"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The screech echoed throughout the entirety of the ski resort. It may seem hilarious at first but not exactly if you were to put yourself in my shoes.
Let's go back a few hours before...
***
I woke up on the floor, finding myself buried under the avalanche of blanket as I blinked my eyes to clear the bleariness.
It took me a few minutes to adjust before my mind clicked, as if now remembering something important. I jumped out of the covers and tossed them onto the bed before looking around the room.
I sighed in somewhat relief as I took note of Aries' absence. He most likely went to his photoshoot then.
"... Dang. Doesn't that mean he already knew I wouldn't be able to wake him up?" I scratched the back of my head as I glanced at the note on the end table on his side of the bed.
I sighed and headed to the kitchen to grab some water when I noticed a bowl of fruit.
Wow. Perks of being VIPs huh.
I grabbed an apple and bit into it before dropping it onto the floor with a ridiculous expression on my face.
It was fake?! Yo! How would people know?! I have to report this, it is just so--- Wait... what is that...
'Apple - Felistia Howardley'
N-no way... It was an art piece?
I quickly picked up the apple and wiped it with the sleeve of my shirt, polishing it as best I could when my phone rang. Mother-- I nearly dropped it again!
"Hello?" I knew I sounded curt and a little rude from the way that came out but it was one of the worse moments to possibly call.
"Ah! You finally picked up... Are you... upset? Or just grumpy before breakfast? How about breakfast? Or well... Brunch?" Darryl's clear voice resounded from the other end of the line as I quickly cleared my throat.
"I uh... Er hmm... I lost something so I was a bit distracted by the phone call." I glanced at the apple sculpture and gave it a quick glance over before sighing.
Picking it up and giving it a 360° view I sighed. Having had a better look at it, it doesn't even look like a real apple. I can't believe I was that gullible.
"Do you need help? I can come over now." Darryl interrupted my monologue as I jumped back to the present.
"Eh?! N-no. Its fine. I found--- erhmm... just found it. I'll meet you at the lobby in a few... maybe in 10? I'll go get ready first. Bye." I hung up quickly as I stared at the screen which showed the call duration which was less than 2 minutes.
I'm not going to let another person continue Aries' streak of making fun of my mistakes. .... I better hide this and display it only before we leave... Gotta do something about that bite mark too... I thought while eyeing the fake apple.
I changed into a suitable set of clothing for casual activities since I wasn't particularly sure what we were going to do and headed for the door. However, I stopped short in front of the bowl of fruits and slipped the apple into my pocket.
Hey, I mean. It's for good measure! Aries will be back when I'm not around. So I might as well get rid of evidence while I'm at it, right? (Lo and behold, the mindset of the great inventor)
***
"H-hey, you're early." I panted as I slipped into the seat across from Darryl.
For some reason, I had thought to compete with him and beat him to the lobby. That plan fell through however, when he moved so quickly that I lost track of him and before I knew it, I had been running to get here ahead of him.
"Hmm? Were you rushing over? There's no need. I could wait all day for you." Darryl smiled as he leaned forward and picked a feather from my hair.
"Eh? That..." My cheeks felt hot when I recalled the fact that I didn't comb my hair. It was always unruly in the morning and especially annoying to deal with on cold days so seeing as how a feather, most likely from the mini pillow fight the night before, got stuck in my hair was basically letting him think I didn't bother with my presentation.
"I'm flattered you wished to see me that badly. I'll try my best to please you in my company." Darryl smiled as his face seemed to glow.
Me on the other hand, seem to be receiving some pretty interesting gazes from the table around us. The women especially, seemed to be smiling widely, grinning even.
"After brunch, do you have any plans or things you want to check out?" Darryl asked as he went through the digital menu presented on the table.
"Not really... I was actually planning to scout the mountain range on the oute---"
"Weren't you here for a break from work?" Darryl interrupted as I sheepishly trailed my gaze to his face. His tone of voice had sounded a little angry which made me worry I had upset him in some way.
"I uh... yes?"
"What you mentioned sounded more like another study you have planned to carry out."
"I mean..."
"... Why don't we keep that till the last day? Meanwhile... we can enjoy the facilities and activities we can do here on the lodge." Darryl's voice soften in tone as he opened a screen and showed the different kinds of activities available.
"Uh... These all seem quite difficult..."
"You don't need to worry too much. I'll be by your side."
"You seem pretty experienced." I shifted my gaze from the activities displayed on the screen to his face which was practically gleaming with confidence.
"I guess you can say that. I'm experienced enough to give a beginner some tips... Would you like to try it out?" Darryl donned a gentle expression on his handsome face as his gaze landed on me.
I wasn't the type to learn things on the fly but something about the way he looked at me gave me a slight streak to do something only a daredevil would on a daily basis.
"Okay."
"That's great. I'll teach you the basics first, so you can rest easy. It's not like I will throw you off a cliff and tell you to glide with ease." Darryl grinned as he somehow read the ridiculous thought I had in mind.
"I... that..."
"You'll be fine." Darryl reassured me again in a gentle tone when I felt the weird soothing gaze from the other occupants of the tables around us.
It made no sense for them to look so touched from two guy's interactions, though?! W-well... I didn't mind the attention though, since there is that one cute girl looking over from the corner table at the other end of the restaurant.
As I waved to her, I felt a my hand being pulled towards Darryl. I shifted my gaze towards him as he focused his ruby eyes in my direction.
"Darryl--?"
"Did you bring gloves? Your hands are cold."
"Oh... I thought we were only going out for brunch that's why..."
"I'll get you a new pair before we head for the activities." Darryl said as he let my hand go.
I glanced at my palm before the meal I ordered arrived at the table. The waiter dropped the plate on the table as it whizz past after. Oh the waiter...
In this year and age, only fine dining restaurants have human servers. Similar to the one Darryl brought me to last time. The server that delivered out food.... my food... was a humanoid robot which is a cheaper alternative nowadays.
Cheaper in the mindset that most owners can save on payslips for employees and maintain the quality of service since robots won't have bad days. Of course there are the obvious negative impacts their usage has in the industry but there are more positive outcomes due to their introduction.
"Are you only going to have that?" I pointed at the cup of coffee in front of him.
"Nice of you to be concerned about me. It's alright, I ate earlier. I'm just here to accompany you. It's not nice to eat alone, right?" Darryl smiled as he took a sip from his coffee, the heat vapor swirling around his face, warming his cheeks a little.
"Uh... I'll dig in then." I quickly shifted my attention to the meal in front of me and took my time eating the meal.