Rachel paced the length of the room she was to be sharing with Phil. The receptionist had been right; the rooms were beautifully decorated and reminded her of something she had once seen in an old film, the title of which she couldn't quite put her finger on right now. Kind of antique looking without being old fashioned, completely fitting in with the style of the hotel. There were four hours to go until the party was due to start, and Rachel wondered what on earth she was going to do to occupy herself until then. She expected that Melissa would be holed up in the spa for quite some time yet, massages, facials, probably a manicure and pedicure too. Phil would spend the whole afternoon playing football and probably come back to the room to get ready with about 5 minutes to spare, and she couldn't very well spend any time with Eddie with the way things were between them at the moment could she?
Spa treatments had never been Rachel's thing; she considered them a waste of time. If she needed to relax she would put her feet up in front of a good movie with a glass of red wine. That was all the relaxing she needed. Still, the brochure for the hotel spa caught her eye, and she picked it up from the bedside cabinet and leafed through it somewhat disinterestedly. Catching sight of the Olympic sized swimming pool featured on the back cover however, Rachel's interest was captured. That would be a fantastic way for her to burn off some of this nervous energy. After all, she couldn't very well pace the length of this small room for the next four hours, there would be no carpet left! So digging through her small weekend bag, she pulled out her classic black swim suit and towel she had packed just in case the chance arose, as well as her toiletry bag, and made her way down to the gym on the ground through the door to the fitness suite on her way through to the changing rooms, Rachel cursed herself for not having brought her trainers with her. She was a keen runner, and whilst she prepared to pound the pavements whenever possible, the treadmills looked very inviting right now with so much energy to rid herself of. Still, she would soon be diving into the swimming pool, that would give her something to focus on, take her mind off the mass of confusing thoughts that had been swirling around in there ever since she had woken this morning.
Upstairs in the luxury double room opposite Rachel's, Eddie was having similar thoughts. This room was similarly decorated to Rachel and Phil's, but had the added advantage of a king size four-poster and huge French windows leading out onto a balcony overlooking the beautiful grounds of the hotel. Eddie stood there now, staring out across the gardens without really seeing them. His mind was in turmoil once again, thoughts of Rachel plaguing him. What had she been trying to tell him? He had thought that perhaps she would be angry with him for trying to take advantage of her, the way she kept repeating the phrases 'I can't,' 'I don't,' perhaps she wanted to end their friendship now. But when he had stared into her beautiful eyes, that was not the story that the emotions he found swimming there were trying to tell him. He could see confusion, fear and anticipation lurking, all battling for control, each trying to give him some secret message that Rachel was finding so hard to communicate with him verbally.
Eddie sighed deeply and shook himself mentally. He had to stop thinking of Rachel, had to find some way to keep her from constantly invading his thoughts. He was engaged to Melissa, he loved Melissa, didn't he? Taking a few moments to think about this now, on his own out in the fresh July air, he allowed his thoughts to converge on the sister who should be occupying his mind. He and Melissa got on so well, they had ever since they had got over their initial arguments and Eddie had taken her out for a drink. They had fun together, they liked similar films and laughed at the same jokes, but did this mean that he loved her? Eddie wasn't sure any more. His judgement had become seriously clouded over the last few weeks. He cared a great deal for Melissa, but she couldn't even begin to elicit feelings anywhere near as strong within him as Rachel could, feelings which he knew had been constantly simmering just below the surface all year, but had come to the fore on the staff night out a few weeks ago. He recognised now that he was still in love with Rachel, he had just been hiding from the truth all these moths, believing that she had no feelings for him. That was the crucial difference he decided. He loved Melissa for her sweet nature and the ease with which they got on, but he was in love with Rachel, he thought about her constantly, dreamt about her, wanted to be with her every minute of every day. It was an all-consuming passion, which he felt at the moment, was completely ruling his entire existence.
What on earth was he going to do about the situation? It wasn't poor Melissa's fault; she had done nothing but care about both of them. But Eddie realised now that he couldn't stay with her. In the long run, it would be better to hurt her now, get everything out in the open and let her move on, which he was sure she could eventually. He wouldn't tell her the whole truth of course. He didn't think it would be fair to tell her about his feelings for Rachel right away. He needed to relax right now, to clear his head before he could some to a decision about how to handle this. And he had this party to get through tonight with both sisters by his side. Eddie decided the best way to relax would be for him to head downstairs for an hour. He remembered Mel reading the description of the leisure facilities to him from the hotel website and seemed to recall there being a mention of a sauna and Jacuzzi. That sounded like the perfect way to chill out for a while. So locating some suitable clothing and a towel from his holdall, Eddie too made his way downstairs.