Mia let out a puff of breath. It lifted the strands of hair that had fallen into her face. “I like knowing that these are the worst problems in some people’s lives.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, and so I said nothing. As the next episode began, I listened to the sound of Mia’s and Kitty’s breathing. Their warm bodies on either side of me were like a sedative, and I closed my eyes, trying not to worry about what the summer would bring as I finally fell asleep.
XO, Jo: Blog Post #25
June 5
Hello, Hot Guy from the Bar
Hello, readers!
Charter season is finally over, meaning I’ve bid the Bahamas farewell and life has returned to its regularly scheduled South Florida programming. And let me tell you, it is thrilling to sleep in my own bed.
I’m sorry for my absence over the last few months. Seeing as I was stuck on a superyacht for the last four of them (I know, poor me), progress on the list has been slow. But never fear! My two nieces, Mia (16) and Kitty (13), are visiting for the summer and have agreed to help me finish the list. I’m sure they’ll be invaluable as I try to do the impossible. But without further ado, let’s get to the stats.
Of the thirty items on my original list, there are eight left, which is more than I’d hoped for this late in the game, but there’s no use dwelling on it.
1.Sing onstage.I am so ready to conquer my debilitating stage fright.
2.Get a tattoo.Did I think this would help me overcome my fear of needles? Because I doubt it.
3.Go skinny-dipping.I’ll need a few Drunken Joeys for thatone... Want the recipe? Check out Item #17—Develop a Signature Cocktail—the Drunken Joey.
4.Run a marathon.I may have been too ambitious when I added this one to the list.
5.Declutter the condo.Don’t judge.I read that book about tidying up, and it was pretty inspiring, okay?
6.Sleep in a castle.BFF Nina says I’m already royalty to her, but I want the full princess experience.
7.Host a dinner party.My culinary skills peak at nuking a Lean Cuisine in the microwave.
8.Visit 10 countries.Luckily my job has taken care of some of these, but I’ve still got five to go.
Now that we’ve gotten the housekeeping out of the way, let’s move on to the fun stuff. Here it is: Item #5—Kiss a Stranger.
As I’m sure you can guess, this item was Nina’s idea. But though I’ve sworn off love forever—no, I’m not being dramatic (okay, maybe a little)—I figured it couldn’t hurt to take one for the team.
And let me tell you, itsodid not hurt.
All right, enough teasing you.
This item began like almost every other, without any planning and with a lot of pressure from my so-called best friend. As soon as we docked in Palm Beach after our last charter of the season, Nina, the rest of the crew, and I found ourselves living it up at our favorite dive bar for a post-season celebration. It was Taco Tuesday, and the pub was packed to the gills with college students and poor souls with regular 9-to-5s meeting up for happy hour.
As luck would have it (or should I say habit?), after a few margaritas Nina and I were a little tipsy and sitting beside a sexy silver fox. Well, he wasn’t quite silver, but I could tell that in another ten years he’d be a real George Clooney.
Let me paint a picture for you: honey eyes. Full lips. Stylishly tousled brown hair with a touch of silver at the temples.
BFF Nina and I agreed he was the perfect specimen for a random kiss. Tall, dark, handsome, and someone I’d never see again, just my type. It was spur of the moment, but was I going to come across a more handsome stranger in the next three months? Probably not.
I turned to him, he told me his name, and I somehow convinced him to let me kiss him after telling him he looked like a tourist. (He didn’t. I would never kiss someone who wore socks with sandals.) Before I could think too much about it, I planted one right on those pillowy lips. The kiss went on alittlelonger than I’d planned, but only because he was very,verygood at it. We had a nice conversation filled with flirty banter. He said I was out of his league, which I verbally agreed with, despite thoughts of wanting to bein leaguewith him, if you catch my drift. He seemed like a nice guy, and I won’t say I didn’t think about kissing him again, but you’ll be disappointed to know my stranger and I parted ways without so much as each other’s phone numbers. Though I won’t deny he’s starred in my dreams ever since...
So there you have it. If you need me, I’ll be hiding from your hate comments.
Just kidding. You know I’ll be busy with the next item on the list. Fortunately, it won’t involve surprising any strange men.
XO, Jo
Four
