White Cloud

11- I'm Being Ridiculous

The next day, I'm returning from my jog with Tony and Ronny by my side. They're both tired and I'm sweaty and gross, ready to go upstairs to shower so that I can go do whatever it is that I'm going to do today. I'm not really sure what that is yet since I've given up on finding employment at the hotel but I'm sure that I'll find something to do. I've been looking at colleges but I think that I should really figure out what I want to do with my life before I start looking at colleges.

"Bea!" I hear somebody shout my name just as I'm arriving to the hotel, stepping onto the pool terrace. I look up and see Vincent waving his hand at me from his lifeguard chair.

I offer him a small wave and a friendly smile but we're too far away for me to talk to him and I don't want to just yell a conversation over the pool so I don't say anything.

He looks at the clock and then back at me. "Wait just five minutes, I gotta ask you something."

His break starts in five minutes I assume. "I'll be back," I assure him because I think that it'd be convenient if I use this time to take my dogs to the groomers. Beth, the groomer, has grown very fond of my two lovable dogs and they seem to get excited to see her now too, which means a lot for Ronny because he can be somewhat of a shy little angel.

On my way back to the pool to talk to Vincent, I can feel myself getting kind of nervous. I wonder what he needs to ask me. He seemed happy when he called my name so I don't think that I'm worried that it's something bad I'm just... nervous. I even decide that before I return to the pool, I should go into the bathroom off of the lobby and look at myself in the mirror. I don't know why.

I know that I'm gross and sweaty but with the help of a mirror and loads of hand soap, maybe I can make my hair look not terrible and maybe I can make myself not stink so terribly. As if my hair or stench is relevant to anything. Even if it was, Vincent has seen me in my post-jog glow before and it hasn't seemed to faze him.

I don't know what it matters anyway. I'm being ridiculous.

I leave the bathroom and go back through the lobby to return to the outside pool area where Vincent has already called all of the children out of the pool and is going for a swim himself. I sit down on one of the pool chairs near the deep end where he's swimming so when he brings his head above water, he sees me sitting there.

"Hey," He greets me with his handsomely crooked grin.

"Hey," I repeat, leaning my elbows awkwardly onto my knees. "What'd you want to ask me?"

When Vincent pulls himself out of the pool by using his strong biceps to push off of the edge, I really try my best not to stare at his contracting muscles and dripping abs shining in the sunlight with pool water. I really do try my best not to stare but alas, I stare. I'm not sure if Vincent doesn't notice or if he just doesn't say anything but after he grabs his towel from the lifeguard chair, I blink a few times and snap out of it.

"Right, well you remember last night how I told you that I'd take you around town?" He wonders with his head crooked to the side. He wraps the white hotel towel around his waist before he sits down in the chair beside mine. There's a young couple cuddling on a chair just a few to my left and an older woman tanning to our right as a few kids kick their legs through the pool water, waiting for their swim break to be over so that they can get back in the pool.

"Yes, I do recall that," I confirm with a nod.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do that? Except for just showing you around town, it'd be coffee or something and also it'd be a date," He explains with that wide grin and his gray eyes staring right through me.