Page 4 of A Grecian Getaway

“Ah yes, yes. We have room.” The older man nodded his head.

Caroline asked, “Does it have air conditioning?”

The man gave her a confused look.

“You know, air to make the room cool,” Caroline continued as she fanned herself.

“Ah yes. Air. Yes, yes, come.” He led them to a pleasant room with two beds. Noelle and Claire set their stuff down as Caroline looked around.

“Excuse me, where is the air conditioner?” she asked, motioning around the room.

“Yes, air, air.” He pointed to a ceiling fan.

“AIR. CON. DI. TION. ING,” Caroline yelled as she waved her arms around forming a box shape.

“He’s Greek, Caroline, not deaf,” Claire whispered between clenched teeth.

“Air. Air!” the old man spoke louder and pointed to the fan again.

Caroline eyed her friends and then whispered, “Not a chance in hell. Let’s go,” and she headed for the door.

They thanked the man and left. The heat was getting to Caroline and Claire, and a ceiling fan was definitely not going to cut it. Surely there was a hotel with actual air conditioning. The girls made their way, pulling their suitcases along a couple more streets until they found another hotel on the list Noelle’s family had given them.

A jovial couple at the front desk greeted them. They introduced themselves as Tassos and Angelika and discussed lodging with the girls before handing them keys to a room. Caroline once again asked about air conditioning. A young man walked in and caught their attention.

Tassos called out in Greek, and the young man joined the group. “This is our son Giannis. He will help you to your room.”

Giannis appeared to be around their age and very handsome. He had dark curly hair, brown eyes, and a grin on his face. Claire introduced herself to Giannis, and Caroline chimed in, trying to get clarification about the air conditioning. Giannis assured them they had air conditioning, not just a fan. Noelle noticed the look of relief on her friends’ faces.Thank goodness!

“Here, let me help you beautiful ladies carry your bags.”

They made small talk on the way.

“How long are you in town?” he asked. Giannis opened the door and showed them inside their room.

“Just a couple of weeks. Your place is so lovely,” replied Claire as she walked in and looked around. The space was tastefully decorated, with two full sized beds and a table with two chairs. A few paintings of some of the ancient ruins adorned the walls. There was also a small balcony overlooking the streets.

“Efharisto,” Giannis said as he set one of their suitcases in the corner of the room. “Have you been to Greece before?” He reached over to the windowair conditioner and flipped the switch to the on position. Cool air slowly filled the room. Noelle wasn’t sure what ecstasy felt like, but she was pretty sure the look on Caroline’s face showed it.

“Hot damn!” Caroline ran to the other side of the room and flung her arms around the small purring air conditioning unit. “Noelle came to Greece with her parents and brother when she was little. This time it’s just us girls.” She sighed and her voice vibrated as she clung to the cold source.

“Sorry, she’s just very hot. Anyhow, yes, um, we visited my father’s family in Athens and did tons of sightseeing,” answered Noelle. “We’re spending some time on the island before we fly back to the states.”

Caroline lifted her hair from her shoulders. “We walked our butts off while Noelle’s family took us to see the beautiful ruins of the Parthenon, the changing of the guard, and lots of churches.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Oh, what else? I think the heat has fried some of my brain cells.”

“So many amazing places! We also saw the Plaka, theaters, and we did tons of Greek dancing with her family after they tried to feed us into oblivion!” Claire offered as she patted her belly. “We’re all ready to relax and have some beach time.”

Caroline shot a thumb up to the group as she laid back onto the bed and let the air cool her body. “Aaaahhhh.”

Giannis leaned against the door, eyeing Noelle. “And you, do you want to relax or would you like to go out tonight? If you would like me to show you all around the island, I would be happy to.”

“Oh, thank you. Um, that…” Noelle glanced at Caroline and Claire and they gave her encouraging nods. “That would be great! We would love that.”

“Good, I will pick you up around 10:00 tonight.” Giannis winked before he walked out the door.

“Well, well, he’s a hottie,” said Claire after the door closed behind him. “You don’t even care about meeting anyone and look what happens. You get a date on the first day on the island.” She shot a wink at Noelle and nudged her arm. “But for real, this is going to be so fun!”

Noelle gave her an incredulous look. “This isn’t a date. He’s taking us all out!”

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