A Night to Forget Read online

  A Night to Forget

  What Happens in Cancun Doesn’t Always Stay in Cancun

  Jessica Wood

  Acknowledgements

  This book has, in many ways, been a sheer labor of love and a leap of faith for me, and there are a number of people that deserve my undying gratitude.

  Thanks to J. S. Cooper for all your advice, the countless hours of help, and for introducing your fans to me. Without your constant encouragement, my stubbornness and skepticism of this brave new world of self-publishing would have caused me to give up on this book at its infancy. I’m glad that I didn’t.

  Thanks to the following people who volunteered as guinea pigs and read this book as I wrote it, and supplied me with advice, support, encouragement, and praise: Amey Johnson, Angie Durnin, Carrie Sutton, Diane Robson, Gi, Gillian Hedges, Gloria Herrera, Jaimie, Kathy Shreve, Madelyn Medina-Nunez, Marci Flores, Maria D, Marianne Smallwood, Sara Schiller, Sweetdee, Taina C, Tanya Skaggs, and Tiffany Tillman.

  Thanks also goes out to another new author. He may only know me as the unnamed person who had painstakingly edited his debut book, but to me, he is the person who pushed me to take that final step into writing.

  And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my family who have been more supportive, patient, and encouraging than I could have ever expected. Your belief in me has been my lifeline in more ways than one.

  Contents

  Acknowledgement

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Prologue

  “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” – Aristotle

  His hand intertwined mine, and I felt the electric connection pulse between us, fueling the raw desire that intensified inside me. One look into his warm, seductive eyes, and I knew that he felt the same need course through him.

  We were walking on a beautiful, white sand beach, and beyond the water’s horizon, stood a gorgeous sunset that colored the sky with hues of warm crimson and orange. He led me to a secluded part of the beach that curved inward into a cove. When we got to the entrance, I gasped. Hundreds of tiny candles lit up the small inlet, covering every inch of this section of the beach. The reflection from the sea of flickering flames danced on the water. The hypnotic sounds of the waves crashed against the nearby rocks. From where we stood, a small path was created by the candles that led to the center of the cove. There, a large, lush blanket was laid out with a bottle of champagne sitting in ice and a platter of exotic berries.

  He turned towards me, and I was transfixed by him the instant our eyes locked to one another. He was beyond handsome, with a chiseled jaw line and defined facial features. His deep, gorgeous dimples—which softened the features of his face—were incredibly sexy. The breeze blew gently through his naturally-tousled, dark brown locks, and I resisted an urge to comb my fingers through them. The afternoon stubble on his face made him effortlessly hot. His tan, broad shoulders and strong muscular arms flexed against the white linen shirt that moved with the light breeze.

  “Do you like it, Emma?” he said, his voice was deep with emotion as he motioned towards the blanket. “I wanted it to be perfect for you. For us.”

  Forcing my gaze away from him, I looked again in awe at the dazzling display before us. “It’s more than perfect,” I said breathlessly. “This is amazing. This must be the most romantic and breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  His full lips curved into a brilliant smile, and those deep-set dimples made my knees weak. He pulled me closer to him as we walked towards the blanket that floated in a sea of candlelight. His embrace was warm and comforting, and his intoxicating smell made me dizzy with anticipation.

  As we sat onto the soft, smooth blanket, he poured the champagne into two crystal flutes. I took a glass from him, and he said, “To us. To the first day you came into my life. To the moment you took a chance on us. To every day I’ve been able to spend with you. And to the rest of our lives together.” We touched our glasses together in a light ping and we drank deeply, our eyes never leaving one another.

  “I cannot imagine loving anyone else the way I love you,” he said as he pulled me closer and sweetly kissed me on the forehead. I sighed with complete abandonment. I looked up at him and into those warm brown eyes, and I felt my body melt in delight.

  As if sensing my desperate wanting, he leaned down and kissed me deeply. His full lips were soft, warm, and delicious as they enveloped mine, and as I eagerly kissed him back, I could still taste the remnants of champagne on his lips, which were even more amazing from his lips than from my glass. I could feel my heart pounding harder as our kisses grew deeper.

  For a second, he gently pulled away from me, leaving me yearning for more. He picked up a strawberry and looked at me longingly as he slowly took a bite before sensually feeding me the rest with his fingers. As I took it into my mouth, I playfully sucked on his fingers—the roughness of his skin against my tongue sent a shiver through my body. As his index finger slowly left my slightly-closed lips, he let out a deep, primal groan of desire.

  We locked eyes again, and suddenly, our lips met again, and this time, with more urgency in our movements and more need in our responses. He pulled me towards him and I straddled him. Our legs were intertwined into each other as our lips continued to discover one another’s without missing a beat. I slowly unbuttoned and removed his shirt, and inhaled sharply as I took him all in—his smooth sun-kissed muscular chest, his defined six-pack abs, his broad strong shoulders, and his lower ab muscles that led to his erection. I shifted my body on top of him and felt a growing need in the pit of my stomach as I felt the push of his erection through his khakis and through my lace panties.

  I felt his hands moving all over my body—rough, strong, and desperate—down my back, down my legs, up the inside of my dress, and down my panties, where he grabbed my butt cheeks and pulled me up against him. I gasped as I felt his hardness pressed up against me.

  His lips left mine as they roamed the hot spots around the nape of my neck, and then my ears, and down towards my breasts—his tongue always working in unison with his lips. With a swift movement of his hands, he pulled my dress over my body and quickly unhooked my bra. The urgency in his movements caused my body to grow hot with need. He grabbed my breasts and kissed them, one at a time; softly at first, but with growing roughness and urgency. I gasped with pleasure as my body naturally responded to his touch—his soft, wet tongue, his stubble, his rough hands—sent electric, hot shockwaves through my body, causing a growing throb at the pit of my stomach.

  “My God, Emma. You’re so hot. I need you so badly right now,” he said, his voice ragged with lust. “Do you know how much you light my body on fire?” He grabbed my hand and said, “Every inch of my body needs and craves every inch of you.” He guided my hand down onto his khaki pants where his erection was desperately pushing through.

  The instant my hands felt the hardness, I could not resist any longer. I unzipped his pants and inhaled sharply as my hand found him—hard, smooth, and ready. His head jerked violently back as I ran my hands down the length of his erection. “Oh God, Emma, you feel unbelievable,” his voice coming out more and more strained and shaky. “I don’t think I can take it any longer,” he stammered out.

  He then moved up
slightly and laid me down on my back. He quickly stood up and removed the rest of his clothes. I looked up at him and his gorgeous, muscular body. My eyes immediately locked on to his long, hard erection, and the need inside me was ready to explode in anticipation. Within seconds, his warm, strong body was crushed on top of mine. He licked my ears and his tongue caused waves of pleasure to shoot through my body. As he moved slowly and rhythmically on top of me, I could feel his erection through my panties and a flush of warmth spread through me as every part of my body came alive. I struggled as I pushed my panties down my leg and off of me. “Please,” I said with insatiable need, “I can’t take it any longer. I need you inside me.” I squirmed beneath his crushing weight, desperately arching my body up towards him.

  Finally, I felt the tip of his erection push against my opening. I let out a deep moan, anticipating the pleasure that would soon greet me—

  BEEP BEEP BEEEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEEEP!

  As I opened my eyes, I clumsily found my alarm clock. I was lying on my bed. In my bedroom.

  Realization slowly crept its way into my consciousness. It was all a dream. All just a dream. A dream.

  Yet it felt so real, and I could not remember the last time I had such a vivid dream. I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of loss as I tried desperately to go back to sleep, to go back to him—that deliciously hot man in my dreams. My body still tingled from the memory of his touch, still intoxicated by the memory of his smell, and still yearned for his body to join mine.

  Chapter 1

  “Emma, did you book your flight yet?” Jill asked, as she popped her head into the kitchen, with excitement in her voice and a gleam in her eyes. “I booked mine this morning!”

  “Not yet. I’ll buy my tickets later tonight. Promise.” I looked over at her with a reassuring smile and knew she was anxious for me to finalize my flight before prices went up even more.

  “Okay, and I’ll make sure Steph and Gloria get their tickets soon too,” Jill said. “We only have a month left to plan this trip, and there’s still so much to plan out!”

  I laughed. “Jill, don’t stress out about it, we still have a whole month left before spring break. I’m sure we’ll have a blast together regardless of what we do. Besides, with you as our event planner, I have no doubt that it’ll be the best spring break ever,” I said.

  Jill was the planner and meticulous one in our group of four. She had lists for everything and loved to organize events and trips. This was great for the rest of us. Without Jill planning our senior year spring break trip to Cancun, we’d just show up and try to figure out what to do when we got there, which probably wasn’t the best idea considering that Cancun was supposed to be the spring break hotspot for college students.

  “Thanks, Emma. Sorry if I’m being anal about this,” she said. “But this will be our last big hurrah before we graduate, and I really want it to be unforgettable. I don’t want us to forget each other when we all graduate and go our separate ways and—”

  “Jill, don’t think like that,” I said, interrupting her. “I know we’re all moving away from L.A., but that’s not going to change the fact that we’re all best friends. We’re only a phone call and plane ride away. Trust me,” I reassured her.

  “Yeah, you’re right, Emma. Gosh, I’m really going to miss you when you move away.” Jill sighed. “Who’s going to keep me fed when you move out?” she teased.

  “So what you meant was, you’re really going to miss having your own personal chef,” I shot back with a laugh.

  “Well, that too,” she giggled, “but seriously, it’s going to feel weird without you here in L.A.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I agreed. Out of our group of four, Jill was my very best friend, and the closest thing I had to a sister. We had been roommates since the beginning of sophomore year, and for the past three years, we’ve lived in this small—but perfect—two bedroom apartment in Brentwood, just a few minutes west of the UCLA campus where we went to college.

  Jill and I met during Welcome Week freshman year. She was one of those effortlessly trendy people that seem to always have it together. She also possessed this natural charm that people seemed to gravitate towards. Plus, she was a hapa—half Asian, half white—and gorgeous; every guy at UCLA seemed to drool all over her when she walked by. And the infuriating part was, she was clueless to the lure she had on people. From the moment I saw her, I wanted to hate her.

  But when I actually spoke to her for the first time, I instantly loved her. She was genuine, bubbly, and thoughtful, which made it difficult for anyone to resent her for very long. We’ve been best friends and inseparable ever since then.

  It was going to be weird not seeing her on a regular basis after graduation. Out the four of us, Jill was the only one that was staying in L.A. after graduation. She was going to be an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Our friend Steph was attending law school in the fall at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and Gloria was moving to Paris after graduation to be an assistant art curator for a prominent art gallery there. And as for me, I was moving to San Francisco right after graduation. I was going to be a marketing associate at Fisher & Morrison Consulting, one of the top consulting firms in the country. I was beyond excited for this great opportunity, and of course, incredibly freaked out at the same time. I knew that I’d worked hard in school and deserved this job, but part of me felt inadequate—what if there had been a mix-up and they had never intended to hire me?

  “So, what are you making today,” Jill asked with delight, changing the subject and pulling me out of my thoughts. She loved it when I decided to bake.

  “I’m just finishing up these chocolate brownies for the Student Body Bake Sale tomorrow,” I said as I quickly put on the oven mitts and pulled a fourth batch out of the oven. Two more batches to go, and then there should be more than enough for the bake sale, I thought.

  “Oooh, can I have one, Emma?” Before I could say yes, Jill reached for a cooled brownie. I laughed at her excitement.

  “These are amazing!” she exclaimed. “I’m sure Mike will appreciate all your help with his Student Body stuff. He may be the big, hotshot president of UCLA’s Student Body, but he’s nothing without you and your help. You’re the best girlfriend a guy can have.”

  “Right, thanks,” I said, feeling a tinge of guilt wash through me.

  To be the best girlfriend, you shouldn’t be having sex dreams about a man that’s not your boyfriend. And you probably shouldn’t wish that mystery man was real and doing unspeakable things to your body. And you certainly shouldn’t have those desires when you haven’t even done those things with your boyfriend! I thought to myself.

  I haven’t told the girls about the dreams I’ve been having almost every night for the past few months—not even Jill. It was that same dream every night, with that same mystery man, on that same beach. I felt guilty just thinking about him again. Plus, the thought of this man made it difficult to think about pretty much anything else, and the memory of his touch made me hot and weak all over.

  “So why are you baking so many brownies?” Jill asked, bringing me out of my reverie. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would never complain about you baking,” she continued as she reached for another brownie, “but aren’t there a lot of people bringing baked goods for this sale? Four pans of brownies seem to be a lot from one person.”

  “Actually, I’m making six trays of these,” I said quickly, feeling slightly defensive. “I know I’m making a little more than normal, but this is a big bake sale and they’re trying to raise a lot of money. I just want to be supportive,” I said, trying to convince her, and myself.

  “You really are the best, Emma. Well, I have to finish my history paper tonight, so I better get back to work. Thanks for the brownies,” Jill said gleefully as she grabbed a third one to go. “And thanks for subtly calling me out on being a Cancun-spring-break-planning-Nazi. I know I can be slightly obsessive when I get into my planning mode,” Jill s
aid as she laughed at herself.

  “I know, and we love you for it. But trust me, we will have an unforgettable time in Cancun, and I know you’ll do a great job planning it, like you always do.”

  After Jill left the kitchen, I was lost in my thoughts.

  Why did you bake so many of these for Mike’s bake sale? I knew Mike wasn’t expecting me to bake this many. In fact, I was only planning on baking one batch, not six.

  Okay, yes, it’s true that I loved to bake and I found it really relaxing. But, maybe I went a little overboard with six batches. Jeez, Emma, you’re only baking for a bake sale, not trying to feed a small village in Africa. What were you thinking?

  Then a thought came to me. Was I trying to compensate for my feelings of guilt? I know that I’ve been feeling guilty lately with these dreams. Yes, I couldn’t control my dreams, but the fact that I don’t want these dreams to end was the source of my guilt. Sometimes I caught myself making an excuse to go to bed early, just for the possibility of seeing him again, touching him again, kissing him again. My skin prickled at my memories of him.

  Don’t get me wrong, I really cared about Mike. We had been together for about a year now, and we got along pretty well. One thing I really appreciated about him was how understanding he was that I wanted to wait to have sex. Most men I have dated dumped me pretty soon after they realized that they’d have to wait awhile before I would even consider having sex with them. They didn’t care that I had my reasons. In fact, even after I told them about what happened to me that night during my freshman year—the night that changed my life forever—they still broke up with me when they realized that I wanted to wait.

  But Mike seemed to be different. Even though he wasn’t a virgin, he respected the fact that I was. He seemed okay with the fact that I wanted to take things slow. He once told me that he wanted to be my first and was willing to wait until I was ready. And for the past year, he waited patiently, but for some reason I couldn’t explain, I still hadn’t felt ready to have sex with him.