Chapter 436: A vacation
The White Island was a beach resort and was one of the most popular tourist attractions for the wealthy — that much was obvious since no one could reach the island without a boat or a helicopter.
And, of course, that transportation was private. It was not possible to commute to the island.
Calling it a tourist destination was a bit too much, given that there were a limited number of people who could afford to go there, let alone pay for accommodations.
It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by ocean water on all sides.
Few buildings were erected on the island, but most of them were private rest houses of the wealthy and powerful. There was only one hotel building on the entire island to accommodate visitors.
A handful of the staff lived on the island year-round to maintain the place, and most would stay for just a couple of weeks at a time.
The sun-bleached sand seemed to stretch on forever. Every time surf rolled in, soft and gentle, foams formed around the pebbles and seash.e.l.ls that covered the sh.o.r.e.
There were other people on vacation, and all of them wore clothes that were more expensive than a middle-cla.s.s person"s wardrobe.
They walked along the sand or sat on lounge chairs with drinks in their hands. Some were tanning, some were swimming, but most of them just stared at the group of men by the sh.o.r.e.
"I"m glad we"re here," said Leonel, looking out at the waves as he stretched his hands. "It"s so beautiful here."
They came here after lunch after they"d finally finished all their last-minute preparation. The men changed into their swimwear and headed down to the water, where they could relax and enjoy the view while the women were still in Isolde"s rest house, still changing.
"You sound like you"ve never seen the ocean before," said Roz. He then sat next to Nikolai, who was playing by the sand.
Leonel shrugged. "I grew up in Zone B. I don"t think I"ve ever seen a sea this beautiful until I came to Zone A."
Roz enjoyed the view and uttered, "Well, this is a nice change of scenery for sure."
"Too bad Ragnar isn"t here to enjoy it," Leonel said before he crept to Ren"s side.
While Roz was playing with Nikolai, Leonel briefly glanced at Ren.
Ren"s complexion was duller than before, and he definitely lost weight.
"How are you holding up?" asked Leonel.
Ren"s eyes were steady on the waves, seeing beyond the horizon but never really seeing it. "After a month of grieving . . . I"m slowly getting there."
Leonel patted Ren"s back. "Take your time. You can grieve however long you want."
". . ." Ren wasn"t in the mood to party and be merry. If not for Evie"s plea, he wouldn"t have come.
"Hey, guys!"
----
An hour before.
After arriving on White Island, Ren, and the others went straight to Isolde"s rest house. When she was born, this was one of the gifts she received.
The house was more like a mansion of gla.s.s and wood. It had ten master bedrooms and twenty guest rooms. It has built-in Jacuzzi pools on every balcony of the master"s bedroom, as well as amenities like a kitchen, spa, gym, living area, movie areas, and the likes.
Sumeri took off her gla.s.ses and whistled. "It"s so nice to be so rich."
"Sis, look! They even have pools hanging from the ground." Nikolai pointed at the mini pool on the balconies and got even more excited.
Roz was silent throughout. He wore a calm expression, but deep inside, he was nervous about living in this kind of house for three days.
He even checked the back of his sleeper to see whether it was clean enough to grace those expensive solid wooden planks.
"Sometimes, I forget that you"re so rich, but you always slap something like this on my face," joked Leonel to Isolde.
Isolde cheekily grinned. "I have another rest house. Want to go there? We can go by private jet."
"Augh . . . no thank you."
Everyone went in, and Isolde showed everyone to their rooms. All of them had been a.s.signed one master bedroom, and there were even maids and butlers who would make sure that their stay was of the utmost comfort.
The guys changed into their swimming shorts, and Ren just casually flung a jacket over his naked upper body before going out just in time for Leonel, Nikolai, and Roz to get out of their rooms too.
Nikolai was so cute with a lifesaver inflatable balloon around his waist. He even had a basket of toys for building sand castles.
"Where are your balloons and toys, Roz?" asked Leonel.
"Huh?" Roz stared at Leonel with dead-set eyes. "Why would I need those?"
Leonel scratched his head. He didn"t understand why Roz was looking at him like he was an idiot. "Aren"t you a kid too?"
"I"m eighteen," said Roz.
But Leonel didn"t hear him when Sumeri and Isolde suddenly pa.s.sed through in front of them.
"Hey. You girls still aren"t dressed?" Leonel asked.
Isolde shifted her eyes left and right before casually taking a peek at Ren and Leonel"s exposed chest.
Sumeri merely tilted her head and brushed Leonel away. "Us girls need more time getting ready. You guys go on ahead."
"Come, Isolde." Sumeri pulled Isolde"s hand and went inside Evie"s room.
Leonel scratched his head. "What"s that about?" He then shrugged. "Fine then. Let"s go to the beach."
While Leonel and the others walked ahead, Ren was only silent at the side. He briefly shot a look at the closed door to where Evie was situated before he left the mansion and headed towards the beach.
When the guys left, Evie, Isolde, and Sumeri were left inside Evie"s room.
"Goodness gracious, I can"t believe you"re going to wear that!" Sumeri gasped as she looked at Evie in a one-piece school swimsuit in dark blue color.
"What"s wrong with it?" Isolde shrugged and threw another potato in her mouth. "She looks cute."
"Cute?" Sumeri gaped. "Cute is not the way to seduce your boyfriend! You don"t want him to think of you as a little sister while f*ckng you! You want to show him that you"re a mature woman and can take that next step to advance your relationship!"
Isolde choked, and all the crumbs flew out from her mouth. She gasped and s.n.a.t.c.hed a bottle of water from the mini ref.
"Good thing I brought this!" Sumeri grabbed numerous swimsuits from the tote bag she was holding.
Evie hesitated when she saw one that dropped on the floor. It was only a G-string that only covered the bare minimum of the private parts. "B-but . . ."
Sumeri grabbed her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Do you really want to advance your relationship with Ren or not?"
"Y-yes but . . ."
"Then do this for him," Sumeri said seriously. "If you can"t do this much, then you might as well be just friends and only be a couple in name."
Evie groaned under her breath. "Are you sure it would make him feel better?"
"Trust me."
Seeing Sumeri"s serious face, Evie hesitantly nodded.
For Ren . . . she would do anything.
----
A/N (Doesn"t consume coins)
h.e.l.lo guys. I"m planning to write a s.m.u.t on the next few chapters and I"m wondering if it should be explicit or not.
Just comment here:
I love Sushi = explicit
I don"t love Sushi = non explicit