"If you're ready, sir, Abby will take you up to your suite," Makani said, giving me back my stuff.
"Yeah, sure, let's go," I said. Abby came around the desk and asked me to follow her. She told me one of the porters could get my bag, but I felt better handling my own heroin.
The suite was on the second floor, so we took the elevator up. She walked slightly ahead of me, and I checked her out while I was back there, not gonna lie. Her uniform wasn't really flattering, but she looked like she had a rocking little body under there if you got her in something more revealing.
"If you're hungry after your trip, there are seven restaurants and bars for you to choose from, open ’til ten o'clock. The bars remain open ’til eleven pm. The option of in-room dining is available, as well, if you'd prefer," she said. "You must have had a long flight."
"It was okay," I said absently.
"The spa is open between eight am and eight pm. You can book appointments yourself or you can phone the concierge to do it for you, if you need to unwind after your journey," she suggested. I grunted in response. It was nice of her to say, but I wasn't interested in getting a massage. "It might be what you need before your day tomorrow."
"My day tomorrow?" I asked.
"There are so many things to do; you aren't spending three months in your suite, are you? It's a nice suite, but look where we are," she said.
I smirked a little. She sounded more excited about my vacation than I even was. This must have been fun for her. This job. Gotta respect someone who was doing something they loved and was doing it well.
"Guess I can't spend all my time inside if I came all the way here, can I?"
"Of course not," she said, looking back to smile at me. She started rattling off a list of things I could do at the Four Seasons Lanai. Golf, snorkeling, and hiking. Horseback riding, nature tours, water sports. Things I didn't particularly care for, but the way she said them made me think they were worth checking out.
We quickly got to the room. She slid the card into the slot and opened the room. I followed her inside. I had known it was going to be a nice place, but I hadn't booked the room myself. Casey had, and I'd never bothered to look at any pictures online. I got the Presidential Suite at every hotel I stayed at, but this was basically an apartment.
"You're a lucky man, Mr. Stone. You have the best room in the house," she said walking in ahead of me. "There is just one bed, but you can request for another. You have two full bathrooms, a private terrace, and prime oceanfront views of the Marine Sanctuary and Hulopoe Beach. In-room dining is twenty-four hours, and housekeeping comes by twice daily." I followed her, taking it in.
The living area looked like it was big enough for a family to use. There was a dining table, couches, and a television. A piano was against one wall close to the entrance. It opened up to the terrace, which overlooked the beach.
"So what do you think?" she asked.
"It's nice," I said appreciatively.
"It is, but hopefully you won't be spending too much time up here. The beach is accessible all day. You have full, free access to the tennis courts and fitness center, and the island adventure center is open between seven and six, where we can arrange day long excursions to different parts of the island." I nodded, listening to her. I hadn't really come here to have an island adventure, but I liked her enthusiasm. She made me almost want to sign up for something.
"Thank you. This is great. I appreciate it."
"If you need anything, I'm downstairs all day, every day. If I'm not at the desk, just ask the person you find there for Abby," she said. I said I would and watched her leave, leaving my key card on a table by the door.
I looked around the suite: my home for the next three months. I rolled my suitcase into the bedroom. It was decorated the same way the living space was, with a massive television on the wall and a pair of sliding glass doors that opened out to the terrace. I took my hoodie off and lay down, face up on the bed. Comfy. I could get used to this place.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and realized I hadn't taken it off of airplane mode. You didn't really have to do that when you were flying, but I liked to since it was a good excuse to ignore people who were trying to reach you. The minute I was plugged back in, I saw the missed calls and text messages from Kirsten. Why was she so damn persistent? I knew better than to read them this time and deleted them all.
What was the fucking point, though? Where the hell did I have to go to get away from it all? What if it didn't even matter? I'd always have that bitch breathing down my neck. I'd leave Hawai'i and everything back in LA would just be worse. She'd sue me for more money. The label wouldn't let me out of my contract. Everyone in the band would start hating each other. What if I couldn't fix it?
I sat up. I was too anxious to stay in one place. I needed to do something. I needed something to calm me down. I looked out at the beach. Now seemed like a good time for a drink.
Chapter Four
Abby
Our shifts wrapped up at around seven thirty at night. Since it was still early in the season, the day hadn't been that stressful. I never really left work feeling drained or like I just wanted to pass out until the next day.
I was still on a high from meeting Nate Stone. I wasn't innocent. I'd absolutely imagined what it would be like to meet him and the other members of Remus, but since I had, I wasn't sure what I thought anymore.
He hadn't been mean or anything. He just hadn't been what I had expected. As a person who had only really met him for the first time that day, I knew quite a lot about him. Not on a private level, but I listened to his music, and his lyrics were deeply personal. Anybody could find out his birthday, height, and weight on the internet if they really wanted to. He was a public figure. People wrote about him, therefore people knew about him, whether or not they actually really knew him.
It was weird. I felt like I was looking at this face that was so familiar to me, and this person I felt like knew a lot about, but talking to me, he just seemed like a guy who was tired from a long flight and wanted to rest in his hotel room. After leaving him in his suite, I'd come back down and told Makani who he was.
Nate Stone, yup, the same one whose music I was always making her listen to. We were talking about what had happened that day when she remembered.