[ vey-kay-shuh n bay ] Slang.

noun1. a girl you meet on vacation and have the time of your life with, knowing the entire time that your relationship has an expiration date. 

It’s 2015 and the weed is flowing across the country. My life is exactly how I had envisioned it when I decided to go all in. I had spent the last three months doing nothing but working my ass off. I was in amazing shape and feeling invincible.

Three of my best friends and I decided to go on a vacation. I needed to be in L.A. anyway, so we rented a house on Venice Beach and had a blast. After four days there, two of the guys flew home and the other came with me to Denver. It was 4/20 weekend in 2015. Fifty-thousand people were coming to celebrate legalization. We had an amazing hotel room in downtown Denver: 13th floor, panoramic view of the city. We had no real plans, but that’s how I roll.

I hit up a guy I knew who lived in Denver, and he brought over a bunch of weed. We also went to dispensaries and found our way to the 420 Festival downtown. That Saturday we were walking around the festival when I spotted an extremely attractive female with a CNN jacket on. I immediately knew I had to hit on this girl. I said something about her jacket, and she responded with a smile. She said she was reporting on the festival and asked if I would like to do an interview. I quickly agreed and ended up on CNN.

The next day, Sunday, was was the last day of the festival. We decided to check out the festivities downtown in the early afternoon. Too Short was playing, and everyone was feeling the vibes. I spotted two girls dancing and immediately went up to them. I asked if they wanted to smoke with us, and they didn’t hesitate to say yes. Both were attractive, but there were three of us guys. They had molly on the way, which we all agreed to do. Rick Ross was about to play, and the moment seemed perfect. We took the molly, the concert was amazing, and the five of us were totally inseparable during and after. We went together to bars and were having a blast.

The five of us heard about an after party in a government building. Some DJs were scheduled to play, and it sounded too good to pass up. It was one of those parties where the instructions just to get inside were crazy: verbal codes had to be shared with the guys standing outside. Once we were in, it turned out that no one had even shown up yet. There was a DJ playing and maybe five other people. I was so fucked up that I really didn’t care. By this time my friend from Denver was firmly with the hottest of the two girls, and I was more than happy to let my other friend go for the other girl. I was into the music, so I just started dancing. I was the first person to start dancing, and I was incredibly into it. Sweat was pouring down my body, and I must have looked like a complete idiot. My friends couldn’t believe it, but every time I stopped dancing, I felt freezing cold.

Eventually people started showing up and the dance floor began to take off. By this time my shirt was off. I was dripping wet. Keep in mind that girls at this time absolutely loved me—my body was on point—I was 26-years-old and in the prime of my life. So I danced and I danced, from one girl to another. They almost seemed to be fighting over who got me next. Then that one girl showed up. God, she was so fucking hot. Her hair and eyes dark just the way I like. Her body was perfect, and she had the tightest little ass. She came up, started dancing with me, and it was all over from there. I had found my vacation bae, and I was head over heels. From that moment forward there was no one else.

Other girls tried to dance with me, but I was solely focused on her. My friends couldn’t believe it; they thought it was a joke. How had this even worked? I went over and told my boy, “Don’t ever get beat to the dance floor.” To this day he still quotes this legendary truth, even told his son. Vacation bae and I never left each other’s sides that night. We went back to the hotel in a pedicab and fucked each other’s brains out. Definitely an amazing night that I’ll never, ever forget.

The next day she had work, and we went to the Cannabis Cup. After it was over, we were supposed to see Snoop Dogg. Instead, I decided that I wanted to go spend the night with her. We smoked weed and chilled; I got to know about her life. We had such a real, honest connection, but I knew it had to end. The thing about any vacation bae is that, since the terms of the relationship are clear, you always leave on good terms. Part of you might wonder what could have been, but in the end? It doesn’t actually matter. What you had for that moment in time was amazing, and no one can ever take that away or cheapen it.

I ended up stopping in Denver a few more times to see her. We still stay in contact, and I hope one day to see her again after prison. Sometimes in life people come in for just a moment, but the memories you share will never be forgotten.