CLAIRE (SEVEN)

I woke up to a very loud knock on the door. It kept going even though I tried to ignore it. My room was pitch black. I lost my orientation for a moment and let the knocker keep knocking on the door.

“Where am I?”

I sat up and tried to remember what I was doing before I fell asleep.

The blanket on my chest had fallen and bunched around my waist. I wasn't wearing anything underneath, but my skin was damp and smelled of the sweetest lavender. I think I’m starting to remember what happened to me before I fell asleep.

Raviel and I came back from the beach after two hours of very pleasant sunbathing. We talked about many things and got away from the intimate things that had been stressing me out. He told me about some of his businesses. He shared with me some tips and tricks on how to become a successful businessman. I was very sleepy as I listened to him talk so enthusiastically. Raviel then took me back to the resort. I happily agreed because I was really sleepy and needed a bed. But because my body was sticky and covered in dust, I went to take a shower first before falling without resistance on my very soft bed.

I found my towel on the floor as I got out of bed. It was already dry when I picked it up.

The knocking sound came again. I looked left and right to find my bathrobe, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around my naked body.

I walked hurriedly across the very spacious suite. My foot accidentally kicked the leg of the sofa and I groaned in pain while holding my throbbing toes.

“Ouch! Who put the sofa here? Where’s the light switch?”

I limped to find the light switch, while the knocker was still knocking loudly outside. The knocking sound started to sound irregular, and more brutal. He must have lost patience because I took too long to open the door.

“Wait a minute. I’m coming.”

Finally, I managed to find the light switch and my suite became brightly lit. The sofa that I had bumped into earlier sat still in the middle of the room. I was still annoyed with it because it made my big toe throb with pain.

“Claire, are you in there?”

I walked hurriedly to the door, then peeked through the peephole.

“Raviel!”

I jerked the door open quickly. Raviel stood stiffly in front of the door, staring at me from head to toe.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I hugged the blanket tightly to my chest.

How stupid of me to show up with just a blanket in front of my stepdad.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I fell asleep after coming back from the beach. What’s wrong?”

“Do you want to have dinner with me?”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I turned to the right, towards the tightly closed door of his suite. I just realized that my mother wasn’t with him. Raviel was literally standing alone in front of my suite door. He looked so stunning in his jeans and a plain white short-sleeved shirt with three buttons left open. His copper hair swayed gently, every time the beach breeze blew around us.

God! I couldn’t forget his body even though he was fully dressed. Everything that happened on the beach really messed up my mind. I couldn’t be objective anymore when I saw him. Especially when I saw his palms and his very strong fingers. My whole body shuddered, remembering every touch he had on my skin.

I cleared my throat softly to get rid of the dirty things that were nesting in my brain.

“Where’s mom? Is she still jet-lagged?”

“Yeah, she’s still very jet-lagged. She doesn’t want to go anywhere, and just wants to stay in our room. I’ve already booked a table for dinner in the lounge.”

“So?” I raised my eyebrows, pretending to be innocent.

I didn’t want to seem too excited about the possibility of him asking me out for dinner to replace my jet-lagged mother. He might get suspicious of my overreaction.

“Do you want to have dinner with me in the lounge?”

“Umm… But I…”

“It’s okay. I won’t force you if you already have plans tonight. I’ll cancel it and order room service.”

“That’s not what I meant. I don’t have any plans tonight,” I blurted out quickly before Raviel could cancel his reservation.

I was just trying to play hard to get. I realized that I had said yes too easily to my stepdad. And even this time, I couldn’t say no even though I had decided to keep my distance from him. But I was sure we would drift apart on our own once my mother recovered from her jet-lag.

“Do I need to see Mom?”

“I don’t think she’ll like it if you bother her right now.”

Raviel cleared his throat softly. He put his hands in his pockets, looking bored.

“So, will you have dinner with me?”

“Okay, I will have dinner with you. Do you mind waiting for a while? I’ll change quickly.”

“Okay. Wear something comfortable. No need to be too formal.”

I nodded and motioned for him to wait a moment.

This dinner was so sudden, and I didn’t prepare an outfit for it. All my clothes were still in my suitcase and only my bikini was on the top pile.

I took a deep breath and started unpacking my suitcase like a wild girl. I didn’t want to make Raviel wait any longer since he had already waited for me for so long before.

But damn! All my clothes were at the bottom of my suitcase. I had to take them out one by one before I found a red dress with floral patterns that looked simple, but cute. The dress was a graduation gift from my high school friend, Emma Starling. I had never worn the dress because I never found the chance to wear it. And I thought tonight was the perfect time to wear it.