“Has she not left her room?” That is so weird. Could that even be true? How could we not have seen her at least once?
“I think she has a few times. But only at night. She sleeps all day. It’s ridiculous.”
“Want me to come check on her with you?” I ask. To see if she really exists. Maybe she’s the vampire. Ha-ha.
“Oh no. Don’t worry about it. She’d hate it if I brought someone back to the room. Wanna go to yours and hang out? I can meet you there after I drop this off. Don’t you have a balcony?”
“I do, but…” Not a good idea. “My roomie might have a friend there. And we don’t want to…ruin the mood.”
“This is it,” Liz says the next day at the pool. “Our last full day. Are you ready to make your move, sweetie?”
“I’ve been ready for three days.” Kind of. Hopefully. I scan the pool area for his gorgeousness. “He’s not even here.”
“He will be,” she says.
“If you really want to make it happen, I think you may need to choose someone else,” Hailey says. “You’re practically out of time.”
“But he’s my dream man,” I say. “I just need to get him alone.”
“And I doubt you will any time soon,” Hailey says, pointing with a toe across the pool. “Look who’s over there by herself.”
The girl with the bun from last night, the friend of Pink Halter Top girl, is talking to one of the waiters.
“Oh great,” I say.
“Her friend is probably all cuddled-up with your boy. Time for you to move on.”
The girl sees us staring and hurries over.
“What could she want?” Hailey wonders aloud.
When she reaches our chairs, she says, “Hey, sorry to bother you guys. But you were at the casino last night, right?”
“Yeah,” Liz says.
“Did you see me and my sister? We were talking to a guy named Jay?”
Seriously? His name is Jay? That is so close to James. Is that not a sign that he was meant to be my first, or what?
“I saw,” I say.
“Have you seen my sister since then?” she asks hopefully. “Here somewhere?”
The three of us shake our heads.
“Maybe she’s still with…Jay?” I say. “My Jay,” I want to add but don’t.
The girl sighs. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Of course, sweetie, take a load off,” Liz says, pulling in her knees to make room.
“I’m Ali,” she says. “And my sister is not with Jay.”
“Are you sure?” I ask hopefully.
She nods. “I went by his room this morning. She wasn’t with him. I asked him where she was and he said he had no idea.”
That’s good news, right? “But didn’t she go off with him last night?”
“He says she didn’t,” the girl says. “But that doesn’t make sense. She never came back to the room. Her bed is still made. Where else could she be?”
Liz pats her arm. “Maybe she met some other guy?”
“I guess….”
“I’m sure that’s it. She probably met some guy and went back to his room.”
“But that’s so unlike her! I mean, she liked Jay; why would she just hook up with someone else?”
“I’m sure she’s around somewhere,” Liz says, continuing to pat the girl’s arm. “Do you want me to help you look for her?”
“Would you? I’d really appreciate it. It’s just the two of us, and I’m getting a little freaked out—”
“No worries,” Liz says, tying on her wrap. “I’m happy to help.”
“Do you want us to come?” I ask.
“No, you guys stay here in case…”
“Carly,” Ali says.
“In case Carly turns up.”
“Are you creeped out?” Hailey says to me as Liz and the new girl head to the elevator.
“Hmm?”
“Are you creeped out?”
“About what?” I ask, truly clueless.
She pulls her legs into a cross-legged position. “Um, the fact that her sister was with Jay last night and disappeared?”
“But Jay told her Carly wasn’t with him,” I say.
“Sure, he said that, but what if he’s lying?”
I shrug. “Why would he lie?”
“He would lie if he did something to her!”
“Like what?”
“Like many things! Something bad! Gotten her drunk, robbed her, or thrown her over the boat railing. He could be a killer. We don’t know anything about him except that he’s good-looking.”
“Not true,” I say. “We think that he has no children. That he enjoys female company. We know he’s here for a wedding, and that he goes to Penn.”
“So he says. Don’t you think it’s all a little weird? The girl he was with last night is missing. And…come to think of it, what happened to the girl from the hot tub? I haven’t seen her around either.” She turns white. “Omigod.”
“What?”
“The story about the vampire. What if he’s the vampire?”
I almost laugh. “Oh, come on. Jay is not a vampire.”
“He could be.”
My Jay is not a vampire. “No he can’t.”
“Yes he can! Think about it.” She rubs her temples. “We only see him at night.”
“Not true. We saw him in the hot tub. That was during the day.”
“Oh, right.” Her forehead creases. “But it was indoors! Ha! No direct sunlight.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You think it’s a joke, but he could be dangerous. If I were you I would stay clear of him. Don’t let him try to get you alone.”
Let him? At this point I can’t force him to be alone with me.
An hour later Liz is back, looking satisfied. “All good,” she says, lying back down in her chair. “Sister found.”
Hailey claps. “Seriously?”
“Yup.” She reaches into her bag and reapplies her sunblock.
Hailey sighs. “Thank god. Where was she?”
“She got up early and went to the spa. Ali must have been sleeping when she left the room.”
“But I thought her bed was made?”
Liz shrugs. “Guess she made it.”
“Who makes her own bed on a cruise?” I ask.
“You’d have to ask her,” Liz says with a shrug.
Or not.
The tension melts from Hailey’s face. “Omigod. That is such a relief.”
“Hailey was about to report Jay for being a vampire,” I say, giggling.
“I was nervous!” Hailey cries.
Liz raises an eyebrow. “You think Jay is a vampire?”
“Not anymore,” she says. “Although he does kind of look like a vampire. Don’t you think?”
“What does a vampire look like exactly?” I ask, still giggling.
“You know. Pale skin. Dark hair. Brooding eyes.”
Liz smiles. “Sounds sexy.”
“Vampires are sexy,” Hailey admits. “Brad Pitt? Sexy. Angel? Sexy. Edward? Super sexy. I would totally do it with a vampire.”
Liz pokes me. “Speaking of doing it…”
“I know, I know.”
“Tonight is your last chance,” she continues. “You are going to find your vampire boyfriend and tie him down until you’ve done it. Enough is enough. Got it?”
“Got it,” I say, pounding my fists against the lounge’s handles. “Tonight is the night. No idea what I’m going to say to him but—”
“Why do you have to talk to him at all?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Get your mind out of the gutter.” I laugh.
“Just try to get yours in the gutter, where it belongs.”
“She has to say something to him,” Hailey says. “She can’t just start making out with him.”
“I very much doubt he would mind that,” Liz says.
“I don’t know why you’re going to waste your virginity on him anyway,” Hailey says. “Sure he’s cute, but he seems like a jerk. In all likelihood he hooked up with at least two other girls in three days. He doesn’t sound like a catch. He sounds like a player.”
Liz waves Hailey’s words away. “Players are the best choices. Trust me. He’s the one. You’ll have a lot more fun.”
I nod. I know she’s right. “So what should I do?”
“Be fearless.”
“Do what you want,” Hailey says. “But if I were you I’d shy away from hickeys.”
When I see him at the bar, I know the time is right.
This is it.
He’s sitting by himself. Waiting. For me.
Okay, fine, probably not for me, but he’s alone, isn’t he? Good enough.
Hailey and Liz are in our room. Liz told Hailey she could borrow an outfit.
I square my shoulders and take a deep breath. I can do this. I can do this.
“Hi,” I say, my heart pounding. “Can I buy you a drink?”
He gives me a gleaming smile. “You want to buy me a drink?”
“I offered, didn’t I?”
“It must be my lucky night,” he says, eyes twinkling. Omigod, he smells amazing. Musky and salty and absolutely delicious. I knew he would!
“I think it’s definitely your lucky night,” I say, my cheeks burning. I can’t believe I just said that. I wave the bartender over. “What would you like?”
“A Bloody Mary,” he says, and smiles at me.
Really? People actually drink that? Liz would laugh out loud. Who knows, maybe it’s good. “I’ll have one too,” I tell the bartender.
“Jay,” he says, and gulps down the drink.