I said, “Good afternoon, welcome to the Resort Guatanari. How can we help you?”
It took many hours to attend to people and only people. Some took it as a joke and just gladly accepted our apologies. Others so plainly just complained and spit while talking. Those were the worst.
It had been 7 hours since I started this torture.
“Hey Greg, is this what every year is like? never in my life have I dealt with so many people. “
“Don’t worry, and it’s even worse at Christmas time. Surely this time, the one wearing the Christmas outfit will be you.” I said while looking at him maliciously.
Franklin wrinkled his nose. You could read on his face, “I don’t want to pay for the hazing.”
Then suddenly a family of 3 arrived at the reception. I could feel how Franklin hit my back, and he wanted me to see the girl who came into that family.
I smacked him, then let out a sigh, hoping it
Apart from me felt very ashamed, but I did not want to break the moment, so I followed my words, moving one of my arms to my forehead, giving her a military salute as well as a big smile. Diana let out a small laugh. “Mission accomplished, captain,” I said as I lowered my arm. She turned and looked at me curiously, and now her eyes had lost the opacity of the night. Instead, they shone like two fireflies in the night, two jewels of emerald color. I was speechless when I saw her. “You have beautiful eyes.” Words that escaped me, she quickly looked away from me and covered her face with her long hair. “Thank you, but I think this is not a good time.” I had gotten carried away, and I could hear my father’s words in my mind “First professionalism and then pleasure.” “Sorry, it was not my intention. It’s just that your eyes looked so sad since you arrived, and seeing that change, so leaking left me captivated.” Diana turned around again, bu
“Did I do something wrong? Her father said, somewhat confused.“I don’t think so, sir, and your daughter seems to be having a hard time,” I replied.“Did you also notice? We’ve been trying to cheer her up for days, but we don’t want to stifle her either.” Diana’s father said.“I understand. Sometimes you just have to be patient, and when she feels comfortable, I’m sure she will tell you what’s wrong.” I said while giving him a sincere smile.The man just shrugged, trying to convince himself of my words.The end of the day had arrived, the aisles were complete, the reservations were sold out, this summer was a success. As I entered my father’s room, I could see him jotting down the bills on his desk. For my part, I just dropped into bed, and I had deflated. It had been a very tiring day.“Good job today, son.” My father said without looking away fr
“Wow, it’s my friend Greg.” I heard a voice behind me, for a moment I thought my heart would jump out of my chest when I turned around I could see that it was only Sofia.“A night walk?” I said, a little doubtful.“Yes, I was surprised to see you around here. So I came to say hello.” She said.Her mischievous tone had wholly disappeared. Now she looked like a normal girl, without any exaggeration. Slight fatigue was noticeable in her eyes.“And what brought you to the hotel?” I said without having much in mind to talk about. I turned my gaze back to the landscape.She replied, “I heard the advertisements on television for the healing properties of the hot springs, and I thought it would be a good idea to try treating my ankle. An important competition is coming up, and I don’t want to miss it.”Suddenly I felt how Sofia supported her shoulder with mine.“Yes
I let out another sigh, Franklin in an attempt to accompany me in feeling, he put his hand on my shoulder as he nodded.I went through the hotel to the different pools with a market cart carrying endless towels. A few minutes had passed since he had started to deliver when I stopped for a moment, the sun wasn’t helping me. I sighed in an attempt to get energy when I felt a tap on my back. It was Franklin gesturing for me to follow him. We sat in one of the chairs that were protected from the sun with a beach umbrella.“In the end, you got something with the girl,” Franklin said to me as he extended his hand to give me a drink.I took it, and while I was drinking the guava juice, I asked myself if I should answer or not. In the end, Franklin was a hotel worker, but we weren’t friends.“The truth is, no,” I said without much enthusiasm.“Come on, brother, nothing happened? The two seemed to get along so well.
“Greg, do you want us to meet in the evening? They told me that there is a full moon today.” She asked.“I would love to,” I said, stuttering.“You don’t have to be nervous, or should you?” Diana said apparently she hadn’t realized this had all the earmarks of being a date.After a few seconds, Diana realized what was going through my mind. “See you there at 8 in the evening.” She said as she got up and walked quickly away. Then in the distance, she stopped for a moment and looked back to see if I was still there.Seeing her, I gave her a shy smile. She answered me with another one. Then she continued walking until she disappeared into the crowd. I sat for a while in the sun, it had been a curious situation, but this time, it would be my opportunity. I got up and looked for Franklin. In the distance, he could be seen fooling around with the older women.Already in my room, the meeting time
“Yeah, right?” Diana looked at me innocently, and she looked like a child. With excellent energy overflowing.We went through several stores where we bought them some snacks and drinks.“And what can you tell me about your family?” She asked.“Mm… We are a small family of five.” I answered.“Wow. Wait, is that all?” She replied.I didn’t want to lie, but I don’t think mentioning that my father is the owner of all this is a good idea.“Yes. It is very deep knowledge. Use it wisely.” I saw how she frowned at me, and I could only shrug my shoulders and give her my best smile.We arrived at the entrance to the hot springs. Although it was not directly next to the hotel, the hotel was the entrance to the mountain, as well as the stairs to climb. There were a lot of small businesses and independent sellers on the way to the hot springs. They made the climb an enj
I explained, “I feel that if I try something with you now, it will just be false because what you need at this moment is affection. But not the affection of a lover, if not the affection of the people who love you.”Diana looked confused. She took some distance, but the atmosphere did not change, yet we were in tune.“I think I understand you, Greg. Then it’s just a matter of waiting, right?” Her eyes became teary, and she felt rejected.So I only had one option left.I took her cheeks as gently as I could with my hands. I approached slowly to her and kissed her tenderly on her lips. It wasn’t a kiss from a lover. It was just a kiss from a complete stranger who had fallen in love with someone completely unknown.Although it was an instant, it seemed eternal, and I really had not felt this way with anyone before. It was my first time in love.“Are you sure of this?” She said as she wiped away he
I assumed that I was not sleeping and then crying like a cupcake, exhausted by what little strength I had left.With the help of dad, we arrived early to my room, and now there was dad, Sofia, and me.We found her on our way through the corridors, and there was no way she would let us go without her company. I explained the situation a bit without giving too many details. She gave me a hug one sincere smile, and then they both left.I tried to sleep, but the pain in my chest didn’t go away. I could still remember how Diana yelled at me to go and then see her hug that guy.It seemed utterly impossible to me after seeing her cry. But still she...The tiredness took hold of me in that instant. The burning of the eyes beat me.The next day you could hear the rain falling. I could feel the stinging in your eyes, even were burning for what happened the day before. I let out a sigh wishing that all this pain will go away with that breath.
She knew she was. She made heads turn, and her presence alone could make even the strongest man weak to his knees. Single men, dating, married, poor or rich all wanted her, but she went for Paul thinking he was the saint he portrayed himself to be.She could have said no, but she was confused. He might change, she thought, but now he wasn’t going to.He proved that over and over again. Dorothy got tired but didn’t know how to break up with him, and she was grateful he was finally gone, although she didn’t like the circumstances surrounding that fact.“Here is your tea,” she said as she placed the cup of tea on the table before Aston in his studio. She took a few sips of hers before placing her cup on the table too. “The weather outside is beautiful today.”“Yes. Yes, it is,” Aston confirmed, although his eyes never left Dorothy. “How about we go somewhere else while this dries?” he suggested.“Sure.”Together with their teas in their hands, they walked out of the studio. Instinctively
Stella observed the interaction between the two, and once again, she knew she had lost Aston to Dorothy because he never looked at her the way he was looking at Dorothy, and that spoke volumes.Stella stood up and straightened out her dress.“I’ll check on you later, Aston, and nice to meet you, Dorothy,” she said with a smile and walked towards Steve.They bid each other farewell, and she left the room.Steve sat down in the chair Stella had just left vacant, crossing his arms over his chest again. He said with a strange emotion in his voice, “You mentioned something about you thinking Paul would change. Has he done something like this before?”Dorothy let out a heavy sigh before replying, “Yes. Yes, he has. Many times.”“Will you be able to testify against him in court?” Aston asked as calmly as he could.“Yes, I will. I think I’ve had enough of him,” she finalized.“Well, I admire your courage, my lady,” Steve commended, further encouraging Dorothy. “By the way, did you meet the pa
‘’We caught this young woman trying to force her way into the ward, and we suspect she might be part of the paparazzi,” the first police officer answered.Steve observed Dorothy noting that she looked familiar then he remembered her. ‘It’s fine, boys. Let her through.The police officers released her arms, and Dorothy threw them a disdainful look, then sent a grateful one Steve’s way.He opened the door for her, and she walked in, thanking Steve with a smile.Steve closed the door with a gentle click and faced Dorothy. “He’s right this way. I’m not supposed to say this, Dorothy, but he’s been expecting you.”Expecting her? Did he want to see her? Did this have something to do with her, or did he just want to see her? She wished it was the latter.Wait, this is Steve, Aston’s best friend and the owner of ‘From Our Hearts’ gallery, but how did he know her?Steve seemed to sense her conflicting thoughts. He sighed and then said, “I can assure you that there’s nothing to fret about, and w
She opened her eyes and brought her fingers up to see them coated with her juices— and Aston hair she had been supposedly pulling happened to be her shower curtain.She just fantasized about Aston pleasuring, but it was better than anything she had ever had with Paul, and the best part —she didn’t regret it.She wanted more of it. She wanted to make it real, so much that she was started to became inpatient and frustrated.The reality of her situation dawned on her when she got out of the shower. She stared at the ring on her finger, and for the first time, she felt trapped.The ring became heavy on her finger, and it began to feel like a heavy burden on her. She slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the drawer bedside of the bed.Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Paul. She closed her eyes to picture Paul in her life as she had always done, but this time, Paul was replaced with Aston.And that moment, it became apparent to her that she w
Dorothy turned around to see Paul standing there, arms folded across his chest and his eyes shooting daggers at Aston, who ignored him, by the way.“So I’ll call you and let you know how it goes, okay?” Aston asked while looking at Dorothy, who nodded excitedly like a kid.Aston smiled and then replied, “Bye Dorothy, and take care of yourself.”“Okay!. Bye Aston, and thanks for visiting. It really means a lot,” Dorothy said, as she walked him to the door.He stopped for a moment and took a look at Paul, who was still standing in the doorway.“And you too, Paul. It was nice to meet you,” she added, and with that, he walked out of their flat without waiting to hear Paul’s grunt of a response.Not wanting Paul to ruin her mood, Dorothy hopped past the grumpy Paul happily to their bedroom, humming a song.The only thing in her head was that her art was going to be at an exhibition– something she never expected to happen.For the rest of the day, Dorothy was in high spirits humming a favor
Dorothy turned around with a smile. “Hello Mr and Mrs Harris. Wonderful weather we have today, yeah?”“Absolutely,” Mrs. Harris chirped while Mr. Harris only nodded.“Let’s go in,” she said to Aston leading the way. “How do you like your tea?” Dorothy asked as they entered her flat, locking the door behind them.“Anything is fine, thank you,” he replied with a smileDorothy walked to the kitchen, and moments later, the sound of a kettle whistling was heard, followed by cabinets opening and closing.Aston took this time to observe the interior decor of the flat. It was an average-sized flat with clean white walls decorated with prints of beautiful paintings.Different artifacts, frames, flower vases, and books sat well arranged on the shelf.Wine-colored drapes framed the windows, and the inner lace curtains remained drawn, allowing the sun rays to enter, casting a golden sheen into the living room. The decor was simple yet beautiful and welcoming.This reminded Aston of the typical co
“Oh, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. And believe me, when I say coming from you means so much more,” she said.“I thought I was doing horribly, so I stopped painting for a while. I only began painting again when I came across your works in a gallery. I was in awe of hyperrealism. It was magnificent, and I knew I wanted to know how to paint like you,” she explained excitedly. “Meeting you here might be the best thing that has happened to me this year.”It was Aston’s turn to feel flattered, and he did ever so much. He had received a lot of compliments, but in a weird way, Dorothy appreciating his art made him feel he did something for someone, and it made him feel good.“I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from this class, and I can give you pointers if you want.”“You know I didn’t exactly enroll for this class. Mrs. Michael is my aunt, and she just allows me to join in and last week was my second time here.”“That makes sense. I didn’t think you paint. I though
For heaven’s sake, he wasn’t some teenager going through hormonal changes, so why couldn’t he stop thinking about Dorothy’s body and, even worse, smiling and blushing at the memory.‘’I guess we can now deduce my idea wasn’t laced with foolishness after all,’ Steve said with the smug look still on his faceAston scoffed, rolling his eyes at him, and said, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I am still not convinced the class will do me any good.”“We’ll see about that, mate. We’ll see.”The whole weekend felt like torture to Aston. He longed to see Dorothy again, and it seemed the weekend was taking too long to end.Everything was confusing to him; what he was feeling about Dorothy and why he was feeling that way didn’t make any sense to him, but he just wanted to see her again.When Monday finally came, Aston could hardly wait till 3 pm when classes started, and by 12 pm, he was already at the building waiting for Dorothy to show up, but she didn’t.Class started, and she was still nowhere
In one swift moment, a bang was heard, and the whole dining table came crashing down, sending a wave of shock throw Dorothy.She had seen this happen so many times, but she could never get used to it. He promised to change.He said he was going to be better, but after two years and nothing had changed.The last time, it was the TV that suffered it, which took a while to replace, and now, the dining table had also felt the impact of Paul’s fist.The table was ruined; dinner was ruined too.“You love being a whore, eh? You love letting different men run their hands all over your body under the guise of art, right?” He barked the vile words pacing the dining room.The words made her feel she had just been prickled with over a hundred pins.“I am not a whore, Paul!. I am not! I love art, and you know it!” She yelled at him.He scoffed before he said, “Oh c’mon. You’re just using art as a cover-up. You enjoy the way these so-called artists of yours touch you.”He then grabbed her shoulder