Chapter 15 #3
I watched as a random man from Spain got mauled by a massive, gray wolf, while his companions tried to fight it off with small knives. On another screen, a Thai woman fell from a high platform into piranha-filled water.
Everywhere I looked, people from all over competed in their own unique version of the same games we were in, but to what end? Why do this to any of us?
I remained in the monitor room for a while longer, in the hopes that I might find something useful. Perhaps I could learn a bit about these mysterious aliens, and I’d find a potential weakness that could be exploited to help our race.
But the longer I stayed, the more pain, suffering, fear, and death I saw flash across the screens. I wasn’t going to find anything useful here, so I turned and left the room.
As soon as I exited the space and was back in the hall, the panel behind me slid shut. And this time, no matter what angle I moved to, I couldn’t see the sliver of light anymore.
There wasn’t anything else over on this side of the resort, so I decided to head to the other half, where the women had disappeared to. Now that I thought about it, a hot bath would do wonders for my aching muscles, and it would help soothe my nerves.
I decided to head to the bathing area to relax. I knew the women had mentioned going there, but I’d been gone a long time, so surely they’d be done by now, right?
I certainly hoped so because the last thing I wanted to do was invade their privacy.
I got back to the lobby area and immediately started down the right hall. I read the signs by the doors as I walked by: ‘Pool Room,’ ‘Snack Area,’ ‘Mud Room,’ ‘Sauna’…
I finally got to the door that read ‘Bathing Area,’ and I opened the door slightly and peeked inside. Thankfully, the door just opened into another, slightly smaller hallway, except this one was tiled, and the lighting was dimmer.
I cautiously stepped inside, ready to avert my eyes at any given moment, but I didn’t see a soul.
The door shut behind me as I moved further inside, and I noticed this smaller hallway was also lined with doors, and each door had a narrow window.
I moved to the first door and looked through the window into a simple, tiled room, and set into the center of the floor was a deep pool of clear, steaming water.
Oh, so the bathing rooms were individual. That was good, at least I wouldn’t accidentally stumble in on anybody. Though, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fact that there was a window in the door, so anybody could wander by and see me in all my glory.
I silently shrugged. Oh, well, a fresh hot bath was a fresh hot bath. I wasn’t about to say no to something like that because I suddenly felt shy about possibly showing off my body.
I opened the door and stepped inside the room, and I let the door swing closed behind me with an echoing thud.
Inside the room was warm and steamy, and I could finally see the full area.
There was a small bench in one of the corners, and along one wall was a row of shelves that held various towels, shampoos, soaps, and even…
Hell, yeah. I hadn’t had a bubble bath since I was a kid, and even though I was a grown-ass man, I eagerly reached for the bubble solution and dumped some into the clear water. Before I knew it, the water was foamy and bubbly, and the entire space had a light, pleasant, citrus scent.
Along one side of the pool, there was a small panel of buttons that looked like they might activate water jets, and a rainfall-style showerhead was positioned high above.
I quickly stripped off my clothes in the corner of the room, out of the window’s line of sight, and then I wrapped a towel firmly around my waist and headed toward the beckoning pool.
I was just about to pull the towel off and step into the water when there was a light tapping sound at the door.
I paused for a moment and was convinced I was simply hearing things, but a few seconds later, the same knocking sound came again.
I quickly checked my towel to make sure it was still tightly around my waist before I moved toward the door. And when I looked through the glass window, I was surprised to see Parker on the other side.
I opened the door immediately.
“Hi,” she said with an awkward little smile.
She was still in her bodysuit, but her short, auburn hair looked damp, and her skin looked dewy, as if she’d just finished her own bath.
“Hi,” I replied with a surprised smile of my own.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked. “I wanted to talk about what happened in the forest the other day.”
“Of course,” I said as I quickly stepped aside to let her in.
I was uncomfortably aware that I was in nothing but a towel, but I felt it might be too late to kick her out so I could get redressed for this conversation. It also didn’t help that my heart was suddenly hammering in my chest just from the fact that I was alone with her.
I shoved down my discomfort as I led her toward the bench in the corner, and then we both took a seat.
“So, we matched the other day… right?” Parker didn’t waste any time getting to the point.
“I’m still not sure how the matching works exactly,” I said. “But, yeah, I believe that’s what happened.”
“Okay, but there wasn’t a loud announcement about it,” Parker pointed out as her brow furrowed. “There was an announcement with everyone else. So, is it possible that it wasn’t actually a match?”
“I don’t think so,” I sighed as I rubbed at the back of my neck. “The announcement never came, but everything else that was supposed to happen, happened.”
“But you already matched with Sadie,” Parker argued. “Weren’t we only supposed to have one match? How would a second match even be possible?”
“I have no idea.” I shook my head. “Maybe it was a random glitch in the system, or something?”
“If that was the case, that would mean my actual match is either dead, or Kyle,” Parker snorted humorlessly. “That doesn’t sound very appealing to be honest.”
“Okay, well, maybe it was something else, then,” I chuckled.
“What could the other option possibly be, though?” Parker asked as she cocked her head to the side.
“Well…” I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “We’ve always worked well together and had a great connection. Perhaps the system read that as a match. Or maybe our connection was so strong that it couldn’t read it as anything else other than a match.”
“I suppose that’s a possibility…” Parker mused. “But if that’s actually the case, what then? Are Sadie and I just expected to share you?”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have to share anybody,” I assured her. “If it really bothered you, then the aliens might correct the mistake and match you with someone else.”
“Okay,” Parker murmured before she turned her gaze at me. “But what if I don’t want anybody else?”
I was suddenly very aware of how close Parker was seated next to me. She was so close I could count the individual freckles in her pale, blue-green eyes, and I could smell the light scent of whatever coconut soap she’d used to bathe with.
“I-- uh,” I stammered as I tried to come up with something to say in reply, but her forwardness had taken me completely off guard, and my mind was totally blank.
Damn lizard brain.
I didn’t have to say anything, though, because Parker went on.
“You’re a really great guy, Liam,” she said, and her eyes were filled with sincerity and admiration. “If I’m being honest, I’ve wanted to match with you since the first day we met.”
She stared at me as if she were waiting for a response, but it took me a few moments longer to actually formulate a coherent thought.
“Even after I matched with Sadie, I always felt a strange connection with you,” I admitted. “It was like I was drawn to you.”
“I know our situation is complicated right now, and there’s more people than just us involved…” Parker gave me a small smile before she leaned even closer, so her face was just a breath away from my own. “But I need you to know something.”
I held my breath as I waited to hear what she was going to say next, and I could feel my heart hammering even more wildly than before in my chest.
“I think you’re worth it,” Parker continued, and her sweet breath plumed against my face. “So, if it came down to it, I wouldn’t mind sharing you.”
I think my heart stopped for a moment there, and for a split second, she leaned even closer so our lips were just a hair apart. If I leaned any closer, they’d touch, and I didn’t need the throbbing sensation I suddenly felt in my crotch area to tell me I wanted that kiss.
Very badly.
For a moment, I almost gave in to the desire and kissed the beautiful woman next to me, but then I thought of Sadie. I couldn’t do this to her. She still didn’t know about my secret match with Parker, and I owed it to her to not do anything until we’d thoroughly discussed it.
“I can’t,” I breathed back. “Sadie…”
To Parker’s credit, she didn’t look angry in the least, or even frustrated. She simply pulled away from me and nodded.
“You’re right,” she agreed. “We can’t do this yet, not until you figure things out with Sadie.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I’m not even sure if she wants to be in any sort of serious relationship right now, but--”
I couldn’t finish my explanation because Parker held up a hand to cut me off.
“Don’t, you have nothing to be sorry about,” she said with a small smile. “I completely understand, and it wouldn’t be fair to Sadie to withhold any of the facts.”
I nodded.
“It’s okay, I can wait,” Parker laughed and gave me a little wink. “Just don’t take too long. Enjoy your bath, Liam.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. She just turned and walked out of the bathing room, and I watched her soft hips sway back and forth as she walked away from me.
Then the door shut again with a heavy thud.
God, I was so fucked.