Whiskey and Scotch

Chapter 9

For the second morning in a row I woke early. The lights were still off and the sounds of snoring came from one – two? – of the other beds. I knew that attempting to fall back asleep would be hopeless, so I grabbed my phone from the side table and tiptoed past the sleeping couples, climbed the stairs to the second level, and headed through the dressing room to the terrace.

The morning sun was already beating hot upon the floor as I moved my body through some gentle stretching exercises. I wished we had been allowed to upload music to the phones we'd been given, but had to settle for the calming sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing instead.

The stillness and tranquility were broken by the sounds of a loud splash and laughter – male laughter – drifting up from below.

Who was that?

I stood and peeked over the edge of the terrace, nearly tripping over myself as I saw two unfamiliar figures by the pool. One of them sat on the edge with his feet in the water, the other had just pulled himself out, his long blonde hair dripping wet.

New boys! And nobody else is up yet...

I grinned and went back into the dressing room, quickly changing into a teal bikini with gold chains wrapping around the neck and waist and pulling my hair into a loose braid. I applied a quick coat of mascara and a light layer of lip gloss and ran back downstairs, sneaking through the bedroom and opening the outside door as stealthily as possible. Home free, I ran through the garden and onto the lawn before slowing down into a stroll, doing my best to look nonchalant as I approached the boys.

"Hey guys."

They turned at the sound of my voice, and I stopped short. They were both drop-dead gorgeous.

"Oh, hello! I'm Lucas." The man who spoke was tall with black hair, a chiseled face, and the body of a god. The corners of his lips turned up as he met my eyes with an intense gaze that made my stomach drop.

"Hey! I'm Henrik." I turned to the other man, who was almost the complete opposite. Long blonde hair with smiling green eyes and just a hint of stubble on his tanned cheeks, his body had the look of someone used to spending most of his time outdoors. Tattoos covered his arms and spread across his chest. I thought I caught a hint of an accent, but couldn't place it.

"Kudos for being down first, but where are the others?" Lucas asked.

"Others?" I asked innocently. "What others?"

"Cheeky," Lucas smirked. "They're not up yet, are they?"

"You can't blame a girl for wanting the new guys to herself for a bit, can you?"

"To be fair, out of all the girls you're the most likely to pull a stunt like this," he laughed.

"Classic Josie move," Henrik smiled.

"Oh shoot, I keep forgetting this is on telly! You must know so much already." I blushed, wondering what the guys had seen.

"Yeah, there's been a few secretive moments already," Lucas smirked, then moved closer to whisper in my ear. "And I'm not just talking about yours..."

My eyes widened. "What? Tell me, who—?"

He shook his head. "We're not allowed to say."

I stuck out my lower lip and gave him my best puppy eyes.

He laughed. "Cute – how can I resist? Alright, let's just say... there's speculation that some people might be playing more of a game than others."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's all I'm saying," he smiled smugly. "Rules are rules, after all."