Sisters' Spring Break

This is my entry in the 2020 April Fools Day story contest. It starts more slowly than a lot of my stories, but I hope you all enjoy it and the little surprise toward the end.

As always, I welcome any constructive feedback or comments. Please do vote!

Thanks

Belle

*~~* *~~* *~~*

June Stephens curled up on the soft hotel mattress, her eyes dry and crusted, and her head pounding. She'd just downed a huge glass of water and some cold medicine. There was something about flying that always made her sick, feeling like she'd gotten a head cold, for at least twelve hours after she got anywhere. She envied her sister's constitution, and that nothing seemed to slow that girl down.

She groaned, rolling over onto her side and curling up under the soft down comforter. The room was too bright, the thick hotel curtains not quite meeting in the middle, and a shaft of sunlight was now bouncing on her face. Groaning again, she rolled to her other side, and buried her head between the two massive stacks of pillows.

"At least we were smart enough to save up a get a real hotel," she muttered to herself.

Finally in a position that blocked out most of the light, she now had only to contend with the noises her sister was making, unpacking, singing softly to herself as she changed and fixed her make up. June groaned again, knowing that May would not be dissuaded from going out on their first night of their last college spring break trip. At almost twenty-two, the twins knew each other so well they didn't even bother discussing it. May knew June needed a day to get over her marathon study sessions and the flight. June knew that May didn't believe a vacation had really started until she found some cute guy to flirt with.

June heard the toilet flush, the water run for a minute, and the telltale click of May's heels on the bathroom floor. She squeezed her eyes tight, but then the mattress shifted and she felt May patting her arm.

June yanked one of the pillows off her head, and glared up at her sister.

"You look nice," she managed to say.

May did. She'd pulled her long honey blonde hair into a high ponytail, and accented the sides with little hair clips decorated with flowers. She'd chosen a pale brown eye shadow that highlighted her green eyes, and her lip gloss accentuated her full lips and the smattering of freckles on her chin.

May looked at June with some genuine concern.

"You want me to stay in tonight?" she asked, uncharacteristically. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, sis. Love you too," June responded sarcastically. June made herself sit up, slouching over in the bed, still not quite used to her long hair swinging against her back. She'd decided to grow it out starting that fall, and it was now down to her mid-back, the same length as May's.

"Really," May said, "I'm trying to be nice and you're giving me attitude?"

They both laughed, and then June broke out into a coughing fit. She waved her hands.

"No, I'm good. It's just the usual traveling thing."

"Yeah, plus, what, like, four all-nighters in a row to finish that project?"

June cocked her head. "Yeah, something like that. But, naw. You go have fun. Find some guy. Break his heart. Tell me about it in the morning."

June flopped back down, sniffling. In one last act of sisterly love, May found a spare large hair clip and managed to seal the curtains together. When she turned out the light, the room was blissfully dark, and June slept like the dead.

*~~* *~~* *~~*

May walked into the hotel bar and surveyed the scene. Sure, it was Spring Break, but she and June had opted to stay away from the most popular places. They wanted one last fun romp together before graduation and having to go act like adults. But neither of them was in the mood for the ridiculous crowds, jacked up prices, and increased police that came along with the typical college spots. They'd found a place on the Gulf Coast, saved up for the nice hotel for a week with money left over to pay for a couple of side trips or to rent a boat if they wanted.

The bar was nice, crowded, but not packed. It looked like a grown-up bar, rather than a glorified Frat house basement, and that's just what May was in the mood for. She smoothed her satiny, blue and white, halter top. She adjusted the waist band to sit just at her hips thereby pulling it tighter over her front. She had on a loose white skirt, in a gauzy, summery fabric, that came to her ankles. Her heels were sandals, not too high, but enough to emphasize her slender frame and long legs. She was already looking forward to swimming and laying out on the beach, to really show those off.

She strode deeper into the room, and decided to sit at the bar. There were only two seats left, both at the far end. She took the one closest to the wall, and spun sideways so she could look out over the crowd. She might be the more impulsive of the twins, but one of her favorite things was to sit somewhere and people watch. She loved making up stories about what was really going on with them.

She didn't have to wait long before the bartender came over.

"What can'a getcha?" he said in a drawl that was music to May's ears.

She tried to sound more sophisticated than she felt. "Y'all have a specialty?" she asked.

"Well," he said, pausing as though he was actually thinking about it. "Pretty lady like you might want a mojito, I reckon."

It wasn't really an answer to the question she'd asked, but May decided to let it slide. She batted her eyelashes in a perfect mockery of a flirt, and said, "Well, doan mind if ah do."

The bartender laughed, catching the magnolia mouth imitation. "I'll need to see some ID, miss," he said, all business.

She laughed in turned, and fished her driver's license out of her purse. The bartender checked it, looked at her, checked it again, and nodded. As he handed it back, he asked, "You want to run a tab?"

"No, just charge it to my room, please."

The bartender walked away, and May watched him tapping on a computer screen, checking the room number she'd given him, and making sure the credit card attached for incidentals would accommodate a drink or three. She saw him nod to himself, and continued to watch as he set about making her drink.

She leaned sideways on the bar, legs crossed at the knee; she watched the bartender and then the reflection of the room in the mirror behind the bar. There was an agreeable amount of chatter rumbling through the room, and music playing, but not so loud that it competed with the conversation. She sighed, wishing that for once, her sister hadn't gotten sick from the flight, that for once she felt like hanging out on the first night of a vacation.

For May, the first night was always the best. They'd done spring break trips every year of college on their own. But even before that, on the family vacations in the summers, that first night in the hotel was May's favorite. She got that from their Dad, she'd come to realize. Once she was a teenager, it was always the two of them, striking out, finding the hotel restaurant, or the little hole in the wall joint next door, barely waiting long enough to check out the room and freshen up before wandering off again.

June and their Mom were the opposite. They always stayed in the first night, slept in late the next morning. They both said there was no point in being on vacation if you still had to get up at the crack of dawn.

May watched the crowd, listened with one ear to someone telling a funny story at the table a few feet away. She couldn't make out the words, but the laughter rolled out in waves. She sighed, content in the moment, and imagined what would happen next.

She was startled out of her reverie by a deep voice rumbling just in front of her.

"Miss, is this seat taken?" he said. May glanced up and looked into one of the most handsome faces she'd seen in real life.

She coughed, and managed to say, "No, please, have a seat."

She swung around facing the bar top, giving this Adonis room to slide in next to her. Just then the bartender came back with her drink.

"Here y'are. One mojito."

"Thanks," she said.

The bartender looked at the man who'd just sat down. He held up a hand and pointed one finger slowly.

"Hold on, lemme think. Bourbon and ginger, right?"

The man was nodding, "Tonight I'm in the mood for something different."

The bartender jerked his head toward May's drink. "Mojito?"

The man shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"A'ight. Comin' up."

May looked the man over, her nerves settling ever so slightly. An involuntary shiver tripped down her spine, and she saw him glance at her. She took a long pull on the straw in the drink, hoping he'd think it was just the cold liquid having the effect on her.

She looked at him through her eyelashes, and her mind ran away with all manner of delicious images of those full lips on hers, and his long fingers tracing over her skin. She glanced in the mirror, studying him. He was tall, she thought, though that was hard to tell now that they were both seated. His face was all smooth cheekbones and strong chin, with a wide nose that complimented those beautiful lips perfectly. His skin was a warm medium brown. His black hair was close cropped at the sides, and the top was a riot of short twists, maybe a few inches long.

But his eyes were what had startled her. They were dark green, almost the same shade as hers, and ringed with such dark, long eyelashes that she knew more than one girlfriend who'd be jealous. Then she glanced at his hands, and decided they might be his best feature. Well, best of what she'd seen so far. His hands were narrow, and the fingers were long, she imagined he'd be able to play the piano as easily as June did, with that reach. The nails were neatly trimmed and buffed. She appreciated a man who'd take care of those details.

She took another long sip of her drink, trying to figure out something to say, trying not to stare so obviously.

She was saved for a moment by the bartender returning with the man's drink.

"Here y'are," he said. "I've added it to your room."

"Thanks, Dan," the man said.

May heard her opening. "So, you've been staying here a while?"

The man turned to her. "Couple days, actually." He nodded in the bartender's direction. "It pays them to make us feel like they know us, right?"

"S'pose. Yeah. Familiarity breeds big tips, maybe."

He looked at her fully, and she saw him really looking at her, taking in her hair, eyes, lips. She sat up, straightening her spine, and watched as his eyes darted down for a split second and then homed in on her eyes again. She tossed her hair, almost wishing she'd opted against the pony tail.

He smiled slowly, the depth of his grin increased as she matched his stare, until his bright white teeth showed. She let her eyes travel down his chest, looking at the shape under his fitted burgundy t-shirt, and down to his thighs encased in dark slacks. He leaned back slightly, and she avoided looking right at his crotch, making herself meet his eyes again.

She laughed, already enjoying this dance with him. She stuck out her hand.

"I'm Summer," she said impulsively, and tried to keep the lie out of her voice.

He shook her hand. "N--. Nate. I'm Nate," he said.

"You sure about that, Nate?" she teased.

"Well, meeting a b— b—beautiful wo—woman always makes me st— stutter a bit."

He was hamming that bit up and May rolled her eyes. But she still couldn't quite figure out why she hadn't given him her own name. She loved the feeling of his palm against hers, and the firm way his fingers wrapped around hers. She didn't want to let go.

She squeezed his fingers. "Then it's very nice to meet you, Nate."

Their hands parted and she turned slightly sideways, feeling a little triumphant when her knee brushed his leg and he didn't move. She leaned against the bar and he did the same.

"So, you've been here a couple of days, and the bartender already knows your regular drink?"

He laughed. "No, actually. I usually never drink bourbon, but I was in a bad mood the first night I got here, and downed more than my share of them."

He turned to look at her more fully. "Highballs were on special when I wandered in here." He shrugged. "So, now that guy. Well, you know."

She nodded. "Right. Familiarity."

He sighed. "It's gotta be hard. Working in a tourist town like this. I'm glad I don't have to do anything like that anymore."

"You were a bartender?"

"Waited tables all through college. Same diff."

"Right," May said. "People can be jerks."

May wondered at herself, what did she know about it? She'd gotten a full soccer scholarship to college, and had never worked more than part time at their Dad's business when school was out. She took another long drag on her straw. Suddenly the real world seemed a little too real.

"So, what do you do now?" she asked.

"Law school."

"Wow. Cool." Trying to figure out how old that made him. "You on break?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah. Senior year. Then you know." She leaned toward him and her hand fluttered around. "Then gotta figure out what to do with the rest of my life."

She moved away. "It already seems boring and terrifying."

"Tell me," he said laughing. "Job search. Loans." His hand raised up and stretched out sweeping through the air. "And only the next sixty years to, y'know."

She laughed. "Yeah, maybe by the time I'm eighty I'll have my shit together."

He raised his glass, touched it to hers. "Truth."

May felt herself relaxing, into his eyes and his easy smile, into the warmth of whatever subtle cologne he wore. She sucked on the straw, and got only the slurping noise that indicated her drink was empty. Like it was some kind of alarm, Dan the bartender appeared instantly.

"You like another?" he asked May.

She nodded, "Thanks."

Nate tossed back the last of his. "Me too. Put hers on my tab, please."

She grinned at him. "Why, thank you, kind sir," she said, attempting the drawl again.

He shook his head. "Don't. Please." The grin took away the sting.

"Is it that obvious?"

"That you ain't from 'round 'ere?" he said, with his own, much more believable, drawl. "Yes'm. Is."

She laughed. "Well, ok. How 'bout you?"

"Not here, exactly. But closer than you, I'm guessin'. Atlanta."

Her eyes widened. "Yeah. You got me."

"So?"

"So? What?"

"Where're you from?"

"New York." She held up a hand to forestall the assumption. "Not 'The City'. Upstate. I go to Syracuse."

"And where did you live before college?"

"In a podunk little town you've never heard of, that might as well be in Canada."

"Eager to leave, I take it?"

Dan was back with their second round. As May picked hers up, she clinked with Nate's glass. "You have no idea."

They settled into easy banter, back and forth. They touched on the highlights of their lives, sketching themselves for the other. May insisted on paying for round three, and Nate put up only token resistance. She never got around to mentioning her sister, but that wasn't completely unusual for her when flirting with a guy. Then she remembered something Nate had said earlier on.

In a lull in the conversation, she asked, "So why were you in a bad mood?"

"What?"

"We were talkin' about the bartender. You said you drank the bourbon cuz you were in a bad mood. On vacation?"

"Oh." He shrugged. "One of those things." His eyes narrowed, and May just kept looking at him.

"Ok. You got me. I was supposed to be here with my girlfriend, but a couple days before I found out she's been cheating on me with some asshole who's, like, twice her age. It was too late to refund the tickets." He sighed. "So, I came here anyway. But. Flight was delayed. Room was wrong. I had to wait out here in the lobby for. I dunno. Couple of hours? Before they straightened all that out."

He looked at May. "Keepin' it real? They handled it eventually. Comped me a night. Brought us-me, some room service. But I was hot, man. Came down here. Drank a little too much. Managed to pour myself into bed without getting into trouble. Cuz. You know."

She nodded. "Alabama ain't Atlanta."

"Right."

"Things lookin' up now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and slowly batting those eyelashes.

He chuckled, low and long, staring right at her. "Are now."

They finished the third round, and suddenly the day and the booze caught up to May. She yawned without thinking about it, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Sorry. Rude of me," she said.

He chuckled again. He tapped his phone, which had been sitting face up on the counter between them. She saw the time, 1:30AM. Caught a glimpse of the pretty face on the home screen. The girlfriend, she assumed, whose picture he hadn't changed yet.

She started to slide off the stool, and Nate stood, extending a hand to help.

"Time to go, I think," she said. Looking up. He was taller than her, a few inches. Maybe six feet even to her five foot six.

She shook his hand again. "So nice to meet you, Nate."

"Hope it's not the last," he replied.

"Same." She waved and walked away, certain he was watching her go. She made the skirt swish as she went.

*~~* *~~* *~~*

Back in the room with her sister, she slammed the door without thinking. Saw June bolt up. She kicked off her sandals and ran to the bed, jumping full force on it, half landing on June.

"Fuck, girl," June said. "Get off me."

"Scoot over, you lump. I met a guy."

"Ugh." June scooted over, flopped back onto the pillows. May turned on the lamp on the table between their two queen sized beds.

"Ugh," said June again. "Of course you met a guy. You always met a guy."

June tried to roll over. May smacked her shoulder.

"June. JuneJuneJuneJune."

"What!"

"Listen. I met a guy. Gorgeous. Like. Like. Like Michael Ealy's younger brother or something."

"Who?"

"Michael Ealy."

"Whothefuck is Michael Ealy?"

"You know. C'mon. Hold on." May grabbed her phone and started Googling. "Michael Ealy." Talking as her fingers tapped. "Light skinned black guy. Blue eyes. Gorgeous. He was in. Hold on. He was in 'Barbershop' and I dunno a bunch of stuff."

June sat up, bleary eyed but intrigued. "You tellin' me you met an actor? Here?"

"No. NoNoNo. Not actual Michael Ealy. Dude looks like him. Hotter though. Younger. Green eyes. Fucking gorgeous."

"Oh." No longer interested, June laid back down. May laid down, facing her.

Babbling, she tried to tell June about the conversation. Gradually, June came to realize May really was enamored of him. That this wasn't her normal vacation flirt. She started paying better attention.

"In law school. Atlanta. So nice. Sweet. Single. His girlfriend just cheated on him. And did I mention he's fucking gorgeous?"

"You might have. You might have mentioned that fifteen or twenty times. He got a name, or were you too busy drooling to find out?"

"Nate."

"Nate what?"

"I dunno. I didn't ask. Oh." May stopped talking and her mouth snapped shut.

"What's wrong?"

"So, um. I did something stupid." May sat up, her ponytail flying over her shoulder as she smacked herself in the forehead.

June regarded her with one eyebrow raised. "What'd you do?"

"I introduced myself as Summer."

"What?"

"I know. I don't know. Gawd. How stupid."

She flopped back on the mattress again. "He said I was beautiful. We shook hands. It just popped out. 'Hi, I'm Summer'." She looked over at June. "That was before."

"Before?"

"I decided I liked him. When I thought I'd just, y'know flirt a while and be gone. 'Fore I realized he'll be here all week, too."

"You told him your name was Summer, and you never figured out how to tell him your real name?"

"Figure out? What was to figure out? We just talked. Oh my gawd. And I don't have his number or anything. Fuck."