Swinging her legs off the side of the bed, Kenzie looked around. A new day had begun, and she had a feeling this day in Hidden Springs would be even better. She and Jillian would have all day to have fun, rather than just an afternoon like the day before.
Jillian stirred next to her and Kenzie saw her open her eyes.
"Good morning," she said as Jillian's eyes fluttered open.
"Hey. What time is it?"
"Almost 11. Want some breakfast?"
"Yeah, but make it light so we can go swimming."
"No problem, I'm not that hungry anyway. How about some French toast?"
"Sounds good."
Kenzie stood up, grabbed some clothes out of the dresser, and went to the bathroom to change. When she emerged, she began making the toast.
Jillian came out a few minutes later, already in her swimwear and cover, and took Kenzie's previous evening's duty of setting the table. Soon, the French toast was ready. The two friends dug in.
"Wow, this tastes great!" Jillian proclaimed.
"Thanks. I haven't made it in a while but it sounded good."
"It's awesome. And there's just enough to fill us up but not so much that we can't swim."
"I think we should hit the Hidden Springs Day Spa today. It apparently has all kinds of spa treatments you can't get at Serenity."
"Sounds good to me. We can get massages while we digest this breakfast, then go swimming."
"A massage sounds great. Although not if someone's walking on my back. I always thought that hurt. I don't get the appeal of it."
"It's not that bad as long as they don't step on you hard. And I don't think they will. They're trained to make you feel good, not like you're in pain."
The two finished breakfast and headed to the spa. Once there, they were both amazed at how the place looked up close. They'd driven next to it the day before but hadn't really noticed it. The place was truly extravagant.
Kenzie and Jillian went all out in the spa. Both got massages (Kenzie a Shiatsu, Jillian a Swedish), manicures and pedicures, and facials. They considered getting body treatments or even full packages, but those were too costly. Instead, they enjoyed a day of being very girly and relaxed.
"That massage felt awesome!" Kenzie declared as the two lounged outside by the pool.
"Yeah, it's just what I needed to help get rid of some of this stress."
"What stress?"
"Oh, I'm just worried about school. I thought I had my whole life figured out, but then I fell for the wrong stupid guy, and look at me now."
Kenzie looked over at her friend. "Jill, everyone makes mistakes. At least you learned from yours. I know you'll make it. It may be hard, but if something's really worth having, it's worth trying for. And I'll always be here for you if you need me."
"Thanks, Ken. That means a lot. I'm lucky you didn't turn your back on me because of how stupid I was."
"I figured you'd come to your senses sooner or later. We've been best friends since we were kids and I wasn't about to throw that all away because of a mistake. You're only human."
"I'm glad to hear that."
The two lounged about a little while longer. Kenzie was enjoying the serene sound of the water and was about to suggest jumping in when Jillian grabbed her shoulder and whispered fiercely, "Look at that guy!"
Typical Jillian. If someone with a Y chromosome was around, she'd spot him. Particularly if he was good looking.
Kenzie obliged and looked in the direction her friend was pointing. She saw a pretty handsome guy with reddish-blonde hair walking alongside the pool.
"Oh, Jill, don't tell me you're going to start looking for a boyfriend on this vacation."
"No, I just thought he was cute."
"If we watch long enough, we might see someone really interesting. Like one of those green people that live here, or a celebrity."
"We should be so lucky."
The guy stopped walking, looked at the girls, then turned toward and jumped into the pool with a big splash. That killed the serenity of the water.
Jillian took this as her cue to say, "Ready to jump in?"
Because Kenzie had been about to suggest it herself, she didn't say anything about how Jillian only asked because the guy had jumped in. She just nodded and took off her sunglasses. Jillian kicked off her sandals, removed her swimsuit cover up, and put her hair up before diving in. Kenzie jumped in after her.
Kenzie couldn't help but notice that Jillian's gaze was riveted to the handsome guy on the other end of the pool. She splashed her friend to snap her out of it.
"Hey, what was that for?!" Jillian exclaimed as the cold water showered her face.
"Just to wake you up. You keep ogling that guy like he was a gem."
"Sorry, you know I have a weakness when it comes to cute guys."
"Yeah, I know that very well. Come on, let's do a breath holding contest!"
"Okay."
It was hardly a contest. Jillian was always better at holding her breath underwater than Kenzie. Probably because Kenzie hadn't learned to swim until she was almost in high school. She was like her father - hydrophobic and sank like a brick. That is, until she got a decent swimming instructor who wasn't just a high school kid doing something they thought was easy for the money. Kenzie still wasn't the best swimmer around, but she could manage. Better than her old method, which was dog-paddling everywhere in the pool.
When Kenzie surfaced for air, she saw the handsome guy swimming toward them. When Jillian popped up, he swam over all the way and went so far as to introduce himself.
Just what she needed.
"Hey," he said in a surprisingly not-very-deep voice. "I saw you guys looking at me, and then you had a little contest, so I figured I'd come over and say hi."
"We weren't looking at you," Kenzie said, but Jillian interjected," Well, hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Jillian and this is my best friend Kenzie."
Kenzie grimaced. Rome wasn't built in a day, but hadn't Jillian figured out not to talk to random guys so openly? Spontaneity was one thing, but come on!
"I'm Patrick," the guy replied. "I haven't seen you two around here before. You new in town?"
"We're here on vacation," Jillian answered, too eagerly in Kenzie's opinion.
"Sweet. Well I hope you enjoy yourselves. It's a pretty cool place."
"We love it so far. And this is only our second day here. Well, our first full day. We had yesterday afternoon too."
Great, she was babbling. Kenzie was glad it wasn't her in this situation. But still, she wasn't going to stand idly by. She didn't want Jillian to get hurt again, and she was already picking up a weird vibe from this guy. He'd noticed them looking at him, almost as though he'd been spying on them. And then he just swam over to say hi, despite telling them he'd spotted them? Something wasn't right.
But how could she convince Jillian of that? She'd do nothing but make herself look like an imbecile, and Jillian would only say she was being paranoid again. So she let it slide and watched as Jillian kept talking to Patrick. Kept talking to him even when he got onto the platform in the middle of the pool to lounge on a chair, maybe in an attempt to get away from her, albeit innocuous but still somewhat obvious, advances.
Perching on the side of the pool, Kenzie watched as Jillian and Patrick kept talking, almost as though she weren't even there. She started to feel sad and taken advantage of, as well as lonely. But before she said anything, Patrick dived back into the water. Then Jillian swam over to Kenzie.
"Guess what?" she blurted out fervently. "Patrick told me about this cool dance club in town called Lars' Disco-tech. We should totally check it out later!"
"That does sound fun. But Jill, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Are you into this guy? You just met him."
"I know, I know. He's cute, but I swear I'm not going to get into him like that. At least not until I really know him. He's nice and he was just telling me all the stuff to do here."
"The same things we read about online I'm sure."
"Okay, I know. But I'm weak! It's not like I flirted."
"Did you?"
"No, I swear. He's just a friend."
"And let me guess. He'll be at this dance club tonight?"
"Actually he didn't say. He just said it was a cool place."
"Fine, we can go, but this is a vacation for just the two of us, remember? You're not here to find a boyfriend."
"I know. But if something did happen, you can't exactly tell me what to do, you know."
"Yes, I know, and I'm not trying to. I just don't want you to get hurt. Just like you don't want me to get hurt."
"That's why we're best friends."
"Until the end."
Kenzie reached down to give her friend a hug, but she playfully pulled her into the water instead.
When Kenzie came up for air, she splashed Jillian again, and this time, instead of a pillow fight, a splash fight ensued. As her head became drenched over and over again, Kenzie laughed as she thought that while some things may change, some things always stay the same, like Jillian's weakness toward cute guys.
By the time the two were finished swimming, Patrick had left and it was nearly four in the afternoon. They decided to head back to the house and have a quick dinner before going to the disco-tech. Kenzie had never been to a disco-tech, and she was suddenly reminded of her visit to Bridgeport. While she'd been there, she hadn't gotten to check out any of the clubs or lounges. She hoped to one day go back there and rectify that situation.
After the two got dressed (Kenzie with a little makeup and outfit help from Jillian), they decided to grab a quick bite to eat at the bistro before heading to the disco-tech. Kenzie ordered egg rolls, her favorite dish from China, and Jillian ordered grilled cheese.
"So, the website says you can dance at the disco-tech," Kenzie said as they ate, "but they've got other things too, like drinks and a few arcade games."
"Yeah, but it's mostly for dancing. I doubt it's anything like you'd see in Bridgeport, but it's something to check out."
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. We go to this disco-tech tonight, and tomorrow we go to Redwood Peak Viewing Area."
"Okay, that's fair enough."
"Great."
"Although, technically you said we could go earlier before you mentioned that viewing area."
"True, but I figured I'd get you into a compromise now, after we're ready, than beforehand when you could back out."
"Very tricky."
"I know, I'm terrible."
The waiter took the dishes away then, but before Kenzie and Jillian left, they saw the Vanderburgs.
"Look!" Jillian hissed. "The Vanderburgs! They're descendants from a long line of royals I heard!"
"That's what the website says too," Kenzie whispered back in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner, fearing the elderly couple would overhear their excited chatter. "But apparently their daughter's missing and their son doesn't care about continuing the family name."
"Wow, they've got their hands full then. Let's go say hi! Let's ask for an autograph!"
"Please, they're busy. There's a paparazzi right there."
Kenzie heard cameras go off and saw a glimpse of their flashes as she faced Jillian. There were two paparazzi now, both intent on photographing the royal couple. She and Jillian took this as their sign to leave.
While heading to the disco-tech, Kenzie wondered what it would have been like to talk to the Vanderburgs. They weren't typical celebrities, since they were royal descendants rather than actors or singers, but they were still someone that paparazzi chased around. They'd handled that well, but what about if fans approached them? How would they react then?
And what was it like to actually be a celebrity? Kenzie determined that would be a question she'd never know the answer to. And yet, she was okay with that. Still, she wondered what it would be like to talk to a celebrity face-to-face, even just once.
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