An Unlikely Reunion

Three

A short while later, the moderator had left us, and we were all sitting by the pool, getting to know each other. To my surprise, most of them seemed like genuinely nice people I could actually get along with. During the conversation, I did my best to ignore Mr Chevalier -- or Ian, as I was probably supposed to call him now -- which wasn't exactly easy as he was a rather talkative person. I was relieved when the first couple -- Lucas and Jennifer -- told us they'd leave for a bit so they could get to know each other a little better. It was like a cue for all the other couples to do the same.

Martin took my hand and walked me to a garden swing in a somewhat hidden area. Though, of course, it wasn't really hidden as everything we did was being filmed and potentially broadcasted on television. Was there really a point in having private conversations around here?

"So," he said after we'd both sat on the swing in comfortable positions, not too close to each other. "What do you do with your life?"

I chuckled. That wasn't exactly a natural conversation starter. "Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I spend most of my time watching Netflix when I'm actually supposed to study and stuff."

"You go to university?" Martin asked and I nodded. "What's your major?"

"English Literature."

He laughed. At first, I thought he was laughing at me because he thought that was stupid, but then he said, "That's my major, too."

Now I joined him in laughing. We talked some more and found out we actually had a lot of common interests. We liked the same books, movies and TV shows. We did disagree on tastes in music, but I could live with that. He told me it was his dream to become an author, too, and we made plans to maybe write something together some time. I also learnt that he was merely one year older than I was, which surprised me as he seemed older and I usually went for older guys, anyway. I didn't mind, though. It was refreshing to like a guy my age for once.

Our conversation went surprisingly well until I made the mistake to look over to the pool. Sat there was the drop-dead-gorgeous Liza with Mr Ch-- Ian. They seemed to hit it off and I couldn't help noticing a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. It had been three years since I'd last seen the man. There was no way I still had any kind of feelings for him, was there?

"Are you okay?" Martin asked as he obviously noticed the change in my spirit.

I shook off the strange melancholic feeling I'd suddenly got and smiled at him. "Yeah, I just felt a bit bad for Nikolai. His girl is already flirting with another guy."

"That Ian? I don't like him," he said with a slightly grouchy expression on his face.

Holding back a chuckle, I said, "Me neither."

As I noticed Mr-- Ian was looking at us, I scooted closer to Martin, who put his arm around me. I couldn't be certain from this far away, but it seemed like Ian rolled his eyes before turning back to Liza again.