La Estrategia de la Seducción.

Rosy lips, bright eyes, and a flower in her hair. She batted her eyelashes and spoke softly about parallel universes.

I had one week.

One week to soak up as much sun as possible, to enjoy being in paradise, to not have to make my bed or cook dinner or wash dishes but mostly, to pretend that my life up north didn't exist. I was on temporary stasis.

I was with a friend of mine, recently divorced and ardent to move ahead. I had told her that this country was home to many beautiful people, and she noticed quite quickly enough too. Before long, I became accustomed to a phrase that I heard at least twice per hour.

Check him out!

Yup. Was my automatic response.

I had been jumping from one relationship to another for the past several years and this was my year to be alone. I had not been involved in anything serious for the past sixteen months, and I was enjoying being by myself. For the first time in my adult life, I could actually go on dates and not see nor imagine where the relationship was going. I wanted none of it. I told them from the get-go. It was liberating! I was working out regularly, I ate healthy food; it was all about self-improvement for me.

My friend, we'll call her Shelby, was on the prowl while I sat back with earbuds tucked in, ipod playing my customized playlist of fun, carefree, whimsical, summer pop songs. The wind blew in the palms, making the branches swing from side to side, crowds of people walked by, exotic birds fluttered past me, all to the rhythm of my music. I saw Shelby's lips move. I took out one earbud.

What?

Check him out!

Yup.


More after the jump...

 

By now, by day two, we had noticed that the animation team was furiously networking with the female guests, and by networking I mean, sneaking into their bedrooms at night. We were in the lobby bar after a pleasant day of sunbathing, where our skin started to show hints of pink, and we anticipated the time when it would turn into a rich bronze colour. We had explored the majestic and carefully groomed hotel grounds, even if, periodically, we came across a non-functional fountain with chipped paint or depressed, pale pink flamingos with clipped wings; prisoners of Cayo Coco, surviving on scraps of pizza that the guests would toss at them.

Isabela and Mariela, the hotel flamingos, talked to each other about something mysterious their ancestors had told them about, called "brine shrimp".

 Shelby was on her third Margarita, and even though I reminded her that we weren't in Mexico, it continued to be her beverage of choice. The waiters seemed offended as the word "Why?" would perpetually follow her Margarita request. "We are in Cooba, not Mexico!"


I felt wonderful. Sun kissed skin, the scent of my coconut lotion still lingering on my skin, wearing a brand new dress I had found for a good price at Winners; I felt beautiful. Shelby and I reminisced about being seventeen and how crazy we had been at times, every weekend dancing the night away in the hottest nightclub. Smoking cigarettes while waiting in line to appear older and hopefully not get carded. This felt almost exactly like this.


Check him out!


Yup.



We posed for pictures next to the hotel statues, or under a large palm. This will be my new Facebook profile pic!

We talked about events that had come to pass; stories about crazy exes or jobs we had over the years. By drink número cuatro, our conversation had become a bit more emotional as we started to declare our never ending commitment to being sisters from a different mother, and how sorry we were for all the bullshit that had occurred. Shut up! You're going to make me cry! we would repeat.

Check him out!


My mouth was on the verge of releasing my auto-play response but I got stuck on:


Y...yuh....

Bright, twinkling, chocolate brown eyes locked with mine. His nicely sculpted square jaw, heart shaped lips, made time literally stop. All was silent. It froze. I could no longer hear the buzz of voices speaking over each other, the salsa music being played by the musicians nearby, it was an eerie silence. I was floating away and riding shiny rainbows on my glittery unicorn, while rose petals rained down on me. He smiled and two perfect dimples appeared, one on each cheek. 


At that very second, I knew beyond a reasonable doubt that there was NO escape.

.