Chapter 29
29
MAX
You’ve got to be joking.
As Jasmine fielded questions about the latest bombshell she’d just dropped about each couple moving in together, my brain scrambled.
This wasn’t good.
My willpower was already hanging by a thread.
Ever since that almost kiss last night, I’d tried to keep my thoughts about Stella platonic, but I was fighting a losing battle.
The plan was to try and spend the minimum amount of time together. But if we were staying under the same roof, there’d be nowhere to hide.
‘You’ll each be staying in a two-bedroom villa, so there’s no pressure whatsoever to share a bed,’ Jasmine added. That’s something, I suppose . ‘And if anyone has any safety concerns, please don’t hesitate to come and speak to me in confidence. I can’t wait to introduce you to your new homes!’
I glanced at Stella. Her jaw was almost on the floor. At least I wasn’t the only one who was surprised .
‘Looks like we’re going to be roomies!’ I said, trying to lighten the mood.
‘Yeah. I’m happy in my room, though, so I don’t mind just staying there. You?’
‘Same.’ That’d definitely make things a lot easier.
‘Let’s go and talk to her.’
We both approached Jasmine, who was just finishing a conversation with another couple.
‘Hi,’ I said once she was free. ‘Can we talk?’
‘Stella, Max, hi! I was just coming to find you to brief you on today’s activity. How can I help?’
‘We just wondered if we could keep our rooms?’ Stella asked. ‘I’m sure the villa’s nice but Max and I, we’re happy where we are and considering our past, we already know each other quite well, so the whole getting to know you thing is better suited to new couples.’
‘Ah,’ Jasmine winced. ‘I’m so sorry, but that’s not going to be possible. The new arrivals are coming tomorrow so your rooms have already been allocated. All couples move into the villas on the property in the second week.’
‘Is there really no way we can stay somewhere else, like separately?’ I added.
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘Not really. I mean there are a couple of rooms, but they haven’t been renovated yet, so they’re…’
‘We’ll take them!’ Stella and I shouted our agreement.
‘I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I show you the rooms we have available and then I’ll take you to the villa, which as I said has two completely separate bedrooms, and then you can decide. What do you think?’
‘Cool,’ I said. Stella nodded.
‘Follow me. ’
Jasmine led us away from the main part of the resort. It wasn’t as well maintained, with overgrown bushes and trees.
When we arrived at the front door, the paint was peeling. There wasn’t a key card to open it. Instead she pulled a rusty key out of her pocket and pushed it into the lock. After a few shoves, the door eventually opened.
A strong musty smell hit me as we stepped inside. The floral bed sheets looked like they were from the seventies. And the bright yellow walls and orange floors instantly gave me a headache.
‘I see what you mean about it needing to be renovated,’ Stella said.
‘Yes,’ Jasmine nodded. ‘This was what all the rooms were like before. Strictly speaking, we don’t allow guests to stay here because it’s not up to the standard we like.’
‘Can we see the villa now?’ I asked. Stella’s eyes bulged but I was pretty sure she didn’t want to stay here any more than I did.
‘Of course!’
Jasmine led us back to the main resort and along a path I hadn’t noticed before. A row of luxury detached villas appeared in view. Each one had a garden with lush palm trees and colourful flowers.
When we stepped inside, I gasped. It was immaculate, like it’d just been built. The living room was open plan with a big comfy sofa and a widescreen TV.
The modern white and charcoal kitchen was straight out of an interiors brochure.
‘Oh my God!’ Stella rushed towards the huge glass patio doors, slid them open and stepped outside. ‘It’s a private pool!’
‘Wow.’ I took everything in. As well as the pool there was a table and chairs, sun loungers and a daybed just like the one by the hotel’s main pool. And we had panoramic sea views .
‘Let me show you the bedroom.’
We followed Jasmine back inside then down the hallway and after we passed the main bathroom, she led us into the grand master bedroom, which had a huge four-poster bed.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Jasmine slid open the huge glass double doors to reveal a hot tub.
‘This is amazing!’ Stella gasped.
It really was. I hadn’t noticed before because I was so blown away, but the patio outside the master bedroom stretched all the way to the living room’s patio, so we could access the private pool easily from here too.
Luckily the walls at the side of the villa were fairly high so we had privacy and our neighbours wouldn’t be able to see what we got up to. Not that me and Stella were gonna get up to anything.
‘Just imagine,’ Jasmine said, ‘chilling in the hot tub at the end of the day with a glass of bubbly. Or waking up and walking a few steps to take a dip in your own private pool. Or cooking dinner and then curling up on the sofa and watching a romantic film on that amazing cinema-style TV screen.’
‘I love a good hot tub,’ I said. ‘And that TV looks impressive.’
‘ Everything about this place is impressive,’ Stella said. ‘Let me guess. You can’t wait to watch the football on that massive screen!’
‘No.’ My chest tightened. ‘Don’t watch it any more.’
‘What?’ Stella frowned.
‘This villa’s amazing.’ I quickly changed the subject.
‘I agree.’ Jasmine nodded. ‘But if you’d really prefer to stay in the old-fashioned rooms, rather than staying in separate rooms in this idyllic five-star luxury villa, of course I’ll honour your wishes.’
‘No!’ Stella shouted and I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I’m sure we can make it work so we can stay here, right, Max? ’
‘Totally.’ As long as I didn’t look at Stella for too long and avoided all forms of physical contact, hopefully I’d be able to keep my cool. ‘You can have the master bedroom if you like and I’ll take the other room.’
‘Oh, no, I couldn’t let you sleep in there. That bed looks much smaller. Your feet will hang off the edge.’
‘I’m sure you’ll find a solution!’ Jasmine said. ‘So are we good? You’re both happy to stay here?’
‘Yeah,’ we replied.
‘Excellent! If you let me know when you’ve packed up your things, I’ll send Simón, the Suitcase Superintendent, to move everything here.’
‘Thanks,’ I said.
‘Right, I’ll leave you to it!’ Jasmine walked towards the door then paused. ‘Oh!’ She slapped her forehead. ‘I totally forgot to tell you about your activity for today!’
My heart jolted, then I realised it’d be fine. All the activities so far had been fun. Whatever Jasmine had up her sleeve would be no different.
‘What is it?’ Stella asked.
‘Your couple’s massage lesson!’ she beamed. Stella and I stared at each other, bug-eyed. ‘It’s all booked on the beach for two hours from five until seven o’clock to give you time for your lunch to settle. You’re going to love it!’
Two hours.
With Stella running her hands over my body.
Me running my hands all over hers.
Whether our lunch had settled or not was the least of our problems.
If I got a boner after a few minutes of her putting sun lotion on my back, how the hell would I survive Stella massaging me properly?