Hi everyone!
We’re only a week away from the release of A Night to Forget, which is released next Friday, June 21! I hope everyone is as excited as I am! 🙂
To kick out the countdown to the release of my debut book, I have a PRE-RELEASE GIVEAWAY going for the next 7 days!!! To enter the giveaway, please use this link: A Night to Forget – Pre-release Giveaway!
Oh, and it gets better! Here’s the last teaser for A Night to Forget, which is the unedited draft of Chapter 4 and 5 from the book. Tell me what you think!
xo,
Jess
Teaser #4 – A Night to Forget
Chapter 4
Still reeling over the shock of seeing the man of my dreams earlier today, I spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze. After our encounter with the drunk guy, we headed over to the beach party to meet up with Steph and Jill. It didn’t take long to find them–not with Steph’s height, blonde hair, and hot pink bikini. Plus, her loud personality also helped.
“Emma! Glo!” Jill screamed when she spotted us. She rang up to us and hugged us, her body swaying as she hung onto us. Glo and I laughed because we knew Jill was clearly drunk.
“We’re having so much fun. Oh, guess what? So Steph just got us VIP tickets to Saturday night’s booze cruise!” Jill said with excitement.
“What? How did she manage that?” I laughed, not at all surprised by Steph’s ability to get what she wanted.
“We bumped into the promoter for the booze cruise, and I just convinced him that he’d be very stupid to not give four hot, single college females VIP tickets to his event,” Steph said as she joined the group.
“That’s awesome,” Gloria laughed. “So what does the VIP tickets include?”
“The guy said that the VIP tickets would get us into the VIP pre-party before the booze cruise at Omni hotel, VIP access on the booze cruise, and open bar all night,” Steph said proudly.
“Great job, Steph. Only you can pull that off,” I laughed.
“I know. I’m pretty amazing, huh?” Steph said with confident before we all erupted in giggles.
“Well, let’s have another round of drinks to celebrate,” I said. “Then we’ll need to head back to our hotel and get ready for dinner and—Jill, which club are we going to tonight?” I asked as I turned to Jill.
“Dady’O,” Jill said and let out a hiccup, and then started to giggle uncontrollably.
We all broke out in another fit of laughter as we headed towards the bar.
***
I was still distracted at dinner by the memory of my earth-shattering encounter with the man from my dreams hours before. Could I have dreamt seeing him? I was dozing off.
“Emma? Is everything okay?” Jill asked, looking at me concern.
“Yes, of course. Why do you ask?” I realized my response was a little too high-pitched and cheerful.
“Well … you’ve been holding that steak fajita in your hands for a while now and you haven’t taken a bite from it,” Jill said as she eyed the steak fajita in my hands and back at me, “and you’ve been a little quiet.”
“Sorry guys, I was just distracted because—” I paused and wasn’t sure how to respond. I still haven’t told the girls about these dreams because he felt like a secret—a secret I’ve kept from them for months. I was also embarrassed to admit that I was having vivid sex dreams about someone other than Mike, who up until a few days ago, was my long-term boyfriend. And I wasn’t sure how to tell them that I saw this same man from my dreams in the flesh today, in Cancun, on the beach right in front of our beach resort. Even I thought that sounded incredibly crazy, and I saw him myself.
I realized the girls were looking at me expectantly. I made a decision. I took in a deep breath and began telling them in detail about my dreams—about this gorgeous man with dimples, and about how much I’ve thought about him in my waking hours since he first appeared in my dreams.
“Damn, he sounds hot,” Steph said. “While I’m having nightmares about failing out of law school, you’re having wet dreams about a Greek god. You bitch,” she teased, and we all laughed.
“He does sound amazing,” Jill said dreamily and sighed. “Don’t you wish dreams can be real sometimes?”
“Actually—” I started. The girls immediately all turned to me.
“I saw him today—”
“What?” the girls said in unison.
“How is that possible?” Gloria asked.
I recounted to them what had happened on the beach as they all stared at me in disbelief.
“Well, that shit’s crazy,” Steph said as she fell back into her chair. “Your dream man literally comes true. You know what you need to do, right?”
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“You have to find him and sleep with him, silly,” Steph said.
“That’s definitely a sign from the universe,” Gloria agreed.
“Oh, that’s so exciting, Emma. To meet him in Cancun of all places!” Jill shrieked with excitement.
I laughed. “Come on, guys. I’m not even sure if what I saw was real. What if I was drifting off and it was all just a dream? I was also drinking too. Besides, even if he was real, how am I supposed to find him here in Cancun? This place is crawling with people,” I said as I gestured around.
I knew I was right. We were having dinner at an outdoor patio facing the strip and from where we sat, we could see an ocean of people walking in all direction—majority of them looked like they were on their college spring break.
“Well, if it’s meant to be, you’ll see him again,” Jill assured me. She was the eternal optimist in our group.
“And if you do, don’t forget to sleep with him,” Steph chimed in with a wink, which caused us all to laugh again.
***
By the time we arrived at Dady’O, the girls and I already had two rounds of tequila shots as “dessert” after dinner. If we drank like this back at home, we’d probably be forced to go to one of those rehab facilities for alcoholics, I thought to myself in amusement. Luckily, what happens in Cancun, stays in Cancun.
Dady’O was a cavernous nightclub with a two-story tall open floor plan. From the center of the ceiling, beams of laser lights of blue, green, pink, and yellow rapidly flashed and moved throughout the dance floor. As we walked through the nightclub, the rotating dance floors were blasting with a mix of 80s, 90s, and current dance and hip-hop music and we had to push through a sea of hot, sweaty, and drunk bodies to get to one of the bars.
When we got to the bar, Jill ordered us a round of Blowjobs, one of her favorite shots. We then ordered some drinks to take with us. I ordered a tequila sunrise.
As we headed to the dance floor that was playing 80s pop music, a guy our age with a medium build was walking toward our direction. He was average looking and appeared to have a beer belly developing in his mid-section. He was fair-skinned and looked completely sunburned at the moment. He must have been one of those people who, instead of getting tanned, immediately turned from pale to red with any exposure to the sun. What made him stand out was his oversized white t-shirt with a picture of a tanned, six-pack muscular chest on it. As he passed us, he raised his hands up and said, “Hey beautiful ladies, high five if you’re having a fun time! Woooo! Cancun!” He was obviously drunk, and in our own giddy drunken state, we all giggled and slapped his hand as he passed us.
“Emma, you sure Mr. Muscle Shirt Man there wasn’t the man of your dreams? I mean look at those pecks!” Steph joked when the guy was out of earshot. We all broke out in laughter.
“Well, Mr. Muscle Shirt Man sure did look a lot like him, but my dream guy has dimples,” I joked back and pretended to sigh in disappointment.
“Poor guy,” Jill said between giggles. “He’s actually not bad looking, but he needs to use sunscreen because he looks like a lobster—”
“No, what he really needs is a real shirt,” Gloria said.
“Well, what happens in Cancun, stays in Cancun!” I laughed.
“And let’s hope that shirt is one of those things,” Steph added.
When we got on the dance floor, it was jammed packed with hot young bodies. I felt the vibrations from the base in the music pulse through my body, smelled the hints of salt and sweat in the air, and saw the flashes of bright laser lights dancing throughout the dance floor. We quickly got lost in the trance of the music and the intoxication of our drinks, and for the rest of the night, we laughed and danced with reckless abandonment.
Chapter 5
“Today was so much fun,” Gloria exclaimed as she was putting on her makeup.
We all agreed in unison as we were all getting ready for our last night out in Cancun.
“I know you guys don’t always love the extreme sports like I do, but I’m glad Jill had it on the itinerary for me,” Gloria said with a smile. She was right. In our group, Gloria was the outdoors, extreme sports, and adrenaline junkie.
“I still can’t believe you guys convinced me to do that,” I said, thinking back to how crazy the day was.
“You only live once,” Jill said in a giggle.
“I’m glad you didn’t say that right before we zip-lined through the treetops of the jungle,” Steph teased sarcastically, and we laughed.
I agreed. I’m glad I wasn’t reminded of my mortality earlier today. We had gone on an extreme zip-line canopy tour of the Cancun jungle. It was the largest zip-line course in North America, and involved 12 zip-lines that were about two miles long. It was an exhilarating, but terrifying experience zipping from tree to tree.
“I can’t believe you zip-lined upside down for parts of it,” I said, looking at Gloria.
She laughed, “They said it was safe, and it was so worth it! You guys really should have tried it.”
“No way,” Jill said. “The bungee swinging and jumping into the cenote was amazing though.”
“Yeah, the cenote was gorgeous,” I agreed. The cenote was an underground open water pool partially enclosed in a cavern. The water there was clear and a hue of deep blue and turquoise. It was a breathtaking place.
I looked in the mirror as I finished my makeup. I was wearing a short Kelly green form-fitting dress, gold glittery strappy, sandal heels, and a coral gemstone necklace. My long blonde hair was in a large, messy fishtail braid down the left side of my shoulders. A number of loose wavy strands feel around the braid.
“Wow Emma, you look great. That dress really brings out your emerald eyes,” Jill said, as she was zipping up her turquoise strapless dress.
“Aww, thanks. And thanks for doing my hair. It looks amazing. You really have a knack for it,” I said as I look at myself in the mirror one final time.
We were going on the booze cruise tonight, and thanks to Steph, we were going to the VIP pre-party at the Omni hotel before the cruise.
“We should get going,” Steph said as she put on her heels. “It’s going to be our last wild night in Cancun, and we need to get the party started.” We all giggled and we headed out the door.
***
The Omni hotel was one of luxury five-star resort a few hotels away from us on the beach. We walked through the grand expanse of the lobby and to the doors that lead to the pools and beach. The VIP party was in a sectioned-off area of the pool area near the pool bar. Steph gave her name to the bouncer at the entrance of the VIP area, and within less a minute, we were on the other side of the velvet ropes. I looked around and I’m not sure I have ever felt so exclusive in my life.
There were about 20 other people laughing and talking at this VIP party. They all looked young, hot, and glamorous. If I had to guess, I’d say that some of them were a few years older than college students. There were about half a dozen hot shirtless waiters walking around with platters of fancy hors d’oeuvres or champagne.
“This place is amazing,” Jill whispered to us.
“Yeah, everyone here looks gorgeous,” Steph said, with excitement in her eyes.
I laughed, “Steph’s out on the prowl tonight.”
“You mean, we are on the prowl tonight,” she corrected. “Girls, it’s our last night in Cancun, and I’m going to make sure we have an amazing time tonight.” She motioned for a waiter, who came over immediately with a bottle of champagne and empty flutes.
“Ladies, would you care for some Dom Pérignon?” he asked.
We each happily took a glass before walking around. The champagne was delicious, and before I knew it, I was on my second glass. But I couldn’t resist. The bubbles from the champagne was making me giddy, which made me want to drink more.
I noticed the other girls were also equally giddy. Steph was chatting to the promoter who gave us the tickets. Gloria was talking to the bartender, a handsome man who looked to be in his early 30s. Jill was giggling and talking to a hot couple.
Before long, my head was slightly spinning and I decided to sit down for a minute. I’m not sure how many glasses of champagne I had consumed, but at the moment, I didn’t care. I was relaxed and I sighed deeply. The cool ocean breeze felt nice against my warm face. My thoughts gravitated towards him again. The man of my dreams. I felt a pang of disappointment shot through the hazy fog of my drunken stupor. Did I really see him that day on the beach? If so, how come I haven’t seen him since then?
I felt a warm tear roll down my cheeks and realized that I was crying. Emma, get it together! He’s probably not even real, and it was all just another silly dream. More tears were falling now.
“Emma?”
I looked up confused. It was Jill, and a flash of concern crossed her face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“No,” I said as I quickly wiped the tears from my face. “I think I’ve had just a little too much champagne.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Really I am. Don’t worry,” I said.
“Okay. Well, the boat is here and it’s leaving in 30 minutes, so we need to get on board soon. Are you ready?”
“Well, I should go to the restroom and fix my makeup,” I said.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Jill asked.
“No, you guys go ahead. I can meet you on the boat. See, I have my ticket right here,” I said as I pulled out my booze cruise tickets from my purse.
Jill looked at me unconvinced.
“Really, don’t worry. I’ll just be a few minutes behind you guys,” I said. I got up and gave her a hug before I head back inside the hotel to look for the restroom. “I’ll see you soon.”
***
“Shit!” I said in disbelief as I watched the cruise ship moving further away from the beach several hundred yards away.
It had taken me awhile to follow the directions to the restroom, and once I found it, I seemed to have lost track of time, because by the time I got out to the shore, the cruise ship had already left.
“I’m sorry, senorita,” the man at the dock said. “The booze cruise was scheduled to leave at 7 p.m. and it’s already 7:20 p.m.,” he said as he pointed at his watch.
My shoulders hunched in disappointment, and I was at a loss for words. How did this happen? This is not how imagined my last night in Cancun. Okay, so maybe I secretly imagined spending my last night in Cancun with him, but I was expecting to have a great time with my best friends. And neither was going to happen. What a mess.
“Senorita?” the man from the dock spoke up again.
I looked up at him, the feeling of disappointment was palpable in the air that surrounded me.
“I spoke with the cruise ship captain. He said that your friends wanted to see that you’re okay. Would you like to talk to them briefly?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” I said weakly.
He handed me his portable communication device, which was already crackling with sound.
“Ohmygod, Emma?” a voice through the other side.
“Steph?”
“Emma, are you okay? We thought you got on the ship, but couldn’t find you when we got on the ship. What happened?” Steph asked with concern.
“I don’t know. I got lost finding the restroom and then lost track of time, and by the time I got to the dock, the ship had already left,” I said, disappointment flooded through my body a second time.
“That’s horrible! Is there anything we can do? Can they bring you out to the boat with a jet ski or something? There must be something they can do,” Steph said, an air of defiance in her voice.
“No, I don’t think so,” I said and tried to keep my voice light and upbeat. “It’s really okay. This was my fault. Please don’t worry and have fun tonight! I’ll just have some drinks at the Omni, walk around the beach, and talk to some people,” I continued, trying to sound convincing.
There was a pause on the other line.
“Steph, trust me, I’ll be fine here. Please have some extra fun for me, okay? And tell Jill and Gloria to not worry and to have fun.”
“Emma, they must be able to—”
“Really, have fun tonight. Hey I gotta run, love you,” I interrupted quickly and then clicked the device off. If I stayed on the phone any longer, I knew I would not be able to hold back my tears.
I handed the phone over to the man at the dock and thanked him.
I then returned to the outdoor bar at the Omni, and ordered two shots of tequila. When the waiter brought the shots, I immediately downed one and grimaced as the alcohol burned on its way down.
I let out a deep sigh. I was devastated and never felt my spirits so low.
ARGH! Where is he? The second the thought popped into my head, I knew that my disappointment had nothing to do with missing the booze cruise tonight—I was heartbroken over him.
For the last couple of months, he had consumed my dreams, my thoughts, and my life.
Then I saw him a few days ago on the beach, and the minute I realized that he was actually real and he was right here in Cancun, I thought that this must have been a sign. A sign that maybe there was something to my dreams, that maybe he was the one that I’ve been waiting for.
It was serendipitous, I had told myself. It was fate. And over the last few days, these thoughts became more pronounce as he became more of a reality in my mind—in my heart. In fact, I have caught myself daydreaming about our future together. Our future? I shook my head, and downed the second tequila shot.
By this point, I couldn’t even register the taste. What was I thinking? I was 22, not some lovesick teenager. How can I possibly think that fairy tales can come true? Think about what happened to you that night years ago. Think about what happened to your mom. Don’t be silly and think a happily-ever-after can happen to you.
I sighed deeply as I buried my face in my hands. I felt dizzy and my head was pounding in pain. But that was nothing compared to dull ache that was spreading like molten lava from the center of my chest.
Just as I was about to order another shot, a voice interrupted my thoughts from behind me.
“Hi, excuse me?” a deep, smooth voice said. Something about that voice pulled me out of my misery.
I turned around to see who it was, and I gasped. Everything around me froze and the world stopped spinning around me.
I was looking straight into his warm, brown eyes.
It was him.
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