“Cancun!!!!!” Brink shouts, running down the hall with his bags thrown over his shoulder. I follow with a little less enthusiasm, but at the same time, I feel excitement stirring within me, a feeling I haven’t had in a long time. Every minute closer I get to Cancun, the better I feel this idea is. I seriously need this. I drop my bags in the lobby of our dorm, glancing outside to see if there’s a shuttle out there. While I don’t see one, I hear Brink focusing on something other than the shuttle. “Hello to you, Miss Hot Stuff. Haven’t seen you around campus before.” Brink doesn’t give up. Morning, noon, and night—if there’s a chance at getting a chick in his bed, he’s on it—her too for that matter. “Please tell me you’re heading to Cancun too.” I walk up behind him, seeing a chick with her hand on her hip. Even from behind, I can tell by her stance that she’s not charmed by Brink’s behavior. Of course, he finds this hard to believe and usually tries harder in these situations.
“Is this the Beltmore dorm?” The girl asks in a soft, yet annoyed voice.
“Why yes, it is. Are you by chance looking for room 505?” Yes, Brink, she’s looking for you in your dorm room.
Does this shit actually work on girls? Maybe I should give it a shot. “Yeah, I hear there’s a couple of hot football players who live there looking for a good time,” I add in with laughter. “Our numbers are on the girls’ bathroom stalls if you need more information about us, though.”
Brink turns around with his fist up for me to pound, “Hell yeah, bro!” He punches my fist just as the girl turns to face me.
Oh, holy shit.
“You’re looking for a good time, huh, AJ?”
“Cammy?” I gasp and kind of choke at the same time.
She looks disgusted with me. “I should have figured you’d turn into one of them,” she says.
“You drove all the way up here to see me?” I ask softly. It’s been one year…of course she came to see me. It’s why I wanted to go see her. It’s our daughter’s birthday and we can’t celebrate it with her.
“Whoa, holy shit, is this the Cammy? The one you jack off to every night while you think I’m sleeping?” Brink hoots.
“Oh my God, this was a mistake,” she says.
“No, no, Cam, it wasn’t a mistake. Ignore him. It’s just my roommate.”
“Hey!” Brink shouts, grabbing at his heart. “That hurts, bro.”
“Are you going to Cancun or something?” she asks, while adjusting the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder.
“Uh,” I stall because…what the hell am I supposed to say? “I was planning on it, yeah, but if you’re here—”
“Seriously, bro? I bought your ticket from Chad.” Shit, I forgot about that. Fuck!
“You didn’t mention Cancun,” Cammy mutters, seeming embarrassed.
“You hadn’t had much time to talk this week, and it just came up yesterday.” I did try to make plans to come and see you, I think to myself, but now I know why she shot me down.
“Brink, I’ll give you the cash I have and the rest when you get back. I’ll get it to you somehow, okay?” I can see I’m making everyone uncomfortable right now, but Cammy just drove seven hours to surprise me, and there’s no way I can leave with her here.
“I don’t want to be the reason you don’t go on spring break with your…” she snarls at Brink a little, “adorable roommate.”
“You think I’m cute, huh?” Brink has an obnoxious smirk displayed across his face, and I think I might just be okay skipping the trip after all.
Cammy turns her back to Brink and places her small, soft hands on my face. The sensation of her touch against my skin is like the warmth of the sun after a thousand cloudy days. God, I’ve missed this girl like crazy. I know we aren’t technically still together, but this is exactly why I’ve kept my hope alive—the hope that this moment would exist again.
“I miss you, AJ,” she says, pressing up on her toes and lightly touching her lips to mine. Friends don’t kiss each other. Maybe she changed her mind. The softness of her lips warms me at the touch, and the taste of her lip gloss zings all of the nerves in my mouth. I wrap my arms around her and hold her against me as tightly as I can, not giving a shit about who’s watching this reunion.