Chapter Seventeen

It took almost a full hour to put all the clothes and shoes in their respective places. By the time I was done, I wanted to jump in bed and sleep which I did soon enough. Thankfully I remembered to check and reply to Mia's messages. She would be coming back home the next day and I didn't want her to be startled at my absence so I mentioned that I was on vacation with some family members and won't be back until the end of the month. Knowing Mia she would probably have a heart attack and rip my head off but I would face those demons later.

I didn't have any other notification or message to reply to, Mia was my only friend. Sad but true. I was terrible at making friends or even keeping them. Mia was still here because of herself. I sighed and put off my phone, I went to sleep almost immediately.

As usual, when I woke up, I couldn't tell if it was daytime or nighttime. I checked my phone, it was way past noon. I rolled out of bed and tried to clean up and eat of course. I finished that and with nothing else to do I decided to watch some television, it didn't last. I was terribly bored.

Princess would be up till late and besides her company was the last thing I needed. I decided to go for a swim. I mean I was in an exotic hotel, there was sure to be a pool I could soak in. I also wanted to go sightseeing, this was definitely the right time while Calli was asleep. I was very certain if I asked her, she would say no.

I got dressed, good thing I had picked up a few swimsuits and I selected them well. It was a bikini that showed off more skin than I had or have ever shown. Knowing I couldn't just galavant outside with this much-exposed skin, not that I couldn't but I wasn't confident enough so I draped on a kimono that was a lot colorful compared to my one color two-piece. It was a black bikini.

I checked my reflection twice and made sure everything was in place before I strolled to the elevator and up to the lobby. The lobby was filled, maybe not filled but I wasn't expecting to face this much of a crowd immediately I stepped out. I walked with as much courage as I could muster and approached the receptionist.

There wasn't any queue which I was slightly grateful for. "Hi, how may I help you?" She asked with a bright smile. I didn't think I had seen her before.

"I was wondering if you could direct me to the pool." I haven't seen one but it would be absurd if a hotel like this one didn't have a pool I could use.

She looked a bit torn for a few seconds and paused as if she didn't understand my question. "Step out through the doors then walk towards your left. It is just by the side of the hotel."

"Thank you so much," I replied enthusiastically and headed towards the door.

"My pleasure," I heard her say.

I followed her instructions and soon found myself by a large pool. It was the biggest pool I had ever seen. Without giving it much thought, I flung my kimono on a nearby empty seat and dived in. The water felt very cool against my skin and I savored the feeling, staying underneath the water as long as I could.

I pushed my head out in a rush and dragged in a long breath, the water was amazing. Only then did I notice I wasn't close to being alone in the pool, there were a couple of people spread out on the pool chairs shedded from the sun and twice the amount on the other side of the pool but it wasn't the least bit crowded. I found that I didn't care, I just wanted some alone time flapping in the water.

I must have swum for a pretty long time, I wasn't sure but when my arms and legs began to hurt I got out of the pool. I walked to the seat where I had thrown my kimono and wore it once again. I threw myself against the seat as I rested, I thought a drink would be so nice right now.

I sighed and closed my eyes as I relaxed. This wasn't so bad if I ignored everything, my parents popped into my thoughts and I waved them away though I secretly hoped they were fine. "Would you care for a drink?" I heard a gruff voice say.

I opened my eyes quickly to find a pretty boy looking down at me. He had long hair that was tied in a ponytail, a few strands had escaped the band and they fell across his face just slightly covering part of his left eye. For a lot of seconds, I couldn't speak, think and I certainly couldn't breathe.

"Um, is this intrusive?" He asked and looked away that was when I noticed he was holding a drink to my face.

"Oh no," I yelped finally finding my speech. "Thank you," I said and reached out to the glass he held to me. I took a long sip and almost coughed it out, I don't know what I had been expecting but it wasn't this. It wasn't bad it was shocking, considering this was alcohol.

"You don't like it? I wasn't sure what to get." He looked a lot disappointed as he spoke.

"No no, I was just a little surprised that's all." I wasn't lying, I thought it was a pretty good drink. I gulped the rest of the glass to show I wasn't lying, it was a terrible idea.

"Whoa, go slow. Are you okay?"

"I think so, I was pretty thirsty." I laid back against the seat.

"You can have mine if you still want more."

"Nah I am good, that was more than enough. Thank you."

"My pleasure," he said and smiled. I didn't know why but for some reason I felt like I would definitely do whatever he asked. "What is your name? Mine is Kieran."

"Bella, your name is pretty cool."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Thank you, I chose it myself." Again with the wicked smile and I lost track of the conversation. "So what are you doing here all by yourself?"

"Well as you have guessed, I came for a swim. I am on vacation…" I paused, I didn't think it was safe to release further information to this stranger, not that it felt wrong but Callidora went through great heights to get me here including pulling me away from my parents.

"Well same including the swimming part." 

I had been trying to keep my eyes on his face, it had been easy since he had such a pretty face but now that he mentioned the rest of him I couldn't help it, my eyes strayed and stayed.