I unlocked the door on my side of the partition and then gave her door a good loud knock. I waited for a few seconds and knocked even louder. Still nothing. Okay, so let me try this…
I knocked on the door and started yelling her name.
“Damon?” I heard her voice call from the other side of the door.
“Yes,” I answered, “it’s me.”
“What on earth are you doing on the other side of that door?” She asked me.
“This is my room,” I told her with a grin. I wished I could see her face.
I heard her say an unladylike curse. Damn, I so wanted to see her face.
“It’s late,” Carla called. “What do you want?”
“You left your bridal file at the restaurant,” I told her.
“Oh,” Carla said and I heard the lock turn.
The door swung open. She looked all disheveled. Her face was completely devoid of all make-up but she was still irritatingly beautiful with her pouty lips and big brown eyes.
“Damon?” She looked at me annoyed while holding out her hand. “When you’re finished daydreaming, can I have my file so I can get back to bed? I have an early morning.”
“I…” My throat suddenly felt dry at the thought of the cotton sheets caressing her soft, smooth tanned skin. I gave myself a mental shake. “Sorry,” I still had her file but handed it over. “I’ll see you tomorrow as planned.”
“Sure,” Carla took her file, “thanks.” She closed her door and turned the lock.
I stood there stupidly staring at the door for a few seconds, feeling a little let-down for some reason. And she’d been a little rude not even saying goodnight.
I stepped back and closed the door, but unlike her, I didn’t lock my door.
***
God, what was that noise? It sounded like a band using pots and pans for drums. I sat and tried to focus, looking around the room for the source of the noise. It was my hotel wake-up call playing along with my mobile phone alarm.
Shit! Time to get up and go running, I guess. I slid out of bed and got my running clothes on, grabbed a bottle of water from the mini bar, and set up my phone with my favorite jogging music.
Hopefully, I’ll meet Carla on the track. I was a bit disappointed when I didn’t meet her in the elevator or the hotel lobby.
“Good morning, Mr. Winters,” the person behind the front desk greeted me. “Early morning run?”
“Yes,” I looked at my watch. I was right on time. “Do you know if Miss Reynolds has gone for a run yet?”
“Yes, sir,” the young woman gave me a knowing smile. “She left about twenty-five minutes ago.”
“Shit!” I hissed, “thanks.”
I decided not to warm up as I was really hoping to catch Carla, and if she’d been running for twenty-five minutes already, then that would mean she was almost finished with her morning run.
I decided to run the track in the opposite direction that you were supposed to run it so I could bump into her. It didn’t take me long to find her and then I nearly scared her to death. She wasn’t paying much attention to the world around her while she ran and sang along to the music playing in her ears.
“Jesus,” Carla held her chest and pulled her earphones out of her ears, “what the hell, Damon.” She breathed and grabbed her sides.
“Sorry,” I said, “I saw you jogging and just wanted to say hi.”
“Well, now that you’ve nearly given me a heart attack and said hi, do you mind stepping out of my way so I can finish my run?” She started to put her earphones back into her ears.
“Actually, I was hoping we could have a run together and discuss the day,” I gave her a big smile.
“I’ve already been out here for my scheduled time,” she looked at her Fitbit. “Now if you don’t mind, I would like to finish my run.”
“Okay,” I stepped aside and said, “I get it, you’re not fit enough to keep up with me.” I gave her a head tip greeting and started to put my earphones in.
“I know what you’re doing,” Carla turned to look at me, “but I’ll do a lap with you anyway.”
“Cool,” I said and left my earphones out of my ears. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”
“And it couldn’t have waited until later today?” Carla set her Fitbit.
“No,” Damon shook his head, “it’s got nothing to do with the wedding. It’s about that piece of land you have that you are no longer growing grapes on.”
“What about it?” Carla looked up at me as we ran side by side.
She was incredibly fit and I had to pick up my pace to keep up with her, and my legs were a lot longer than hers.