Attraction

CHAPTER 8 Bond Polarity and Electronegativity

Sam spent the night with me. Having her there helped. But despite the heavenly bed and the sound of the ocean in the background, I didn't sleep very well.

Sam and I hadn't joined the boys for dinner.Instead we opted to sit on the balcony overlooking the sea and study. This was my idea. I needed more time to think, to consider,to plan my next move with Martin. I was certain he needed a friend much, much more than he needed a girlfriend, now I just needed to convince him of this fact.

Mr. Thompson stopped by to check in and make sure everything was to our liking. I asked about having dinner in the suite and he said he'd pass the message along. One of the maids brought us dinner. Her name was Rosa and she reminded me of my paternal grandmother; her big smile was sweet and she promised us cookies if we ate all our vegetables.

She also brought me a note from Martin. In his scrawling, masculine, chaotic script it read:

Parker,

I'll be down at the beach tonight. Come find me.

-Martin

I was relieved he didn't come by or press the issue of me taking dinner in my room. I needed space and time and...basically all the known dimensions available tome, maybe even the assistance of invisible dark matter. I wasn't ready for a moonlight stroll on the beach with Martin yet. The sky had too many stars to be anything but fatalistically romantic.

After eating, Sam and I studied some more. I opted for the giant shower with seven heads-despite the fact the bathtub was the size of a small swimming pool-then worked on a term paper until midnight when we went to bed.

It was early when I woke, the sun just making an appearance and the light still soft and hazy. I pulled on my bathrobe and walked to the window, wanting to catch the purples and oranges painting the sky before it surrendered to blue.

I got my wish and then some. The view was epically spectacular. The white sandy beach and calm water called to me in a way I'd never experienced. Suddenly, I wanted to go swimming. Right that minute. I needed to leave the manufactured luxury of the big house. The genuine beauty of nature called tome.

I quickly changed in the bathroom, careful to lather myself in super high SPF, and grabbed two oversized beach towels.

I also packed a canvas bag with a leftover bottle of water from the night before, my current book, a big hat, sunglasses, and other beach essentials. I exited out the balcony door and picked my way down the path to the beach.The path consisted of ten stone steps and a hundred feet of the finest, softest sand I'd ever touched.

Once there I dropped my belongings, discarded my T-shirt, cotton shorts, and flip flops,and walked into the salt water. The water was crystal clear, the temperature cool and refreshing, and was nearly as calm as a lake.It felt like heaven.

For at least an hour I floated, swam, searched for shells, and just generally enjoyed the alone time with my thoughts in this beautiful place. When my fingers became prunes, I reluctantly abandoned the water for the shore.

I arranged one of the towels under the shade of a big palm tree and rolled the other towel into a pillow for my head. Then, I read my book, drying in the sea air, and lazing about like a lazy person. This was the kind of unscheduled relaxing I'd embraced since starting college.

I was maybe four pages into my novel when I heard the noise; it was a chant-faint then louder-of baritone voices. Lifting onto my elbows, I set my book to one side, holding my place with my thumb, and peered around for the origin.

Then I saw them. All nine of the boys-looking remarkably like men-out some distance from shore; far enough away I couldn't quite make out individual faces,but close enough I could plainly see they were all shirtless. And it ought to be noted that they should always be shirtless. In fact,they should be disallowed from wearing shirts...ever.