Chapter five
Present Day
Once I was back in the room I lifted my case onto the bed and unzipped it.
I decided on wearing a black dress, which hugged my figure, but not enough that it felt suffocating and placed it on the stupid chaise before walking into the bathroom and turning the nozzle on hot.
I closed the bathroom door and undressed, before stepping into the oversized shower.
The water came directly from the roof, onto the ground, like hot rain.
There was a large claw bath in the other corner of the bathroom too, but after the last two days of travel standing under the hot water was more than refreshing.
I must have been in there for a good half an hour because when I turned the water off my fingers were wrinkled and my skin pink from the heat.
I stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry myself and another to wrap my hair.
I was about to get dressed when I realized that I’d never picked my clothes up off the chaise. I swore under my breath, but walked to the bathroom door, wrapping the small towel around my ample curves as I moved. I opened the door, not expecting anyone to be there.
But Theo was back. He was sitting on the bed, looking at his phone. At least he had been until I opened the door, standing there in nothing but a towel that covered basically nothing, falling barely mid thigh.
I should have closed the door and just put my clothes from before back on. That was the sane thing to do, the least awkward, but I just froze. Theo’s eyes were like lasers, burning me from the inside out.
“Uh, my clothe-” I managed to spit out, gesturing to my dress and undergarments on the chaise.
Theo stood up and walked over to pick my clothes up.
I might’ve died a little inside as his fingers grazed over the fabric of my bra and panty set, but luckily I managed to stay upright and breathing. For the most part.
He handed them to me, his fingers brushing against mine. Our eyes met, though just as quickly he turned away and walked back to the bed.
I closed the bathroom door and dressed. I walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later with my dirty clothes and my hair still wrapped in a towel.
“I thought you weren’t going to be back until 6.” I repacked my dirty clothes into the smaller case.
“Yeah - sorry plans fell through.” he said, his voice tight, but low. “I might uh have a shower and get ready too.”
I wasn’t sure what his plans had been, but I knew his reputation - he’d probably arranged a mid afternoon hook up. Not that it was any of my business. I pushed my misplaced jealousy to the back of my mind and picked up my phone from the table.
He walked into the bathroom without another word and closed the door.
I grabbed my make up bag and applied a natural amount of make up while taming my already unruly hair.
As I brushed it I looked in the mirror and spied the small infinity knot I had tattooed on the inside of my ear.
And it reminded me of the list I’d made in my diary, the first Summer Camp Theo ever tagged along on.
Summer - August 2013
“Come on, we’re verging on adulthood Gin.” Sloane said, twirling around under the night sky. “You have to have hopes and dreams!”
I did, but right now they didn’t go much further than hoping and dreaming that the boy sitting on the pier with a guitar kissed me.
“Are you perving on my brother?” Sloane hissed, even in the dark I could see her look of disgust.
“Sloane.” I shushed.
“Well, even if your hopes and dreams are to BONE my brother.” She basically shouted, which made Theo turn and look in our direction. I wanted to die, but luckily he turned back toward the water. “You should have them… you like to write. Write them all down.”
“Psst, sloane” Jasper’s voice called from the bushes and she giggled before saying bye to me and running off for her secret midnight rendezvous with Jasper. I pulled out my Believe pen and opened my diary.
Things I want to do this summer
Swim in the river
Write a poem
Get a Tattoo
Kiss a boy. (okay if im being honest… theo… kiss theo.)
Lose my virginity
Fall in love
Be seen.
It was stupid. This was stupid. I was just a fat girl that no one looked twice at, unless I was the butt of a joke, or the last girl standing.
I ripped the page out of my diary and ripped it into tiny little pieces before standing up and walking back to my tent, knowing full well that someone as great as Theo Bennett - would never want me.
“You okay Imogen?” Theo’s voice broke my thoughts, I jolted my head and returned to the present, nodding as I closed my lipstick and slipped it into my purse.
“I was just thinking.”
“You do that a lot.” He replied. “I’d love to get inside that brain.”
I shook my head and turned to look at him, only to be presented with him naked from the waist up, the towel slung low around his hips. So low that his perfectly sculpted V line was on show and begging for me to kiss it.
Fuck. My. Life.
I was aware I was staring, and I was aware that I should probably look away but I couldn’t. Theo grabbed a pair of boxers from his suitcase and started to pull them on under the towel.
I turned and looked out the window. Oh god. Theo was dressing, mere feet from me.
I really really really was going to kill Sloane.
I was almost aching to drink all the cocktails I could by the time we left at 6.50pm.