I pulled Troy aside last night so I could tell him I wasn’t interested and apologize for Ri wasting his time. On the surface there’s nothing wrong with Troy. He’s handsome, he’s tall, and he has a nice body with honey brown skin. He’s too young for my taste, only being twenty-four, but if I had met him before the trip, sans the ambush from Ri, I may have taken his number. Unfortunately for Troy, he has one major thing working against him: he’s not Rome.
That man has ruined me for the rest of this vacation. If it’s not going to be him beating up my walls, then I guess I’m going out sad because my kitty is not purring for anyone else. I knew I should’ve just packed one of my toys. Toys are way less complicated. They don’t talk back. They don’t leave you wondering what could’ve been. They don’t make you question all your decisions. You get all the pleasure with none of the headache.
The last thing I want to be doing today is spending time with Ri and others doing an ATV tour, yet here we are. Oh, well. Maybe the bumps along the trail will give me the friction I’m sorely missing.
I look around to see what group I’m stuck with today. With fifty guests, there’s no way we can do every activity together. Ri arranged smaller group activities so that everyone could participate in the things she planned and could get a chance to see each other prior to the ceremony. Right now, ten of us are about to go on this ATV jungle and cenote tour while other groups are ziplining, shopping, or living it up at a day party.
I roll my eyes when I see Troy in the group, no chance that was a coincidence. The rest of the crew seems to be the usual suspects—Evie, Rome, Ri, Arnold, Dani, Micah, Jalen, and…shit.
“Jesus be a fence,” I hiss.
Evie, who had wandered in front of me, whips around when she hears me. “Uh oh. I know shit ain’t right when you start throwing out the church phrases. What’s wrong?”
I step closer to her, keeping my eye on the subject at hand. I don’t want him to sneak up on me. “You see the dumbass standing next to Arnold?”
She sneaks a peek in that direction and looks back at me with a curious expression. “The guy with the swole shoulders who looks like he’s never seen a leg day in his life? Yeah, who is he?”
“That’s Arnold’s cousin, Cortez. I knew he was invited to the wedding, but I didn’t realize he RSVP’d. I met him once and decided that was one time too many. I’m not prepared to deal with his ass today.” He lives in Chicago, so I never had to worry about running into him after that awful first encounter, but he left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Well, is he gonna be a problem? Because you don’t need Jesus to be the fence. I’m the fence and I wish a motherfucker would try to get through me.” She puffs out her chest, trying to make her five-foot-seven, one-hundred-and-fifty-pound frame seem intimidating. That’s how she gets you, though. She looks so sweet and innocent, but she will cut the heads off her enemies without breaking a sweat.
“I’m good, Evie. I swear. You know I know how to deal with fools, I just would rather not. Be prepared for him to try to talk to you though. He’s about to treat this wedding like his personal playground.”
“Please. I don’t waste time on men whose knees would buckle if he tried to pick me up. Hard pass.”
I snort out a laugh. A tour guide comes to Ri to introduce himself as Jaime and to ask her how many ATVs will be needed as they offer both single and double riders.
“Oh, I’m gonna ride with Arnold so that’s one double.” Her head swivels around our group and when her eyes land on me, they light up. “Nelly, how about you? You want to ride with a partner?” She inclines her head toward Troy in the most obvious manner, making me ball my fist up by my side.
Troy looks at me sympathetically but stays silent. I could just ride with him to get Ri off my back but I’m beyond tired of making concessions for her. The well of my patience has run dry. Something has to give and for once it’s not going to be me.
I try to look over at Rome but Cortez steps in my way.“Oh shit. Janelle, Janelle, Janelle.I didn’t recognize you at first. It’s been a while.”Not long enough.“You look good as fuck, girl.”
“Mhm, thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome to ride on the back of my ATV. I’ll give you the ride of your life.” He sways on his feet, laughing at his own joke, but his movement allows me to see Rome narrow his eyes at him. I’m surprised the back of Cortez’s head isn’t melting with the heat Rome is sending his way. Frankly, everyone looks unimpressed with him, but it seems to go completely over his big ass head.
Not even bothering to respond to him, I turn my focus to Jaime. “I’ll drive by myself, thanks.” I hear Ri suck her teeth, but she recovers quickly, giving Troy an apologetic smile and shaking off her disappointment in me. Cortez winks at me as he moves closer to Dani.
When my eyes find Rome again, he allows me to see the pride on his face for a split second before he turns away.
Rome, Micah, Dani, and Troy all opt to ride alone as well, but in a surprise turn of events Evie and Jalen opt to ride together. We’re all given our gear and Jalen helps her secure her helmet.
We’re given a brief safety demo before we take off. The jungle trail is beautiful. Surrounded by nothing but greenery for as far as we can see, it feels like we’ve been transported to our own personal paradise. Even with the sand raining down on me from the ATV in front of me, I still feel at peace. The bullshit of this trip rolls off my back in waves.
We make a stop along the way so that Jalen can switch spots with Evie and so Arnold can do the same with Ri. Cortez tries to ride his ATV over to me, but Rome cuts him off, planting his ATV between us and looking straight ahead as if he didn’t notice him. I purse my lips together to hold in my laugh, following Rome’s lead by looking straight ahead.
“Okay, we’re going to leave our vehicles right here on this side. There’s a bathroom where you can wash up or change if you aren’t already wearing your swimsuit up ahead. Those of you who are already changed, head this way to get your new helmets, flashlights, and water shoes,” Jaime announces once we reach the cave entrance.
Dani, Evie, and I head for the bathrooms to change but a hand grips my arm, pulling me back. Ri forces her arm through mine, trying to make it look like two sisters walking lovingly together rather than a mother scolding her disobedient child. “Umm, what do you need, Ri?”
“You’re completely ignoring Troy. What is that about?”
I stop in my tracks and pull my arm free from hers. “That is about the fact that I’m not interested in Troy.”
“Ugh, why not? He’s perfect for you.”
“How so?”
