"Wow El, it's perfect. I can't wait to relax in here."
"Let's then," I try again, eager to ditch the cave exploration.
"You're not getting out of our it, El," she smirks.
Jumping to her feet, Rhia unties her towel from around her waist and subconsciously rubs at her elbow with it.
"Argh!" I groan, not impressed that she can't be swayed.
Rhia now seems distracted with her elbow. "El, this stuff doesn't come off," she says, frowning and staring at the gray stain.
"I can see that. Come here and let me try. It probably needs water."
She walks over to where I'm standing, and I pick at the mud coating her skin. Bit by bit, it eventually loosens and falls off.
"This stuff sticks like shit to a blanket, El," she laughs.
Looking back at the mud pool, a devious smile spreads over her face.
Oh no, what is she concocting now?
"We should prank the guys," she suggests proudly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we could tell them about the mud bath and suggest a dip, but then let them get in first. They'll probably want to anyway to make sure it's safe."
"Right, but then they'd want us to get in with them."
"Yep. So we'd have to wait until at least one of them had got out and found they couldn't get the mud off easily. They could always just wash it off in the waterfall, but it would still be pretty funny, don't you think?"
I picture Ade and Lex looking like mud monsters, jumping about to get rid of the mud. I grin. "I like it."
"Girls, where are you?" Ade's voice booms from somewhere behind us.
Then he's there in all his glory. Though he's dressed again. I definitely prefer him with fewer clothes.
"Oh, there you are! What are you doing here? I thought you were just going for a pee."
"We were, and we did," Rhia replies. "But we stumbled across this warm mud bath that's carved into the rock. There's even a sign, see?"
"Wow. That looks inviting," Ade says, checking out this little piece of heaven.
"La Piscina dell'Eternità," he reads out loud."I think it means 'The Pool of Eternity'. Damn, that's romantic… even sacred. Tiero has just gone up in my estimation."
I crack up laughing. "Rhia thoughtpiscinameant fish."
"Not exactly, no," he replies.
"Well, it was a good guess," Rhia says a tad defensively.
She drapes the towel over her arm to hide her still slightly muddy elbow. I wonder if she'll make an excuse to go via the waterfall to wash off the rest.
"Come on now, girls. Lex is waiting. We'll have a mud bath after the cave."
Chapter Nine
Ella