; solo tentación

[benicio otero]

Benicio

Once his feet hit the sand of Tulum, New York felt like an unnecessary pit stop. Though Puerto Rico had been something of a working vacation, Mexico stood the chance at being a true reprieve. All aspects of transportation and accommodations were already handled, plans and stays laid out for the next week, landing at a luxury beachfront hotel within the warm reaches of the familiar Caribbean Sea. It was a ragtag bunch at first glance, mostly acquaintances of Stassi’s, but Benicio was in need of a change of scenery—including people. With it being her first international trip and a chance to meet her friends, Benicio had faith that it would be fun. After a few hours of introductions and exploration, the group was already two rounds of drinks in as the sun shone early colors of its descent. From their private patio and infinity pool, they cheersed to new friends and good times as tequila trickled down his throat with a swipe of salt and bite of lime. "And to our world traveler here, salud," Beni grinned Stassi's way, proud of his friend for venturing beyond New York City limits.

[stassi siminski]

Stassi

So the passport had been fine after all. Stassi would feel a little bit silly about all her fretting over this trip, if she wasn't too busy sinking her feet into the sand, loving the feeling of it enveloping her toes. Before long they are back at their hotel, lazing on the patio and taking in the view of the ocean as the sun dipped below it, reflecting a pool of orange into the water like a melting popsicle. She's the perfect level of buzzed, tequila on her lips and the sun still warming her skin as she clinks her shot glass with Beni's. "I'm so glad we did this," she says and it's true, she's brimming with delight, though not all of it could be fully attributed to the trip. Her mind wanders to Pat for just a moment, as it so often does, but she pulls it back, wanting to be present in this moment with her friends. "If I throw my passport over the balcony does that mean I get to stay?" She asks him, sitting down on the edge of the pool and dipping her feet into the water.

[benicio otero]

Benicio

Benicio couldn’t tell you how or from whom this trip idea was borne. Much like this friendship, conversations with Stassi were seamless and meandering, the two spontaneous in their approach on life, propelled by their impulses. Possessed by their emotions in the moment, romantics at heart, addicts of worldly pleasures. Here in Mexico it’s a feast for the eyes, competition for his focus between the beautiful view and the plush hotel amenities and the bare bodies around him. He donned swimming shorts and an unbuttoned beach shirt, all tattoos and skin already sun-kissed by the Puerto Rican summer. At Stassi’s comment he lets the shot run down his ribcage, warming him faster than the air was. “Me too. I’m proud of you,” he reminds, slinging an arm over her shoulder affectionately. For traveling and for sticking to her word about Pat. “Just a few hours and you’re a Mexicana already?” he teased, how quick she was to rid of the passport issued for this trip. Of course he hoped that spirit would keep up, but they would have to wait and see if she felt the same on her last day here after so much tequila.

[jane ridley]

Jane

The group was hovering on the content side of relaxed, scorched from the sand and sun and chilled drinks that had iced their hands along the resort's blazing beaches. Unfortunately for her, content was one of Jane's least favorite places to be. Attention captured by the wild things, the scratch of what's next forever picking at her brain, she attempted to silence the hunger with a second shot of tequila tipped into her mouth. She was half nestled in the pool, arms crossed on the edge as she fed another lime through her lips and surveyed the easy camaraderie of her friends. It hadn't taken her long to warm to Beni, knowing somewhere he entertained a similar spirit but was likely trying to impress, flicking water in the direction of him and Stassi for attention. “We could just drown it in this pool,” she offers, hands lifting to readjust the hair she had piled on top of her head. “Or throw it in the ocean, we'd never see it again.” Still, she sees that vacation curiosity and wonder in Stassi's eyes and is suddenly wondering when she got so jaded, shoving her sunglasses down over her nose. “Do you think we can get through an entire bottle of tequila before dinner?”

[stassi siminski]

Stassi

Stassi's slender arms slip around Beni's waist as his slings around her shoulders, the heat of his skin radiating through the thin fabric of his shirt as she nestles into his shoulder and squeezes. Alcohol is making it so that she's not as embarrassed by her inexperience as she normally would be, warmed by the tequila, the sun and most of all, her friends' encouragement. "It's in the safe, let's just forget the combination." One of the first things she'd done, her latent worry spurring her on. She laughs as Jane flicks water in their direction, kicking out so that she can splash back. "Come on Olivia, we'll be throwing that phone in the ocean if you don't stop texting," she calls over her shoulder, knowing that the blonde would be texting away to her boyfriend, probably sending him selfies. Maybe she should send Pat one later. Annoyed at herself for thinking of him again when she had only just finished thinking of him the last time, she claps at Jane's suggestion, disentangling herself from the embrace to do so. "Let's do it. We could play never have I ever?"

[benicio otero]

Benicio

In charge of the music, Benicio had arranged playlists on the plane over, briefly scrolling through his phone before abandoning it elsewhere so he was less distracted; the beauty around him was already enough to occupy him. “Each?” he volleyed playfully to Jane’s question, feeling the refreshing spray of water as the girls splashed one another. Perching his sunglasses into his curls, Beni reached for some lime wedges and glasses, pouring each of them something to play the game with. He was still adding to his initial reads of the girls, having heard a few things about them from Stassi beforehand. Jane was stoic with a biting sense of humor; he’d learned that she traveled often and indulged high-powered men. Olivia was bubbly and sweet, almost too much so to be true; she had a significant social presence and was dating Rosie’s ex-boyfriend. She and Jane were close, balancing the other’s demeanor, whereas he and Stassi probably intensified each other’s. “Vamos, I like this one,” he agreed easily, already racking his brain for things he hadn’t done but suspected or knew about the others. “Never have I ever sent a dirty text to the wrong person,” he started, arms drawing atop the pool's edge.

[jane ridley]

Jane

“I could be persuaded,” Jane says, resting her chin on her hands before the splash of water has her tipping away. A few more drinks would likely shift her mood, allow her to let go of this strange, almost anxious bubble in her throat as she looked from Liv to Stassi to Benicio. It felt like some weird secret they all shared, Olivia's phone held above her head, graceful hand shielding her eyes from the glaring sun as she typed and waved them on to continue without her. Engrossed in something sickly sweet or raunchy she was sure, Jane rolling her eyes before shifting to fully participate in the game. The first shot is immediately sent down her throat, cringing at the memory. “That was before you could delete messages too, I had to watch the typing bubble pop up and then disappear several times.” She tips her head back, both to get sun and to draw out a question, body wading easily in the water as she contemplated. “Never have I ever gotten back with an ex.”

[olivia hamilton]

OLIVIA

Olivia never thought she'd be home sick, or desperate to be back in the vicinity of her boyfriend, than she was right now. Stassi and Jane had dragged her away from her summer of love with the promise of a good time. With those girls in tow, that promise would always be up held. Beni had been mentioned many of times by Stassi, so Olivia was happy to finally get more interactions with the man her friend spoke so highly of. She's lazily slumped in the lounge chair, the sun hot against her skin and a smile prevalent on her lips. The world around her ceasing to exist as she fires away various texts to Tate. A tequila shot was delivered to her, lime in tow and she cheers her best friend who's made her way to the pool's side. Sunglasses over her eyes, otherwise she would send her a little friendly wink. Jane and Olivia, mixed with tequila held some fond memories for the blonde. She thinks she might have heard her name called but the phone still a major distraction. Leaning back against the lounger, her sunglasses fall from her face. Hand shielding the sun as she proceeds with the tipsy flirting, she'd been doing moments ago. One last selfie is sent and she's bringing her attention back to the group. She slides from the lounger, coming to the edge of the pool with Jane, feet slipping into water. "Okay, so sorry. Are we playing a little game, what have I missed?"

[stassi siminski]

Stassi

The alcohol warms her from within, the sun warming her skin so that the two meet and make Stassi feel like she might melt into a pool of pure contentment. Suddenly she has a frame of reference for all those vacation ads, showing someone stressed at their desk suddenly sinking into a deckchair and heaving the deepest sigh. She takes the fresh drink that's offered to her, one brow arching as Benicio asks the first question. "Oh fuck no," she says, laughing, shaking her head at Jane as she drinks. "Amateur hour, Janie." She mulls over the question, tilting her head. "Define 'gotten back with'?" Finally Olivia joins the group, the lone blonde joining them poolside, her envious figure barely disguised by the world's tiniest bikini. No wonder her boyfriend missed her so much. Inevitably she and Liv would film some sort of TikTok together later and she knows the comments will go nuts, the girl infinitely popular on the platform and Stassi could see why. "We're playing never have I ever. Jane's asked if anyone's ever gotten back with an ex... if we're saying hooked up, sure, OK, guilty," she says, throwing her head back as she takes a drink. "Never have I ever left a dinner table to send a nude from the bathroom. To my date, or otherwise."

[benicio otero]

Benicio

“Who was it?” he wondered to Jane’s brief story, and if the texts were well-received. At her prompt his brows jumped in surprise then crooked with contemplation, his mind reeling to his ex-girlfriend Isa—but then also briefly reaching toward Rosie, though the labels were all off. He could be difficult and ask for definitions, but instead Beno relished an incriminating pull from his drink, surrendering to the very notion. “Usually I need a clean cut from exes,” he reasoned, broken relationships that only twisted into complicated friendships. It was often too painful to be involved with someone he once loved. “But there have been exceptions,” he confessed with a private smirk, his shoulder rolling in a half-shrug. Of course Stassi’s attempt to elucidate specifics made Benicio laugh. “Just drink,” he teased to his friend, already knowing her answer—though not the recent most extent of it yet. The sweet smell of weed crept over his shoulder, a joint being passed around behind him. When Olivia finally joined in, his eyes couldn’t help their wash over her scantily clad body until the water obscured it from view. At Stassi’s prompt his lips crimped in denial: “Hmm no, pero remind me at dinner later.”

[jane ridley]

Jane

The balance between the heat radiating off her skin and the fresh, lapping water cascading over her shoulders is perfect, soothing Jane's temperamental soul as she quirks a brow at Benicio. “A past hookup whose name was unfortunately a little too similar. We had a laugh about it later, luckily he lived out of state by then.” He's the person she knows least on this trip, intrigued by Stassi's stories of him and their evenings out and his transient spirit. It seems like they both had a penchant for telling leading stories, her own interest peaked further as she spun a fingertip around the rim of the empty shot glass. “And what spurs the exceptions?” Jane motions for the glass to be refilled but shakes her head at Stassi's question, almost surprised with herself. “Never have I ever been part of a TikTok controversy” she tosses an easy one, winking Liv's direction at a blatant attempt to force her to drink more and catch up, dragging Stassi along.

[olivia hamilton]

OLIVIA

She dips her feet into the pool, the water temperature feeling wonderful. Mexico seemed to be no joke in the summer time, things a lot warmer than when she and Jane all trekked down here in March. "We love a good game around here," she smiles to her two friends. Memories of Vegas and Mexico spiraling through her head as she listens to the little recap that Stassi gives. She follows the summary with her own question. Something Liv was quite guilty of. She takes a sip of the refreshing Paloma, laughing at Beni's response. "I'm obviously very guilty of this, please don't ask any further questions or look at my previously deleted camera roll." Her drink is lifted up as they watch her take a sip, Jane's curious eyebrow quirks up, Liv suddenly giggling alongside her best friend. It was Jane's turn to ask the question and she should've known she'd be the target. As if this was Jane's way of telling her to catch up and stay off of her phone. "The infamous Gov Ball Scandal, don't recommend." She shakes her head, slipping her straw between in lips and drinking. The sun was beating down on her back and after a few drops of sweat slip down her body, she slides more of her body into the pool. Now that her waist was in, she felt better, less warm. "Following Jane's suit, Never have I ever looked freshly fucked on a Tik Tok Live," she smirks towards Stassi. Love you, she mouths to her friend.

[benicio otero]

Benicio

Although both girls were equally mysteriously to him, he felt more intrigue toward Jane—probably due to the odd connection to Rosie via Olivia, a topic he did not feel like broaching just yet. “I wish I knew,” he answered truthfully to Jane’s follow-up question, catching her eyes, dark and alluring. “Stupid optimism maybe,” he tried, feeling as cool and smooth as the flowing tequila. He enjoyed the camaraderie between the girls, afforded a private view into their sisterhood. Mention of the Gov Ball pulls some memories back, dragging a sip despite not relating to the last two prompts. With a laugh Benicio could see what was going on around him: everyone trying to get the other drunk with their increasingly specific statements. “Damn, I’m just gonna start drinking to what I hope happens for me,” he smarmed, tipping back his glass so he wouldn’t end up the most sober one. Remembering his turn as the moments started to blur, idly tracing patterns at the surface with his free hand, his mind stirring the same way. “Never have I ever had nudes leaked on the internet.”

[jane ridley]

Jane

His answer strikes right with her, nodding even if she rarely felt the pull to return to someone for a lasting connection. She was quick, and fleeting, but fully invested when she was in the moment, trying to apply the same principles here now as the questions started turning personal, Stassi's eyes flaring as her cup tipped back. Jane scrunches her nose slightly at his follow-up ask, looking around to see if any of the girls had suffered that fate as her glass held full. “Shitty thing to happen if it has,” she finally murmurs out loud, trying to parse through her mind for questions she knew would get everyone. Still unsure of Benicio's history but having bits and pieces from Stassi to build enough of a picture. Figuring they were on potentially more even playing fields than she expected, the industry he worked in the only thing leading her vague question she knew likely applied to all, even if it felt like a cheap repurposing of the past questions. “Never have I ever been part of drama at a music festival.” Coachella aside Governor's Ball had only been the second one she'd been to, staying decently removed from any scandals and simply enjoying her time as she flicked her eyes back at the man across from her, curious what his stores might be as she watched his glass rise.

[benicio otero]

Benicio

His mouth tips with a smirk, a brief flash of white teeth before he downed a sip. The booze was steadily soaking into his blood, trying to catch up after each guilty shot. With tequila on his tongue and a curiosity rising in his throat, Benicio’s eyes settled on Jane, appraising the curious woman across the water. If Stassi is the common link between them, she clearly knew something about Gov Ball and Rosie. And if her best friend was now dating Rosie’s ex, there might be curiosity there, or preconceived notions. But Beni liked the feel of her sights set on him, perhaps the ghost of who he was trying not to think about. Picking out her similarities from Jane: the depthless eyes, dark hair floating at the water’s surface, lips plump and untelling. Clearly he had a thing for women who were hard to read. “Did you go? We could have met sooner,” he realizes out loud, lamenting the missed opportunity. A friend group he was not yet privy to, despite the tenuous histories between several of them.