"It's like a car wreck. I want to look away, but I just can't." Juno said, her eyes locked on the brightly lit dance floor.

"I know." Aviva Jones sighed, taking a sip from her martini. "Half a world from home, I thought we'd have a better chance at this - at them."

Juno rolled her eyes at one of her best friends. "Oh please. You've gotten about fifty terrible pick up lines lobbed at you, and I've only had one guy talk to me - and that was just to ask me to bring him another shrimp cocktail. He thought I was a waitress." Juno's mouth formed a small 'oh' of displeasure. "Note to self - stop wearing a white shirt with black pants all the time. People either think I'm a waitress, a hostess, or a bellhop."

Both sets of eyes were still locked on the dance floor, where their other best friend, Darcy Smithson, appeared to be holding court with about forty potential suitors - all of them cute. However, not all of them appeared to be available, judging from the evil stares several women were throwing Darcy from the tables nearby.

The abject horror came from watching a particularly graceless man attempt to do 'the worm' on the dance floor as everyone looked on, clapping and laughing.

"Oh honey." Viv said, patting her hand, her eyes still watching the man's increasingly athletic break dancing moves. "You just need to put yourself out there more."

"There's already too much of me out there, Viv." Juno said self-deprecatingly, glancing down at her midsection before her eyes trailed down to her thighs.

"Oh hush." Viv laughed. "It's true though…I bet you'll find Prince Charming in a hurry if you just get out there."

Easy for you to say, Juno thought silently as she looked over at one of her best friends.

Aviva Jones was beautiful. Dark, sultry, and always smiling, Aviva could have the personality of a tsetse fly and still attract men. On top of her Dallas Cowboy cheerleader body, she was vivacious and smart - so smart, she'd just been promoted to partner of one of the top brokerage firms in Chicago. She was only 28, and already made more in a year than Juno would probably make in a lifetime. Despite her charmed life, it was impossible not to immediately like Viv.

Viv was still watching their other best friend, Darcy, on the dance floor. Darcy was also a knockout, but of a different breed. Darcy was tall, thin, blonde, beautiful. Darcy was a very physical person, and excelled as a masseuse to the rich and richer - the perfect profession for their free spirited friend. Darcy was no slouch in the intelligence department, though. After all, she had masterminded this entire "girls' vacation", and had conned Viv into picking up the tab for everything.

Juno still felt bad about that.

Juno, on the other hand, felt she had none of the charms, brains, or beauty of her friends. She was an increasingly frustrated writer, who only managed to pay her bills by doing technical writing, editing or boring jobs that required no imagination whatsoever. She certainly had no boyfriend. And she hated to look in the mirror - lanky brunette hair, a boring face, and a body that was the envy of none. Juno was always battling her weight - and her weight always seemed to win.

"I'm not holding my breath." Juno replied, shaking her head as Darcy rewarded the break dancer with a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh god, I need another martini." Viv said as several of the men began an enthusiastic version of the 'electric slide'. "Intravenous, if possible."

Juno giggled as she tried to stifle a yawn. "What time is it?" She asked.

Juno was the one of the three girls who was always on time, always had a schedule, always had a plan. On the first day of their vacation, Viv and Darcy and had taken her watch and hidden it in an attempt to make Juno a little more spontaneous. "I don't think I'm going to be 'putting myself out there' tonight. I'm just going to go up to the cabin and get a head start on some sleep. Sounds like we have a big day tomorrow."

Viv glanced at her watch. "It's barely 10 o'clock, Juno." Viv teased. "You're turning into a boring little old lady before our eyes." Viv's tone softened when she saw Juno's sad expression, no matter how well she tried to hide it. "Where are we stopping this time?" She asked after a beat.

"Cullen." Juno said, recalling the brochure of their cruise ship's tour of Scotland. Juno grinned to herself as she pictured again the look on Viv's face when Darcy had proposed the three of them taking a cruise together to celebrate Viv's new promotion.

Viv was fine with a cruise - she was picturing beaches, cabana boys and a nice tan.

"Scotland?!" She'd squeaked when Darcy had told them her idea for the ideal vacation. "Why Scotland?"

"You know why." Darcy said with a sly grin. "To find Jamie Frasier."

The three girls had laughed at that. Back when they were college roommates, Juno had become hopelessly addicted to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon - so much so, she insisted Darcy and Viv also read the series. They became as enchanted as Juno with the story of a woman in modern day Scotland who travels back in time and falls in love with the perfect man - Jamie Frasier.

Jamie was every girl's dream…charming, naïve, protective, handsome, rugged, tender, and he looked killer in a kilt.

They'd vowed then and there that they would someday seek out a Jamie for each of them and marry him on the spot.

Hence, a cruise to northern Scotland in pursuit of a perfect Jamie.

It wasn't Jamaica, but Juno was immediately taken with the rugged beauty of Scotland, much preferring a vacation that didn't require swimwear of any kind. She loved all the stops in quaint little towns, the accents of the crew, and the overall charm of being in Europe. She'd always dreamed of traveling around all of Europe, but her meager bank account hardly allowed for it at this point.

Still, she was eternally grateful to both her friends for making this trip, and letting her be a part of it.

She just hated the audition of the dance floor every night. There were a fair amount of retirees and sightseers on the trip, but there was also the inevitable 'singles' trying to find someone to share this vacation with.

"Cullen." Viv repeated. "Sounds quaint. Shopping?" She asked hopefully.

Juno grinned. "A huge open air market and lots of shops. It'll be fun." Juno stood up and leaned over to kiss Viv's cheek. "Don't stay out too late."

"Yeah, yeah. Good night, Mom." Viv said with mock annoyance. "See you in the morning."

Juno took once last glance at the dance floor and waved goodnight to Darcy as she slipped out the door. She stepped out onto the blustery deck and hurried towards their cabin, her head down and her eyes on the ground.

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before . after