5.     Pina Colada

The devil lounged back against the wall watching me with a full blown smile on his face.

For the tiniest of seconds, it was as it had been before. I would go up to him and throw my arms around his neck and he’d hold me as if he wasn’t ever going to let go.

But then I remembered that nothing was as it had been before. He’d made sure of that.

“Feeling hot?” his eyes were laughing at me as if he knew just the effect he was having on me.

I didn’t think I could reply in a dignified way so I kept quiet and turned back to the view.

“You should put on some sunscreen, you’ll burn” he said from behind me.

I wanted to say I was already burning so I said nothing.

“C’mon let’s go, I’ll make you a drink? For old time’s sake.” He offered blandly.

“I’m sure you’ll poison it or poison Eric’s,” I made a face he couldn’t see.

He laughed “Oh c’mon I’m not that dramatic”

Yet. I could hear the yet in his unfinished sentence.

“I’m not so sure, what’s your problem with Eric anyway?” I turned around and confronted him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… but I will say that I know him better than you,” his expression was strange as he said this, fierce.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Leave it” He shrugged and walked away.

Annoying, insufferable man, I thought as I watched him walk away.

I turned back to the ocean, feeling trapped and thinking there was no escape.

Maybe I could just jump in the ocean, that would solve all my problems.

I turned around in surprise when someone touched me on the shoulder expecting it to be Emre but it was just Eric.

Why was I expecting it to be Emre? Did I want him to touch me? I asked my mind because I already knew what my unruly body wanted.

I was being unfair to Eric, I thought.

Wanting another and being with another, I wasn’t made this way.

I had to stop it, I had to make a choice.

“Are you okay?” Eric looked concerned.

Maybe I was overreacting; I should be able to take it in stride.

Yea, because it was an ordinary day when you were stuck on board your asshole ex’s ship with no hope of rescue.

“I’m fine” I replied, “Just felt too hot suddenly…”

Hot and bothered, my mind completed for me.

“C’mon, I’ll get you a drink” Eric tugged me by the hand.

I thought of all the problems a drink couldn’t solve but I let him tug me away towards the others gathered at the bar.

Everyone already had a drink in their hand when we got back.

“Emre, bro two here for the love birds” Zayn joked

Eric laughed, Emre had a curious look in his eyes. I avoided looking at him.

“The shirt really does suit you better,” Pelin called out to Eric, toasting him with her drink and looking at him for far too long. Pelin really made me uncomfortable and I got the feeling that she didn’t like me. I shrugged it off.

 “but you could’ve just worn the one Sarah has on her waist, it looks like a man’s size” she went on.

Zerrin laughed at Pelin’s joke, Ashton let out a choked laugh, Zayn nudged him. Wow my instincts were on point.

She did have something against me.

I frowned, maybe I’d read the signals all wrong and she was actually interested in my boyfriend.

I didn’t know how I felt about that, where was the jealousy?

Emre was making custom drinks for all of us, he came towards us with two glasses.

I refused with a shake of my head.

“Emre mixes incredible drinks, here take it” Eric handed me the drink and Emre smirked.

Eric didn’t know that I already knew all about Emre’s incredible drinks. In exquisite detail.

Don’t go there Sarah. Don’t.

He took a drink of his own concoction and I was reminded of my earlier words about poisoning Eric.

My eyes met Emre’s eyes and we were both thinking the same thing

I cautiously took a sip of my own drink and my brain suddenly took me back again.

It was my drink; it tasted perfect like it always did.

His special pina colada.

I lifted my eyes to Emre’s for the first time since I’d seen him again, he was looking right back as I took another sip of the amazing concoction of pineapple juice, coconut rum and something else I could never identify. He’d always told me it was his secret.

I looked away; it was too hard to look at him.

The drink did all the work for him, it seeped inside me…from my lips to my throat to my chest, it burned me up from the inside even as it cooled me down.

This was the drink he’d created especially for me when I’d rejected all of the ordinary drinks he’d made me try.

It was divine; I closed my eyes and enjoyed it, every sip took me closer to the old Sarah, every sip made me feel like nothing had changed.

But it had, everything was different. I opened my eyes.

Melisa came up to me, the perpetual ray of sunshine. She had a pink margarita in her hands.

So Emre had made everyone a different one.

“What does yours taste like?” She asked me

“It’s Pineapple, my favorite” I said, licking my lips to keep the taste on my tongue.

 “I don’t like pineapple much, otherwise I’d try it” she made a face that made me laugh.

She kept sneaking glances at Mert who was busy talking to Ashton. So, she was interested in the quiet one. It was kind of cute. I resolved to try and find a way to bring them together somehow. At least someone would get a happy ending on this trip.

Pelin and Zerrin seemed to be stuck to each other like glue; the two of them gave me bad vibes especially when they looked at me like they were doing now. I was sure they were talking about me. I wondered what all this hatred was about.

Pelin suddenly collared Zayn, did a shimmy with her arms around his neck and told him she felt like dancing. Zayn, always ready to perform whirled her around until she was laughing. We all laughed.

“Your wish is my command, beautiful lady.” He said in an exaggerated accent.

If there was someone I’d have ever put together with Melisa, it would have been Zayn. They were both so much fun and yet Melisa’s heart was already in someone else’s hands.

The heart wanted what it wanted, I thought. Regardless of the consequences.

Ashton and Zayn set up the wireless speaker and started arguing about the playlist. They wanted to make the ultimate surf and sand playlist. Pelin wanted everyone to have a say in the playlist, she took Eric’s hand and dragged him towards the speaker asking him about songs in his phone.

It felt transparent, to me at least; Pelin wanted Eric, and bad by the look of it.

Damn, what a mess.