Adalia

I felt like I loved him. I made sure to keep a good distance between Ian and I as we walked through the back double doors. I found it difficult not to walk closer to him. All I wanted to do was touch him; admire all his perfect features.

"Ian, I think I should go in alone. The girls must be pretty worried about me. I feel so bad for not telling them where I was," I said as we approached the laundry room door.

"Well actually, I think I should join you. That way, I could explain everything. It was afterall, my fault," Ian said, smirking.

Again, I found it extremely difficult not to melt into a puddle right then and there.

"No, it's okay. I can handle it. I'm going in now," I grimaced.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," I said and headed for the laundry room.

Ian gently grabbed my hand.

"When will I see you again?"

"Depends how loaded I am with work. And also how mad my friends are at me."

"Well, I'll be waiting for you downstairs at the lobby. Don't escape from me this time," He chuckled.

"Don't worry. I won't."

"Oh, and I won't be staying at this hotel anymore; mates and I rented a house near here. After your shift ends, I'd like to take you there to meet the rest of my band."

"Oh seriously? Sure, no problem. I look forward to meeting the rest of the Lostprophets," I said, winking.

"You'll like them. So, see you then," He said.

Before I had a chance to say good-bye in return, Ian planted a kiss on my cheek, very near my lips. I stood frozen, in awe. He then walked away, flashing that perfect smile that never failed to freeze me in place and melt me all at the same time. A strumming sound on the wall woke me from my frozen state. I hesitantly looked up to the direction of the noise.

"Where the Hell were you? And why was your phone off?!" Josie shot out.

"Hold on, let me explain."

"Explain what? How inconsiderate you are, being who knows where with your phone off, not even caring about who might've been worried sick about you?!"

"Okay, calm down-"

"Calm down?! Where were you Adalia? You seem pretty content so that must mean you were out partying or something," She said, glaring at me.

"Okay can you shut up for a few minutes and let me explain?!" I yelled.

She stood, tapping her foot with annoyance on the ground.

"I was..... with Ian," I said with a huge smile across my face.

"With Ian? Huh? Explain."

"Well, he invited me to the beach so we could talk and get to know each other better. He told me all about that he does for a living and why he'd been staying here all these past days. And... we watched the sunset together. It was amazing," I sighed.

"Umm, wow that's insane. But where else did you go? I mean, you were gone all night."

I remained silent, remembering the previous night.

"Oh no, don't tell me you-"

"No, of course not! I thought you knew me. We both lost track of time and fell asleep on the sand. That's all that happened."

"Well you could have at least kept your phone on and called me you know."

"Yeah you're right. I should have let you know where I was last night. That was so stupid of me. And the girls, are they mad at me?"

"Well Kim and Paula already suspected where you were so they weren't really worried. But Dana felt like me. But it's okay. I'm not upset anymore. You were having a good time so I can't really blame you," She said.

"Yeah, I was having the greatest time ever with Ian," I sighed.

"So tell me, how serious are you feeling about Ian? You seem so content whenever you talk about him," Josie suddenly said.

"Well I really can't explain how I'm feeling. I've never really felt this way before. Ian just freezes me every time he looks at me. I get so nervous around him, yet I want nothing more than to be with him...." I trailed off.

"Adalia, you think you might be in love?" Josie questioned.

My eyes instantly widened.

"To be completely honest with you, yes. Yes, I think I'm in love with Ian."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, you met him only a few days ago."

"Well yeah I know, but everything about him just amazes me. He's just so perfect. He's nice, genuine, and beautiful. My heart flutters just thinking about him."

"And do you think he feels the same way about you?" She asked.

My ears warmed.

"I would hope so," Was all I managed to whisper.

We both stood silent in thought when I noticed Annie approaching the laundry room.

"Oh shit, we have to get to work!" I exclaimed and quickly strode inside the laundry room to change and get what I needed for the day.

Josie was already prepared and simply walked off toward the elevator with her cleaning cart. I quickly stripped down to my underwear and carelessly slipped my uniform on. Annie then casually walked in; her eyes glued to my face.

"Is there something the matter Ms. Lake?"

"N-no, why would there be?" I nervously replied.

"Well lately you've been acting odd, like you're hiding something. Is there something you think you should tell me?" Annie questioned.

"Uh, no. Everything's fine."

"What ever personal issues you have, please don't bring them to work. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sorry. It won't happen again," I mumbled.

"Alright, now move along and get to work," Annie said and walked toward the elevator.

As soon as she was out of sight, I let out a huge sigh of relief. After my nervous encounter with Annie, the rest of my day at worked seemed to drag on forever. I spent pretty much every minute thinking about Ian and how much I wanted to see him. The time was now six on the dot and my shift had finally ended. I now felt extremely anxious since I would be seeing Ian soon. I stored my cart in the laundry room, signed out, and grabbed my clothes to change. I noticed I smelled completely like cleaning detergent. The last thing I wanted was for Ian or any of his friends to notice my cleaning stench.

"Ugh, there's no way I'm meeting up with Ian smelling like this," I muttered.

I stepped out of the laundry room and casually looked around my surroundings. There was nobody in sight. I quietly walked down the hall with my extra clothes in hand. I knew the room at the very end of the hall was vacant so I figured I could take a quick shower in there. I quickly swiped my key card through the lock and went inside the room. I showered with precise speed. I quickly changed and dried my hair with the portable hair dryer on the wall. I stood, looking at myself in the mirror. I still felt like I didn't look good enough to see Ian. Why was I now caring so much about my appearance? I'd never really paid much attention to the way I looked before.

"Oh well, I don't care anymore," I said.

I made sure to dispose of the soap I used and dried the tub to minimize signs of usage. I slowly opened the door to a crack and peered my head out to see if there was anyone around the premises. The hallway was luckily silent and no one was around the area. I quietly tip-toed out to the hallway and slowly closed the door. I then grabbed my purse from the laundry room and stuffed my uniform inside it. I grabbed my phone and made sure to text the girls, telling them where I was going. I didn't want them to get extremely worried or angry this time by any means. I was walking so fast that I could barely feel my feet moving. All I wanted was to see Ian. As I stepped out of the elevator onto the first floor, I scanned the lobby to see if I could spot Ian. I couldn't see him anywhere. A feeling of sudden panic flashed through me.

"What if he ditched me? Maybe he realized he's too good for me or he's getting pay back for the time I ditched him," I said to myself.

At that moment, two warm hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" A sleek whisper blew into my ear.

"Ian?!" I exclaimed and took hold of the hands.

"Who else?" He said, chuckling.

He had his wide, perfect smile on his face. He looked so gorgeous. I couldn't utter another sound. Instead, I reacted by thrusting myself into his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face into his chest. I let go as soon as I realized my reaction was way too excited.

"Erm, sorry," I mumbled, backing away.

"No, it's okay. If I can get a welcome every time I see you, I'll wait for you here everyday," He said, smirking.

I stood silent, just gazing at his perfect face. My ears were in flames.

"So, you ready to go?" Ian said.

"Yes, let's go, I responded.

He then took hold of my hand and walked me out to the car...

~TO BE CONTINUED. :]]]