Free The Beautiful Ones (Arabesque) by Adrianne Byrd Page A

halfheartedly.
“But it’s such a good story,” Solomon said, dabbing his lips and carefully returning his napkin to his lap.
“Then I want to hear it, too,” Selma said, smiling.
“Sorry, Ophelia.” Solomon shrugged. “That makes three to one.” He glanced at the other two. “Well, it was our high school senior trip to Cancun…”

Te Quiero
     

Chapter 11
     
T he summer of ’88 was perfect, and Cancun was the closest thing to heaven on earth, not just because of the white beaches and the clear blue ocean, but because the drinking age was eighteen.
Solomon, Ophelia, and Marcel checked into their room at the Omni Hotel and quickly prepared to create some great memories.
Marcel’s plan was to simply stroll the beaches, hit the bars, and gather as many tenderonies as he could.
Ophelia had a list of activities—parasailing, deep-sea diving, and bungee jumping.
Solomon was just excited at the chance to finally put his four years of high-school Spanish to good use. Since he was also known for being the responsible one, he made sure he stopped his two best friends long enough to remind them to be careful with their money—to never take too much cash and always know where it is located. There were already rumors of other students losing their wallets.
“Yeah, yeah. We got it,” Marcel said, rolling his eyes. “Man, try to relax. We’re on vacation, remember?” He headed for the door.
“And don’t drink the water,” Solomon shouted toward his buddy’s back.
“You worry too much,” Ophelia said, withdrawing a yellow string bikini from her bag.
Solomon’s brows arched. “You’re not wearing that, are you?”
“After enduring a hundred crunches a day for the past three months, you’re lucky I’m not running through this place butt naked.”
Solomon swallowed a painful lump in his throat at the instant imagery. “The suit is fine.”
“I’m glad you approve.” She winked and rushed to the bathroom.
He waited for her, not sure why. Most likely, she was going to hang out with Tamara and Rachel. However, he never liked those two. He’d heard too many stories in the boy’s locker room at school. The last thing he wanted was to have Ophelia’s name added to the mix.
“So.” He moved closer to the bathroom’s door and crossed his arms. “What are you going to do first?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she shouted back. “I hear a few people are going up to Fat Tuesday’s. Maybe I’ll go there. What about you?”
He shrugged and leaned against the door frame. He could easily catch up with Marcel and hang with the guys…but he didn’t want to do that and be constantly worried about her. “I haven’t decided.”
“Well, you’re more than welcome to hang with me.”
When she opened the door, Solomon’s eyes bulged in surprise. Her body curved in all the right places and caused his most primal instincts to come alive.
“But if you’re coming, you have to promise there won’t be any blocking.”
“What?” He had only caught the last word of her sentence.
“No blocking.” She wrapped a sarong around her waist. “You and Marcel have a habit of chasing off guys who want to talk to me.”
“Guys we know who are only after one thing.”
“On this trip, I might just want one thing, too.” She winked.
Solomon frowned. “What the hell does that mean?”
Ophelia locked her lips and pulled out her favorite pair of sandals.
“That settles it. I’m sticking with you.”
“You’re more than welcome to come,” she said, checking her appearance in the closet mirror. “But I don’t need a babysitter.” Their gazes locked. “Catch my drift?”
He didn’t trust himself to speak as he watched her sashay toward the door, but he followed as if in a trance.
It was one continuous party as the day morphed into night. Between bar hopping and tequila body shots, Solomon discovered it was a full-time job peeling men off his beautiful best friend.
Somehow they’d caught up to Marcel and his legion of