Pink

"I think I'm going to go with the pink one."

"Great choice," Scott said with a smile. "Now, time to jump your bones!"

"Scott!" I protested as he jumped on me, pinning me to the bed. I had just started to slip my dress off and the tackle caused my breasts to spill out the top. He kissed me and I couldn't help but give in.

"OK," he said, pulling away from our kiss. "I'll let you get dressed for your date. What should I wear?"

"Fashion show!" I shouted with joy. Scott rolled his eyes but grabbed a few shirts. One was too loud. Another was too formal. The third had a pattern with different jungle animals which seemed fun but not too much.

"OK," Scott said. "I guess I'll leave you to it then." I walked up to him and pulled him in for one last kiss.

"I love you," I said, momentarily getting lost in his eyes and hoping that he would just stay instead and we would have sex while ignoring Eric's knocking on our door.

"I love you too." With one final kiss he was out the door and I was left alone, waiting for Prince Charming to come knocking on my door. I found myself peeking through the blinds, watching for Eric.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

I opened the door to find Eric standing there, his arm up, his hand in a fist ready to knock.

You've got to be fucking kidding me

He was wearing blue jeans, black boots, and a white, button-down shirt. There were one or two buttons at the top of his shirt that were deliberately left open.

Am I in a dream? Am I currently being hypnotized and **** to live out a fantasy I never even knew I had in order to gain some sort of deeper meaning to something that has happened in my life? Am I on the most insane prank gameshow of all time?

"Hey," Eric greeted me, dropping his fist to his side. A warm smile enveloped his face. "You look... beautiful."

I smiled and gave a twirl.

"I couldn't decide which dress to wear," I said. "This one seemed the most fun."

"I love it. Are you ready? Should we get going?"

"Let's go."

Eric crooked his elbow and I slipped my arm around his, gripping lightly at his strong biceps as we walked to the restaurant.

"Table for two," Eric said. The hostess showed us to our seats. The restaurant was a bit crowded but seemed to be dying down. I hoped Scott and Madeline could get a table. Maybe just not too close to ours...

"Old Fashioned, please," Eric told the waitress. "And..."

"Red wine," I said. "Merlot."

"And can you put in an order for the scallops appetizer, please?" Eric asked. The waitress smiled and headed off to the bar.

"I have to be honest with you," I told Eric. "I don't like scallops."

"That's OK," Eric said. "You'll like these."

I laughed. "I don't know..."

"Trust me. Just try them and, if you don't like them, I don't mind eating them all myself."

A silence fell over us as we scanned the menu. It was the same menu we had looked at a dozen times already throughout the week but we both seemed to use it as an excuse to not make awkward small talk. Eventually our drinks came. Eric raised his glass and I met it with mine.

"To scallops," he said.

I laughed. "To scallops."

"So you own a bar in Manhattan?" I asked. "Is that something you always dreamed of doing?"

"No," Eric answered quickly. I went to law school but, to be honest, I hated every minute of it. I think most lawyers do but they suck it up because... well, it pays. I couldn't do it though. This bar that me and a bunch of my classmates in Law School would go to was going out of business and I offered to buy it. One of the most insane things I've ever done, already being in crazy debt from Law School, but it's worked out so far."

"Wow," I said. "That's crazy you took that leap."

"Yea," Eric said with a laugh. "My parents thought the same thing. Though, they didn't say it quite as nicely."

"What do your parents do?"

"My dad is a CEO of a plastic manufacturing company. My mom is a school teacher."

"Wow, so could you practice law?" I asked.

"I passed the bar, so... sort of?"

"You passed the bar and decided not to be a lawyer?"

"Yup. Passed the bar now I own a bar," Eric said, shaking his head.

"And here are your scallops," the waitress said, sliding next to me. Eric grabbed a fork and stabbed one of the shellfish. He looked at me.

"So...?"

"Ok, I'll try one," I relented. "But if I don't like it, I'm spitting it out into my napkin. And you can't judge me."

"Deal."

I used my fork to slice one in half then picked it up, took a deep breath, and shoved it in my mouth.

"So...?"

"OK," I said, covering my mouth as I spoke. "These are actually really good."

"See! Already worth coming on this date to discover new foods."

I smirked and looked down at the table.

"I'm glad you decided to come," Eric said. "I was a bit worried. I know you said that you possibly wanted to spend time with Scott, and I completely understand that, but I just really wanted to spend time with you. This is nice."

"Yes, it is," I agreed.

"Thanks for coming." He raised his glass.

I gazed into his blue eyes and raised my glass to his. "Well, I haven't cum yet."

____________________

Scott

____________________

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Then waited.

I knocked again.

And waited again.

Was she not in there? I don't remember her saying to meet her anywhere else. Do I have to find her? Did I screw this up already? Was she inside and just decided she didn't want to go through with out part of the date?

Click

The door opened.

And there stood Madeline.

"My God." I didn't mean to say it out loud. "You look..."

I wanted to say "amazing" or "incredible" or "fucking stunning" but the words didn't come.

"I know," Madeline said, looking down at her body. She was wearing a dark blue, shimmering dress that hugged every curve of her perfect hourglass frame. The dress stopped just above her knees, the fabric clinging tightly to her strong, athletic legs. Her short, red hair was pulled back away from her face, accentuating her high cheekbones and full, red lips. Her makeup was applied flawlessly. She didn't look like the woman I'd seen all week at the resort. This was a different Madeline.

"Stop staring, you're making me uncomfortable," she said with a shy smile.

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head and blinking, trying to get the blood through my body and oxygen in my lungs. "You look gorgeous."

"You look pretty good yourself," she said, eyeing me up. "I like that shirt. It looks good on you."

"Thanks," I responded, beaming at the fact that Mandy had helped pick it out.

"So where are we going?"

"I was thinking we eat at the bar," I answered. "Does that sound alright?"

"It sounds perfect."

We made some small talk about the different things we liked about the resort as we made our way past them to the lobby area and, ultimately, to the bar. I couldn't help but peek through the big, glass windows looking into the restaurant. Mandy and Eric were sitting in a booth toward the back, laughing and seemingly having a fun time together.

We sat down next to each other at the bar and ordered drinks.

"So, you guys slept in this morning?" Madeline asked.

"Yea, we had a long night," I replied. "We actually drew each other. And our own room."

"You're kidding me," Madeline said. "You guys rigged that up, huh?"

"I think if we were to rig it up, we probably would have rigged it to get you guys."

Madeline blushed. "We had a late night too..."

"You don't have to go into all the details," I said. "Dora and Manny already told us who you guys drew. But, did you guys have a good night at least? Did it go well?"

"Yes," Madeline answered. "Eric had quite a good time with Dora. I guess you guys are Eskimo Brothers now."

I laughed and nodded. "I guess so."

"And I drew Glenn. I wouldn't say he was at the top of my list but it was nice. I can't say that I have any regrets."

I took a glance toward the bar entrance, then did a double take as I saw Robert and Ariel pass by. Robert looked in, saw me sitting with Madeline, and stopped dead in his tracks. A shit-eating grin spread across his face.

Figures

Ariel looked at us, a surprised expression donning her adorable, freckled face. Robert gave me two thumbs up as Ariel grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. I shook my head and laughed.

"What is it?" Madeline asked. She looked at the door but our friends were already gone.

"Robert," I said. "Just being a goofball as usual."

Dinner was nice. Madeline told me about her work as a fashion designer in Manhattan. She had plenty of stories about all sorts of customers, both good and bad. I could have listened to her all night. The way she described people and situations was effortlessly entertaining.

"Another round?" The bartender asked, pointing at my empty drink. We were both finished with our food but we had been talking for another twenty minutes picking at scraps on our plates. I looked at Madeline. She gulped down the last bit of her wine.

"I think we're good, thanks," I said. "Just the check." The bartender was ready and slipped the check to me. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough and Madeline grabbed it before I could get my hand on it.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm letting you pay," I told her, extending my hand to her.

"You're way too slow," she giggled. "Let's play a game. I did this with Eric on our first date. If you can guess the price of the check to the nearest dollar, you can pay."

"Nearest dollar?" I protested.

"Nearest dollar," Madeline stayed firm.

"With tax?" Madeline nodded. "OK, let's see."

I quickly added up all the items, placing some educated guesses on her wine choices

"One hundred and twenty-two dollars," I said, confidently.

"Not even close," Madeline answered.

"What was it?" I asked, reaching out for the check. Madeline clutched it to her chest.

"Nope," she said. "That's not part of the rules. You didn't guess right so you don't get to see."

"But how will I know you were telling the truth?" I protested.

"Oh, are you calling me a liar?"

"I'm just saying we need some certainty here."

"OK,' Madeline said. She showed the bill to the bartender who nodded in agreement with Madeline.

"Dammit," I conceded. "Fair enough, I suppose." Madeline quickly paid the bill and we both stood up from the bar.

"Where to next?" I asked. "Should I walk you home or...?"

"Why don't we go for a walk on the beach?" she said.

"That sounds like a great a idea. Right this way, Madeline." I placed my hand on her lower back as we began walking toward the exit.

"Call me Maddie."

____________________

MANDY

____________________

"One hundred and... twenty... two dollars!"

"Oh, so close!" Eric said. "One twenty-five."

"Oh, come on! That was close enough," I protested.

"I said, nearest dollar," Eric stood firm.

"OK," I relented. I watched as Eric wrote down his room number on the check and added a tip. We got up from the table and made our way outside to the pool area. It was dark and there was a bit of a chill in the air.

"So, what did you have planned for the rest of the night?" I asked.

"Honestly, I was just hoping to have a nice dinner with you and enjoy your company," Eric said. "After that, I didn't want to get ahead of myself."

He took my hands in his. "This was fun," he said. I was instantly lost in the sparkle of his eyes.

"You really didn't have any plans?" I asked in disbelief. "None at all?"

"Well, I guess I could just walk you back to your room and drop you off for the night..."