— Dell! Join us! — Ella enthusiastically nodded towards the heated pool.
— I’ll just go change, — I replied cheerfully and retraced my steps to the estate.
I jumped into my room and pulled the first swimsuit I found out of my suitcase. A two-piece, gray-turquoise. On the table from yesterday lay my white cat-eye sunglasses. I scanned the room and saw the white robe I left on the chair in the morning; it would even be cool outside in it, but I threw it over my shoulders and ran back. On my way, I happened to run into the guys: Leo, Nick, Philip, and two others. One of them I recognized as the older De Ville brother — Marco (they probably arrived with Isabel early this morning), while the other was a complete stranger to me.
— This is Kem, Lilia’s brother, — they answered my questioning look. Kem looked to be no more than sixteen (it later turned out he had just turned sixteen the day before); maybe that’s why I found him likable, as there was still something childlike in his features, but his voice had already cracked, and he was nearly the same height as his future brother-in-law.
— Adele, Lilia and Ella’s friend, — of course Elizabeth had already managed to introduce herself to everyone. I extended my hand to the boy, and he immediately shook it, smiling a bright smile. Now all together, we headed towards the others.
— Finally, you’ve arrived! How long are we going to wait for you? — Ella asked unsatisfied. — We can’t swim without you, take off the robe and let’s go! — I tried to change as quickly as possible, not even choosing a swimsuit — I took the first one that caught my eye — I took off my robe and, putting on my glasses, headed toward the girls. — I just ran into the guys on the way.
— Holy heavens! You’re going to outshine all the girls! — Elizabeth pretended to faint from my appearance.
— You always say that, but you look just as good, — she was wearing a similar swimsuit, but black.
— I love you, darling, but you really look perfect, — I felt a little awkward but tried not to show it.
As soon as we stepped out of the gazebo where we had left our things, all the present eyes turned to us immediately. I tried not to pay attention to how blatantly a blond was checking out my figure. For a moment, I even thought he was in shock. Had he never seen a girl in a swimsuit before? This whole ridiculous situation began to annoy me a bit. Besides, I felt Miss De Ville’s gaze burning holes into me. She was openly displaying her dissatisfaction.
— Ella, do I look weird? — I whispered quietly to my friend. — Is something wrong with the swimsuit?
— No, I’m telling you: everything is perfect. If you’re worried about those stares, especially the way Leo is looking at you, it means only one thing; he’s obviously thrilled with everything that’s happening right now. Delly, he even blushed a little, — I was afraid that I might have a similar reaction to her words.
— What? — I looked in Leo’s direction.
He was only in shorts. Holy Merlin! I wish I hadn’t looked back. It made sense that he would be bare-chested, but I wasn’t quite ready for this. He had a perfect, toned body. Those abs looked almost painted on. No, I think I’m definitely blushing now. A torso is a torso, well, muscled. Merlin, what shoulders he has. I tried to covertly shift my gaze upwards, but I stumbled upon his gray eyes. De Ville wore a victorious smile on his face, which sent me into a hot flush. Someone lower the temperature. I smiled back triumphantly, continuing to look directly into his eyes, and he did the same. I didn’t back down first; I wanted him to surrender first. It began to seem that minutes were passing, and we were still staring at each other. Nick called Leo over, and he broke the contact with me. I could only breathe a sigh of relief.
— Dell? — Sara squinted a little, while Elizabeth was blinking her big eyes foolishly.
— What? — I finally came to my senses and turned to the friends who were too pleased with themselves. — Don’t even think about saying anything about this. I don’t want to hear a word about it, — pointing a finger at each of the girls, I forbade them.
— There was such a wild energy between you. I still feel that charge, — Ella didn’t listen to me, waving her hand as if fanning herself, as if suddenly feeling too hot. — And you? — she turned to Viskonti, and Sara’s eyes lit up with mischievous sparks, making me suddenly pale.
— I don’t want to talk about this anymore, — I insisted, as it made me even more uneasy.
— Dell, you can’t hide from us, — Ella assured me.
Sara nodded in agreement:
— That’s right, — I frowned, but the girls just laughed.
I had only one option to escape all this — I dove into the clear water of the pool.