Beauty Divine, Pain Be Thine CH.24
A sharp knocking on the door awoke Shea in the morning. She rubbed her eyes, rolled out of bed, and drudged over to the door. Upon opening it, she saw the expression on Tristan's face and wondered, how is he so good at looking both impatient and bored at the same time?
"Someone steal your Lucky Charms?" She teased.
"Funny," he replied. "Have you seen Dom? He wasn't in his room this morning when I went to go bother him. They better not have dipped out on us to go to breakfast."
"Umm, I didn't hear her get up this morning… Come to think of it, did you hear Dom leave her room last night to go to his own room?"
Tristan's expression changed to a wicked grin. "That sly dog. He spent the night."
"I'm sure it wasn't like that. They've barely even kissed before."
"We've barely even kissed before. Does that mean I can spend the night?" He asked, his grin getting even wider.
Shea blushed. "I… I mean… I've never…" She stammered.
His eyes widened. "Really? I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm not trying to push you into something like that, I promise."
"It's okay. I mean, I've never really been with anybody. I haven't had the opportunity. Before I met Ally, I was just a fish out of water. The way I looked made people afraid of me."
"So.. no mermen, then?"
"No. I've always been too preoccupied with humans. They fascinate me. Plus, there are the mer-people that my father created, and then there are the mer-people he… created," she emphasized.
"Ah," Tristan replied. "And you don't want to end up sleeping with a brother or nephew."
Shea shrugged, "Not my bit." Tristan got a good laugh from that. "But we should really go check on Dom and Ally."
Tristan grinned again. "Yeah. Just to make sure they're safe, right?"
"Right," she grinned back and wiggled her eyebrows.
They snuck over to the door that adjoined the two rooms and quietly opened it. Inside, they saw their friends, still in the clothes they'd worn the previous night. It was obvious that nothing had really happened, and the glace they shared next told them they were thinking the same thing. Shea pointed to the bed as if to say, wakeup call?
Tristan nodded, and together they pounced on top of the sleeping couple, shocking them awake. They sat up quickly and looked around, their eyes still half-sealed shut with sleep.
"Morning!" Shea giggled.
"Dude," Dom said to Tristan, "I nearly just punched you in the face."
Aphrodite groaned and knocked Shea off the bed pulling the blanket back up around her face. "I hate you guys so much right now."
Shea laughed as she got up off the floor. "You're really getting the whole 'modern language' thing down."
"What can I say?" She replied, crawling out of the bed, "I'm a fast learner."
"Sorry to break up your sexy time," Tristan quipped, "but I'm hungry. Get dressed, let's go stuff our faces."
Simultaneously, the girls whined, "Ughhh, but I need a shower," then giggled at themselves.
"I'd ask to join if I weren't so damn hungry. Shower later," Tristan griped back, tugging on Shea's pajama sleeve.
Shea suggestively purred, "My answer to both is, 'Only if you promise to help me get very, very clean.'" She stared up at Tristan with big, bright eyes, mustering the best sensual expression she could manage. All jaws dropped.
"Cross my heart," was all he could think to respond.
Dom leaned over and murmured, "And here I thought we were the ones acting all 'get-a-room-ish.'"
"And I thought she was supposed to be a virgin," Tristan sputtered.
"And I thought you guys could take a joke," Shea rolled her eyes. "Besides, virgins can act sexy, too. And it's not like I plan on being one forever," she added suggestively, running her hand along Tristan's chest as she walked back to the adjoining door. She slipped back into her room to get dressed, the rest of the group staring after her in disbelief.
During breakfast, the business manager came to personally thank his VIPs, who had paid for an all-inclusive package. They all stared at Shea, who shrugged as if to say it was no big deal. "May I interest any of you in our luxury spa day? It includes a full-body massage, a mani-pedi, a facial, and a nice steam room."
"I could definitely go for a massage, but the rest of that sound completely unnecessary to me," Dom responded.
"You may pick which treatments you do or do not desire to have today."
"Well, I could go for a massage, too," Aphrodite replied. "Shall we go together?"
"Tandem massage for the lovely couple, then," the manager offered.
Dom nodded, "I'd be good with that."
"And another tandem couple's massage for you, as well?" the manager asked, looking to Shea and Tristan. They exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.
"No, thank you," Shea said politely.
"Very well. If you need anything on the duration of your trip, please do not hesitate to ask. Just call the lobby and ask to speak to me, Vincent Portello," He finished as he bowed and backed himself away from the table.