeping with Rhett some more?” she asked.

“I figured it could be some no strings attached fun before we all got back to the real world. I got to finally have an orgasm that wasn’t machine-produced, I could get Rhett out of my system, and then we could keep on moving forward.”

“Then why do you have that dreamy, far-off look in your eye?” Ana asked.

“Because.”

“Hold on, Chanel. This note has shit written on the back of it,” Ana said.

She took the piece of paper from my hands as her eyes scanned the paper. I watched her face fall as she peered at me from over the paper. There was very little that could shock Ana, so I ripped it from her grasp and turned it over.

“Oh. Holy. Shit,” I said.

“Girl, I’m gonna warn you to be emotionally careful about Rhett. I know that starry look in your eye. I saw it all through high school. Just remember all the shit he put you through back then. But right now? With this note floating around? A Navy SEAL’s the best person you can be with,” Ana said.

“This note, it talks about shit I’ve done,” I said.

“Read it out loud.”

“I don’t wanna do that,” I said.

“Just read it, Chanel. It’s serious.”

“Chanel. It’s disappointing that you’re screwing around with Rhett. He cheated on you in high school, and you deserved better than that.”

“I know, I know. That’s the front. Now flip that shit over,” Ana said.

“I could treat you better than him, fuck you better than he ever could. You looked gorgeous at the pool, sprawled out the way you were. Rhett doesn’t deserve to run his fingertips along your soft skin. And the dresses you’ve been wearing to the dinners on the ship. They drape over your body perfectly. You have no idea how beautiful you are to me, but you’re trash to Rhett. You were then, and you are now. And if you can’t see it, then I’ll make sure you do.”

My hands were trembling as the note fell from my fingertips. Tears filled my eyes as a loud bang came at the door. I jumped and curled my legs into me as Ana scooped the note off the floor and then went to open the door.

“What if it’s them?” I asked.

“Girl, it’s room service. Chill out,” Ana said.

She opened the door and wheeled the cart in. The smell of food should have made me excited and hungry, but all I could muster was fear.

“Who would write something like that?” I asked.

“A fucking creep, that’s who,” Ana said.