Rina slept through the day. It was almost 4 pm the next time she opened her eyes, and a bowl of hot pasta was already on the bedside table, waiting for her. She dove into it immediately, registering that her pangs of hunger was what had gotten her up from sleep in the first place.
Full, Rina returned to bed after going through her phone for messages and missed calls. The only person who’d reached out to her was Joel, asking if she was still up for their movie date like she’d agreed to it in the first place. Trusting Zayn to handle that, she turned off her phone and went back to bed.
The second time she opened her eyes, the curtains had been dropped over the windows and the bright lights in the room had been turned off, leaving only the night light on. Getting up with a start, Rina’s eyes fell on the clock on the bedside table, realizing with a start that it was almost 9 pm. She had slept the whole day without doing anything, and now Rina felt bad for it.
So much for making a comeback. She was sure that Kayla and Finn were probably already plotting their next move, yet she had slept through it. Wasn’t that an amusing thought?
Rina only began to calm down when she gathered her thoughts. She thought that there was no reason for her to get all worked up since no matter what Kayla and Finn threw at her, she needed to be ready to handle it. And for that to happen, she also needed to take as much rest as she could.
That notion justified in her head, she walked into the bathroom for a quick bath, grateful there was a bathtub in it. Refreshed, she grabbed the bathrobe she found on the hook and tied it around her frame. She found a dryer on the vanity, and Rina paused for a minute. Unable to help it, she wondered who else Zayn must have brought there that had left her hair dryer. Although Susan had mentioned that no one else knew about the place, Rina didn’t know what else to think seeing another woman’s property in there.
She turned back to the sheets and angled her head. Was it possible that the woman had slept in there too, and had even gotten her food served on the bedside table? Rina felt her insides settle and then start rioting again when she went with the most reasonable idea that the woman probably slept in the master bedroom beside Zayn.
Or under him probably.
The more Rina thought about it, the angrier she became. So, she got off the stool and walked out the doors, closing it behind her like it would shut out all the thoughts that had dredged up in her head.
Because she wasn’t wearing any shoes, her footsteps could hardly be heard as she walked down the staircase back to the first floor. But somehow, the moment she was facing the dining room, Zayn looked up. His straight face regarded hers intently for a minute before returning to the meal he was having, with Susan and William. It seemed like they were always eating together.
“You are finally awake,” Susan gushed when she noticed Rina. “I didn’t want to have to get you up to have dinner so we started without you. I hope you don’t mind?”
Rina walked in and smiled awkwardly. “I shouldn’t have slept that long,” she said, pulling out the chair next to Susan. “I didn’t know I was that tired.”
“You don’t have to apologize for something as natural as sleeping,” Zayn muttered casually, cutting through his steak. “I see you’re well rested. Your face looks much brighter.”
Rina touched her face. “Er…” She shrugged. “Hi, William.”
“Hi, Ms. Powers.” He didn’t say anything more, but Rina didn’t find it uncomfortable. William only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and for the rest of the time, a comfortable silence settled between them.
Susan grabbed an empty plate and offered Rina some steak as well, filling her glass with wine.
“Are we celebrating something?” Rina asked with a quiet chuckle. It had been such a long time since she ate with people. Her dinners were usually alone in her cottage, with whatever she could put together. On other days, she went to a diner and sat alone on a table, scrolling through her phone as she ate.
This felt really good the laughter that existed in the room in between each bite, the look Zayn kept throwing her when he thought no one else was looking. He seemed to do that a lot, in between bites, his dark eyes regarding her, laden with a lot of confused thoughts and unmet needs.
After dinner, Susan and William stayed back at the table to talk while Zayn grabbed Rina and took the stairs, walking until they reached the master bedroom. She asked him a million times where he was taking her on the way there, but Zayn decided that she was going to figure it out when she got there.
As he pushed the door open, Rina stared at the floor-length window in front of her, by one side of the room. Her feet moved there mechanically, as the nights beckoned onto her. The stars twinkled in the distance, and nature looked so magical and brilliant from that point. Rina could hear the sound of waves in the distance, noting that there must be a water source nearby.
“This is beautiful,” she whispered in awe as Zayn quietly came to stand beside her. He handed her a glass of wine that she had no clue he had picked up from the dining room. It melted richly on her tongue and teased her taste buds.
“I spoke to Joel,” Zayn said with the same casualness he always had about him.
“About what?”
“Your movie …. I don’t want to call it a date.”
Rina almost threw out the wine she had in her mouth.