The 30th Day in Hawaii
Chapter 2
The lobby was extravagantly decorated with bright, warm colors. The large mahogany reception desk stretched from one end to the other, a large stretch of workers busy answering phones and tending to guests from behind it. The morning sunlight shone through the wide skylight above, illuminating the polished marble floor. Miniature palm trees - along with many other potted plants - littered in different corners of the concourse, most of them tucked along the edges of the room, while others sat by the long and luxurious couches. It just so happened, that on one of these couches she noticed the same man from this morning in the elevator, leaning backwards into the plush pillows and focusing on something that was pulled up on his cell phone.
Lily observed him from her spot outside of the elevator doors. He was tall enough, though she couldn't determine his exact height because he was sitting down. He had brown hair that looked mussed, as if someone had ran their hand through it in frustration. His flip-flops had been kicked off and rested on the floor near his bare feet. He wore something basic, a simple gray shirt and a pair of crisp khaki boardshorts. He looked relaxed, and certainly happier than he did when she saw him this morning, reserved in the corner of the elevator with his arms crossed, and a slight look of annoyance on his face.
She abandoned her 'stalking spot' by the elevator, and made a beeline to the reception desk, dodging groups of families and children that were making their way to their rooms. She made sure to quickly speed by the man on the couch, placing herself in the shortest line leading to the friendliest-looking hotel staff. She wasn't expecting a long wait, being there was only four people in front of her. A small family of three were at the front of the line, the man in the family cradling multiple bags of luggage, a few resting at his feet. The woman beside him was holding a small child, around the age of six. The child was laughing, bouncing up and down in her mother's arms in excitement. Lily smiled at the fact that her and Jane had acted almost the same way as the child when they had first arrived.
While the family was checking in, Lily snuck a glance at the man on the couch, noticing that he had abandoned his phone, and was now staring at her from over his opened newspaper. When she caught his eye, she snapped her head back to the reception desk, her brown hair whipping behind her quickly, and her eyes wide. She straightened her back, feeling tense as she felt the man's eyes on her back. She focused on the ground in front of her feet, waiting until she was next in line. When the last person walked away from the line, she stepped up to the woman behind the desk. The woman was thin, her red hair reaching a little past her shoulder. She smiled from ear-to-ear, and ran her hands down the front of her uniform to smooth it out. Her name tag read 'Rachel'. "Good morning," she addressed Lily, "How may I be of assistance?"
Lily smiled at her politeness, appreciating her optimism. "Good morning. I was wondering if you knew of any good places to get coffee. I must have forgotten to pack some." Rachel nodded, reaching down into the drawer by her left hip, rifling through it and grumbling to herself when she couldn't find what she was looking for. " Let me go get you a map from the back room, I don't have any more up here. It won't take too long." She stepped away from the counter and stepped into a room behind her.
Lily waited, taking a deep breath and smiling at the scenery of the lobby, and the beautiful view just outside the lobby doors. She thought back to the bonfire that Jane had learned of, and felt a rush of excitement go through her as she thought about the beautiful beach, and the fun-filled weeks they had ahead of them. She took off her purse and set it on the desk, reaching into it to fish for her rental car keys. Just when she had pulled them out, Rachel returned with a brochure, opening it up and circling her favorite Cafes on the map, pointing out the quickest route.
Lily thanked her, and walked towards the front doors. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the man quickly folding up his newspaper, grabbing his cell phone, and scrambling over in her direction. Lily continued to walk, hoping to get to her rental car before her could say anything to her. No such luck. As soon as her fingers had grasped the door handle, a gentle hand had settled over it, causing her to look up, and come face-to-face with a smiling version of the man from this morning.
Lily awkwardly pulled her hand to her chest, giving it something to do by grasping her purse strap. The man cupped her elbow, leading her away from the traffic flow coming in and out of the lobby. "So... hey." He spoke, flashing his perfect teeth in her direction. He avoided her eyes, glancing down at the ground, seeming as if he was gathering courage. "You said good morning to me earlier." He started, running his hand through his hair. She nodded at him, waiting for him to continue. "Yeah... and, I felt bad that I didn't say it back, because I know that I looked really sour, and I don't want you to think that I'm some jerk that doesn't say 'Good morning' to people." He gesticulated wildly, his wide, honey colored eyes locked on hers the whole time he nervously rambled. "I was just really annoyed because I reached the limit of the amount of key cards that you can get, because I keep losing mine." Lily looked at him oddly, remembering the mysterious key card in her pocket. He took this for disbelief, nodded intensely. " Seriously! I've lost four so far. So now my friends are the only people that can let me in the room, and it makes me so angry that I -"
"Wait!" Lily interrupted, startling the man into snapping his mouth closed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the card. She held it up in front of his face, his eyebrows raising and a large smile brightening his face. "You found it?" He asked, reaching his hand out to grasp it from her hand. "Well," she started, "You still don't know that it's yours." He shook his head side-to-side, and grasped her hand tightly. "That doesn't mean we can't try!" He exclaimed yanking her along with him, but her feet stayed glued to the spot she was in. "Well actually, I was just going to get some coffee for-" He yanked her again, causing her to lose her balance, and take a couple steps towards him to keep from falling over.
"I'll tell you what..." he said, looking around the room in deep thought. "You come with me to test the card. If it works, I'll buy you a coffee." He gave a nod, radiating confidence at his 'brilliant' idea. She glanced through the glass doors, out to the small parking lot where she could just barely see her sleek, black rental car. She could easily shake the man off of her arm, politely decline and go buy her and Jane's coffee, and be back with enough time to squeeze in a nap and a shower before the bonfire. In the end, though, she knew that she would regret that. She would regret not stepping out of her comfort zone and accepting this man's offer. After all, being friends with this man could prove to be an exciting ride.
"You know what?" She asked rhetorically. The man perked up, raising his eyebrows in silent questioning. "Let's go test that card." She took the lead, grasping his hand and pulling him to the elevator. As they stepped inside, standing side by side in the center of the elevator, she let go of his hand. "By the way," he inquired turning to look at her, "What's your name?" Lily glanced at him, feeling a strong sense of pride as she realized that she had just trusted someone she didn't even know. "Lily Wright." She said, sticking out her perfectly manicured hand to shake his. "Toby Turner." He replied, gripping her hand gently and giving it a soft shake. Just as the doors closed, Lily leaned forward the keypad to press '8' - remembering that the man's hotel room was on floor eight - when the man spoke up. "I'm on the eighth floor."
Lily hid a smile and pressed the button. She'll pretend that she didn't already know that.