I stayed outside for an extra twenty minutes last night after Funny left, just processing everything. When I got back to Steph's suite, I laid in bed wide awake with anxiety, I want to talk to Steph about all of this but I wouldn't dare wake her from her deep, snoring state, she'd kill me if I darkened those circles under her eyes for a second night in a row.
…
After I wake up from an awful quality of slumber, I join Steph and Mia in the kitchen grabbing myself a cup of cold brew coffee. I don't waste another second before diving into my questions.
"Hey guys, did you know that X came back early?"
They both look at each other confused. "What do you mean? And how would you know?" Steph asks.
"Well…I went outside last night and that guy Funny was outside too and somehow it was brought up." I say cautiously.
They look at each other once more like they're trying to figure out what question to tackle first.
"Who's Funny?" Mia asks with furrowed eyebrows.
Oh yeah, I forgot she wasn't here last night when I talked to the other girls about him.
"You know, I'm not entirely sure but when I asked if he worked for X he said yes," I say.
Steph shrugs her shoulders in confusion at Mia.
"Steph, he knew who you were," I say and her eyebrows shoot up in even more confusion than a second ago.
Mia looks at me with concern and says "Millie, I know these guys are attractive and may seem charming and the bad boy type but please don't get involved with any of them. They aren't just the type, they are the real thing. They can be very dangerous people."
I shake my head "No Mia, it's not like that, don't worry." I assure her.
She pats my head like a child and says "Okay babe, just trust me on this okay? Whether it's a relationship or friendship, you need to be careful, I don't want to see you getting hurt in any way. I've got to go, my lovely ladies, I have to plan Steph's boyfriend's party." she giggles and walks out the door.
Steph groans into her palms. "I've got to get going too but she's right Mills, steer clear of these guys, it's dangerous territory, I'm telling you this for a reason." she grabs her purse and leaves.
I have no intention of getting involved with anyone here regardless of a warning or not.
…
Throughout the day, I contemplate meeting with Funny again tonight. I should stay away but it would be rude to not show up and then what if he gets mad and blows my cover out of spite? I'll just go, make it short, and leave. Simple as that.
…
It's just after 7 o'clock and I decide to follow another makeup tutorial. I go with something simpler than yesterday because I don't want any alarm bells going off when Steph and Mia see me. I walk to the closet and pull out a pair of snug jeans and a simple white t-shirt that hugs me in all the right places.
I hear the girls walking in together and they complain about how stressful their workdays were. We eat together and they both call it a night afterward. I sit on my phone watching TikTok until it's time to go meet with Funny again.
…
I leave the suite quietly once again and wait for the elevator to open. When it does, I hop on and press the button for the first floor. I'm feeling nervous because this time around I know I'm actually meeting up with him instead of being surprised by his presence. When the doors reopen I'm caught off guard by Ghost. He looks me up and down and scoffs in disgust at the image before him.
"Still here huh?" he asks in the most annoyed tone. I nod and walk away.
"Won't be for long, prude!" he yells after me and I walk faster. I don't trust him in the least bit and don't want to be alone with him in any instance.
I open the front entrance door and see Funny sitting on the same step as last night. He has his back to me with his hood up. I hear him talking, he must be on the phone. He starts to yell at whoever is on the other line and it makes me think back to Mia's warning. I go back and forth with myself on whether I should quietly walk back into the house and pretend I was never there. I turn around to do just that,
"Where are you going?" he asks, how did he even know I was here? He never turned around to see me.
"Oh…um, I just thought you maybe needed some privacy." I lie.
He turns his head over his shoulder to look at me and then looks me up and down. I instantly feel self-conscious about my choice of tight clothing. I walk down to where he is and sit down. I look at the beautifully lit fountain like I did the night before.
"Do you want to go check it out?" Funny asks.
I give him a puzzled look and he points at the fountain. I nod and we stand up. We walk over to the fountain in silence and when we reach it, it's even more beautiful than it was a distance away.
"Wow," I say and he chuckles.
The fountain has three tiers with water delicately pouring out of each tier over and over again. It's so mesmerizing, the tiers have gold touches around the rims, and the designs around the whole thing looks so thought out. I catch Funny looking at me out of the corner of my eye. I meet his dark green eyes that actually appear a little lighter, now that the fountain lights are catching them.
"What?" I ask nervously.
He chuckles and shakes his head "I've just never seen anyone so fascinated by a fountain before."
I shrug my shoulders and look back at the running water. "I think it just brings me back to my childhood, when I was younger, whenever I saw a fountain my mom or dad would take out a penny and give it to me to make a wish," I say. "I never did get that pony I wished for every time." I shake my head in disappointment.
He laughs and it's a beautiful sound. I feel myself getting nervous again because he's having that schoolgirl effect on me.
"So what's your story, Emily?" Funny asks.
Well, that's a loaded question.
"You can call me Millie, that's pretty much what everyone calls me." I say.
"I'm not everyone," he says so matter of fact.
Why did that come out so sexy? "Okay well for starters how did Emily turn into Millie?" he looks at me and I think my body is going to melt into the asphalt beneath my feet. Why is he so attractive when he speaks?
"Well….growing up, in the third grade, there were two other Emilys in my classroom, and it was incredibly confusing so I started going by Millie instead because it's what my dad always called me at home" I explain.
He nods understanding. "So how did you get the nickname Funny?" I ask.
He gives me a quizzical look "I guess It started off as a misunderstanding and then just kind of stuck."
He pulls the hood off his head and runs his fingers through his beautiful hair and catches me gawking. He laughs and turns away looking back at the fountain.
"Ya know, I've never actually looked at this fountain before tonight. I mean, I looked but not really paid it as much attention," he says.
"It's stunning" I reply and I don't know if I'm talking about the fountain or him at this moment.
Ugh! stop it, Millie! I shake my unwanted thoughts away.
I ask him without even really thinking "How did you get here? Like into this line of work?"
He clearly wasn't expecting my question because he stiffens for a second, puts his palms on the edge of the fountain, and says "My dad."
I wasn't really expecting that answer. "Does he still work here?" I cautiously ask.
He shakes his head no and cooly says "He's dead."
I get an uneasy feeling that I just opened a can of worms that I shouldn't have because his whole vibe has changed. I'm so stupid, I shouldn't have asked that. I try to recover the conversation
"Mine too."
He turns around surprised by my comment.
"How did he die?" he asks genuinely wanting the know.
I put my head down looking at my feet and then meet his green eyes "Herion. Yours?" I ask.
He furrows his eyebrows and stays quiet for a second and responds "Killed. Killed by his own brother."
I freeze. I wasn't expecting a sentence to be so loaded. "I'm sorry," I whisper.
He turns away again watching the water pour from tier to tier "I'm not. He was a piece of shit person and father." he says emotionless.
Jesus, this took an unexpected turn. "I'm sorry I brought it up." I finally say.
He runs his fingers through his hair again "It's fine. I'm not bothered by it." he clearly is though because the whole atmosphere shifted when I brought it up. I have no recollection of what I'm doing when I grab his hand. My whole body is on fire when the contact is made. His hand is large and rough but soft at the same time. I look down at his fingers which have small intricate tattoos on them. He looks down at our hands in confusion and I look him in the eyes
"I know what it's like to have a father like that. To not be there for you in the way a father should and to be disappointed day after day of what they have become." I say and he looks at me intently, holds my hand tightly, and then releases it. The loss of contact is almost chilling.
"C'mon," he says and walks away from the fountain while I stand in place.
"Where are we going?" I ask curiously.
"To the beach," he says and continues walking.
I catch up with him and walk beside him. "So you're close with your mom?" he asks without looking at me.
"I was" I reply wanting to change the subject.
"What about you?" I ask in return as we're nearing the beach behind the house.
"I was," he says repeating my words.
"Did she die too?" I ask being way too forward again.
When we reach the beach he sits down on the sand with his feet on the ground and his knees brought up with his hands supporting him from behind and I follow his position.
His green eyes look into mine and he says "No, my mom didn't physically die, but she is dead to me."
He looks at the crashing waves on the shore and then surprisingly continues on "She left when I was around ten, I don't really blame her for leaving, shit was hitting the fan here and she wanted out, so when my dad was somewhere in South America for work, she packed her shit and left me with the nanny. A few years ago, I found out she lives in Arizona with a whole new family and never looked back once." he looks down at his tatted hands and picks at his cuticles. I get the feeling he's not one to share his life often. I could tell him about the situation with my mom, but I don't want to get into that tonight.
"I'm so sorry that happened to you," I say genuinely. He gives a small smile creating that little dimple again and my stomach clenches at the sight even though it's clearly a sad smile.
"So you've lived here your whole life then? I ask.
"All 31 years," he says matter of fact, lightening the mood.
"Has everyone here lived here that long?" I ask curiously.
He shakes his head and says "No. Just a couple."
The wind is picking up a bit and there's a chill in the air so I rub my hands over my arms for some friction. Funny looks over to me doing it, unzips his hoodie, and hands it over to me.
"Put this on," he says more of a demand than a gesture.
"Thank you," I say politely and put it on.
The hoodie smells amazing, it's an intoxicating smell even though it's got a touch of marijuana traced into it. I look over at Funny whose attention is back on the ocean and now without his hoodie on, I get a much better view of his body. He is incredibly toned, like he works out often but not overly muscular, just the perfect amount. Full-sleeve tattoos cover both arms and I can't quite make out any of them at a glance. He has an absolutely gorgeous body with an even more incredible face and I can't help but stare knowing it'll never be satisfying enough for my eyes. He catches me staring and laughs
"You're making it obvious ." He says with humor in his tone.
I immediately look back to the ocean trying to recover the humiliating moment that just occurred. Out of my peripheral vision, I see him staring at me now
"You're beautiful too ya know," he says in the sexiest way.
I look into his green eyes and my heart is ready to leap out of my chest right now at the sight of him. He inches closer, slowly, like he's about to kiss me but a ringing sound comes from his pocket. He furrows his eyebrows and looks down at his pocket. He retrieves his phone and holds it to his ear. He doesn't even greet the other person on the line, just says "okay" and hangs up.
He looks me in my eyes and says "I've got to call it a night."
He doesn't even let me respond as he walks away and I'm left feeling slightly stunned and stupid. I stare at the water for a minute longer, still in his black hoodie, and then make the short walk from the beach and inside as he did just minutes before me without even a plan to meet up again, it shouldn't bother me but it does.