Chapter Five

Cassie

Cassie woke up with a headache the size of New York.

Luckily, it was just New York City-sized and not the entire state, but still a pretty horrific headache. The only reason it wasn't worse was the two glasses of water Wyatt had her drink at the bar as well as the one before bed.

She didn't remember much about coming back to her room, but she did remember that she needed to drink a glass of water. It was one of the very few things that she remembered.

“Did I really do that?” she asked the empty room.

She groaned as she remembered sliding the sexy bartender her room number. Her head ached, and her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. It took more effort than she expected to roll over and check the little alarm clock to see what time it was.

A little after ten in the morning.

Not only had she gotten drunk, propositioned a bartender and failed, but she had also slept in.

Brianna would be so proud of her.

There was a soft knock on the door.

“I don't need any housekeeping!” Cassie yelled, but it came out more like a croak. She needed another glass of water and a new head. This one hurt too much.

The door cracked open.

“No housekeeping!” Cassie called out again.

“I need to grab my swimsuit,” Brianna said through the crack in the door. "Is it safe to come in, or can you just hand me my suitcase?"

“You can come in,” Cassie told her. “I'm all by myself.”

Cassie heard the Brianna push the door open further and then the soft thump as it shut behind her.

“Are you hungover?” Brianna asked upon seeing Cassie still in bed.

“Maybe.”

“You are!” Brianna clapped her hands with joy. “I'm so proud of you!”

“You're proud of me having a raging headache and feeling like I want to puke?”

“Yup.” Brianna grinned at her. Cassie pulled the pillow up and over her face.

“I want to hear all about it,” Brianna said, sitting on the foot of Cassie's bed. When Cassie didn't say anything, Brianna poked her foot until she groaned.

“If you get me a water and some aspirin, I will tell you.” Cassie's voice was muffled by the pillow.

“Done.” Brianna got up, pulled a tepid Gatorade from the mini-fridge and a bottle of painkillers from her own bag. She unscrewed the lid and handed the bottle to Cassie.

Cassie slowly sat up and took the pain meds with a sip of Gatorade. It felt good on her throat. Thank god Wyatt had gotten some water into her last night. Now that she was sitting with some liquid in her hands, she didn't feel as bad as she had been afraid she would.

“So?” Brianna bounced on the edge of the bed like a little kid.

“So, his name's Wyatt.” Cassie took another sip of Gatorade. “I totally embarrassed myself. I gave him my room number, and he didn't take it.”

“Seriously? That jerk.” Brianna crossed her arms. “I'd have taken it.”

“No, I think it's actually good,” Cassie said thoughtfully. “I was pretty wasted. He wants to meet me for lunch.”

“Wait, you didn't say anything about lunch.” Brianna's anger dropped and was quickly replaced by a smile. “You have a date!”

“I guess I do,” Cassie replied slowly. Her eyes went wide. “What the heck am I going to wear? What if he doesn't like sober me? What if I embarrass myself again?”

“First, you'll wear the blue sundress we got yesterday. Second, if he liked drunk you, he'll adore sober you. And third, who cares?” Brianna asked. “He's one guy on an island you won't be back on for a long time.”

Cassie considered that for a moment. Brianna was right of course, but the nervous butterflies and tightness in her chest didn't really let up. She liked Wyatt. The alcohol had undoubtedly helped her confidence, but she'd felt comfortable around him. She'd actually flirted with him. It was some of her best flirting if she did say so herself.

It didn't say much for her skills that she knew it was terrible. She'd made jokes about screaming orgasms and sex on the beach. It was low hanging fruit, but it had made him laugh.

That laugh was the thing that had her getting out of bed. The way he smiled at her, his green eyes full of light. He'd made her feel beautiful. Even if he'd turned her down.

“Okay. Blue dress. Strappy sandals. They're feminine, but not slutty. And they're easy to walk in.” Brianna went to the closet and started pulling things out. “Sexy undies. You can pick those out.”

Cassie sipped on the Gatorade but otherwise didn't move.

“You should probably shower, too,” Brianna said, crinkling her nose. “You smell like fruity booze.”

Cassie gave her a slow blink.

“I mean, I guess he's a bartender. Maybe he's into that kind of thing.” Brianna shrugged and managed to dodge the pillow Cassie lobbed at her head.

With a groan, Cassie swung her feet off the bed. She was definitely hungover, but the Gatorade was helping. She was still wearing her cherry sundress from the night before. It was all wrinkled now, and there was something pink spilled down the front.

Cassie turned on the shower and ran cold water in the sink to soak her dress. She hoped the stain hadn't set. She was rather fond of the cherry dress. It was her brave, fun, flirty dress now. Even if she never wore it out again, just knowing it was in her closet would give her confidence.

She'd been flirty and carefree once. She could do it again.

The hot shower water felt like life flowing back into her, and when she emerged twenty minutes later, her skin was pink, and she actually felt a little hungry. It was a freaking miracle, and one that Cassie wasn't about to waste.

Brianna had left her blue sundress out on the bed. Hotel stationery sat next to the dress with Brianna's curly, loopy handwriting.

Have fun. Be crazy. The room is all yours for the rest of the day!

PS. Bachelorette party tonight! Don't be late!

Cassie shook her head and slid into the silky blue dress. The fabric hung to her curves and felt see-through. Brianna had assured her that it was not see-through under various lights, but Cassie still felt naked.

She brushed her hair and let it air dry while she put on a light layer of makeup. Just some smoothing sunscreen, mascara and eyeliner. And a little lip gloss. Lip gloss with color was always a good touch. It was also one of the few makeups encouraged by corporate.

Cassie finished three minutes before she needed to leave in order to get to the Cantina by noon.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror, making sure the dress really was opaque and that her mascara was in place.

“You can do this. You are fun. You are cute. You are sexy,” she told her reflection. Her stomach was twisting, and it had nothing to do with the drinks from last night. She was nervous. “If it's awful, you leave and never see him again. No one is judging you here.”

She took a deep breath, put her room key in a small beach bag, and headed down to the Castaway Cantina. It was almost noon.