I appreciated having a few minutes apart from them. We’d been traveling together all morning, and I needed some breathing room. They were my best friends, but I swear Callie had spent the entire car ride lecturing Willow on career options and my ear buds hadn’t canceled out the conversation. I needed some quiet.
My day-to-day life was loud enough, and with my internship wrapping up I was finally on the downswing of an intense schedule. Not that the magazine industry is ever slow, but I’d worked my ass off for months, and it had paid off.
I had a full-time job starting next week with the city’s Arts & Entertainment magazine. This was my one weekend off before my first grown-up job, and I was going to enjoy it.
Sinking deeper into the cushion, I set my phone aside. There was no reception here, which was exactly what I needed: a weekend off the grid. My chest felt warm from the steamy whiskey, and it felt decadent not to be checking my phone every five minutes.
Looking around the lodge, I thought back to the website for this resort. Willow had insisted we come to this place, Eagle Cove—so when Callie’s boyfriend unexpectedly broke things off with her, and Willow realized she didn’t have any shifts scheduled, we went for it.
Eagle Cove was a bit more rustic than the website had depicted, but I didn’t care. The views were spectacular. Water views peeked out for every cabin and a giant eagle’s nest was nestled high in the trees. We had taken a private ferry to get here, and we were in the middle of nowhere, an evergreen-covered island oasis in the Pacific Northwest. Some of Willow’s friends had been here for a kayaking trip, and she’d been dying to visit for months.
She was mostly interested in the hiking, but for me, the soaking tubs were where I wanted to go. The website had shown pictures of three soaking tubs—all different temperatures—and a dry sauna. I was ready to get to our room, put on my swimsuit, and head over to them. I could already imagine closing my eyes as the steam covered me.
“Wow, Court, you finished your drink already?” Callie’s voice was intense, and it made me wish her long-time boyfriend hadn’t broken up with her right before this getaway. It was only making her come off as more severe.
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” I said, laughing, refusing to let her get to me.
“It’s not even dark out.”
“I didn’t know there were rules about when I could drink.” Callie and I went way back—we had been college roommates—and because of that I usually put up with her bossy attitude.
Sometimes, though, it was just too much. Today I was in no mood to deal with her bitchiness. “You seriously need to chill out, Callie. You didn’t give Willow a break the whole way here. It’s a little exhausting. This weekend is supposed to be fun.”
Callie ran her fingers through her blond hair and nodded. “I’ll try.”
“I know things are hard with the break up and all—”
“No, you don’t, Courtney. You’ve never had a serious relationship. You don’t know what this is like.”
“Okay, harsh much?” I rolled my eyes, which I know is totally obnoxious, but I did not spend five hours in the car to get here just to have her negativity. She was right: I hardly dated, much less had a boyfriend, and although I blamed it on my internship, the truth was I’d never had the guts to put myself out there. “Do you know what’s taking Willow so long?”
“Who knows. I swear she’s trying to drive me nuts by insisting health insurance is for grown-ups. We are grown-ups.” Callie was right, we were grown-ups, but just barely. We had graduated college and were still just trying to figure out our lives. I had my magazine job, and Callie was working at an advertising agency, but Willow was a barista and for some reason that wasn’t good enough for Callie.
“I just don’t think it’s any of your business Callie,” I pushed. “She likes her job, and does the best latte art ever—just give her a break.”
“It’s just that she graduated with honors. She could do anything.”
Not wanting to talk behind Willow’s back I picked up my mug and walked it back to the bar. By the time I came back, Willow was walking towards us, her bohemian skirt fluttering as she moved through the lobby.
“What took you so long?” Callie asked.
“There was the hottest guy in front of me and I couldn’t help flirting.”
“How hot?” I asked. Even though I hadn’t had a boyfriend in ages, I still wouldn’t pass up details on a hottie.
“Like hotter-than-Kyle-at-work hot,” she said, knowing my sweet spot. I’d been crushing on Kyle, a food editor, for months, but never had the guts to talk to him. My friends insisted that I was cute; my problem wasn’t my looks. I was just never in the right situation to make a move.