Falling, Fallen | ✔️

9

~Ayla's POV~

I began to make my way back to the room after getting my massage, my body feeling much more relaxed than earlier. It was beginning to near about five PM now, so I figured I should get back so that Soren and I could try to figure out what we wanted to get for dinner.

However, as I made my way past one of the gyms I briefly caught a glance in through one of the large windows on the front of the building, and the sight before me took me a moment to process. I looked away and then quickly did a double take, hoping that I didn't look like a giant creep as I watched Soren chatting with some girl. This wouldn't have been something that was note worthy, if it weren't for the fact that he was smiling while they were talking, which surprised me. It wasn't the type of smile he gave me, which was generally more of a smirk than anything. This was a real, proper smile that he was giving her, and it stunned me.

His smile is actually really nice.

For a while I just stood outside the gym, peering in through the window at him, and then I realized that I must've looked a little creepy because I was getting strange looks from people passing me by. I gave a man who was giving me a suspicious look a strained smile, quickly beginning to walk again. I didn't need to stand there and watch Soren chat with that girl, anyway, because it was none of my business. It had just stunned me that he was actually smiling for once.

I got back to the room and then realized that the door was locked as I tried to open the door, and I couldn't get inside because Soren had the key, not me. "Damn it." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest as I turned around and leaned against the door. I'd just have to wait until Soren came back to let me in. He was probably going to be coming back soon, anyway, so I was sure I wouldn't have to wait that long. He had looked as if he were about done working out when I had seen him.

So with this in mind, I waited and I waited, and I waited some more. Before I even knew it, thirty minutes had passed and Soren was still not back yet.

Tired of waiting, I huffed and started back to the gym I had seen him at, about ready to drag him back to our room now that I had been waiting on him for so long. I mean, what the hell was he doing? It was already nearing six PM, I had been waiting so long and I was hungry again on top of that.

When I reached the gym I headed inside, knowing that I probably looked out of place in my skirt and heeled boots whilst everyone else was in workout attire. I looked around for Soren, but I didn't see him anywhere, making me frown. If he wasn't here still, then where the hell was he? I could have texted him, but I doubted that he would even answer me, despite the fact that he was on his phone half the time around me.

"You look a little lost." Someone spoke to me, causing me to glance in the direction the voice had come from. It was a guy who looked about my age, an earphone in one ear and the other in his hand as he gave me a curious look. "Everything okay?" He asked, and I gave an awkward nod. "I'm just looking for someone, actually." I told him, hesitating on whether or not I should ask this man if he had seen him. It couldn't hurt, I decided. The worst he could say was that he hadn't seen Soren at all.

"Have you seen a really tall man with black hair, blue eyes? He's pretty muscular and has stubble. I think he was in here earlier, talking to a blonde girl...?" I trailed off, peering up at the man. His eyes shone with recognition and I could have died of relief when I saw it. "Ah, yeah. He left about twenty minutes ago, actually, with that girl. I dunno where they went, though." He told me, causing me to frown. I gave the man a small smile and nodded my head once. "Oh, okay." I sighed. "Well, thanks, then." I said, giving him a wave before I left the gym.

I knew that he wasn't back at our room, since I had just left there and there was no sign of him, but I didn't know where he could be. As I wandered about the resort, considering the idea of just getting myself dinner since Soren was busy somewhere else, I came across the very man I had been looking for.