I’m excluded as usual while they discuss the plans for the night. They’re arguing over which sleazy bar to go to.
“There’s supposed to be a ton of hot guys at The Dirty Dozen,” Leah says as she unzips her bag and starts hanging her clothes.
“Yeah, frat guys,” Addison says with a frown. “Where are the sophisticated men?”
“You’re not dragging us to another martini bar,” Mackenzie says as she shoots her a look. “I want big drunk guys with abs. Not lawyers with wives at home.”
They separate the closets amongst themselves, not even bothering to give me a place for my clothes. I guess I’ll just shove them under my shabby little fold-out cot. I’ll be covered in dust all week.
They start grinning at each other conspiratorially before turning to me. I brace myself.
“What do you think, Ella?” Addison asks with a grin. “What kind of guys are you into?”
“Oh, you know,” I say with my cheeks burning. “Someone who loves me for me.”
They all look at each other and burst out laughing.
“Ella, you’re so adorable,” Willow says in a demeaning tone. “I bet you grew up wanting to be a Disney princess, am I right?”
They giggle as I turn away from them and start to unzip my suitcase.
These girls probably grew up wanting to be the evil stepsisters. They’re succeeding brilliantly at it.
Luckily, they get bored with me and move on.
I hate it here. My body is feeling numb all over and my chest is hurting.
I just want to call my mom to come and pick me up.
Stop it, I tell myself. You’re supposed to be an adult. You can try making the best out of this situation.
No matter how much I chastise myself, the feelings don’t go away. I hate it here and I want to leave.
And no matter how much they laugh at me or make fun of me, I’m not going to be leaving here without my V-card.
Absolutely not.
Chapter Two
Jackson
* * *
“This is what maximum capacity for the week looks like,” Daniel says as we look out the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office. I have a sick view of the pool and beach from up here. The hotel is popping right now, with all kinds of hot young bodies drinking and dancing around the pool. The DJ is tearing it up and the MC is gathering guys onto the huge stage for a push-up challenge.
“Should we go down there?” he asks with a raised eyebrow. “Have some drinks, try to get with some girls?”
I sigh as I shake my head. “No.”
“Why not?” he whines. “You’re the owner of the hotel! That’s catnip to girls! We can give out drinks and try to get laid. Come on, dude! It’s Spring Break! You’re killing me!!”
I shake my head as I turn to my right-hand man. This is what you get when you hire your lifelong best friend to be the manager of your hotel. There’s no professionalism. There are no boundaries. It’s the same Daniel who used to hang out in my room, playing video games, and who flirted with my mom just to piss me off.
“Why the hell did you buy this hotel if you weren’t planning on using it to get laid?” he asks as he drops into my chair with a sigh.
“To make money,” I say as I frown at him. “To build an empire. You know, it’s unprofessional to sit in the boss’ chair.”
He gives me the finger as he puts his dirty sneakers on my desk and leans back.
“Want me to get you a drink?” I ask.
“Something fruity,” he says. “With a colorful umbrella in it.”
“Get your feet off my desk,” I say as I smack them off. The force spins him in the chair.
“We’ve been working hard all winter!” he whines. “There’s a huge party going on down there with horny chicks from all over the county making bad decisions. We can be those bad decisions!”
I sigh as I turn back to the window and look down below. There’s a girl in a yellow bikini twerking on the diving board as frat guys holler at her from the pool, red cups full of booze in their hands. Another girl in a red bikini is suntanning on a chair, looking like an Instagram photo with her big sunglasses, fake tits, gold stomach chain, and painted nails.
“There’s no one down there who’s interesting to me,” I say with my scrunched-up nose as I look at one drunk girl after another.
If I’m being honest, I’d rather they all leave. I hate Spring Break. This is not what I had in mind when I bought the hotel.
I was an early Bitcoin adopter and sold some of it last year. I bought the hotel with the profits and haven’t looked back. I was so sick of the cold winters in Michigan and wanted to live somewhere with sun all year, beaches, fishing, and scuba diving. Tampa seemed like a great place to start a new life.