Layla – Present
Amie leans against the reception desk as a woman with a pink flower tucked behind her ear types on the computer behind it.
The reception area is huge, a large marble fountain, overflowing into a little pond beneath it, is perched in the center.
Vines wrap around exposed beams above us, leading to a massive glass window that frames the ocean behind it, the sun shinning down on us as we wait.
The entire wedding party is taking up most of the room, and I don’t miss the glances Nicole keeps shooting at Jacob.
Amie bounces on her heels toward me, a white card in her hand.
She smirks. “So, there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding.” She looks up at Jacob. “I thought I had booked you both your own rooms… turns out I didn’t.” She bites her lip, still smiling.
“Amie,” I warn.
“Can they change it?” Jacob asks.
She shifts her weight from foot to foot, then gives this fake little pained expression and huffs, “Unfortunately not. Seems they’re fully booked for the weekend.
” She hands me the key, then claps her hands together.
“Dinner’s booked for seven at the Marine Restaurant, we’re all meeting there tonight. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy.”
She passes Jacob a leaflet.
“I’m planning on adding to my tan, but if you two want something more adventurous…” She winks at me. “There’s quite a lot in there. Parker and his brother are going to rent some jet skis. It’s all included, so go crazy.” She nudges my shoulder.
I give Jacob an uncertain look.
“Thanks, Amie,” he says.
She grins at us both before heading back for the reception desk.
“Thanks?” I cross my arms.
“What was I supposed to say? She’s getting married.”
Jacob wheels my luggage into the lift and presses the button for the fourth floor.
There is no doubt in my mind, Amie set this up. She probably planned it from the moment she asked me to invite him. I wish I could say I’m surprised.
I try to swallow down the awkwardness and swipe the key into the door. On my third attempt, it glows green.
Jacob is being oddly quiet, and I’m starting to feel incredibly bad that this invite is looking more and more like a plan to get him into bed.
The bed.
I pause.
Swan towels are placed as if they are kissing near the bottom, pale pink rose petals surrounding them in a large heart design. My cheeks flame.
I lean over the bed, separate the kissing swans, then start to scoop up the petals.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble. “Amie gets these ideas in her head and—”
“Layla.”
He’s laughing.
“It’s just a few towels and flowers,” he says, leaning in. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re trying to seduce me.”
My eyes widen. “I’m not. I mean, I wouldn’t try to do that, I…”
He laughs again. “Relax.”
He drops his duffle bag on the couch and sits down beside it, looking over the leaflet of activities Amie gave him.
“Why don’t we do one of these today?” He unfolds it.
I toss the swans onto the desk and bend down to unzip my suitcase.
“As long as there’s no jet skis, book anything you want.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod, pulling out a peach bikini and a floral sundress to throw over it.
Jacob picks up the phone and dials a few numbers. His words trail off when I close the bathroom door.
I try to bury down the excitement of spending a full, uninterrupted day with him, and that lasts all of five minutes, until it claws its way back to the surface the moment I step out and see him sitting on the edge of the bed, a new pair of shorts on and a boyish grin spread wide across his face.
“What’s with the grin?”
“I booked an excursion for us, but we need to leave now to make it in time.”
“What did you book?”
“It’s a surprise.”
***
“Close your eyes, Layla.”
“Why do you sound so excited?” I eye him for a moment. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Jacob like this before, I like seeing this side of him.
The tour guide has played coy since we got on the bus, and Jacob whispered something to him. I can’t gauge what exactly he’s booked us to do, but I do know it must have something to do with water, given that the bus just dropped us off on a sand covered, tree lined path.
The three other couples on the excursion with us look as excited as Jacob, and I’ll dammed if it hasn’t piqued my curiosity.
“Just do it,” he orders, and for the sake of keeping that perfect smile on his face, I comply.
A few moments later he’s placed his hand in mine, and heat fills my veins.
I focus on the sounds surrounding us, the sand filling my sandals, growing more difficult to walk through, the gentle caress of the waves brushing up on the shore, and the heat of the sun beating down on us.
We must be far out from the tress. People are laughing, and it takes everything in me to keep my eyes squeezed tight together.
“You can open your eyes now.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
I squint for a moment, my eyes adjusting to the glare of the sun. Jacob’s hand is still holding mine, and part of me can’t help but hope it’s intentional. I glance around, I was right about the beach, but…
“Is that a pig?”
He laughs. “You can swim with them.” He sounds like a boy again, and it makes me laugh.
“That’s what you booked? Swimming with pigs?”
“Tell me when you’ll ever do this again.”
His smile is infectious as I strip down to my bikini and set my sandals on top of my dress. Out of all the activities in that leaflet, I would have never guessed swimming with pigs would be on our agenda.
There are a few other people not from our bus on the beach, but it’s still relatively quiet, aside from the shrieks of excitement when the pigs swim close.
A small blue and white fishing boat bobs up and down in the water not far from shore, and a man with a camera strapped around his neck wades through the water, snapping pictures of the couples with the pigs swimming around them.
When we get into the water, a small pig with black specks swims past us. I smile up at Jacob.
“This is the most random thing I’ve ever done.”
A man in a Hawaiian print shirt walks over, the water up to his thighs. He holds out a few pineapple skewers for us to feed the pigs.
“The pigs have good taste,” I whisper to Jacob.
He looks down at me, a tick of a smile at the corner of his lips. “It’s not on pizza.”
When the pig swims by us, it stops and paddles in the water, nibbling the pineapple off my skewer. Jacob’s hand rests on my back, and I lean into him. The man with the camera snaps a few pictures while the pig is eating, but my focus isn’t on that.
I smile up at Jacob. I can’t remember the last time I felt like this, and although the pigs are having an impact, it’s not them holding my attention.