Friends & Paradise

Chapter 7 - A Talk By The Pool (Natasha's POV)

After Jason and I left CRUSH, we walked through the hallways in silence, then, to break the silence, Jason asked me:

"So how long are you staying here?"

"Two weeks. What about you?"

"Until college starts and then I'll come back here once its over."

"Why, what are you studying?"

"Hotel Management. You know, studying to take over my dad's empire."

"You mean your dad's the owner of all this?" I asked him surprised.

"One of the owners. Another one is Altamirano's dad."

"You mean...?"

"Cameron."

"Oh. But why do you hate each other so much? I mean, I know what you have to deal with but... why?"

"I don't know. We've hated each other since we were kids, and I basically hate how he thinks he can just own every young girl here that stays at the hotel with her family or friends. You know he does what he did to you like every night hoping for a girl to have sex with her?"

"He does?"

"Yeah. That's why I tried to help you get out of his grip, since I saw you definitely weren't interested."

"Definitely not. How can anyone like that?"

"What? Grinding or his way to pick up girls?"

"Both. I find that disgusting."

He chuckled. "You're not the only one."

"So, if you and Cameron are the same age, how old are you?"

"I'm eighteen."

"And you're heading to college when?"

"In the fall. But I don't really want to go to college. At least not to study for something that I'm not passionate about."

"And what are you passionate about?"

"I don't know yet. That's why I don't want to go to college just yet. I want to see the world and find out what I really want to do with my life." He said as we left the area where the club was and walked through one of the hotel's million pools.

"That seems like a really good plan."

"What about you?" He asked as he took a seat on a lounge chair.

"What do you mean?" I said as I took a seat on a chair beside the one Jason was sitting in.

"What do you wanna do with your life once you graduate?"

"I have no idea. I don't know what I want to study just yet."

"There's a million things out there that a person can be, but it's just so hard to pick one."

"That's true. So, you're actually living in The Bahamas?"

"Most of the time."

"That is so cool. So you have total access to the beach any time that you want?"

"Yeah. And I can go wherever I want whenever I want."

"You have the perfect life." I said as I leaned down on the lounge chair and looked at the stars.

"Not exactly. My life's not perfect, because I may have it all and yet I have nothing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I do have this awesome resort with my name, and can come and go to whatever part of the world I want when I want, but it's not what you have, it's who you have that matters. Because I may have it all, but I have no one to share it with."