Two hours later, Laura was woken up by her alarm. It was still bright outside when she went to sleep, but it was already evening and the sun was setting. She squinted as she looked at the red sky through the floor to ceiling glass window as she sobered up from sleep.
She stayed on her bed and dazedly watched the sunset and only got up when it got darker. She stretched and yawned as she went to the bathroom to freshen up so that she could start getting ready for the party.
Although she was feeling more awake, her mind was still groggy from sleep. With thoughts of getting herself out of her funk. Laura took a light blanket and went to the empty living area outside her room.
She stopped by the small bar area and poured herself a drink and went to on the sofa that was facing the large screen tv. She turned it on and started watching a movie absent-mindedly while drinking. As she did this, she went through all the things she packed and thought about what she was going to wear.
She knew she would have to apply any make-up, especially since it was going to be a pool party. So the time she was going to take to prepare was going to be very short. After Laura finished her drink, she felt much more energetic, so she turned off the tv and returned to her room to change.
She wore a burgundy two-piece bikini this time and a pair of short shorts. She stared at her bare face in the mirror and chose to apply some waterproof lipstick so that she didn’t look too dull. After she was satisfied with her appearance, she put on a pair of heeled sandals and left her room after taking her phone.
Laura was told that the party was on the rooftop terrace, so she went back downstairs and was shown the elevator to take to go to the rooftop. When the elevator doors slid open, she saw the decorated pool area, all with servers and a bartender. Although there weren’t a lot of people, the atmosphere was already good.
Laura made a beeline for the bar and ordered a drink. As she sat down and waited for the bartender to fix her a drink, Nancy and Leanna, who had seen her from the other side, came to join her.
“You guys came early,” Laura said as she looked at the two girls in front of her.
“Yes, someone was called out early,” Nancy said and pointedly looked at Leanna, who was sipping on her wine while looking around absentmindedly.
“Called out? By who?” Laura asked now that Nancy had attracted her attention.
“A certain doctor, who got impatient after being ignored,” Nancy said and teasingly nudged the absentminded Leanna.
“Oh? Someone caught your fancy?” Laura asked, intrigued by the new piece of information.
“I think someone caught your fancy instead,” Leanna said, turning the topic back to Laura.
“Right! Earlier today at the pool,” Nancy said as she recalled the scene of Laura kissing James at the pool area.
“I won’t deny it,” Laura said and her cheeks flushed slightly as she touched her lips as if she was remembering what happened earlier.
The two had only met Laura a couple of times because Jen was a mutual friend, so they did not know her that well yet. However, they knew how bold and confident she was, so seeing her look like this was something new.
“Oh? The guys returned,” Nancy said as she looked at the guys who were stepping out of the elevator. Jason pulled David over to the bar and ordered a bottle of drinks for the both of them and moved to join the girls.
Laura looked at the white-haired Jason, who was dragging a very unwilling David over. David didn’t want to drink, that was why he was making such an ugly expression.
“Are you girls having fun?” Jason asked them as he took the bowl of ice the server brought to him.
“Definitely,” Laura said as she noticed Nancy, who was staring at David. She thought that the fascination ended in the car, but that did not seem to be the case.
“Why aren’t you guys drinking?” Jason said as he looked at the dull drinks in the girls’ hands before signaling to the bartender. The bartender had overheard them, so he knew that Jason wanted him to bring a few glasses so that they could all have a ‘proper’ drink.
“We were warming up,” Laura said, feeling like she met her match. If she was being honest, she was really warming up. She did not know how wild the party was going to be, later on, so she didn’t want to start off too strong.
But when the host is the one that wants to ramp things up, then she was ready to fully cooperate with them. So when Jason poured drinks into the five glasses that only had ice to buffer the taste, she was the first to down it in one go, which not only impressed Jason but also encouraged others to drink more.
That was how the birthday boy and his girlfriend found their friends running wild when they finally arrived at the party.
Laura sat down at the long table and had dinner with her girlfriends. She hadn’t realised that she had not eaten all day until it was pointed out by her friend Jen, who had found the group of them well on their way to getting drunk. Now that she was eating something, she was feeling much better. But a few minutes ago, James had walked onto the terrace with Brian and Laura kept following him with her eyes the whole time. The two had made eye contact a few times already, but Laura was not shy enough to look away, so even when their lines of sight clashed, the two of them would look at each other briefly before James would knowingly smile at her and continue doing his own thing. She continued to watch him even then. The dark hair that fell to his shoulders, the open shirt that revealed his toned body. The defined pecs and abs and the dark tattoo on his side would peek out once in a while. The way he would laugh easily when someone would make a joke and the way his Adam’s apple would r
“Aaah!” Laura screamed in surprise when James unexpectedly lifted her up for scoring another goal for their team. The surrounding cheers suddenly turned into laughter in the face of her panicked expression. Even James, who was carrying her, couldn’t help but laugh as he let her down. Laura, who was hugging James’s neck, slid down his body until her feet touched the bottom of the pool. It was a moment where Laura could feel his hard and firm body and James could feel her softness, especially with the way her chest pressed against him when she continued to hang on to his neck. “Aren’t you going to release me?” James asked Laura, who was still hanging off of him. “Oh, sorry,” Laura said and reluctantly let him go and stepped back. James smiled when he saw how reluctant she looked and almost pat her head. Fortunately, he caught himself earlier. “Okay, you lovebirds, let’s continue with the game,” Jason said from the other side of the net after he came back from retrieving the ball and
“So, do you have a girlfriend?” Laura asked James, who was trying to steady her, so she didn’t fall off his lap. “Don’t you think it’s too late to ask me that after everything you’ve done today?” James asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well, do you?” Laura continued to ask. “I don’t,” James answered, wondering where she wanted to take this conversation. “Wife?” she asked, realising that he may have one. “I’m not married either,” James answered with a chuckle. “Then what do you think of me?” Laura asked him. “Hm? What about you?” James asked, wanting her to be more clear. “Since we are both single…” Laura said and trailed off, not knowing how to explain herself. It was like she realised that this wasn’t going to work if she was the only one interested. “Are propositioning me?” James asked, feeling mildly surprised. When Laura heard him she looked away, feeling both nervous and regretful. “It’s the first time you are avoiding my gaze since we met,” James said with a smile. “I’m no
The following morning, Laura woke up with the worst hangover. When James took her back to her room the previous night, she took a quick shower and fell asleep. She squinted as she looked out the window from her bed and groaned when the memories from last night came pouring in. She was planning on cutting back on alcohol for the next few weeks after going so hard the previous night. She fell into a daze as she looked at the bright scenery outside the window and remembered what happened when she was alone with James. After leaving the pool, they took the elevator and arrived at the ground floor. She complained that she was hungry, so he went to see if there was any food left and brought some back for her. She ate her food while James, who was sitting on the opposite side, watched her eat. He would even occasionally pick something up and place it in front of her lips. He did it so seriously that she felt a bit embarrassed by his actions. In reality, he was also just drunk, not as much
Laura went to get herself something to eat and went back to the dining area to watch the excitement. She was quite amused by how the guys joked around and how down to earth her idol actually was. When she appeared with her food, Jason took the initiative to help her carry it back to the table and even pulled the chair out for her again. “Can’t you lot be like Laura? She at least knows how to appreciate my efforts,” Jason said as he glared at his friends. “Looks like you have been too idle recently. Already making trouble so early in the morning,” a deep voice was heard at the entrance of the dining area and Jason, who had been joking around, paused for a bit and slowly turned to see his older brother. “James, you are awake,” Jason said and stepped away from Laura, who had been chewing her food while watching them in amusement. “Mmmh,” James said and dragged the chair next to Laura and sat down. This was his usual seat, and Jason had made Laura sit next to it so that they would be s
Breakfast was very lively, and the group of friends ended up spending a long time chatting. Jason and his friends left early because they had plans to attend to, and the others went back to their rooms. Jen and Lucas decided to go take a short walk before they left, and James took Laura with him as well. The two of them lagged further behind the pair of lovebirds as they took in the whole atmosphere of the impeccably maintained garden. “Have you really made up your mind about dating me?” James asked Laura, who had been asking herself whether or not it was okay to hold his hand the entire. “Hm?” Laura asked, not expecting him to ask this. “Our conversation from last night, do you still stand by your words?” James asked and slowed to a stop. Laura also stopped next to him and raised her head to look at his face. His hair was loosely tied at the nape of his neck, combined with the loose white sweater he was wearing. He looked relaxed and easygoing. It was as if he was planning on spen
Laura stared at the man sitting next to her with a shallow smile on her lips. James had called his driver to come and pick him up and decided to drop Laura off at her hotel before he went back to his place. It was rare for him to have a free weekend, so he was planning on making the most of it. “Is there something on my face?” James asked as he turned to look at her. “No, but I can’t help but look at you,” Laura answered honestly. James chuckled when he heard her response and continued to read the script he was holding. He had changed into more formal clothes before they left. He was wearing a beige turtleneck with a black blazer and a pair of black slacks. It was simple, but it made him look both ascetic and sexy, which was very contradictory but somehow worked with him. “Why did we have to leave so early? We could have gone horse-riding,” Laura lamented, as she finally looked away from the handsome man to stare at the scenery outside. “We’ll go ride horses next time. We can also
Movements outside her room woke Laura up. After feeling alert for a while, she relaxed once she determined that it was a familiar noise from the kitchen. She squinted as she clumsily fumbled around her bed to search for her phone. She quickly checked the time and saw that it was 6:30 am. She groaned before pulling the covers over her head. She didn’t understand Rachel at all. Why was she waking up so early even though they were on vacation? She asked herself before continuing to sleep. She only woke up after another two hours and got out of her room. Rachel was drawing on her tablet while enjoying a cup of tea when she heard the door to Laura’s room open. She looked at her half-asleep friend walk towards the kitchen and take out a bottle of water from the fridge and downing it in one go before joining her at the table. Laura rested her chin on her hand as she sleepily watched her friend who had turned her attention back to drawing. “Why are you working during vacation?” Laura asked