"Wish I Didn't"

  So there I was. Sitting on the balcony of my luxury Las Vegas hotel suite with the girl that had been my bestfriend since grade school. It was around 2 in the morning, and it was kind of a big day. By the time the sun went down that night, I would be a married woman. Naturally, I was insanely nervous, which is why Mikaela and I were out on the balcony at this ludacris hour. I couldn't sleep, my nerves were getting to me. To help me calm down, she suggested having a long heart to heart, like we always used to when we were teens. 

                 "This all just feels unreal," she started off. "I mean, I'm just so happy you finally found someone, you know? I remember all the guys that came and went through out the years, always leaving you broken into pieces for me to pick up. I couldn't be anymore happy for you, I always knew Evan was gonna be the one," she finished.  I snorted, "Oh please Mikaela! You used to threaten to beat him with chicken drumsticks when we'd all go to the diner." "Hey!" she quickly retorted, "I'm trying to make a heartfelt speach, lets just pretend everything I just said was true for the sake of the moment!" We both doubled over laughing after that, just like old times. 

                    We just sat out there for the next few hours, reminiscing on everything that had happened since we first became friends. How we never thought we would grow up, but how it all ended up coming so fast. It seemed like just yesterday I walked into that classroom on the first day of 5th grade, and something guided me to sit down next to her. It must have been fate, that out of all the open seats across the classroom, I chose the one next to someone who turned out to be my other half, my ride or die, my bestfriend for life. 

                   Since it was technically the morning of my wedding, we got started into a long conversation about all my ex boyfriends over the years. Great idea, right? Ha, wrong. We went threw most of them very quickly--"Remember him? Omg, remember that one?"--cracking up over how stupid I must of been when I was younger. I sure we left out tons of them anyways, most of my ex's weren't the people you were expected to remember all your life. After I while, I realized talking things out with her was really helping to calm me down. I felt a lot better, I finally felt completely at ease.

                  That was until she let 2 words slip, 2 words. I could tell by her face that she regretted them as soon as they left her mouth. Those 2 words brought me back a part of my life I had tried so hard to forget. Those 2 words brought me back to the days of hotel balconies, late night phonecalls, and cheesy text messages. They brought me back to him. Those 2 words......

 

                                                                                                                                                                                           "Remember Mason?"

-14 years ago. Spring Break, 2011-     

              After 3 hours, it felt amazing to be walking on solid ground again. I never was a huge fan of plane rides, but hey, if that's what it took to get to paradise, guess I'd have to put up with it. As soon as we stepped out of the air conditioned Miami airport into the hot and humid Florida night, I immediately regretted wearing a jacket "just is case". I was used to the cold, snowy March weather back at home in Chicago. I was way out of my element and I just wanted to get to the hotel so I could sit down and call my new boyfriend, Mason. 

              God, I loved calling him that, my boyfriend. I'd had boyfriends before, most of them I'd kept for a good amount of time too, a year was the longest actually. But, something about this time was special, I could feel it. Mason gave me butterflies, he would make he sit there and smile like an idiot over all the little things he said. I'm only 13 for crying out loud, we've just started "dating", yet this guy has me thinking I'm falling in love.