Now.
I sit in the sand, even though I'm getting my new dress all sandy. I take the stupid sandals off and throw them down the beach.
Phillip follows me, grabs each one of my sandals out of the sand and says, “You're picking a fight with me, JJ.”
What? Am I no longer Princess?
That's three JJs in a row and no one is even around.
“I'm not going to fight with you,” he continues.
Doesn't he know that I don't want to fight with him either? In fact, I want to do the exact opposite of that tonight.
But I don't tell him that because he's being a jerk.
“Why? Might you have to show some e-mo-tion?” I yell.
I get up and try to brush the sand off of my dress. “I'm through with this,” I say.
“Yeah, well I'm through with it too. This is your fault. I understand you wanted to have fun, but you're supposed to want to have fun with me, not other guys. You didn't even try. In fact, I think you were purposely trying to push me away. I'm the one who gives up.” He throws his hands up in the air.
He's very upset with me, I think.
And he's fighting with me.
Didn't he just tell me that he wasn't going to fight with me?
Is he drunk?
“You ever decide you want to try this for real, you know where to find me. It's your move,” he says, acting very crabby.
Then he walks away.
Hey! Wait! He's not supposed to leave me, he's supposed to kiss me!
I watch him walk further and further down the beach and notice that not once does he look back.
Oh, this is so not at all how I wanted this night to go.
I sit in the sand and sob.
Phillip comes back, either a few minutes or a few hours later. I'm really not sure.
I look up at him through mascara filled tears.
“Come on, Princess,” he sighs, as he scoops me up off the sand and carries me to my room. “I'm not going to be able to sleep, unless I know you're safe.”
My God! What is that noise?
I think someone is slamming a sledgehammer against my door.
Why are they doing that?
I practically fall out of bed and when I do, I am genuinely surprised to see that I'm still wearing my dress from last night. And it's all freaking sandy. What the hell did I do in the sand?
Whew. I feel a little fuzzy, but I must make that noise stop.
I look through the peephole in my door and see Danny. I fling open the door, let him in and crawl back into bed.
“Jeez, Jay, you look like shit,” he says in a booming voice.
It hurts my head.
“Why are you still wearing that dress? Oh wow, did you just get back from Phillip's room?”
“Danny, could you please talk a little bit quieter?” I beg and bury my head under the sandy pillow.
“Ok-ay,” he says more quietly, quickly appraising the situation and taking charge. “Go wash your face and get dressed.” He looks at my dress and says, “As in, not the dress you wore last night. I'm taking you to breakfast. You need to eat, take some Advil,” he looks at me with real concern, “and I hate to say it, but you may even need a drink. We've got less than an hour to get you ready to meet Lori.”
Oh God. I feel awful, but I do as I'm told, drag my butt out of bed and go into the bathroom.
I wash my face, brush my teeth and pull my hair back into a ponytail.
I have a sudden feeling of déjà vu. It's all very blurry, but I vaguely remember being in here last night with someone. Was it Phillip?
Was someone throwing up?
Was it me?
I think it was, and I think Phillip helped me get here.
So why am I wearing my dress?
Why isn't he here in bed with me?
I have a feeling that things didn't go exactly as I had planned.
But wait, I remember!
I think he was mad at me.
Then I remember the not so gay guys and arguing with Phillip.
Me, crying on the beach.
Oh, not good.
The only good thing I remember is I'm pretty sure it was me who threw up last night.
That means I may actually survive this day.
I open the door to the bathroom and am startled.
Danny is standing right in the doorway with my yoga outfit in his hands.
I had forgotten he was here.
“Put this on,” he bosses.
I do, and after sliding my feet into a pair of flip-flops, we head to breakfast.
Just my luck, when we get there, Phillip is there.
He shoves his remaining food into his mouth and says to Danny, “I gotta run. See you on the golf course at ten.”
He doesn't say a word to me.
Didn't even acknowledge my presence.
I frown.
Danny, who can't help noticing the frigid climate between Phillip and I, asks, “What's up with you two?”
“Nothing,” I say, putting on my sunglasses.
Where is Manuel? Someone really needs to get him to turn down the sun out here.
It is way too bright. It's making my head hurt.
“Stay here,” Danny bosses, leaves and comes back with a huge plate filled with all of my favorite things for breakfast.
None of it looks very appealing.
“Eat something, Jay. And drink some water.”
Shall I tell him that I'm not really in the mood to be bossed around? Probably not, it's his wedding day. I should try to be nice.
So I pick up a triangle of toast and take a teeny bite.
Danny hands me a mimosa and commands, “You better drink this.”
Yuck.
“I can't Danny, I am so never drinking again.”
“Like I've never heard that before.”
Danny is teasing me. He seems to think this is hysterical.
Yeah, cuz it's not him, for once.
So I go against my better judgment and do as he says. I drink the mimosa and am surprised that after a few sips, it's not half bad.
But then Danny makes me feel sick again, when he asks slowly, “J-a-y, what did you do to Phillip?”
Me?
“Nothing Danny, I swear, absolutely nothing.”
He is shaking his head up and down in apparent understanding.
“Ah, well that's the problem then.”
“Danny,” I cry, “the night was a flipping disaster.”
“Why?”
“It's not my fault Danny, really it isn't. We were dancing and having a great time, and in my mind, I pictured us dancing, and then I was going to invite him back to my room. I had such great plans.”
“I'm proud of you. So what went wrong?”
“Well, then those cute guys that we killed in volleyball yesterday came over and started dancing with us.”
“I thought they were gay,” he interrupts.
“Me too, but they didn't act like it last night,” I say raising an eyebrow and shaking my head, even though it hurts to do so.
“Anyway, we were all dancing together, drinking and having fun. And Phillip didn't say a word. He just left me. I thought he had gone to the bathroom or something, and I kept waiting for him to come back, but he never did.”
Danny looks at me with a shrewd eye, “So you were dancing and drinking, and knowing you, flirting with these guys, and you're surprised that Phillip left you. What are you, stupid, Jay?”
Hey, that's not very nice!
“No wonder he's mad at you. It was supposed to be a date. You were supposed to be with him, not other guys. I'd be pissed at you too.” He gives me a disgusted look.
Hey, you were just complimenting me on my plan.
Traitor.
“I'm a flirt. You know it. Phillip knows it. It's never bothered him before because he knows I'm harmless. Maybe he needs to loosen up.” I pause, thinking. “But honestly, Danny, even though he says it's what he wants, I'm not convinced Phillip really wants this either. I mean if he did, he wouldn't have given up so easily.” I shake my head at Danny. “Regardless, now I give up.”