"Whoa." Brenna exhaled, tossed her skate bag onto her bed and started rummaging in her suitcase for her bathing suit. Within a few seconds she found what she was looking for. She pulled on her suit and tied her matching sarong around her waist.
Brenna walked into the bathroom, pulled the elastic out of her hair and quickly ran a brush through it. She looked critically at her reflection in the mirror, reached into her make-up bag for her tube waterproof mascara and applied a little to her lashes.
Brenna left the bathroom and grabbed her purple and white striped towel from its place on a chair. She sat down on the bed and slipped on her sandals. Just as she finished buckling them there was a knock at the door. Brenna took a deep breath, got to her feet and walked to the door. Swallowing hard, she opened the door to reveal Howie, a nervous look on his face.
"Hi." He said softly.
"Hey."
"Ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah." Brenna smiled, grabbed her towel and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Her cheeks reddened when his hand gently closed around hers.
"Do you... mind... this?" Howie stumbled over his words. Brenna smiled, knowing what he meant.
"I'd mind if you didn't." She looked up into his eyes and squeezed his hand gently. Reassured, Howie laced his fingers through Brenna's and they started down the hall in the direction of the pool. A few minutes later, they stepped onto the deck and into the sunshine.
"Whoa! It's bright out." Brenna blinked and shaded her eyes as they walked over to two empty lounge chairs and spread their towels out. "Much warmer than home."
"Where is home for you?" Howie asked. "Come to think of it, I don't even know your last name." His voice was slightly muffled as he slipped out of his t-shirt.
'Whoa.' Brenna thought at the sight of his sculpted body. She'd seen him shirtless on TV and in pictures, but that was nothing compared to the real thing. "Where am I from?" She repeated.
"Yeah." Howie nodded. "And your name, too!" He grinned.
"Okay well, my full name is Brenna Regan Hughes."
"That's a very Irish name." Howie remarked.
"One hundred percent Irish heritage." Brenna grinned.
"So where are you from?" He asked.
"I'm Canadian, eh." Her eyes twinkled.
Howie laughed out loud. "Do you ever actually use the word 'eh'?"
"Once in a while. But I try not to; it's a bad habit to get into."
He laughed again. "Well, I don't know about you, but the pool looks extremely inviting at the moment."
"Sounds good to me." Brenna stood up, followed by Howie, and walked over to the side of the pool. They sat down side by side at the edge, dangling their feet in the water. After a minute Howie pushed off the edge and slid into the water.
"You comin' in?" He asked.
"Thinkin' about it." Brenna smiled, her eyes shining mischievously.
"Please?" Howie crossed his arms across her knees and rested his head on them, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.
"Oh okay!" She threw up her hands. "I can't resist those eyes."
Howie grinned and lifted her off the edge of the pool into the water, not letting go immediately. 'And I can't resist those eyes.' He thought, looking into Brenna's blue eyes. Smiling, her brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Brenna?"
"Yeah?" She whispered, eyes still locked to his.
"Will you have dinner with me tonight?"
"Of course."
Howie smiled his sweet smile and began to lean in to kiss her. A young boy chose that exact moment to canon ball into the pool, splashing everyone nearby, including Brenna and Howie. The intense contact broken, they both laughed, Brenna brushing the wet hair out of her eyes. An hour later, they left the pool and headed back to Brenna's cabin. By the time they reached it it was 3:30.
"I guess... I'll be back at around 6:00, if that's okay with you?" Howie said.
"That's fine." Brenna smiled, standing in the doorway of her cabin. "I guess I'll see you then."
"Okay."
Impulsively Brenna stepped into the hall, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. As she pulled away, she kissed his cheek softly. "Bye." She whispered, stepping back into her cabin and closing the door quietly behind her. In the hallway, Howie let out a shaky breath before continuing to his own cabin.
