Lame, I thought to myself as the last response to my group text came in. It was my first day off in a week from the hotel I manage, unfortunately on a Tuesday, and every one of the usual suspects was unavailable to go to the parks with me. Given that Disney World was down the street, we all had annual passes, but lately my days off hadn't aligned with any of my friends, so I hadn't gone in a bit.
It occurred to me that I could go alone, but I'd been hoping to have some time with my friends after the grueling week I'd just spent at work. It was the last spring break week, so naturally running a hotel in Orlando got rough around this time every year. Now I had a bit of break in the intensity before the summer started and I intended to enjoy myself. Fuck it, I thought, I'll go by myself. Better than playing video games all day.
I got dressed and looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a simple black t-shirt and "athleisure" style gym shorts. It was starting to get hotter in central Florida as the summer months approached, so I didn't figure I'd need anything else. Looking around for my car keys, I spotted them on the end of my kitchen counter and grabbed them before heading out of my apartment.
The drive, parking, and transportation to the front gate took almost an hour. I walked up to the entrance around eleven in the morning, the Magic Kingdom already packed full of people, although maybe not as many as had been here a week ago. The sounds of families and general merriment floated around me as I scanned my ticket and walked past the busy cast members. Joining a mass of people, I passed through the tunnel under the railroad and stepped out onto Main Street. I noticed her immediately.
A young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, was standing off to the side, a stark contrast to the smiling families and overexcited kids running about. She looked distressed, although it did absolutely nothing to take away from her obvious beauty. She had lightly tanned skin and light brown hair, with big, beautiful blue eyes and full lips. Her clothes were festive, a black top that showed off a good deal of her generous cleavage while hugging her body tightly and a short red skirt with big white polka dots. Capping off the Minnie-inspired ensemble was a polka dot backpack purse and a pair of ears with a skirt-matching bow on her headband. Her legs were the stuff of daydreams, leading up to obviously flaring hips under her Minnie skirt.
Her eyes kept darting around the entrance, scanning the crowds, before dropping back to her phone. She looked very upset, almost on the verge of tears. I wasn't one to ignore a damsel in distress, so I wandered over to her. As I approached, her gaze met mine and she quickly looked away and tried to school her features into looking less upset. I offered her a warm smile when she looked back, hoping I was coming off as concerned and not creepy.
"Are you okay?" I asked her gently, just loud enough to carry through the music and crowds.
Her face turned directly towards mine, and I thought maybe she would reject my attempt to make sure she was alright. I'd have understood, of course, I'm sure a woman like her got plenty of unwanted attention from men, and in her vulnerable state would likely be on guard. But then she put on a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, a hint of lip gloss shimmering in the sun, and nodded. "Yeah, I just... I'm okay."
The lie was almost convincing, but I could see the tremble in her hand as she clutched her phone. "Look, I know this is random, but you seem like you could use some company. I'm not here to hit on you or anything," I assured her, "just to make sure you're not stuck out here alone or dealing with something rough by yourself."
Her eyes searched my face as if looking for a hidden motive. I guess my look of sincerity passed her test, because she appeared to let her guard down just a bit. "I got stood up, I think," she finally murmured, her voice cracking a bit. "My boyfriend was supposed to meet me here a half hour ago and he's not answering texts or calls. This is the third time in two weeks. I guess I know how to pick them, right?"
"That sucks," I said, genuinely feeling bad for her. "I won't tell you what I think of a person like that, but maybe I can keep you company for a bit? The Happiest Place on Earth isn't the place to be upset and alone. I'm Charlie, by the way."
She looked me over again. "Anna. You're not just here to hit on me, right? 'Cause I'm not in the mood for dealing with a 'nice guy,' if you know what I mean. What are you doing by yourself here anyway? Your girlfriend ditch you too?" She laughed sourly.
"No girlfriend, just a bunch of lame friends with better things to do like 'working at their jobs' and 'taking care of their kids,'" I said jokingly, emphasizing my sarcasm with air quotes. "Although to be fair to them, they did tell me they couldn't make it and I decided to come alone, which is why I also wouldn't mind some company."
"You live in the area too, then?" she asked.
"Yeah, moved here from South Florida after college," I said.
She seemed to warm up to me a bit more. "Alright, sure, I could use some company. On one condition?" she asked, looking at me directly.
"What's that?" I asked.
"You have to help me take some pictures, and you can't be mad at me if I stop for photos a lot. I'm an influencer model, no judgement please, and unfortunately that means every day that I'm here is partially a workday."
"How could I judge someone who makes a living going to Disney World," I laughed, "and I know my way around a camera, I actually minored in photography, so you're in luck." I held out my hand, shifting myself as though ready to get moving. She took it tentatively, and through her warm skin I could feel a delicate tremble that hadn't quite faded. Once we started walking, she withdrew her hand and fumbled around in her backpack and pulled out a small gimbal handle for her phone camera.
We started our impromptu adventure with a stroll down Main Street. Scents of fresh cookies and sweets wafted about, while a barbershop quartet serenaded the crowd a little way away from us. The carefully crafted environment seemed to lift her mood, and she began to open up a bit more.
"So how long have you been doing the Disney influencer thing?" I asked. I'd been here enough to have seen some of the more famous ones that I recognized doing their thing, but I hadn't seen her content.
"Almost two years?" she guessed, "It started as a hobby, but I got really popular really quickly and it was only a couple months before I quit my job and did this full time. I don't want to sound full of myself, but it was clear that my looks helped build my following, so I leaned into that. Now I do some non-Disney modeling too, but this is still my main source of new followers."
As we approached the central plaza with the castle behind it, she turned to me, eyes sparkling. "Could you take some pictures of me here?" she asked, her voice hopeful. "Castle shots always play well as long you've got a cute outfit on." I nodded, more than happy to help. She handed me her phone on the gimbal. As I snapped, she struck a series of poses, each one more tastefully sexy than the last. Her body moved with the confidence of a woman who knew her angles, her hips swaying as she leaned against the wall, her hand on her hip, and her head tilted just so. Her red skirt fluttered with every move she made, revealing ever more of her toned thighs.
Just as I was about to take a final shot, her phone rang, the sound piercing through the magic of the moment. She came over to me and checked the screen, and I could see the anger flare up in her eyes. "It's him," she spat, her grip tightening around the screen. I nodded and handed her the phone and then stepped back, giving her space as she answered with a curt, "What?"
I couldn't make out what he was saying, nor was I trying to eavesdrop, but given her raised voice I was able to make out her half of the conversation. "You're kidding me. Again?" she hissed. Her eyes narrowed as she listened to his response. "Don't give me that bullshit again, Colin," she said, lowering her voice as she said bullshit. This was Disney, after all.
"This is the third time! The third time in two weeks that you've stood me up, no text, no calls!" she nearly shouted. A brief pause followed. "Don't 'baby' me! You're always 'sorry' and something always 'comes up!'" she said, her voice dripping with venom. "No. No. No, this is it, Colin, I mean it. We're done. Don't contact me again, we're done!" She slammed her thumb down aggressively on the end call button. The silence that followed was deafening.
Looking exhausted, she walked over to me. "So, um... how much of that did you hear?"
"All of it?" I responded tentatively, "but don't worry, I think there might be a few people in Frontierland who missed at least part of it," I added jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood. For a second, she just stared at me. Then she laughed, if a tiny bit maniacally.
"Alright, you got me, I was really fucking angry though. He's such a dick, good riddance. You know he didn't even make the effort to try to sound apologetic with his fake excuses?" she asked. I watched her scroll on her phone and block his number.
"Still, I'm sorry," I said. A breakup was still a breakup, even if one party deserved it.
"Don't be," she said sadly. "We were only together for a few months, and if I'm being honest, I was kind of over him already, but it would have been nice if he could have just not been a dick about it and we could have just gone our separate ways. Plus, this is going to suck for work, he was my regular photographer, but I won't be able to work with him again."
"Oof, that really sucks," I said, feeling for her. "My first girlfriend worked at the ice cream shop down the road from my house growing up that I'd hung out by for years. It's not the same, obviously, but I could never go back there again after we split. Had to ride my bike a couple miles away to meet friends instead."
"How would you ever live without ice cream, such a tragedy," she said, blue eyes twinkling as she feigned support for me.
"Exactly, you get it. That reminds me, follow me," I said. I led her over to the ice cream cart on the side of the plaza. When she saw where I was taking her, she laughed, a magical sound. In that moment, my sole mission became to earn more laughs from her. I bought us a couple ice cream bars in the shape of the Mouse himself and handed one to her.
She smiled at me, staring for a little while too long. "You're sweet, Charlie," she said. "Thanks."
"No problem. Now, allow me to take your mind off your breakup, and let's have some fun. I've got your back today." I said sincerely. For a moment, she looked actually happy, and she looked even more gorgeous than I had already thought up to that point. I looked at her as she smiled at me and then took a lick of her ice cream, her tongue caressing the frozen treat as she ate. I had to look away from the mildly suggestive display, because despite being with a beautiful girl today, I wanted to respect her boundaries and not make her day worse with any unwanted advances.
"Where to, Prince Charming?" she asked. Not a nickname I'd have wanted, but Anna could call me whatever she desired.
"How about Space Mountain?" I suggested. "Start in Tomorrowland?"
"Works for me." She said.
"Let's go then," I said, and extended my hand. This time she held it and let me lead.
