The alarm went off at six a.m.

Feeling bleary-eyed, I stumbled toward the mirror in the bathroom and stared at my reflection. My hair was a bird’s nest on my head, and there were dark circles under my eyes. Through the window, the sun was only starting to rise out of the sea. It didn’t matter that I had slept nearly eight hours, my body simply didn’t want to be up at this hour. I wasn’t hungry, in fact I thought I might throw up if I ate this early in the morning, and the breakfast buffet opened at seven. Still, I swung by the kitchen and snagged a bun from a basket, just like I’d used to do when I was a small kid. George, one of the chefs, gave me a conspiratorial smile as I slipped back out of the door again. Ten to seven, I stood by the reception, dressed in black slacks and a modest white blouse. It was much too hot for such a formal outfit, but I didn’t want to appear unprofessional on my first day. Besides, the air-conditioning kept the worst of the heat at bay.

My uncle was waiting by the reception desk, looking prim and alert in his usual khaki pants and short-sleeved shirt. He waved me over with a smile.

‘Good morning, Mithra! How are you today?’

‘Ready as can be,’ I assured him, tightening my ponytail at my nape.

‘You look very appropriate,’ he said, nodding his approval.

‘Thanks,’ I breathed.

‘Well, before you start any work today, I want you to sign your contract. Here, at the bottom.’ I signed with a flourish and wrote the date next to it.

Stelios gestured to the moody receptionist. ‘For the first few days you’ll only be working half-time, so you’ll get off just in time for lunch. What I want you to focus on is learning the booking system on the computer. Olga will be teaching you everything she knows. When there’s a guest, pay close attention to what she does, and if there’s a phone call, try to note the way she answers. Do you think that will be doable?’

I wanted to say that Olga was hardly a good model for how a receptionist should conduct her work, but since that was fairly obvious already, I made no further comment. ‘Yes, sounds good.’

‘Alright then. Good luck on your first day.’ My uncle smiled and patted my shoulder, then went down the staircase to presumably have breakfast.

I glanced at Olga. ‘Hi! It’s nice to meet you.’

She gave me a tired flick of her gaze and forced a smile. ‘Likewise.’

I opened my mouth to say something more, like inquire about her mood. But Olga only said, ‘Enough of the formalities. Grab a chair—we’ll get straight to it.’

Feeling kind of chastened, I did as told. We spent most of the morning like that. Olga went over the programme and showed me the basics: how to check the online bookings, how to make one on the spot, how to cancel, how to extend the period, how to shorten the period, how to make a transaction, and so forth. I felt like information was streaming endlessly into my brain, and struggled to remember everything. Sometimes I bluntly told her to repeat something or admitted I didn’t understand, and she would sigh heavily and go over it again.

All in all, it was an informative morning, and time seemed to fly. In four hours, we only had one guest who came to complain about a malfunctioning air-conditioner, and he addressed me since Olga barely met his gaze. I took initiative and assured him that someone would be sent to fix the A/C as soon as possible, only to be chastised by Olga that the technician worked part-time, and was off today. Struggling to improvise, I decided to try and fix his problem myself. I had finished my shift for today anyway, so figured nobody could get mad at me for leaving my station.

On the way to the guest’s room, I saw a familiar, muscular shape.

Jason.

He was carrying a cart filled with water bottles, apparently on his way to the garage. He looked a little surprised to see me with a nametag on my blouse, but smiled and waved in greeting. I offered him a stiff nod in return, trying to remain professional. I was kind of relieved when we disappeared into the corridor leading to the hotel rooms. The guest, a middle-aged German with rosy cheeks, unlocked the door and let me inside. It was very organised and neat inside the room, so I didn’t feel embarrassed to walk toward the bed. The A/C unit was just above, though too far up for me to reach unassisted. I asked if I could borrow a chair and stood on the seat to see what the problem was. The German handed me the remote, and I turned it on. There was a light indicating that the unit was indeed working, but when the flaps rotated outward, there seemed to be some glitch that made them get stuck, allowing no air to pass through. Feeling a little like MacGyver, I reached up and wriggled the flaps, moving them out manually. I turned off the unit to see if they closed automatically, and they did. Turned it on again, and everything seemed to be in working order. I stepped down from the chair and handed the remote to the German.

‘If it malfunctions again, just call the reception. We’ll send out the technician for a more temporary fix as soon as he’s back.’

‘Zank you, zank you!’ the German said, slipping some coins into my hand.

I blushed. ‘Oh, that’s not necessary!’

‘Take it,’ he insisted, closing my hand.

I thanked him profusely, assuring him that he only needed to let us know if there were any more problems. Then I promptly left, feeling very good about myself. I passed by my room to change into something more comfortable, a high-waisted flair skirt with a crop top, then stood deliberating on the threshold. I was anxious to see Jason again, but I was also ravenous. In the end, hunger took priority. The hotel didn’t offer any lunch buffets, so I went to the bar to grab some food. I ordered a fried chicken basket and sat in the shade while I feasted, periodically sipping on a glass of Sprite. I half-hoped Jason would walk by again, but of course, now that I was fully available he was nowhere to be seen.

I had to force myself to eat slowly, not wanting to give myself a stomach ache if I really got lucky enough and ran into him again. When I was done I paid Petros and slipped minty chewing gum into my mouth. Before I could get up, my uncle walked out of the restaurant and hailed me.

‘I heard you helped a guest today,’ he said. ‘Great initiative.’

I blushed. ‘Did Olga tell you?’

‘Olga? No. The good German told me.’

‘Oh.’ I rubbed my neck. ‘I didn’t do much.’

My uncle smiled down at me. ‘He was embarrassed that he didn’t try to fix it himself. He said you were very polite and helpful.’

‘I try my best,’ I assured him.

‘You always do.’ He patted my shoulder and cast his eyes toward the beach. ‘I should have told you this earlier, but I prefer it if my staff don’t hang around the pool area.’

‘Of course,’ I said. ‘I prefer the beach anyway.’ I realised he might have been trying to insinuate that the bar was included in the pool area. ‘And I won’t eat here again.’

‘I don’t mind you eating here,’ he said, looking back at me. ‘Petros needs something to do anyway.’

I breathed out in relief and nodded.

‘What’s on the agenda today?’ he asked.

I didn’t want to share the fact that I was intending to spy on Jason, so I told him something else. ‘I’ll go to the gym later.’

‘The gym?’ My uncle looked surprised. Of course, I wasn’t famous for being the athletic type anymore, though I had been when I was younger.

‘Yep. I’ve been going there with Blake.’

‘Blake?’ he asked, puzzled. ‘Ianthi’s son?’

‘I don’t know her name. He has black hair.’

‘Ah yes, him. A quiet type.’ He seemed to mull our friendship over, but found no harm in it. ‘Well, have fun.’ He squeezed my shoulder and walked back into the restaurant.

I bounced out of my chair, fluffing my hair out from where it lay plastered to my sweaty face. Having my hair out in this heat was not ideal, but some part of me wanted Jason to know that I was capable of being feminine, even though that side of me didn’t come out very often. I’d slapped some makeup on this morning, mostly just to look less tired, though I was sure I’d sweated most of it off. Trying to feel very blasé about what I was doing, I walked around the pool and along the path that led toward the garage.

I heard voices drifting out of it and found myself wondering how on earth Jasmine didn’t know already that Jason worked here. How unlucky could she be that she hadn’t seen him a single time? Of course, Jasmine avoided the garage like the plague; she thought the scuba divers were all unwashed hippies with poor fashion sense.

Until now, I hadn’t paid the scuba divers much attention either. You mostly saw them padding across the pool area already zipped up into their suits, masks on. Jason, of course, had changed all that. I found myself longing to see him in a black spandex, just like I longed to see him in pretty much anything.

I slowed my steps as I neared the garage, trying to calm my nerves. I was just about to turn the corner when a door to my left opened, and none other than Blake walked out. He had a towel slung over his shoulder, and what looked to be a thick, heavy coursebook under his arm. He smiled timidly when he recognised me.

‘Hi Mithra,’ he called.

I swallowed and turned around. ‘Hey,’ I said, keeping my voice low.

‘How was your first workday?’

I shuffled from foot to foot. ‘It went fine, thanks for asking.’

‘I wanted to come keep you company, but realised I’d probably only be a distraction.’

‘Yeah, it was a lot to take in.’

He seemed to realise I was headed somewhere. ‘When do you want to hit the gym today?’

‘Oh, um. Not sure. Whenever.’ I didn’t want to reveal that I wanted to ask Jason when he was going to be there.

‘Okay, well, just give me a call.’

‘I will.’

We just stood there facing each other. Obviously Blake expected me to be on my way, since I was practically bouncing on the spot with urgency. When I didn’t move, he cleared his throat and walked around me, not looking my way. I felt a little bad about being so short with him, but I could hear laughter echoing in the garage, and thought I recognised Jason’s. I didn’t want to miss a chance to run into him, just in case he vanished into thin air again.

When Blake was a safe distance away, I smoothed down my skirt and started forward. I had no idea what sort of excuse I was going to give Jason for being here, or even what we would talk about, but I figured I’d just improvise on the spot. I took a deep breath and rounded the corner. I had been expecting Jason to be standing there with Dylan or some other colleague, but he was alone, hunched over as he gathered a pile of fins into a plastic container. He grinned when my shadow fell over him, like he’d been expecting me.

‘You didn’t tell me that you worked here.’

I crossed my arms over my chest. ‘I just started.’

‘As what?’

‘A receptionist.’

He whistled, then frowned suddenly. ‘Should I even ask why you were following that old dude to his room?’

My neck flooded with colour. ‘I was fixing his A/C.’

‘I’m just teasing,’ he said, shaking his head. He tossed another armful of fins into the container. ‘How’s Blake today?’

‘He’s fine.’

His smile turned a bit sly. ‘Did he do anything to you?’

I frowned. ‘Um…no. Why?’

‘You seemed a little short with him.’

I realised he’d overheard our conversation. I didn’t think I could blush any deeper, so I said, ‘I think it might have been the physics book he had tucked under his arm. It made me feel intellectually inferior.’

Jason burst out laughing, though I didn’t think what I’d said had been that funny. ‘He’s studying physics on his holiday?’

‘Yep.’ It felt kind of hypocritical agreeing with Jason’s amusement, so I added, ‘Not that I’m one to talk. I’m going to study some Russian today.’

Jason rolled his eyes. ‘Nerd.’

I shrugged, unashamed.

‘Are you coming to the gym today? Didn’t see you there yesterday.’

‘Yes,’ I replied, a little too forcefully. ‘Will you be there?’

‘Yep. I’m holding a group class at five, called “Punch Out”. You and Blake should join.’

‘Alright. We will.’

He turned back to his work then. Not wanting to bother him, I sauntered away. Blake was studying by the pool, and since I couldn’t hang around there I veered down toward the beach. I had Duolingo on my phone, which is what I’d been using to study Russian so far. I launched the app and got to work.

After half an hour, I was sweating so much I decided to take a dip into the sea. I rolled my hair up into a bun on the crown of my hair and swam leisurely, wishing Jason would sit by the cliffs again, watching me.

When an hour had passed, I decided to head back to my room. I took a quick shower, pulled on once more my gym outfit from the previous days. I really should have washed it yesterday; I’d forgotten all about it. I would have to go shopping for a new outfit so I had something to change between. I hung the garments on the balcony railing for them to air a bit, while I texted Blake.

Gym in an hour?

Sure.

At four-thirty I stood by the reception. Blake looked a little guarded, but was civil enough as we walked toward the car. Jason’s car was nowhere in the parking lot, so I figured he was at the gym already. When we pulled in, Blake exited the car without a word and went straight into the men’s changing rooms. Confused by his behaviour, I did the same. In the reception I had to ask the woman working there in which room the Punch Out session was going to be held. She explained it was in the fighting room with the mirrors, so Blake and I made our way there, excited but nervous.

When we entered the room was full already. All kinds of gymgoers, most of them very fit and muscular, though here and there were a few chubbier people, like me, and a couple of skinny people, like Blake. A good mix. Still, we shuffled toward the very back of the room and glanced around surreptitiously while we waited for the session to start.

Jason appeared after just a minute, dressed in boxing shorts and a white, loose tank top. He walked briskly to the centre of the room, smiling at everyone. ‘Hey everyone, welcome!’ He fisted his hands together. ‘Are you ready for some Punch Out?’

People cheered while he turned to the stereo and turned on some heavy music. It seemed Jason’s class was very popular. Before doing anything else, he said we needed to warm up, so we ran some laps across the room, did jumping jacks, stretched, the whole package, and before we were done I was panting heavily. He then instructed us to grab the punching gloves and mitts on the wall and pair up. Naturally, Blake and I ended up as a pair. With the height difference, it made for an awkward team. Blake had to crouch for me to reach the mitts, which meant he couldn’t keep his balance very well. Jason would interrupt the punching exercises with other forms of torture, ten setups between each set, sometimes ten push ups, and other times more jumping jacks. Sweat was practically pouring from my body, and air whooshed painfully in my lungs. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only person under duress; Jason had us all working our butts off. When it was Blake’s turn to punch, I had to hold the mitts high above my head, which meant I couldn’t hold my balance that well either. Still, I urged him repeatedly to give it everything he had, and gritted my teeth to keep from moving backward.

Jason came around a couple of times to fix our posture, to lift an elbow or to remind us about rotating our waist. At one point I felt his strong hands clasp me around the middle, directing my movement. I stopped breathing then, lungs nearly bursting from exertion. I tried to keep my eyes on him as he made his rounds around the different pairings, wanting to see if he touched all the other girls that way, but I was so busy trying to keep up with Blake’s flailing arms that he soon faded from the forefront of my mind.

At the end of the session I was completely and thoroughly destroyed. Not caring what anyone thought of me, I lay down flat on the floor, arms and legs spread out. Blake laughed and did the same.

‘That really kicked our asses, didn’t it?’ he panted.

‘Yeah,’ I managed around a heave. ‘I feel like all the muscles in my body are about to cramp up.’

‘That’s why you need to stretch again,’ a voice said from above us. Jason was leaning over me, grinning broadly. ‘You two alive down there?’

‘No,’ I groaned, but took his offered hand.

He hoisted me up to my feet, and I did the same for Blake. Despite the fact that Jason had been doing almost all the exercises with us, he barely looked winded. ‘So, this was fun, huh?’

‘Fun…’ I echoed. ‘Ask me in an hour when I can breathe normally.’

Jason laughed at that and gave me a light shove. ‘Go on and stretch.’