Hotel pool hours

Weekdays: 9am-9pm, Weekends: 8am-10pm

I glance at my phone, it's just after 10pm. "Dammit," I groan.

"Well that sucks." Melody pouts.

I pause and think for a moment. After some internal debating with myself about ethics and whatnot, I slowly reach for the glass door's handle. I pull, and the door is unlocked.

"Sweet." I grin and take a step inside the indoor pool area.

Melody gasps. "Cole! Absolutely not," she whispers, tugging me back towards her. Her widened eyes quickly scan the hallway in both directions for any hotel staff. "They're closed!"

"Aw c'mon Mel, no one's around," I try to convince her. "You're on a break, remember? Have a little fun! Bending the rules every once in a while isn't going to kill you, you know."

I probably broke more rules than I should've throughout my teenage years. Skipping class, fake ID's to buy alcohol and get into clubs, hosting parties while my parents were away, the list goes on. I'm definitely no saint, but I'm better now, I promise.

"Well," she begins, absentmindedly playing with her hair, "alright, sure, why not." She giggles and takes my hand as we slip into the room.

The room is humid and smells like chlorine. There's the quiet buzzing of a pool filter coming from below. It's dark besides the lights along the floor of the pool underwater. They cast bright and wavy reflections that dance against the ceiling and white tiled walls. It tints the room a cool blue, supposedly a calming color to paint your walls.

I glance upwards, most of the ceiling is a skylight, giving a clear view of a starry sky. Same with the outer walls, they're all glass for the most part. "Let's go outside." I point to the doors leading out to the balcony.

There are several hot tubs outside, built into the floor. They're all lit up with different colors and aggressively bubbling away. Thick clouds of steam rising from each tub are clearly visible, the winter air around us is frigid. I wiggle my brows at Melody.

"No way." She crosses her arms and shakes her head. "I have to draw the line somewhere."

"It's cold Mel, I'm gonna freeze," I tease. Although I will admit that it's actually freezing out here. The outdoor heaters are off and my tough guy act can only go on for so long. "Plus, we've come this far, might as well go all the way."

"That's terrible logic." She rolls her eyes. I can tell by the look on her face that she's tempted though. "It's like saying you should finish a whole cake because you had a slice."

"Well lucky for you, I don't like cake." I wink and walk over to one of the tubs. Melody slowly trails behind me. "C'mon, just one night of rebellion, Mel."

She laughs. "Ok fine, just tonight."

I kick off my shoes and socks, leaving them on a chair. I take off my jacket and free myself from my dreaded tie. Melody blushes and shyly turns away as I unbutton my shirt and pants, leaving me in my boxers. It's instantly apparent that it's absolutely freezing out here. Goosebumps prickle my skin and my body begins to tremble.

I grab onto the railing and slowly step down the two steps into the tub. I sigh in relief as I sink in and the heat envelops me, driving away my shivers and numb fingers. I'm immediately relaxed as I sit on the bench and the jets pulse against my back and legs.

"I'll turn away until you're in," I assure her and turn around so that Melody is out of my view.

I hear some zips and fabric rustling, then the sound of bare feet against cement. The water splashes a little and I feel the movement against me as she gets in.

"You can turn now," Melody says softly.

I turn back, and she blushes a little. Pink straps are over her shoulders with tiny little ruffles along the edges. The water is bubbly enough that I can't see anything below the surface. "I will begrudgingly admit that this is nice," she giggles, sinking herself lower into the tub.

I fight the urge to give her a smug I told you so. "Hey so uh, when are you heading home by the way?" I ask with a light tone, attempting to make it sound like it's just an off-handed question.

She travels so much, and I'm sure she meets tons of incredible people, maybe moving around isn't a big deal to her. I try to read her expression, desperately wanting to know how she feels, but I can't. Like I've already learned, her years of experience in keeping herself calm and collected in front of audiences lets her keep her expression ambiguous and enigmatic.

I don't want her to see how much it's killing me, knowing she's leaving. I'm still struggling to even acknowledge these feelings. I've been changing so much lately that I don't even recognize myself sometimes. What the hell happened to the Cole who had dates with different girls every weekend? The Cole who could let go so easily?

I guess he grew up, all thanks to her.

She purses her lips. "I'm... not sure," she admits. "Soon though. My original plan was a month, and it's been a month plus a week or so now."

I feel my stomach sink. "O-oh, I see. Time flies when you're having fun, eh?"

"For sure." She lowers her voice and her smile fades a bit, "I'm really going to miss you Cole." I feel my heart skip a beat, and a tiny flicker of hopefulness lights up inside of me. Melody slides over towards me on the bench so that she can rest her head on my shoulder. "Promise we'll keep in touch?"

"Of course."

I wouldn't be surprised if she forgets me within a month though. She has all of these important projects going on in her life, why would she bother taking the time to keep in touch with someone halfway across the continent?

I quickly try to push the depressing thoughts out of my mind and bottle them deep inside. It's been a nice night for the most part, I don't want to ruin it by thinking about Melody leaving. I can worry about it in the morning. Live in the moment, as I always say.

"Carmen is going to get an earful from Alyssa when she finds out what happened." I grimace and shake my head. Alyssa is definitely not someone you'd want to get on the bad side of.

Melody cringes. "Yeah, I still can't believe that just happened. Thanks again, you really saved me back there," she says. "I'm impressed that you learned that by yourself!"

Admittedly, even I found that debacle back there pretty terrifying. I was worried about messing up a song easy enough for a child to play in front of everybody, but after what Melody did for me with my family, it was a no-brainer what I had to do.

"My pleasure." I drape my arm around her and gently stroke her shoulder with my thumb. "There's um, something I need to tell you by the way."

"Hm?" Melody tilts her head towards me, looking up at me with her soft hazel eyes. I get distracted for a moment. The green flecks in them shimmer as they reflect the hot tub's bright, wavy lighting.

"I didn't start learning piano just because I thought it was fun," I admit. "I thought it would help me get an interview with you."

"I know," she snorts. "I was wondering how long it would take you to admit that."

I feel my face turn red. "O-oh, sorry," I mumble. "Things...changed though. You shared your passion with me and taught me to love music. The interview suddenly didn't matter anymore." It probably couldn't matter less now, since it's not going to be published anyways. All that's important to me now is Melody. I just wish she would let me acknowledge that. "I learned Heart and Soul on my own to show you that I actually care about music."

"I figured." She grins, but her smile falters a bit. "Um, about the interview."

I chuckle, "Don't worry about it, it's not going to be published."

She quickly sits up and turns to me, splashing some of the water out of the tub. "What?" She raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "Why not?"

"I told Michael I didn't want to publish it," I explain. "It was after the party at the diner, when you were telling me about why you've kept your personal life so private. I realized your happiness is so much more important than some silly article."

She looks at me for a moment with glassy and watery eyes. Her lower lip trembles before she quickly squishes herself against my chest and hugs me. "Thank you Cole," she mumbles, barely audible over the tub bubbling.

-----

After our toes and fingertips have wrinkled from soaking for so long, we climb out. Luckily, we find some clean towels and thick fluffy robes with the hotel's logo embroidered onto the back to change into. Along the balcony are long rattan pool lounge chairs topped with soft cushions. I pick one, Melody lays down on it next to me, and I wrap an arm around her. Her long blonde hair is cold and damp against my hand, but I do my best to ignore it.

We lay there and enjoy the silence for a moment. I tune out the gurgling of the hot tubs. We're high enough that the bustling Saturday night traffic far below just sounds like distant white noise. It's a clear night, a rare treat after weeks of constant snow. It's still chilly, but Melody keeps me warm, inside and out.

"I'm sorry about the way I treated you when we first met," she whispers. "I was scared." She scoots closer and rests her cheek on my chest.

She sure was. I remember the way she practically teleported to the other side of the piano to hide from me. Her nervous little mannerisms, like playing with her thumbs and biting her lip. I didn't understand what she was afraid of. I guess that was part of what made her so intriguing to me at first, I wanted to find out more.

I chuckle a little. "Nah, don't worry about it."

She leans on her side to face me and shakes her head, sending little droplets of water flying from her hair onto my robe. "No, I should explain myself." To my surprise, she looks like she feels guilty. Her eyes flicker to mine for a moment but they dart down to my chin, avoiding eye contact. "I recognized you from the concert. Like I told you, my number one policy is keeping my professional and personal lives separate."

She looks incredibly stiff and uncomfortable. "C'mere," I mumble, gently easing her out of her rigid position. I guide her so that she's curled up around my side again, and I feel her sporadic heartbeat start to calm down.

"I was afraid of what you wanted from me," she says. "People have tried to use me for fame and fortune before. You have no idea how much some media outlets are willing to pay for info about me."

I decide not to tell her that I do know. Michael gave me the numbers and tried convincing me to sell pictures of Mel so that we'd have more money for the newspaper.

I politely told him to fuck off.

"I understand, you don't have to be sorry," I say softly, gently stroking her hair. "Plus, I know I came on a bit strong."

I glance down at Melody. She usually can't seem to stay still when she's nervous. She's lightly trailing her delicate finger along my torso, up and down my chest. I definitely wouldn't be here right now if I had just listened when she told me to leave.

"I'm glad you did though," she giggles, looking up at me. "I realized I had nothing to be afraid of after I saw that you didn't have any malicious intentions. You...care about me."

Her intonation at the end of her sentence slightly goes upwards, as if she's asking a question. It takes me a moment to figure out why she's looking at me so timidly. She actually doubts that I care about her?

"Yeah, of course I do Mel," I whisper, lightly stroking her cheek. I feel her exhale, like she had been holding her breath. She gives me a soft smile before resting on my chest again. I'm hopeful for a moment, maybe she'll tell me what I desperately want to hear. That she cares about me too.

She doesn't say it though.

"So uh, what are you doing after you fly back home?" I ask, filling the awkward silence.

"Immediately getting back to work," she sighs and rolls her eyes. "I'm supposed to meet with some record company execs." Melody rolls over onto her front and props herself up on her elbows. She looks at me, though I can tell she's not really looking at me. She's deep in thought about something, her brows are slightly furrowed and lips are pursed to the side. "I wish I could stay here," she murmurs.

My heart skips a beat and the little flicker of hope inside of me rekindles. "Why?"

She opens her mouth to speak but immediately hesitates, closing her mouth and biting her lip. "Lots of reasons I guess," she mumbles, slowly laying back down next to me. It doesn't seem like she's going to elaborate. "Could you pass me your phone?"

"Sure, why?" I ask as I hand her my phone.

She opens the camera app. "So that you won't forget me," she laughs and holds my phone above us.

It's a cute picture, her nuzzled close against my side, illuminated by the gentle moonlight. Both of us look happy, but I can't seem to stop thinking about the fact that this is temporary. A month long trip up on cloud nine before we're inevitably going to go crashing back down to reality.

"I'm so glad I met you Cole," she admits shyly. Even in the dim moonlight, I can see the slight tint of pink in her cheeks. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time, if ever."

"Thanks Mel, I've loved spending time with you too." I smile softly.

She lifts her head to look at me. I'm mesmerized for a moment by the beautiful, bright pools of hazel and gold in her eyes. The moonlight makes her pale, smooth skin look like porcelain. The world suddenly slows down as she gently places her hand on my cheek and moves closer to me. Closer and closer, centimeter by centimeter, agonizingly slowly. We get close enough that I feel her warm breath on my lips. Our noses brush against each other. My heart is racing, pounding rapidly in my ears.

"Um, hello? You two shouldn't be here!"

We both gasp and turn towards the balcony's entrance. A concierge is pointing a flashlight at us. We scramble to grab our clothes and bolt the hell out of there. The annoyed yelling of the concierge echoes down the hall behind us. We burst out laughing by the time we've gotten into the elevator.

"I can't believe that just happened," Melody wheezes.

Out of all ways a moment could've been ruined, I can't believe it was by a middle-aged 5'2" man pushing a cart of dirty laundry.

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Ahh my heart 🥺 I've definitely snuck into places I wasn't supposed to before haha, what about you guys?

Thanks for reading!