Winged

I Love You

The next morning I wake up on my stomach with Etheriel's head on my back and his arms wrapped around my stomach. Nathan is on the other bed, sprawled out, passed out. I try to wiggle out of Etheriel's arms, but it just causes him to squeeze me tighter.

"Etheriel." I whisper. He doesn't move. "Etheriel." I whisper harshly and he groans quietly and lifts his head off my back.

"Yeah?" his voice is slightly gruff from just waking up.

"I need to use the restroom." I whisper and for a second I think he fell back asleep.

"Okay." He rolls off of me, allowing me to slowly get up. I shuffle to the bathroom, locking and shutting the door behind me. After doing my business, I rinse my face with cold water and pat it dry with one of the hotels white fluffy towels. When I exit the bathroom, Etheriel and Nathan are still asleep so I decide to walk around the hotel a little. I quietly open and shut the door to the hotel room and walk down the hall the opposite way of the elevator we took up. All the doors I pass are quiet on the other side indicating that the people on the other side are still asleep. I go to the elevator on the other side of the hall and push the floor one button. I step out on the ground floor and across the elevator is an indoor pool. Expecting the door to be locked, I push against the door just to check and am surprised when it opens with a soft click. I walk in and I can immediately feel the humidity of the room. The strong smell of chlorine assaults my nose and I almost choke. I slip off my shoes, which I put on before walking out of the room, and I sit down at the edge of the pool, putting my feet and a little over my ankles into the water. I swish my feet back and forth in the water and it is the only sound in the room. Suddenly the door opens causing me to jump and turn. Etheriel walks toward me looking extremely relieved.

"You scared the shit out of me. I almost jumped into the pool." I breath and try to slow my heart back down. He laughs a little while slipping his shoes off and sitting beside me.

"You scared me when I got up and you were nowhere in the hotel room." His hand inches towards mine before grasping it tightly. "I thought Aaliyah got to you or possibly Dominic's brother." Etheriel raises my hand to his lips. He smiles and lowers my hand some. "I love you." He whispers, but it seems loud in the quiet room.

"I... I love you too." I whisper back and he smiles more.

"We should go back to the room." Etheriel stands, bringing me along with him. He pulls me gently to his chest and lightly brushes his lips on mine before leading me out of the room and back toward the elevator. When we walk back into the room, Dominic is sitting on a bed and Nathan is sitting on the other bed. They immediately look at us and Nathan sighs.

"I was wondering what happened to you." Nathan says and stands. Dominic tilts his head, looking amused as he watches Etheriel and I walk further into the room.

"There's an indoor pool." Etheriel smiles and points behind us.

"Oh, cool. Let's go swimming." Nathan pulls his shirt over his head and starts digging through his luggage. I grab my swimsuit I used the day prior and go into the bathroom to change. When I come out, everyone has swim trunks and shirts on.

"Let's go." Dominic mumbles and walks around Etheriel to me where he wraps an arm around me and leads me out the door. I glance behind me at Etheriel and he is watching Dominic closely. When we get to the pool, Dominic immediately strips and dives in and starts to swim end to end. I walk to a lounge chair and take off the clothes over my swimsuit. Etheriel lays a towel out on the chair before pulling his shirt over his head. My eyes linger a little too long on his torso so when he catches me staring, I blush and turn away. Etheriel's arms wrap around my waist and he rests his chin on my shoulder. Nathan is about to jump into the pull when he glances at us and stops. Dominic looks at us then Nathan before grabbing his ankle and yanking him into the pool. Dominic climbs out of the pool, dripping head to toe, and walks to me. A smirk tugs at his lips as he pulls me away from Etheriel. He picks me up and faces the pool before lifting me over his head and throwing me into the pool. When I surface, Dominic and Etheriel are staring each other down. A moment passes before Dominic grabs Etheriel and tries to push him into the pool, but Etheriel tightly grabs onto him and drags him in too. Nathan laughs at Dominic when he surfaces.