Edge of the Water

Belle woke up to her computer ringing at her. Sitting up in bed and looking around, she noticed Zoey was gone and it was almost time to get ready for her first yoga class of the day. Fleetingly wondering where Zoey was, she accepted the call without looking to see who it was.

“Hey, babe!” Oliver's face flooded the screen. “Shit, did I wake you up?” His happy grin turned to one of concern. Her boyfriend often had that same happy smile on his face. He did things without thinking, like checking which time zone she could possibly be in while he was in the same Chicago timezone the entire time.

“Uhh, yeah,” she said. “But I needed to get up anyways.” She was still a bit peeved about him not calling her before. She wasn't going to grace him with the smile he so often needed from her.

“Sorry I didn't call yesterday like I said I would,” he frowned, noticing her lack of emotion--especially her lack of a smile. “Actually, your mom and dad came over for a pity party with me. It was super weird, but they brought Chinese food and sunscreen that I just ran out of, so I let it go. I was going to call you while they were here, but then they started complaining how you won't return their calls, so I thought that might be a bad idea. What's going on with that?” he asked, hoping his explanation would spark some sort of emotional response from her; maybe that smile he sought.

“I'm avoiding them,” Belle said, running her fingers through her hair and moving to find appropriate clothing for her yoga session in twenty minutes. “They've been trying to get me to come home. Bribing me with an extra ten thousand in the trust fund that I'm never going to touch anyway, and talking about inviting some random relatives up that I haven't seen in years. It's insane. So, instead of saying no and having an argument every time I talk to them, I just haven't talked to them.”

“Alright, well sorry I didn't call. Do you have to work soon? Is that why I can't see you?” he chucked out. The only thing he could see on his screen was a nightstand with a book, several sheets of paper, a pen and an alarm clock.

She peeked over the top of her computer and smiled into the camera. “Getting dress,” she confessed.

“Well, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before,” he pointed out, grinning when he saw the smile on her face, finally.

“The Internet does not get to see me naked. Someone could be hacking our connection as we speak,” she told him.

“Seriously?” he asked, amusement mixed with annoyance. He missed her, especially her body. Relationships couldn't survive on talking alone. He just wanted her home, just like her parents did.

“Seriously. Same reason I don't send you picture messages of my boobs. Beyond easy to steal and put all over the internet.” She emerged from behind the computer, sports bra and NikePro shorts her only clothing. “I have to set up. We would have had more time to talk if you called me when you were supposed to,” she raised an eyebrow at him, but couldn't hold her angry face and let a smile sneak into her features. “But thank you for not telling Mom and Dad,” she blew him a kiss and disconnected, quickly heading to the door.

She got to the yoga room in time to see Zoey laying down the last mat around the room.

“I wondered where you were...” Belle commented. “What are you doing here?”

“My job?” Zoey questioned back, as if she showed up to yoga class in her pyjamas with a goofy smile on her face daily.

“You get paid less than me for a reason,” Belle replied.

“I get paid less than you?! What the hell?! Where is that sonofabitch? I'll cut him!” She glared in the general direction of the door and where the boat's manager's office might have been had she turned ninety degrees to her left and looked down a few floors.

“Zoey? I make meal plans along with teaching ninety-nine percent of the yoga classes; a good eighty percept of those by myself. Calm your tits,” she grinned, walking into her office.

“Yeah...So, why is Miss. Professional only wearing her workout clothes?” Zoey asked, leaning against the doorway to the office. “Where's the polo and the yoga pants?”

“Why are you in your pyjamas?” Belle countered, pulling the same Royal Caribbean polo Zoey had been talking about out of her desk drawer.

“I'll pay you twenty bucks to teach in your workout gear. Flaunt your sexy ass in front of all the hockey players,” Zoey giggled.

“Not in a million years,” Belle giggled, moving to put the shirt on, but Zoey grabbed it and immediately shoved it down her pants.

“What the hell, Zoey? That's not a normal thing to do! I wake up and you're not even in our room, and now you're shoving my clothes down your pants? That was clean!” Belle insisted, moving to walk closer to Zoey and attempt to get her shirt back, but as Zoey moved out into the room, the door burst open and several rowdy hockey players made their way in.

Belle groaned, glaring at Zoey who giggled, running past her and into the office, locking the door.

“What the hell, Zoey? Can I please have my shirt back?” she asked, trying to turn the knob calmly and not alert the hockey players to her less than appropriate appearance.

“It was skin on skin contact! You don't want this shirt back!”

“What? Did you wipe your butt with it?” Belle questioned. Zoey just giggled. “Are you going to teach this class with me?” More giggling. “Fine. I hate you.”

She turned to the boys all staring at her.

“Welcome back,” she said. “I hope Zoey taught you something yesterday, but she probably just hit on all of you. Sorry about my lack of clothing, Zoey stole my shirt and shoved it down her pants because she's an asshole. Lets get some stretches in, shall we?” Putting on a brave face, Belle decided she had to teach this yoga class in next to nothing. They would see the same thing if they came to the gym most mornings. Other people at her school's gym had seen the same thing every day for several years. She could do this.

She looked up as she started stretching her shins to see Jon's eyes boring into hers, then skimming over her entire body. He had been nice to her when she was sad, but now that the sadness wasn't prominent, he didn't waste any time checking her out. Trying to keep the blush from her face, she moved to stretching out her calves. She was going to kill Zoey. Very slowly.