I could NOT stop staring at Mr. Six-packs for a very long time. Right after out encounter, I stood quite immobile in the pool till he swam upto his friends. I noticed with amusement that he joined the algae hair guy- they were honestly quite an attention grabbing bunch- all shrieking loudly at each other as they played all sorts of games in the water which included much splashing and laughing. Apart from my obvious crush, I envied the lot. They seemed to be having such a great time together. The thought however was not my priority; I kept looking at the object of my attractions, till I delightfully noticed him looking back at me. My cheeks flushing wildly, I popped my head straight into the water and remained submerged for as long as I could breathe. My fanciful thoughts were immediately drowned by a depressing one. What if they had seen me staring at their friend, and pointed me out to him? And what if he was just wondering what sort of creepy stalker had decided to ogle at him? I groaned at myself and swam to the other end of the pool where I could remain safely out of sight. Feeling restless, I sighed and placed my head against the edge, simply breathing in the fresh air. The outline of the hotel glowed a lovely beige-brown in the sunshine, giving it a warm feeling. Deciding that a safe period of time had passed, I swam back around the little concrete islets in the pool, back to my initial position. My inner cheerleader sank when I saw that the boys had left. The old man I saw earlier smirked at me, as though he had seen all of what happened. He possibly could have. In the distance I saw the acrobatic game- someone had climbed up the ladder and was having second thoughts about having come there at all- it was exactly what I needed. Cheering up at the exciting bit of news to tell Alice on the way, I left the pool.
I narrowed my eyes when I saw that my towel was no longer where I had left it on the beach chair. Grumbling audibly, I turned around to see Julian. ''Ma'am, may I help you?'' he asked, ever so politely.
''I left my towel here,'' I complained. With one look at the empty chair, he smiled apologetically. ''Please remain here ma'am, I shall fetch you a towel.'' When he did, I quickly wrapped myself around it. He gave me another one to dry my hair. Such a gentleman, I thought to myself, unlike whichever imbecile that decided to steal my towel.
''Julian, is there a faster way to the second floor?'' I asked, wiping my hair. After having courteously explained in depth about the emergency exit stairways that allowed easy access to my floor, I waved him goodbye and shivered my way up. On the first landing, you could see the vast expanse of green grass on the golf course. For some reason it reminded me of the book 'Heidi' I had read as a young child. Just as I turned to climb up the next flight of stairs, I met across with another solitary young man. With his bathing shorts on, a towel around his bare shoulders and blonde waves on his remarkably handsome head, he was a standard attractive prototype- perfect for beach modelling. Or perhaps Calvin Klein.
''Hello,'' he smiled in lopsided kind of way. I was acutely aware of my attire that consisted of a one piece bathing suit, a Hawaiian- print towel, and bare legs that now consisted of goosebumps from both cold and embarrassment.
''Hi,'' I stammered out. (only because of the cold! Obviously.)
''Need another towel?''
I forced out a smile, and mumbled out a 'no, thank you,' before scampering away hurriedly. Now if I were dressed up in something other than what I wore now, then perhaps this would have turned out another way, but given the circumstances, I would probably have sneezed in his face or something equally disastrous. I let out a loud sneeze the moment I landed on the second floor and thanked the heavens I had left. Unlike what those extremely untrustworthy romantic comedies, where it deems sneezing in the company of gorgeous guys cute, let me advise you that you best not. Having taken a bath, I put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and headed to my best friends' room. They had left the door unlocked, and I found the couple snogging on the couch. They jumped apart at my ''get a room!''
Dan grumbled. ''We are in our room, which you happen to break into.''
Ignoring him, I sat on their bed, and excited related my encounters with all the knock-outs- well, two at least. ''Well that's progress!'' Alice exclaimed. ''Two in one go. Though you seemed less into the stair-case guy. Which I think is because you are totally into the pool guy.''
''Okay,'' I decided. ''We need to give pool guy an easier name.''
''Bob,'' Dan declared. I snorted in protest.
''Bob!'' Alice agreed enthusiastically with her dimwit of a boyfriend.
''He looks far from a Bob!'' I replied furiously to no avail. He was to remain Bob.
''You know,'' Dan said, putting his phone aside. ''It's like someone switches something off in you every time you are on holiday. At work you are all,'' he adapted a high, shrilly voice which I assure you sounds nothing like mine. ''Yes sir, it will be placed in the bank immediately. I shall complete the presentations within the next few hours. There shall be no complaints, understood?'' Alice (the traitor!) agreed again nodding. ''It's like you want to be celibate all your life. And then, there's you now, on holiday,'' he chimed, waving his hands at me. ''Even poor Julian the hotel staff is not free from you.''
''Heyy! I did not say a word about Julian,'' I smacked Dan on the head. ''Only stairway guy and Bob.'' The idiot smiled satisfactorily when I used the nickname he assigned.
''He is right you know,'' Alice added. ''I tried to set you up with several guys from work, all who came to me for help.''
''They were all juniors,'' I waved aside. ''Imagine how awkward it would be dating a junior.''
''You are the manager,'' Dan commented. ''Almost everyone is your junior, other than the CEO, who is like sixty three or something.'' Arguing for a few more minutes, I left the two to get to the acrobatic game. No doubt they started making out the minute I left.
It was when I climbed up the ladder, and looked down over fifteen feet to the ground, that I realised why the previous person had hesitated to leave the spot, and plummet into the air. Everyone looked considerably tiny up there, and the wind seemed to blow me right off. Squeaking inaudibly, I swallowed, and clutched the little swing with my dear life, letting my legs leave the landing. I screamed. For a split of a second I wondered how funny I must look to an observer. You never know how heavy you are until you are holding your weight with your own hands. ''On the third swing, let go and drop onto the safety net,'' the man overseeing the game shouted out from below. I barely held on, and when it was the third swing, I happily fell onto the net, before being helped down safely. Drained from my adrenaline rush, I sat on the grass and looked at the next man, who was fool enough to attempt the acrobatics. He looked as though he weighed twenty times what I did. Immediately I felt sorry for the coach. You see, for safety, those who enter the game have a sort of belt around their waist, which is attached to a rope. The rope in turn is held by the coach, who pulls onto it, when you jump onto the safety net. I watched in wonder as he heaved his way up the ladder and then swing not even halfway, when he let go of the swing and landed on the net. The coach, who was directly across my line of sight flew around five feet into the air due to the force of his weight. I spluttered out laughing, pounding the ground with my hands. No one laughed louder than the cause of the feat himself, and the coach smiled embarrassedly. I wondered what Bob's laugh would sound like.
Sometime later, I decided that I wanted to look my best for dinner, just in case Bob decided to turn up. Sigh, yes I ended up calling Pool-guy Bob too. Blame Dan for his silly, addictive habits. I wore a plain, cream, knee-length dress and let my hair loose. To complete my outfit, I wore silver sandals, and a large, chunky silver necklace. Satisfied, I left for dinner. I ate very slowly. Bob was not in sight. I minced slowly through the appetizers, and nibbled through the main course. Dan and Alice joined me just then. ''No sign of Bob?'' they both asked. I shook my head, and sighed. Dan left to serve some soup, when Alice excitedly showed me her finger. ''What?'' my eyes popped out when I saw the ring. ''No way!''
''No, no,'' she assured me, quickly. ''It's not an engagement ring. It's a promise ring.'' I looked at her glowing face and smiled, congratulating my friend. Needless to say, when they reunited again over dinner, the two were simply basking in love. I could not be happier for the two of them, and I could not possibly be any sadder for myself.
Excusing myself, I walked along to one of the outside tables for two, and ordered some wine. Sipping slowly, I found myself gazing at all the couples strolling outside. The hotel was beautiful. In the darkness, you could see row upon row of glowing, yellow lanterns that adorned the sky. They had arranged air-lanterns for the couples who wanted to send them up together. Gulping down a second glass of wine, I walked over to the reception area, and into the balcony. The air was cold, and the night dazzling. A few lanterns floated upwards through the rows of still ones. The view consisted of the entire deck outside the restaurant, and I saw another couple in love. The man went down on his knees and proposed to her. I watched as his fiancé replied the way he wanted her to, and pull him in for a kiss. I shivered as a sudden breeze washed through me. Soft music drifted from some hidden radio, and I bit my lip as the newly engaged couple grew blurry to my vision. Blinking several times, I grew aware that someone else was watching the same scene from just a few feet across me. It was him. He stood there standing in the moonlight, and then we both walked towards each other. I ended up inches away from him. I don't know who moved first, but in a split of a second, our lips touched, his hand snaked around my waist, my hands went around his neck and on his shoulder, and we were kissing. His warmth felt like a bubble against the cold breeze and his soft lips were irresistible, and made me not want to stop. When he pulled me against himself, I thought my brain had melted into my knees.
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