Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“You?”
“Fine,” he says brusquely. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Another so soon?”
He shoots me a glare, and I know, I just know, what he’s going to do in there.
Tsk tsk tsk.
“Be quick, will you? I’d love one myself.”
I’m surprised he doesn’t shoot me the bird as he walks away.
I laugh as I push up to sit. I’d love to check the time, but the clock on the nightstand is blinking red. Blinking! That means there’s power again! I reach for the TV and turn it on. Then I power up my phone and plug it in.
There are a million texts from my parents.
Call us as soon as you get this!
Are you okay?
News doesn’t look good! Please answer your phone, Paige!
Guilt gnaws on me as I immediately dial their number.
“Paige!” my mom exclaims. “Thank god. Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Totally. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you guys like that. I had to turn my phone off last night because we lost power and I didn’t have much battery. I didn’t want to drain it, but the power seems to be back on now and I’m charging it up.”
“Good. How was the storm?”
“I don’t actually know. I just woke up and checked my phone. I haven’t even looked outside.”
I do it now, carrying my phone to the window, or at least as far as I can get to the window while my phone’s plugged into the charger.
It appears to be a good news, bad news situation.
Good news is there’s power.
Bad news is there’s some serious flooding outside. I’m not sure of the extent, but the grounds are definitely underwater. It could be a few inches or a few feet. It’s hard to tell from this vantage point. Debris is scattered too. Palm tree leaves, tree limbs, trash. I relay all this to my mom.
“There doesn’t seem to be damage to any buildings, though,” I continue, “but I can’t see much from my hotel room.”
“So they pulled you into the resort? Smart. I was worried you’d be out in your dorm.”
“Nope. They thought ahead.”
Cole thought ahead, probably.
Speaking of, the water in the shower isn’t on anymore. He must have finished up there fast, knowing I needed to rinse off after him.
“Let me get going, Mom. I’m sure it’ll be a busy day. I’ll try you again this afternoon.”
“Okay, keep me posted. I’m so glad it wasn’t worse.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Cole comes out of the bathroom in a towel and nods to let me know I’m up.
Never mind that there’s only a scrap of terry cloth covering his groin. I’m just supposed to mosey on past him and go shower without any fuss. Fine.
But I take my clothes with me.
In the bathroom, I take my time rinsing off because the water pressure is way better in here than it is out in my dorm, and I got pretty sticky with sweat last night. I wash my hair and do an all-out shave, not just the shins and lower part of my legs. I steal as much hotel product as I can manage, really going to town with the body wash and lotion. By the time I’m done and I’ve dried my hair (taking full advantage of this newfangled thing called electricity), Cole’s gone down to retrieve me a coffee and some breakfast.
He leans against the dresser, sipping his coffee.
“Food?” I ask, hopeful, glancing over at the Styrofoam container on the table.
“Warm food.”
I almost groan.
Apparently, the kitchen crews from various restaurants are working together to feed all the guests and staff. Resort guests have a limited breakfast buffet option. Meanwhile, staff get a set menu consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
“Thank you,” I say, reveling in the sweet, sweet taste of coffee. I don’t even care that it’s not a specialty latte. Today, I’m happy with the black sludge.
He nods and watches me eat. I’m not sure why. Do I do it wrong? Am I shoveling it in too fast? Oh well, I’m too hungry to care.
“What’d you learn while you were down there?” I ask between bites.
For the record, I put on a Siesta Playa polo and khaki shorts after my shower. Cole is wearing work slacks and a hunter green sweater that looks absolutely divine against his olive skin and dark hair. Hair, by the way, that is back to its pristine condition. He’s shaved his stubble and applied some deliciously scented aftershave. What would it be like to be that put together? And this, after going to bed at 2:00 a.m.!
“It’s not great, but could be worse. You probably saw there’s some major flooding. The grounds crew has surveyed everything, and it looks like most of the buildings have been spared, except for some staff housing.”
I gulp, and he notices.
“Your dorm should be fine. We think it was only a dozen or so units down closer to the water, but we’ll have to see. There’s a large portion of the resort that’s still without power, but that’s to be expected considering how much of the island as a whole is without power. It looks like, from early reports, Turks and Caicos was mostly spared from the worst of it.”