Come Fly With Me

Sparkle, Faith, Liberty, Lily, Valentina, Karen, and Elle were soaking in the hot tub of the hotel EveRy was putting up the out-of-town trainees. Each girl had an adult beverage in one hand and a stack of index cards in the other.

“It’s only been five days and I feel like my brain is about to ooze out of my ear,” Liberty said.

“I lost the feeling in the right side of my brain this morning,” Faith said absentmindedly. “It was a strange sensation, at first, but I think I’m getting used to it.”

Sparkle frowned. “Don’t you think that’s something you should have checked out?”

Valentina patted Faith’s arm. “No worries. The southern accents of the instructors gave me this feeling on the second day and I’m still fine.”

The girls laughed. Sparkle polished off her margarita and stood from her spot on the underwater ledge. “Who needs a refill?”

“No refill until we finish this round of questions, remember?” Karen said, shaking her finger.

Liberty rolled her eyes. “You’re talking to the girl who has gotten a one hundred on every single quiz.”

“She’s also the one who always finishes first,” Lily chimed in.

“Come on guys,” Sparkle said. “I do not always finish first. And I’m not the only one who gets one hundreds…”

“No, but you’re the only one who’s gotten one hundred on every single quiz.”

Lily leaned toward Sparkle conspiratorially. “Which one is it? Joe or Royce? Who are you humping those A’s out of?”

Karen gasped. “Joe is totally gay.”

Lily smirked and leaned back. “Never stopped me from trying.”

Sparkle barked out a laugh. “You girls are delusional and drunk. Besides, I have a boyfriend.”

“That’s never stopped me before either,” Lily said with a laugh.

They all laughed again and Faith gave her a high five.

“Ok, ask me one more question before I get us another pitcher,” Sparkle said.

Faith looked at her note cards. “What’s the compression to breaths ratio when performing CPR?”

“Fifteen to two.” Sparkle stepped out of the hot tub with a chuckle. “Try giving me a hard one next time, Faith.”

The girls erupted in conversation as Sparkle wrapped her towel around her waist and padded over to the outside bar set up on the other side of the pool. The ladies were the only ones out at that time of night and were on a first name basis with all the bartenders by now.

Morris was working that night. He was secretly their favorite because he was heavy handed with the liquor and had a smile that could make a girl swoon, not to mention the white uniform polo shirt he wore seemed to be no match for the muscles bulging beneath it.

“What can I get you ladies?” he asked kindly.

“I think we’ll do another pitcher of margaritas, Morris, thank you.”

“Coming right up.” Morris went about mixing their pitcher. “So are you ladies working hard over there or hardly working?”

Sparkle laughed and patted the side of her head to settle an itch without disrupting her bun. “A solid back and forth, I think. We’re not too loud are we?”

Morris chuckled. “Not at all. I would be bored senseless if it wasn’t for you all providing the entertainment.”

“Then I’m sad to say this will be our last pitcher of the evening.”

He set the pitcher on the bar and sprinkled some salt in it. “In that case, this one will be on me.” Sparkle’s eyebrows arched and she was speechless for a second. Morris smiled and added, “Be sure that Faith knows what a generous man I am, could you?”

“Ohh… Ok, I got you.” Sparkle winked deliberately and giggled as she walked the pitcher carefully over to the hot tub. She set it down near the edge and Elle refilled her cup as she eased back into the scalding water.

“Someone has stolen our sweet Morris’ heart,” Sparkle said in a singsong voice.

“Who? Who?” Lily asked.

Sparkle let the anticipation mount as she made a show of getting comfortable and skimming through her laminated note cards.

“I’m going to kill you if you don’t say who!” Liberty exclaimed.

The girls reiterated Liberty’s sentiments and Sparkle laughed. “Ok, ok. Faith. He likes Faith. He gave me this pitcher for free cause he wanted Faith to know what a generous man he is.”

The girls cooed and aww-ed and Faith’s brown skin took on a tint of red. She tried to hide her face in her hands but the damage was done. Studying was abandoned for talks about what Faith and Morris would name their children and if they would stay in Atlanta or move to Savannah to live near the beach because, according to Karen, kids just love beaches.

By the time they reached the bottom of the latest pitcher, all the women were sufficiently sauced. Luckily for Valentina, Liberty, Karen, Lily, and Elle, they only had an elevator ride to get to their rooms.

“I’ll request a Lyft for us to share,” Faith said, her eyes half-lidded.

Sparkle smiled thankfully and put her arm around her shoulders. “Thanks, doll. I can ask Hassan to drop us off in the morning so we don’t have to Lyft back too.”

“Really? That’d be great Sparkle! Thanks so much!” They stood outside, leaning against each other, waiting for the Lyft car to pull up. The driver dropped Faith off first and Sparkle called Trisha to ramble drunkenly to her until the driver dropped her safely at her house. Keeping her wet swimsuit on underneath her slacks and blouse probably hadn’t been the best idea and Sparkle was glad to finally be rid of them once she got to her room. After her shower and nightly routine, Sparkle climbed into bed and sighed heavily.

As if he had felt her vibes in the atmosphere, a call came in on Sparkle’s cell phone from Hassan.

“Hey, babe,” she said quietly. “I was just about to call you for a favor.”

“Oh yeah? Well, your wish is my command.”

“I just need you to take me and a classmate to the training center tomorrow. We may or may not have had a few drinks after class today and had to take a Lyft home.”

Hassan laughed. “Drunk and back home by nine o’ clock, that’s adorable.”

“You’d do the same thing if you had to cut off your drinking ten hours before reporting for work.”

“No hating, Sparky. Do what you gotta do.” Hassan stifled a laugh. “What time do you need me to pick you up?”

“Faith only lives ten minutes from the center… that’s twenty minutes from me… factor in a ten minute grace period in case she’s running late… plus an extra ten minutes for coffee…”

“I’ll be there at eight.”

Sparkle smiled. “Thank you. It’s not a terrible inconvenience is it? What time is your first session?”

“I’ve got two one-on-one training sessions starting at five but I don’t have to be back at the gym until noon.”

“I can't believe you still schedule sessions before the sun is up."

Hassan chuckled. "They're VIP clients that I've been with for years now. I'd have to give them the moon and stars if they asked."

"Then what would be left for me?" Sparkle asked with a pout.

"All the kisses in the world." That caused Sparkle to erupt in an uncontrollable fit of giggles and Hassan waited for her to get a hold of herself. "I think it's time for the silly girl to go to sleep."

"Fine." She'd had her eyes closed the entire conversation anyway. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright babe. Good night."

Sparkle set her alarm and put her phone on the charger before passing out.