Sleeplessness plagued the real estate agent. Her eyes were very tired, and her brain just wanted to relax. Her muscles remained rigid with an unnatural stiffness.
Dark eyes stared into the darkness, but nothing stared back her.
Lucy blinked once, twice before flipping onto her side. She had her own bed, silence, complete darkness with black-out curtains, and her own room. And yet, she couldn't sleep a wink. Looking at her phone once more, she began typing words into the text message box.
Are you awake?
No, no, she couldn't write that. 643Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzx7dirTvBw
Perhaps it was just better to sleep it off after all... Lucy closed her eyes and took deep breaths, forcing her eyes to stay closed as she tried to relax and give into the darkness. She would count to one, two, three as her breaths slowed and deepened within her lungs.
The next time Lucy opened her eyes, it was 8:00 AM. Feeling restless in bed, the woman got up and put on her swimsuit. The swim top was simple and chic in pinkish lavender with scalloped edges with a matching bottom. After putting on her two piece swimsuit, Lucy tip-toed into a red, wide leg jumpsuit with a keyhole cutout in the front. The cutout was framed with pretty, delicate ruffles on the shoulder straps. She then slapped on a pair of comfortable sandals and made her way to the pool area.
The Shangri-La Hotel Paris Health Club was beautiful - it was something that looked like it belonged to a Greek God's temple or home. White pillars held up the ceiling, the pool water was crystal clear, and the artisan work of the pool tiles looked like it took ages to put that together with all of the little blue and black tiles in a perfect pattern. Snapping a picture, Lucy quickly put her phone away and stood next to a lounge chair as she put the phone into her pant pocket and she began undressing, slipping out of the jumpsuit. Lucy placed her jumpsuit onto the chair along with the robe and towel that was given to her.
It was just her and another person.
Lucy dipped a toe into the water, and then slowly descended into the water until every part of her body was submerged except for her head. She floated and then stared at the ceiling. The sound of splashing alerted her attention, and Lucy couldn't help, but gasp as her eyes grew large and wide while her breath was stolen from her. Coming out of the water was a Greek God. Or someone who looked extremely handsome and sexy.
His sandy-blonde hair was wet and pushed back. He had high cheekbones that were chiseled and extremely fine like he was carved from marble. His eyes were dark - a mix between blue and grey. His chest was defined with large pectorals, and dare she count them? An eight pack of abs. He was an extremely handsome and very lean man - not too overly muscular. She didn't like the ones that were super buff, but this man was beautiful. And incredibly well-groomed. There was not a patch of hair that was visible on his arms or chest.
His shoulder blades were so sexy and the way they rippled when they moved was just a visual Lucy couldn't ignore while the water ripples slowly dripped down all of the available skin that she could see.
He was drying his hair with a fluffy white towel, and then he looked up. They made eye contact. Lucy couldn't help, but gag and blush at him. This was so awkward. He smiled at her.
She couldn't help, but awkwardly smile back as she floated in place, her legs moving back and forth under the water.
"Bonjour," he said, nodding his head towards her before turning away once more.
God those swim trunks were so distracting.
"Bonjour," replied Lucy, sighing a bit wistfully. What a good image to start the day off!
He then muttered something that sounded like, "...She's late.."
Was that an American accent she detected?
"I'm sorry I'm late," a familiar voice said. Her feet padded against the tiles.
And then there were three.
Nina was rubbing her eyes as she walked over to the handsome man in a dusty-rose colored maxi dress. There was a peekaboo of a burnt orange swimsuit under the dress. A frown was etched deep onto her face as she greeted him, "Morning."
"Morning," he replied gruffly. He then placed the towel back onto the chair and said, "You're late."
"I had a little bit too much to drink last night," Nina said, completely unaffected by the beauty in front of her. "My tolerance has gone down."
"It's cause you lost weight," he explained. He then tossed her a smirk. "Let's do our scheduled routine. You're behind by ten minutes already."
"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off, taking off the maxi dress and tossed it onto the chair next to his. Just as Nina was ready to step into the water, her eyes met with Lucy's. Dark eyes met with dark brown eyes.
"Morning," Nina said, getting into the water. She then swam over to where Lucy was floating. "Everything good? Did Ryan do something?"
"Nina," growled the handsome, handsome man. Even his slightly irritated face was handsome. "C'mon you got to finish the regiment."
"Hot Stuff," she called him. "This is my friend Lucy."
"How are you not affected by him?" whispered Lucy, stealing glances at him.
"The Hottie with a Body? He's my Accountability Coach. We've been...," she trailed off before turning back to the man. "Tommy, how long have you been coaching me?"
"Ten months," he replied, shaking his head. Water dripped from his hair. "Nice to meet you Lucy. I'm Thomas Elliott. All of my friends call me Tom."
"Hi Tom," Lucy said. She then turned Nina and whispered, "You get to wake up to that everyday? Damn girl! You're so lucky!"
"He's single," Nina said, informing Lucy. "You're single too right?"
"Yeah," Lucy answered, not too sure where the conversation was going.
"Then it's settled," Nina determined by herself. "You two should get to know each other."
Nina then swam away, and said to Tom, "Keep her company! She's cute!"
The other woman disappeared underneath the water, doing underwater strokes before coming up for air as she turned on her back and began moving her arms in backwards motion. Her backstrokes were paced out as she paddle to and from one end to another. She repeated this motion over and over again as if it was drilled into her very bare bones. After two more laps, Nina then began doing underwater stretches.
Feeling awkward in the water, Lucy swam over to the ladder and climbed out of the pool, walking slowly to where her things were. Tom was saying something to Nina, but Lucy couldn't hear too well.
"Squat jumps," Tom said, getting into the water once more. He then swam over to Nina, and they began doing sets of fifteen squat jumps in the water.
"How was your party last night?" he said to her, keeping his eyes on her tired face.
She grimaced as she tried to talk and breathe at the same time without exerting too much energy. She then said tiredly, "It... was... fine. It's really... hot."
Lucy couldn't help, but smile watching the pair as Tom fixed Nina's form and posture.
Her phone buzzed, alerting her attention away, and she saw that she had a new message on her WhatsApp.
Breakfast? The message from Ryan said. A smile bloomed across her face, and she tried hiding it but Nina caught it, and she said a bit loudly, "Something good?"
"Something like that..."
"Good," Nina said. "Breakfast after my workout?"
"I think I'll head out now," replied Lucy, then she glanced down at herself. "I'm going to change first."
"Hopefully we see each other soon," Nina said, lingering by the pool side.
"Nina," Tom's voice was very exasperated. He shook his head, and then turned to Lucy, saying, "You seem like a very nice person, but you're distracting Nina."
Lucy blinked twice before looking down at Nina, and then she waved, "Ta!"
When Lucy came down to the Garden Room for breakfast, it was mostly packed with Ryan's family members. Some were smiling at her, pointing at her, or just out right frowning. Her stomach growled with ravenous hunger as she approached the buffet table. There was a spread of breads, baguettes, butter, jams, fruits, cheeses, croissants, and cuts of meats. There were two chefs manning an omelette station. There was also scramble eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and ham. And then to the right side, there was an assortment of Asian breakfast. There was chicken, congee, beans, breakfast soups, savory crepes, flatbread, and tea-leaf eggs. All sorts of fresh-pressed juices were lined up: kiwi-aloe, orange, apple, lemon, watermelon, melon, strawberry, and mint-detox juice. 643Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfQ1tsMmSI
The aroma filled her senses and her mouth salivated as her feet carried her into the room. Immediately she spotted the Wongs near the windows, looking very happy - Ryan looked especially relaxed. And maybe Lucy had stared a bit too long, but their eyes met and there was that twinkle in his eyes as he got up from the table, excusing himself as he walked over. His lips were curved upward, and she stood stunned, mesmerized by him. When it was time to go home, Lucy knew she could escape from whatever spell she was under.
"Good morning," he murmured, noticing that her hair was a bit wet. His fingers twitched, aching to feel the texture of her hair wet. "You went for a swim?"
"Yes," Lucy replied. She then looked up, and over to the food. "I'm starving. Go back to your family. I'm sure you guys have loads to catch up on."643Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcPQTeIeKY
"Come and sit with us when you've gotten food," he said. "My mother wants to talk to you."
"Ryan," Lucy said gravely, looking at him with scared, terrified eyes.
"Yes?"
"I'm not your girlfriend."
He looked at her, and Lucy flinched. She was expecting more of a reaction from him. Instead he was unreadable with a neutral face as if he didn't hear her at all. Lucy couldn't help, but remain firm as she searched for an answer in his eyes. They stood off to the side by the food station while the bride and groom were going around each table, greeting and thanking all of their guests.
"Ryan," Lucy whispered, glancing from one side of the room to the other as if she was afraid to be caught. "You don't just introduce a girl to your parents if she isn't your girlfriend."
Ryan smiled, and said, "I do introduce my friends to my parents though."643Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpH2ijJk6DE
"All of your female friends?"
"No," he replied without a hitch.
Lucy sighed.
"Just the ones that I considered special," he replied mysteriously, smiling at her patiently. "I'll be waiting for you."643Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW77olKKe5B
He then turned around and sauntered over to the table where his parents were, leaving Lucy staring at his wide back with an inexplicable ache. She couldn't understand herself. She couldn't understand him. They were too different - and it doomed to fail. Whatever it was.
Lucy wanted to tell him no, set a boundary, but why was it that she found herself lingering and wanting more each time they met? Her eyes often sought out his - it wasn't like this at first. No matter what Lucy said to herself, her body remained indifferent to her logical self. She was gravitating towards a great fall.
Why did it hurt so much to feel him even he was nothing to her, but a dear friend? Why could she not set herself free from the cage that held her captive? Lucy remained determined to ignore his instructions, grabbing a plate as she filled it up with what she liked.
And after she finished, her feet began walking towards where he was, free falling into him even though she didn't know where she was going to land, or who was going to catch her. Every step Lucy took was one that stripped away her power over herself. She walked towards an impossible love.
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