Page 27 of Chronicles of a Rockin' Mess

His face turns a little white for a second. “Uh, no, no, that’s fine. Let’s just go to a hotel,” he says so quickly that the words run together, and it takes me a few seconds to process his answer.

“OK then, I’ll go pack,” I reply as I head to my room.

My phone pings as I throw items in an overnight bag.

Cooper: Playtime?

Me: Coop – we have a flood situation and have to stay at a hotel

Cooper: Perfect! Which one? Mason and I are going out and so are you

I stare at his text. I probably shouldn’t go out. I probably should stay in and make sure Lincoln doesn’t get in trouble…but…I could use some more fun with Cooper especially after this water debacle.

Me: OK

I send him the hotel deets, and he messages me to be ready by seven. I throw in some “going out” clothes and heels. Lincoln decides we can drive ourselves, so I call and cancel the driver before loading up the car.

Lincoln gets us there quickly. We check in and are shown to a suite with two rooms off it. I sigh with relief and toss my bag on a chair in my room, the smaller of the two.

“You don’t want this one?” Lincoln asks from his bedroom.

“This what?” I ask.

He pokes his head in my room. “The bigger bedroom? It has a nicer view.”

I shrug. “I’m going out, so it doesn’t really matter.”

His whole demeanor changes. “What do you mean?” he asks, his voice gruff.

“I mean, I’m going out. You’re all set here. You don’t need me. You are a big boy,” I say to him. He huffs and walks back out of my room.

I decide to take my computer down to the pool for the afternoon and do some work. I throw on a bikini and head down.

I tug at my bikini top as I try to get settled in a lounge chair. I hadn’t thought to buy a new one since losing weight. It’s hot out, and I order myself a cold drink as I work on Lincoln’s schedule. I nearly have hotel details secured for the tour when my phone buzzes. It’s Coop.

“Hey,” I say into my headphones as I continue working.

“Dinner and then clubbing?” he asks.

“Sure,” I answer. I look at the time. I’ve been down here for a few hours now. But that leaves me with plenty of time for a quick swim before I need to shower and change.

“Cool, I’ll see you in a bit,” he says as he hangs up. I shut down the computer and pull out my earbuds. The pool is fairly empty except for a few teenagers and a family in the shallow end. The dad is a definite DILF, but his wife looks like she’s been to the plastic surgeon enough times to qualify as a human Barbie. She lies in a lounge chair sipping water while her husband plays with the kids in the pool. I roll my eyes. Southern California can be so fake.

I walk to the edge of the pool and dive into the deep end. The water feels amazing against my hot skin. I swim a few laps and start to the edge of the pool. I begin to lift myself out when a kid’s voice breaks my train of thought.

“Uh, lady, this isn’t a nudist colony,” a boy who can’t be more than twelve says from a few feet away. I look down and gasp.

My bikini top is missing. I quickly cover my breasts.

The little shit, who I can’t really be mad at because at least he pointed this out before I emerged from the water, is now snickering with another little boy who must be his older brother. I groan as I search the bottom of the pool for my bikini top.

I spot it and am about to dive down to collect it when a smaller kid cannonballs in beside me and dives down. He grabs my bikini.

“Thanks,” I say to him as he emerges. He laughs in my face and swings around the top.

“Look what I got, Benji! I got a bra!!” he says triumphantly.

I grimace. “That’s a bikini top, and it’s mine. Can you please give it back to me?”

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