Page 40 of The Suite Life
‘Who did you pretend it was?’ he asks curiously. ‘A family emergency?’
‘Geneva,’ I say simply.
Donnie falls about laughing.
‘It isn’t that hard to pretend you’re rich, you know,’ he tells me. ‘Anything you think sounds silly, to them, sounds completely normal. For example: I was thinking of adding a second Olympic-sized swimming pool to my yacht. What do you reckon? I think it will be a nice touch.’
I humour him, feigning a gasp.
‘You only have the one Olympic-sized swimming pool?’ I reply in faux disbelief. ‘Darling, you’re practically slumming it. Even my swan collection enjoys two Olympic-sized swimming pools. My goodness – I thought you were classy.’
Donnie raises an eyebrow and scoffs.
‘Swans? How passé,’ he points out. ‘I’ve got peacocks. They’re more of a statement bird. Even parks have swans.’
We both fall about laughing, unable to keep it up a second longer without cracking up.
‘It’s all so silly,’ I say with a sigh, shaking my head.
‘Don’t forget, you’re staying in a suite,’ he reminds me. ‘Here, that’s practically flaunting your billionaire status.’
‘Oh, I didn’t book a suite,’ I confess. ‘They just messed up my reservation or something, and had no choice but to upgrade me. Not that I’m complaining. But I’m just a normal person.’
Donnie laughs.
‘I’m a normal person too,’ he replies. ‘But I’m stuck in a normal person room to match.’
I laugh but then something catches my eye.
‘What’s that?’ I ask.
We approach a traditional-looking Hawaiian beach hut, sitting there alone on the beach.
‘Oh, I read about this,’ Donnie tells me. ‘It’s part of the resort. Let’s go inside.’
‘Okay,’ I agree, even more curious now.
As we step through the entrance I’m surprised from the get-go, as it’s a regular door with a handle, absolutely not the kind of door you would expect to find on a beach hut. It’s oddly out of place, and I can’t help but be intrigued.
Inside, there isn’t much of anything, just a simple wooden two-seater bench in the centre. I raise an eyebrow at the strange set-up.
‘Okay, so, I think we just do this and…’ Donnie trails off as he closes the door.
Suddenly, an almost eerie silence envelops us, and the outside world fades into silence with the exception of one thing, the roar of the ocean, which is suddenly even louder than it was outside.
‘How does it do that?’ I ask. ‘Is there a hidden speaker, or something?’
‘I have no idea,’ he replies. ‘It’s supposed to be relaxing. God, it really is.’
Donnie takes a seat on the bench and exhales deeply. I join him, sitting in the heart of the room, the sounds of the ocean crashing around us, as though our hut has drifted out to sea, and we’re a million miles from everyone.
‘Okay, so, what are you looking for in a date?’ he asks me. ‘Perhaps, if we can figure that out, we can find you someone that’s right for you.’
I ponder the question for a moment but it’s as though the tranquillity of the room has slowed down my thoughts.
‘Well,’ I start, taking a deep breath. ‘It depends on the reason, I suppose.’
‘Go on,’ he prompts me curiously.
