Wait for the Rain (20 page)

Janine half smiled, then set down her unfinished drink and stood up. “I guess so. I think I’m going to go back to the hotel.”

“You sure?” Daphne asked. “What about your friends?”

She pursed her lips. “They won’t miss me, trust me.” Her eyes darted to the dance floor.

Daphne and Skylar exchanged a glance, and then they understood.

Skylar narrowed her eyes at the crowd. “Is the blonde he’s dancing with one of your friends?”

Janine nodded slightly.

“Ouch,” Daphne said. That had to hurt.

“Does she
know
you like him?” Skylar asked.

Janine nodded again. “I think so. I mean, she was here last night.”

“So she saw you two kissing?”

Janine swallowed, and her cheeks flushed red. “I wouldn’t say we were
kissing
, exactly. I, um, I kind of tried to kiss him, but he didn’t really, um, reciprocate very much. I wa
s . . .
I was pretty drunk.” She looked mortified, and Daphne’s heart broke a little for her. “I didn’t tell my friends about it.”

“Kiss or no kiss, if she knows you like him, then she’s not your friend,” Skylar said.

Janine wiped a tear from her eye. “I think she’s just drunk right now and doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s usually really sweet, I swear.”

Skylar scratched her cheek. “Then you’re a nicer person than I am. Then again, a lot of people are nicer than I am.”

Daphne put her arm around Skylar. “I think you’re very nice.”

Janine laughed weakly. “You two have been really kind, thank you.” She turned and gave them a slight wave, then left.

After she was out of earshot, Daphne shook her head. “Poor thing.”

Skylar sipped her drink. “Girls can be so horrible to each other at that age, especially when alcohol and douchey men are involved. I remember once freshman year at Northwestern I was at this party, and a girl I’d become friendly with in one of my classes made out with a guy she
knew
I had a crush on, like almost right in front of me. And she didn’t even
like
him. I think she just did it to get back at her boyfriend. I never spoke to her again, although I don’t think she even knew how much I hated her because we didn’t run into each other that much after the semester ended, but in my mind she was blacklisted forever. I got even, though.”

“You did? How?”

Skylar smiled and pointed to herself. “Years ago she applied for a position at my company, and
I
got to interview her. Trust me, she didn’t get the job.”

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Daphne said. “You play hardball.”

Skylar sipped her rum punch. “I don’t care how drunk you are, or how much the world has changed since we were in college, or any of that crap. It’s pretty black and white. You don’t engage with a guy if you know your friend likes him, period.” She held up her palm. “To people like that I say
unsubscribe
.”

Daphne laughed. “You unsubscribe from people?”

“All the time. Life’s too short to deal with unstable personalities.” She scanned the area for KC. “Where’s Serena Williams?”

“Still on the dance floor, I suppose. I haven’t seen her since you went inside.”

“There she is.” Skylar pointed through the crowd.

“Where?” Daphne’s eyes followed in search of KC yet saw nothing but a mass of pulsating bodies. The DJ was back to playing hip-hop, and the crowd was now practically jumping up and down in unison.

“At the bar on the other side of the dance floor.”

Daphne raised her eyebrows. “There’s
another
bar here?”

Skylar stood up. “Apparently so. I wish I’d known that before I wasted half the evening waiting in line for these drinks. Let’s go find the little one.”

Daphne glanced at their bench. “Do you think we should give up our seats? They’re kind of comfortable.”

“All good things must come to an end. Besides, I promised KC we’d dance with her.”

Daphne put a hand on her own chest. “You promised KC that
we’d
dance with her? I don’t remember being part of that discussion.”

Skylar grabbed Daphne’s arm and pulled her up. “You are now. Let’s go.”

They carefully skirted around the swarm on the dance floor and spotted KC sitting on a stool at a small outdoor bar at the very edge of the deck. To her right was Doug. They were both holding a drink and laughing.

“There she is,” Skylar said.

Daphne squinted. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is that an empty shot glass in front of her?”

Skylar smiled. “Your eyes are still working just fine. I’m so happy to see that right now.”

When she noticed her friends approaching, KC grinned and held her arms open wide. “
There
you are. I was wondering what had happened to you.”

Daphne laughed. “What happened to
us
? This is the first time we’ve moved since we got here.”

Doug put his hand on the top of KC’s head. “The captain here’s a little tipsy.”

“The captain?” Daphne raised her eyebrows.

“As in captain of the football team,” he said.

Skylar held up her drink. “Nice. I may add that to my arsenal of nicknames.”

KC stood on her tiptoes and hugged Skylar and Daphne. “I’m having so much fun on this vacation! Skylar, thanks so much for organizing it rock-star-style! And Daphne, thanks so much for finally getting that pretty face of yours out of boring
Ohio
to come hang out with us!”

Skylar looked at Daphne and mouthed the word “hammered.”

KC hugged them even tighter. “Have I told you two how much I mean to you?”

Daphne laughed. “What?”

Doug chuckled and pointed to the empty shot glass. “That was our third.”

“Three shots?” Skylar’s eyes grew wide. “The woman’s smaller than my twelve-year-old niece.”

Doug held up his hands in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “She insisted. She said we were celebrating our victory in the football game.”

“We were
celebrating
!” KC pumped her fist. “We are
champions
!”

Skylar looked at Daphne and mouthed the words “She’s going to die tomorrow
.
”

Daphne laughed. It had been nearly twenty years since she’d seen KC like this, and she was thoroughly enjoying it.

“Guess what!” KC said in a voice way louder than necessary. “Doug said he’s
never
seen a girl throw a football as well as I did today. And I’m
forty
!”

Skylar gave Doug a little nudge with her elbow. “Don’t you love how she just owns that?”

He smiled and nodded. “She’s the best. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

“We should figure out how to bottle her positive attitude and sell it,” Daphne said.

Skylar whistled. “Can you imagine? We’d make a fortune. Yet another business to start when we get home.”

“We’d make a fortune on what?!” KC yelled. “On being
champions
?!”

Skylar put an arm around her. “We’re right here, peanut. No need to shatter any eardrums.”

“Hey, people, we wondered where you’d gone off to.”

They turned and saw Clay approaching the bar, followed by Scott. Daphne waited to see if the blonde from earlier was trailing behind Clay, but she didn’t spot her.
It’s probably only a matter of time before she resurfaces.
Scott appeared to be solo as well. For now, at least.

Not wanting to experience that awkwardness again, Daphne touched Skylar’s arm and gestured toward the other side of the deck. “Maybe we should take KC back to where we were sitting,” she said in a hushed voice.

Skylar gave her a strange look and kept her voice at a normal decibel. “Why would we do that?”

“We wouldn’t want to, you know,
intrude
,” Daphne practically whispered.

“Since when are attractive women an intrusion?” Suddenly Scott was behind them, one hand on Daphne’s shoulder, the other on Skylar’s.

Daphne gave him a sheepish look. “How did you hear that?”

“It’s a gift. I can’t see twenty feet in front of my face, but I can hear a pin drop in the other room.”

“Skylar has superhuman hearing too!” KC yelled.

Scott smiled at Skylar. “Yet another thing we have in common.”

“What was the first thing?” Skylar asked him.

“I’ll tell you later. First things first.” He turned and gestured to the bartender. “Anyone need a drink?”

“I’ll take a brew,” Clay said.

“Those are the magic words,” Doug said with a nod. “Grab me one as well.”

Skylar nodded too. “You don’t have to ask me twice. A rum punch would hit the spot.”

“I’m in,” KC raised her hand.

Skylar pulled KC’s hand down. “I think the muppet here’s had enough.”

Scott looked at Daphne. “What about you, Daphne? What’s your poison?”

Daphne smiled and pointed to the rum punch she’d been nursing. “I’m good, thanks.”

As Scott leaned toward the bartender to order, Daphne turned her head and scanned the crowd.
If she comes back, she comes back.

Doug put his arm around KC but spoke to Skylar. “Think this one is going to make it out of bed tomorrow? She might have a monster hangover.”

“I’ll make it!” KC shouted. “Just watch me!”

Skylar shrugged. “We’ll see. Our only formal plan for the day is to go to a spa, so all she really has to do is go from lying down in one place to lying down in another. How hard can that be?”

“What about the monkey forest?” KC frowned. “I want to feed them bananas!”

Skylar smiled. “That’s right, we’re going to the monkey forest too. Can’t forget the monkeys.”

KC pumped a fist in the air. “We’re going to the monkey forest tomorrow! And it’s Daphne’s fortieth birthday! Can you
believe
that? Doesn’t she look
amazing
? She’s so
pretty
! Isn’t she
pretty
?!” She reached up and began to pet Daphne’s hair.

Daphne felt her face turn beet red. Doug clearly knew their age, but until now Scott and Clay hadn’t, at least not officially.
I guess that cat’s out of the bag.

Clay looked at Daphne. “Forty? Really? I never would have guessed.”

Daphne did her best to mimic Skylar’s trademark
What can you do?
shrug, although part of her wanted to run onto the beach right then, dig a big hole in the sand, then jump into it and hide. But Clay didn’t have to know that, right? She added a smile to her shrug. “As Skylar says, forty is the new black.”
Maybe I
am
learning from Skylar.

Clay laughed. “Well, whatever color forty is, it suits you.”

“Thank you.”
I’m beginning to think so too.

The DJ began playing “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, and KC suddenly jumped up from her barstool, wobbled slightly, then steadied herself. “Okay, people, this is a tune that simply
must
be danced to! Who wants to join me? Skylar, you promised.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Skylar said, setting her drink on the bar. “Who can say no to ABBA?”

Scott put a hand on Skylar’s lower back. “Show me the way,” he said.

“Let’s rock this thing.” Doug pointed toward the dance floor.

As they all made their way toward the pulsating crowd, Clay caught Daphne’s eye, then jutted his chin toward KC, who was waving her arms in the air. “I think the tequila’s been whispering in someone’s ear,” he said.

After what seemed to Daphne like hours but in reality was just a handful of songs, KC finally ran out of steam. When the band stopped to take a short break, she put one hand on her hip and raised her other in the air. “Okay, I think I just hit the wall.”

“Thank God.” Skylar immediately bolted off the dance floor in the direction of the exit. “I hit that thing like three days ago. Let’s get out of here.”

Daphne quickly followed her. “I thought you’d never say the word.”

“I’m pretty beat too,” Clay said.

“Anyone want a roadie?” Doug asked, pointing to the bar.

Clay shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

Skylar pointed to the beach. “I’m walking home if anyone wants to join me.”

“You guys are really leaving?” Scott ostensibly asked the group, but he was clearly looking at Skylar.

“Why don’t you go find your friend?” Skylar said over her shoulder. “She seemed fun.”

“What friend?”

“The sorority girl who was hanging off your arm earlier. I bet she’d love to dance with you.”

Scott laughed. “She’s a kid.”

Skylar shrugged, still not looking back. “I could say the same about you.”

“Ouch.”

She turned around and put her hands on her hips, then smiled at him. “You want to walk us home?”

“You have anything to drink there?”

“Perhaps.”

He smiled back. “Then yes.”

“Okay, then walk us home.” She intertwined an arm with KC’s on one side and Doug’s on the other, then gestured with her head for him to follow. “Let’s hit it, people.”

Daphne watched Scott trot to catch up with the group, figuratively as well as literally chasing her friend.
Bravo, Skylar.

“You ready to go?” Clay asked Daphne.