Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert (Ryan Rupert #1) [PUBLISHED]

CHAPTER FIVE - Wrong Room

"Then what are you doing here?" she asked, looking utterly confused. I explained my situation to her, and she gave me a sympathetic look.

"That's awful," she said when I'd finished. "I'm so sorry about your Mom. And your roommate. Although, I will admit, he looked kind of cute."

"Trust me, he isn't worth your time," I replied.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to do some activities with me but they all pretty much involve water . . ."

"Don't get me wrong, I would love to do activities with you," I said, "but I just can't."

"It's okay. Maybe we can just go exploring. See what the island has to offer." she suggested.

I decided that was a brilliant idea. It would keep my mind off Ryan for a while and ensure I didn't have to be around him for at least a few hours.

We followed the map so we wouldn't get lost. We walked along a little path that curved around a rock garden, and soon came across a pool area. The summer heat made the idea of a swim very tempting, but I would've had to go back to my room to get my swimsuit. The whole point of taking a walk was so that I wouldn't have to go back and face Ryan, so we simply walked around it.

There were two pools in this area, one smaller than the other. The bigger one had a swim-up bar, and the smaller one—closer to the gardens, had a bridge.

We crossed the bridge and Savannah made us stop so she could check out a hot guy who was diving in. I had to admit, he did have a cute face. And seeing him shirtless wasn't too bad either.

Eventually, I managed to steer Savannah away and we headed back along the beach towards the Tiki Village, where all the shops were. Most of it was just souvenir stuff—dolphin bracelets, shell earrings, postcards that cost more than they were worth, and expensive straw hats with pretty ribbons tied around them. There was an ice cream stand nearby and yet another pool (this one shaped like a jellybean).

When our legs got sore from walking, we stopped to sit down—and just talked. Savannah was nineteen years old, from Florida like me, and worked at a modelling agency as an assistant. When I told her I was still in high school, she was surprised.

"You look older than seventeen," she said.

"Everyone says that," I replied.

When it started to get dark, I told her I was going to head back to my room. The island had little golf carts that escorted people around, and I decided to take one rather than trek all the way back to Sea Spray Beach.

When I got back to the huts, I fumbled for my key card, but couldn't find it. Panic swept through me when I realised I'd left it behind in the room.

Dammit.

I took a deep breath to calm down. No biggie. All I had to do was knock and Ryan would let me in. And sure, he'd probably make fun of me or make a stupid remark, but it wasn't such a big deal.

I knocked. When there wasn't any answer, I knocked again. Slowly, I realised he must have gone out.

Now I really had a reason to panic. Where had he gone? And how would I get into the room?

I spun around, looking for an answer, when I spotted someone walking down the path dressed in a staff uniform. She looked as if she was in the middle of taking someone's bags to their room.

"Excuse me!" I called. She came to a stop in front of me. "I've forgotten my key card in my room and I'm locked out," I said.

She pulled out the master card from her pocket and slid it in. The door opened, and I sighed in relief. It looked like I wouldn't have to deal with Ryan after all.