I barely slept my first night here, feeling restless. I expected to be tired after what's probably the weirdest day of my life. Instead of sleeping, I spent the whole night thinking about all the new impressions I made. Rosie popped up in my head multiple times. She came in around four in the morning stumbling against my bed. She giggled an apology before falling in her own bed. Within minutes I heard a soft snoring coming from her side. I wondered all night if she did anything with Harry.
I sneak out of the bed to grab a quick shower and hopefully wash away all the weird thoughts that kept me awake for most of the night. I have to start work early this morning where I’ll learn the ropes of being a lifeguard. I have no idea what to expect, and I’m sure I’ll be fine, but it still scares me not knowing what I have to do.
My father used to be a swim teacher and I learned from a young age how to swim. Swimming always stayed a hobby and even when money was tight, my father made sure to pay my contribution. But this is different than swimming in a pool.
The shower is warm and calms some of my nerves. I’m glad that the shower here works well. I don’t feel like walking back, all wet, from the bathroom down the hall. Back home we have a small apartment down town and the bathroom is too small for an actual bath. So this is definitely a pro and I add that to the list of things I need to tell my father. He needs lists to get through his day, while I can keep it all in my head. If I can’t remember something or don’t have a plan, than there’s something wrong with me.
Around nine in the morning I get an answer to one of the questions that wandered around my head last night. When I start to unpack some of my things, I catch Rosie staring to the ceiling.
“Everything okay?” I ask concerned.
“Yeah, just a little hangover.” Her voice is flat and it costs her some power to get out of bed without throwing up.
She flees to the bathroom to take a shower as well and I continue to unpack my stuff. Rosie kept some drawers empty for me and I am happy that I don’t have to ask for some space. She has been here since April, the beginning of the season, and will stay until late October.
I store away my clothes and place my father’s letter in my night stand. It are the little things that he does that make me love him so much. He might be a drunk, well he is, but he’s a sweet one. The one that doesn’t hurt a fly – most of the time. And it isn’t as if he’s drunk all day, every day. Alcohol has just always been a problem for him, for as long as I can remember. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love him.
He has always been there for me, with his little lists to try to keep some order in our life. He was there when I got my first swimming diploma. He was there when I sang in front of the whole school – something that terrifies me to this day. He was there when I got my first boyfriend and had my first break up. He was there when I graduated, happy tears falling down from his eyes into his beard. He was always there and I can’t say that about my mother. So even if I have to work in a foreign country, I will happily do that for him, because he’s my dad.
I don’t think that I’ll do his list though. It is totally his humour and I laugh when I imagine him bald, but I keep it in my night stand just for those moments where I miss him. If I read it I’ll remember the way he can always make me laugh.
Rosie enters the room, fully dressed in her lifeguard clothes that are all yellow with red lettering. Still she manages to look really beautiful and it makes me wonder again if she and our neighbour did something last night. We both have to leave for work at the same time so we leave our room together while we quickly eat sandwiches I made for the both of us.
When we walk to the end of the hallway I finally feel brave enough to ask her one of the questions that kept me awake all night.
“How did it go with Harry?” I hope I don’t sound as scared as I feel to ask her this. But judging from yesterday she won’t mind telling me.
“When he came back with the beer he ignored me.”
I wrap my arm around her neck, suddenly feeling sorry for this girl. “That's his lost then,” I reassure her.
Part of me is relieved that nothing happened. She clearly likes him, although I don't see in him what she sees. I only see potential heart break for her.
“Well, that's what I thought, but then he kissed me. Right in front of our room. I asked him in, but he didn't want to come in because of you. Saying he didn't want to upset you even more.” She raises her eyebrows to me asking for an explanation.
“Oh, well that's a first,” I tell her. My face probably a deep red now. “I may have told him to not hurt your feelings, nothing more.”
“God,” she groans stopping her tracks. “Please don't act like my mother. I have one at home and that is why I am here.”
“Sorry,” I apologize. “I just don't like him. I only know you both a day, but I think he's a true heart breaker. Look at Liam, he's a nice guy for you.”
“Do you want Harry for yourself then?” she crosses her arms over her chest and looks totally serious. I start to laugh hysterically at her ridiculous question.
“What?” I say out of breath. “I have a boyfriend, the last thing I want is Harry.”
“Good morning.” Harry walks passed us giving me a slight nod, his usual smirk plastered on his face.
I shake my head at the ludicrousness of this situation. Of course he had to walk past me right when I told him that I don't want him.
“Just kidding.” A small smile appears on Rosie's face as she watches Harry walk past us, well running almost.
“Let's go.” Rosie starts to walk again, but in a much slower pace.
“You're looking hot,” I joke to her, eyeing her outfit a little better. The sweater she’s wearing is oversized, but looks comfy.
“Wait till you see your uniform. It's a tiny bikini.” The smile on her face grows as I almost throw up in my mouth. “Just kidding,” she adds and I nudge her for “just kidding-ing” me for the second time this early in the morning.
When we reach the tower we see Harry leaning against the door of the tower they showed me yesterday.
“Right on time, as I predicted.” He opens the door and lets us enter the tower.
It has a panorama view on the beach and the sea. It isn’t that big and most of the time two people sit inside it. Right now there’s no one and Rosie slouches down on one of the chairs picking up a magazine to read.
The weather isn't as beautiful as it was yesterday. It feels colder and the sun hides behind grey clouds. Through the big windows I can see the sea and the wild waves crashing into the golden beach. Different colours of turquoise almost blind my eyes and I sigh.
“She's beautiful isn't she?” We seem to share a moment as we both stare to the sea. “Right, let’s get you to work. I'll show you around.” But not too long of course.
“Great.” I'm totally sarcastic and he notices because he grins at my irritation.
Harry shows me around in the tower and explains the walky-talkies. They don't seem too difficult, but according to Harry a lot of fuckers don't know how to use them. There's a dressing room slash examination room with lockers and a gurney in the back and I realise that there isn’t a woman area. Or a secluded area at all. The only thing separating us from Rosie are the lockers and cabinets.
“So this your pile of things.” He shows me a pile of clothing with a whistle on top of it.
“The whistle is yours. You have to wear it when you’re on the beach. The clothes contain bathing suites, some jackets, shirts and sweaters. You can pair them with whatever you want.”
I nod and follow him outside again. Next to the tower is a stockroom that holds two jet ski's, four buggy’s and a lot of peddle boards. I just stare at the size of them.
“Grab one,” he instructs me.
“Why?” I ask him. I hoped that when Harry greeted me at the door, he was here to work, not to teach me how to save people.
“I'm going to teach you how to rescue someone. There's not a soul here today to so I'll play the victim. I can fake a good drowning.”
“I am not going to save you without some instructions. I don't work that way.” My mind already racing. The idea to jump in the water unprepared makes me even more nervous.
“What do you mean, I don't work that way? You're not a machine are you?” he half smiles at me, but I can hear annoyance slip in his voice.
“Well, I like to be organized before I go in to the water. I never even swam in a sea, let alone dive in with a board.”
He rolls his eyes and walks back towards the towers. “Follow me.” His voice is low and now definitely annoyed. I couldn't care less.
“Yes boss,” I try to joke, but he doesn't pay me any attention.
He opens the door to the tower and takes off his shirt. The tattoos on his chest surprised me yesterday. They are all black, not the washed out colour that some of my fathers are. His tattoos are ugly and smudged from age, but Harry's are still sharp and the ink dark.
After his shirt it is time to take of his pants. He's in his boxers now and his sudden undressing startles me. A strange feeling overtakes me when Harry turns around and my eyes are still focused on his boxers, but this time the front.
“If you would stop staring and start undressing than we could start this day.” he scares me mostly because he caught me staring. I quickly look to the ground.
“What am I supposed to change in?” my voice is small and shaky.
Harry throws me a bathing suit from the pile of supplies that are mine. It is red and lifeguard is written on the back in yellow lettering. I suddenly feel as if I walked on the set of Baywatch.
I find a toilet to change in. It is small and dirty, but I rather change here than in front of Harry. I take off my clothes and fold them. The bathing suite is tight, but seems to fit alright. I am glad that it isn't a small bikini as Rosie joked. I open the door to step back in the room and Harry has his back to me again. He's wearing yellow shorts with lifeguard written on the sides.
“I'm ready,” I tell him and he turns around and I am glad that he doesn’t comment on how I look since I feel pretty exposed.
“Finally. Here's your locker.” He points at one of the lockers that now has my name on it.
“Did you write that?” I raise my eyebrows as I study the handwriting. It is neat. The only thing wrong with it is that it spells Lexie instead of Alex.
“I did Lexie, you thought I couldn't write?”
“No.” I shake my head at his stupid question. “Of course not. But my name is Alex not Lexie.”
He starts to laugh and exits the room to go outside again. I follow him like a defeated puppy.
“Well Alex,” he emphasizes my name and I roll my eyes. “We will go for a swim first. Since that is how you work.”
I, once again, hurry down the beach walking behind Harry. He walks so fast on the lose sand that I almost have to jog to keep up with him. It's cold today, well for Greek standards, only twenty degrees. The beach is empty and the waves are big. Without the sun reflecting on the sea, it looks much darker and more dangerous. The water must be freezing and I suddenly stop in my tracks.
“Harry?” I yell over the wind blowing right in our faces.
“What now?” he turns around, the irritation clear in his eyes.
“How cold is the water?” I ask him afraid that he'll get mad again, but I have to know before I start to scream once I enter the water.
“For fuck's sake, do you over think everything? Just get in.” he walks backwards into the water and his face stays the same annoyed expression. He doesn't look as if the water is cold.
I slowly walk towards the sea. The sand is already wet and cold at my feet. I am sure that the water is cold as hell. He may act tough, but it probably is to fool me. I dip my feet into the crashing waves and sure enough, it is freezing cold.
“Nice huh?” he grins to me and splashes some water towards me.
I immediately sprint back to the beach. I don't want to be a wimp, but I am. Harry is full on laughing now walking further in the water. I know there is only one thing that I can do to show him that I am not a wimp. Instead of sprinting back to the tower, I sprint into the water. I ignore the cold water surrounding my legs and dive in the sea.
The salty water irritates my eyes as I try to keep them open to find Harry, but it hurts too much. I gulp for air as I jump up. I can't feel any ground beneath my feet so the beach is pretty steep. To my surprise I find Harry behind me, swimming towards me. Now that I am in the water it doesn't feel that bad. The wind is cold on my face and it feels as if my body that is in the water is warmer.
“You can swim,” Harry states when he's inches away from me.
“Well Harry, you thought I couldn't swim?”
“Touché.” he smiles and his green eyes look even lighter. “So, feels better to not over think doesn't it?”
“No it doesn't. There's nothing wrong with thinking about all the possibilities.” I frown as many worries fill my head.
“Are there any sharks in here?” I scan the waters around us as if one is approaching us right now.
“No sharks, only jellyfish,” he reassures me suppressing a giggle.
“Gross,” I say with a disgusted face.
“You will come across of them a lot. During the summer the beach is full with people who ignore our warnings. They will cry like baby's by the time they come to see you.”
“Well, that should be okay. What else will I have to do?” I ask not really looking forward to the situation he described.
He rolls his eyes as I sneaky try to ask him another question. I only want to know what my job will be like.
“Just swim here for a while, I'll go grab a board and rescue you.”
Without a further warning he leaves me alone to swim in the big sea. By now I am used to the water, but I have to keep swimming in order to keep warm. I watch Harry swim and then run up the beach to grab a board. The boards look big and heavy, but he carries one easily. Harry turns out to be somewhat nice. He still annoys me, but I have a feeling I annoy him equally as much. That only seems to be fair.
He pushes the board in to the water and kneels down on top of it. That alone seems hard. He paddles towards me with his arms. The closer he gets, the better I see his muscles contract and relax. His skin shimmering from the sea. When he finally reaches me, he looks excited.
“Act like you can't move,” he instructs me. “Then let me save you like I normally would. Don't work against me, it will only make it harder.”
His mischievous smile throws me off. I know he's up to something, but I have to let him show me. If I don't learn how to rescue someone, I will be of no use here.
Harry grabs my arm and I try to relax and let him carry all my body weight. His grasp around my arm is hard and hurts, but I don't want to show him. He tries to lift me on the board and I cooperate. Within seconds he has me on my belly in front of him. The board is long enough to hold our bodies.
He grabs both of my thighs making me jump from his touch. He slides me towards him and then lays down in between my legs. I hate that I can't see exactly what he's doing and that his face is so close to my bum. With a lot of power from his arms, he paddles us back to the beach and I am glad to fall back in the water again. This time it feels warmer than it felt being out of the water.
“Great ass,” Harry smirks at me and I squeak.
“Don't say such things,” I warm him while secretly touching my bum to feel if my bathing suit is still in place.
“Let’s just say that your boyfriend is lucky,” Harry compliments me. I flush when I think about James. He wouldn't like Harry saying stuff like that.
“I am the lucky one,” I am gushing about James to Harry and something about it doesn't feel right. I see a flash of emotion in Harry's eyes, but I can't place it. “I guess now it is time for me to see your ass?”
He starts to laugh at my attempt at being cheeky towards him. “Babe, you already saw it in the changing room. Remember?” he winks before he pushes the board towards me.
I decide not to answer his question. I do remember and it makes me feel weird. I grab the board with both my hands and listen to Harry explaining how to handle it. My mind wanders towards James a couple of times and then goes back to staring at Harry's abs shamelessly. I begin to understand more and more what Rosie sees in him. I can't deny that he's gorgeous.