He had carried her to the house; he had carried her up the stairs to the room that Ms. Carter had reserved for her. He had tucked her under the covers and tiptoed out of the room. Erin knew all of this because she had been awake for most of it, but had decided to allow him to carry on without interrupting and embarrassing him.
She was lying awake in bed now, with somewhat of a dull throb at the base of her skull. She knew it had to do with the wine. She heard a soft knock on the door and Alicia let herself in without waiting for a response.
“You’re never one to have a lie in,” Alicia said and plonked herself down on the bed beside Erin and slipped in under the covers herself. She was still in her usual silk nightgown and had loosely tied a dressing gown around.
“How are you feeling?” Erin asked her and Alicia groaned in response.
“I had too much to drink and now I feel like I want to die.” She pulled the cover over her head and muffled her voice. Erin laughed a little, but felt an ache in her head and stopped.
“I think I’m going to lie in bed all day,” she said and threw an arm over Alicia. She wasn’t sure, yet, if she should tell her about the previous night with Xavier. Alicia moaned again and turned to snuggle up with Erin.
“This is a good start to the vacation, though. You’ll have forgotten Steve in no time if we keep this up,” Alicia said with her eyes closed. Erin cleared her throat, Alicia knew that was always a sign that she had something important to discuss.
“C’mon, spit it out,” Alicia lifted herself on an elbow and glared at her.
“What do you really think of Xavier?” Erin asked and turned to look at her.
“What do you mean? Other than the fact that he’s delicious?” She smacked her lips and Erin flinched. It was also evident to her that, like always, Alicia did not remember the scene at dinner from the previous night. Once the wine kicked in, Alicia’s memory always started to fail. Erin’s silence provoked her and she crossed her brows.
“What else can you mean, Erin? Tell me now!” She sat up straight and flung her leg over Erin’s waist and sat pillion on her. Erin was expecting a volley of childish tickling and she held up her hands in defense.
“All right, okay. Hold your horses. So…We kinda went for a walk last night after you went to sleep,” Erin began, but Alicia already knew what the rest of the story was going to be. She had clapped her hands to her mouth and fell off Erin dramatically. Her head bouncing off the thick mattress. Erin was laughing but was also a little embarrassed.
“You had sex with Xavier Cowen?” Alicia was squealing and Erin tried to hush her up.
“Keep your voice down, Alicia.” She sat up in bed as well.
“You’ve barely slept with two nerds in your lifetime and then you go and have sex with Xavier Cowen? Are you kidding me?” Alicia couldn’t keep her voice down and Erin fell back down on her pillows, covering her face with her hands.
When she peeped through from between her fingers, Alicia had gotten off the bed and was jumping around the room. The wooden floor of the room squeaked with every thud.
“What are you doing? Stop that. We’re not fifteen anymore,” Erin tried to admonish her, but she couldn’t stop giggling.
“Are you kidding me? You slept with somebody; you slept with Xavier Cowen!” Alicia came over to her and shook her shoulders.
“Do you think he had too much to drink?” Erin asked with a frown and Alicia started pulling her by the arms.
“Come here. Get your butt over here,” Alicia pulled her to the mirror and planted her in front of it. She was towering behind Erin.
Erin peered at herself. Her curls were in complete disarray, she was still wearing the ripped blouse from the previous night and her woolen skirt. Alicia grabbed her breasts out of the blue and Erin squealed.
“What the hell, Alicia!” she shouted at her.
“Own it, Erin. You’ve gotta own it!” Alicia was still squealing from excitement. “Now get yourself cleaned up and make your way downstairs,” she pointed to the en-suite shower and Erin groaned.
“My head ̶ ” she had begun to say, but Alicia widened her eyes.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Erin. You have to make him drool,” she cut in. Erin sighed and remained standing in front of the mirror.
“What’s wrong now?” Alicia gave her an enthusiastic hug.
“I just don’t want to completely ruin it, you know?” Erin turned to look at her friend.
“Are you saying you actually like him?” Alicia’s smile dropped from her face. This meant trouble. Erin didn’t respond.
“You barely know him, Erin!” Alicia shook her head. “Don’t do this to yourself. You had a good time last night. He’s a movie star.”
Erin nodded in silence. “You’re right. I know you are, but there’s just something about him. I don’t see him as a movie star,” she tried to explain, but Alicia only rolled her eyes.
“You see him as a human being…blah blah blah.” She shoved Erin in the direction of the shower again.
She turned to look at Alicia and pouted. “I don’t want to get my heart broken again. I’m worried. We’re going to be living in close quarters for two weeks now,” she said and Alicia sighed.
“We’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow, Erin. Maybe there is potential. If you’re feeling it, maybe he is too. For now, get dressed!” Alicia was authoritative and Erin passed her a mock-salute before locking herself in the shower for an hour.
•••
By the time Erin made her way downstairs, Alicia had already showered, changed and was sitting out in the balcony with Xavier. Erin had changed into a pair of casual navy blue trousers and a wooly lilac sweater. She had bunched up her thick chestnut curls on the top of her head in a messy knot and stayed away from the makeup. He had already seen her in her most vulnerable.
Alicia was much quieter around Xavier this morning than she had been the previous night at dinner. Erin stepped into the balcony, greeted them both with a chirpy good morning, and sat down on the third chair that Ms. Carter had left outside for them. Steaming mugs of tea had been placed on the coffee table in front of them and a plate of a variety of biscuits.
The lake had most definitely frozen the previous night, but not entirely and as the warm sun beat down on it this morning, it was beginning to melt.
“It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?” Erin asked nervously, neither of the other two had spoken and she didn’t want to make eye contact with Xavier yet.
“It’s beginning to grow on me all right,” Alicia said with a sigh and reached for her mug of tea.
“Did you sleep well last night?” Erin turned her face to Xavier but could feel her cheeks burning. He had finally looked at her; he looked drowsy and tired, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep the previous night.
Before he could answer, Alicia broke into a giggle which she immediately tried to subdue. But it was too late. Erin threw Alicia a threatening look but she had also noticed Xavier’s face fall and a certain kind of resentment build up in his eyes.
“I did, thank you for asking,” he said curtly and stood up from his chair. Within a second, he was gone from the balcony, and Erin and Alicia were left sitting by themselves.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry Erin. I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t control it,” Alicia said and leaned forward to grab Erin’s arm. She pulled it away from Alicia’s touch.
“Why do you always have to jeopardize everything? Why can’t you ever bear to see me happy?” she nearly yelled at Alicia before getting up to follow him inside.
“I’m sorry, Erin. I really am.”
She heard Alicia pleading but ignored her. She hurried inside and caught sight of Xavier’s figure disappearing in a huff up the stairs. She didn’t know exactly what to say or do, but she followed him upstairs anyway.
“Xavier, can we please talk?” she called after him, just as he was about to enter his room.
He turned to face her and then held the door of his room open for her. He did it in silence and she didn’t know what to expect but stepped into his room and he followed her. She noticed how he gently shut the door but didn’t allow it to close completely. What was he hinting at?