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The music was pumping as the three girls sat down at the booth to take a short breather from the excitement. They were on their fifth club that night at Pleasure Island and needed to regroup before hitting the next five.
"I really think we need to talk about your obsession with Westlife, Anna. Now you're seeing them in every guy you meet. There's no possible way you could have seen them here." Claudia said as she took a sip of her water.
"For the hundredth time, I met Bryan McFadden this morning at our cabin." Anna's voice got louder as she protested. "You weren't there. You didn't see him."
"Anna, this is Orlando. Why would they be here in Orlando?" Kori added, agreeing with Claudia.
"I don't know why they are here. But this should interest you. I saw Kian and Nicky too. They were sunbathing at their cabin."
"Kian? You mean there is a Kian look-alike too?" Kori asked.
"Not a Kian look alike, the real Kian." Anna said once again, trying to convince her friends. Sometimes they were so thick!
"Maybe you have some past issues in your life. Maybe you aren't satisfied with Jerid or maybe you aren't sure if you..."
"STOP IT! Stop playing my therapist! Take a break, Claud." Anna was getting sick of Claudia overanalyzing everything she said or did.
"I have a thesis paper to write next semester, this could be an interesting topic. You know, how obsessions can rule your life." Claudia said with a smile.
"You're on vacation, just relax." Kori said taking a sip of Claudia's water. "Man, I need something to drink, this water sucks."
"I'm going to the bathroom, get me..."
"A Shirley Temple. Nobody drinks those anymore Claud. Why don't you try a Screaming Orgasm.?" Kori asked with a sly smile.
"I'll stick with a Shirley Temple, thanks." Claudia got up from the booth and made her way through the crowd.
"Maybe by the end of the summer, she will really try a Screaming Orgasm. Lord knows it would do her some good!" Kori said as Anna laughed.
Claudia finally fought her way out of the horde of girls in the
bathroom as she walked down the hallway to the dance floor. She was looking
down at the ground, just like she always did when she bumped into something
that seemed to be blocking the hall. She looked up and found herself face to
face with the most gorgeous creature she had ever seen. He looked rather
familiar but Claudia couldn't recall where she'd seen him. Her eyes took a
minute to adjust to the bright flashing lights as she realized he was just
standing there; looking her over.
"What are you doing here?" He finally asked.
"Excuse me? I didn't mean to run into you, I wasn't looking..."
"I said, what are you doing here?" He interrupted her as he moved closer to her. His accent was getting thicker as he went on.
"I'm here with my friends. I don't think... Do I know you?"
"Why are you doing this to me? You know how hard this is on me and now you are here, looking..." He stopped as he stared right into Claudia's eyes. "Why do you have to look so good? I can't do anything about it and you have to look so..." He stepped back and slowly turned around.
"Wait, I don't think you know..." He didn't give Claudia a chance to speak as he walked down the hallway into the crowd. He quickly disappeared in the midst of them as Claudia stood alone. Her heart began beating hard and quick. The look on his face was haunting, she could see so much pain and anger in his eyes and the way he looked at her, as if she was the cause of the pain.
"Don't worry, love, he thought you were someone else." The deep voice held the same musical accent as that of her attacker. He stood next to Claudia as she turned around to see him smiling at her.
"Who did he think I was?" She asked, shyness overcoming the initial shock as she realized that this man was also extremely beautiful. Wasn't it her luck tonight.
"It doesn't matter but I can tell that you would be nothing like her." He said as Claudia melted from his smile once again. "I'm Mark, Mark Feehily." He stretched out his hand as she took it.
"Claudia Sommerhill." She said as the bathroom crowd suddenly flooded into the hallway, shoving her into Mark. His arms immediately reached around her, protecting her from the throng.
"This is how I like to get to know someone." Mark said as he held Claudia, their gazes locked. Neither moved from the embrace, even after the hallway cleared.
Anna was bound and determined to prove to Claud and Kori that she
wasn't psycho. Maybe tomorrow she could go over to Bryan's cabin and
retrieve her pitcher. Making her way to the bar for their drinks, Anna
spotted a very familiar blonde sitting at the bar chatting to a dark-haired
man.
"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here." Anna said as she stood behind Bryan.
"Well, fancy indeed. If I didn't know better, I would have to say fate has a hand in our meeting." He smiled as he stood up and offered Anna his seat.
"Thanks, but actually I was wondering if I could cash in that favor from this morning. Would you come with me for a second? I know this sounds strange, but I want you to meet my friends, they don't believe that I met you today." She scanned the room for Kori and Claudia.
"And why would I be so special as your friends can't believe you met me?" He asked, the grin growing wider.
"It didn't dawn on me until after you left. You could have at least given me your last name." Anna said as she finally sat down.
"Well, at least I know that you were first interested in me for me." Bryan said softly in Anna's ear, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder.
"Aren't you optimistic! How do you know I'm interested in you at all?" Of course Anna was lying to herself. She was VERY interested in Bryan. She didn't think he could actually be better looking in person but he was. He most definitely was.
"I am telling you Bry, Nicola is here. If you'd pay attention to me for a second instead of constantly thinking about yourself, you'd see she's here." Shane said loudly, tearing Bryan's gaze from Anna's very desirable face.
"She's not here mate. There's no possible way. I can guarantee Nicola's in Sligo, cozy with her fiance. It's just some bird who looks like her" Bryan tried to calm his friend down. "We're here to have a good time. I want you to meet Anna. Anna, this is Shane. She's our neighbor for the foreseeable future and the saint to whom we are indebted for our milk this afternoon."
"Hi." Anna said as she extended her hand. Shane shook her hand, smiled but then looked away from her.
"You'd better believe she's here. She's right over there talking to Feehily. Perfect, that's just what I need. He's a dead man. She came all this way to torment me. I thought I was getting away to get over her and now... I can't be here if she is."
"She's not here. You're not making sense Shane." Bryan said again trying to talk Shane out of his nonsense so he could talk to Anna.
Shane realized that he was getting nowhere with Bryan with a beautiful girl in his presence. "I'll see you back at the house. I have to get out of here. Nice meeting you Anna." He silently stepped away from the two and made his way out the door.
"What's wrong with Shane?" Anna asked as she watched him walk away.
"He thinks he saw his ex-girlfriend when he went to the restroom. He bumped into some girl that looked like her." Bryan sat down at the empty seat next to Anna as he ordered her a drink.
"Who was the girl he ran into?" Anna asked. Bryan looked around the room and then spotted Claudia and Mark talking.
"That girl over there that Mark's chatting up." Bryan said pointing to the two. Anna adjusted her eyes to the darkness as the lights dimmed.
"You're kidding me! That girl over there? The blonde? Well, he better get over it, quick. She's also your neighbor." Anna smiled.
"Your roommate?" Bryan asked.
"Yes, and from the looks of it, Mark and Claudia are getting rather acquainted with each other, so Shane might have to get over his phobia of her sooner than he'd like." Anna was sick of talking to Bryan about their friends and their love problems. She was here to have a good time. "So Mr. Optimistic, want to show me some of those award winning dance moves?"
" Why Anna, I thought you'd never ask." And with that he led her into the crowd.
Claudia sat in her room, listening to Kori and Anna talking about the
evenings adventures. She was tired but she couldn't sleep. His words rang in
her head and the hurt in his eyes still haunted her memory. But then the
smile of Mark put her at ease. She couldn't believe that when Mark was
holding her in the crowd that she didn't try to push away from him. She felt
safe in his arms, as if he would protect her from the verbal attack that
might come raining down at any moment. She could still smell him on her
clothes as she laid back on her bed staring at the ceiling. Smiling, Claudia
reached for the journal from her desk and opened it to the last blank page.
She stared at the lines and the color of the paper. She began writing even
before she realized what it was she was putting on the paper. When she was
done she stared at the words. The last sentence glared out at her like a
beacon. "I just met the man of my dreams and I can't do anything about it."
She shut the journal quickly, placed it back on the desk and turned out the
lights. Claudia closed her eyes, lost in thoughts of him as she drifted off
to sleep.
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