Aurora Book 1: Soitera

10. Red Accents

I wake up when we land. That made the trip seem shorter. There's a big white van outside for us. I take a window seat in the back. Everett puts his head in my lap and sleeps. I rub his hair and feel him relax.

We drive by so many huge mansions. View of the beaches are never far. Palm trees are everywhere. Tropical flowers. People driving golf carts. I see so much. We drive for a whole hour. Then we pull into a weird building right by the water.

His dad opens the door. "Everyone out again."

Everett sits straight up. He was out.

"How can you sleep anymore, bro?"

"I watched movies on the plane." He helps me out, then we get on a boat.

At this point, all I can do is follow along. No point in asking or arguing about anything.

After 5 minutes on the water, I see what looks like a resort on a private island. It looks massive. Three or four floors high. It has at least two wings of guest rooms. There also seem to be a few houses right on the water.

We get out on a dock and there are golf carts for us. Everett puts me beside him and drives our cart to the front of the resort. There are pools and hot tubs everywhere. The entire place is landscaped. Walkways lead off the main path to small private areas.

"Welcome." A man in a full suit comes out the front door and goes for Jerry. "You're the first people here. Mom and dad should be here in an hour. How was the trip?"

"The kids should be wide awake now."

A sexy woman with the fanciest dress I've ever seen hugs me. "We've heard about you. Congratulations on BlackRock."

"Thank you. I'm Aurora."

"You're so sweet. My name is Ann. My husband is Jack."

"Is this the girl I've been hearing about?" Jack takes my hand and holds it. "The new generation of BlackRock sure got prettier."

I can't help but laugh. He's not being creepy. He's being genuinely sweet. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well. We'll have time to talk later. But..." He points into the distance. "I don't know if you can see it. Frank owns that island. He graduated from BlackRock too. There's a few more over there. Frank thinks his island is better though. If he asks you for a visit, I'm going to need to tell him that my island is better."

Ann laughs. "The boys are so competitive. Frank and Jack went to school together and have been friends ever since. There are quite a few BlackRock alumni that own islands though." She points in another direction.

"I'll invite a few over after Christmas. I'm sure they'll be excited to meet a new student. We can give her some tips. Like to stay away from any class with Professor Ryan."

"Let's save the tips for later, dear. We need to get everyone in. Not have a reunion in the front yard."

Jack nods. "You're first here, so your group can have the top floor." Then he smirks at me. "Unless you wanted one of the houses on the water."

Everett's mom runs over. "No. Rooms will be fine. Nobody is going to play house here."

Everyone is a little confused for a second.

Then Everett puts his arm around me. "Top floor sounds amazing."

Realization dawns on Jack's face. "Perfect. Jerry, do you and Jessica want to be near the nursery?"

"Yea, that would probably be better."

"Let's get the kids in first. I am tired of standing here. They can pick a room after that." Ann leads everyone in.

My mouth falls open when we walk in. The biggest crystal chandelier hangs three stories above the entrance. A table with fresh tropical flowers makes the place smell amazing. The floors are marble. This place is fit for a king.

We take an immediate left and take a hallway down one of the wings. The doors are mostly open. Each room seems to have a different purpose. TV room. Sitting room. Craft room. Changing room. Those are the rooms I understand. Then we take an elevator to the top floor.

Jack opens a door and gives the key to Everett. "This one has a good view."

We walk in and I nearly fall over. It has a sitting area with a TV, a huge bed, mini kitchen, table and chairs. It's nearly an apartment. There's no reason to leave the room.

I run out and wait. I want to see my room next.

They follow me laughing.

We pass one door and he opens the next. "Aurora..."

I run in and spin around. It has a canopy bed. The fabric hanging down looks like silk. The whole bed looks expensive. The whole room looks expensive. It's gold shades with light blue accents. I've never seen anything this fancy. Fresh flowers are on my table.

Jack takes my hand and pulls me out of my bubble. "You need the key to get in. Don't lose it." He puts it in my hand. It looks like a card.

Ann smiles. "She's in shock. It's fine. Keep going."

"Or just... don't lock the door."

They walk out and Everett pulls me with them. Andy gets a room on the other side of the hall. Then his parents and Jacob pick a room on the second floor.

"Everyone can relax and unpack. Dinner will be at six."

Everett and I go to my room. "I'll show you the room. There's even a secret." He opens the closet, and my suitcase is sitting in it. The whole room is a closet. "Let's hang your stuff up quick."

From there he shows me the mini kitchen. The fridge is full of drinks and snacks. A bowl of fruit sits on the counter. Then we go outside. The balcony is perfect. The view is over the beach and ocean. I pull him down on the couch with me. "I need a minute."

He smiles and eats an orange while I take in the view. I see a few walking bridges. One goes to another completely separate tiny island. It looks like it only has a group of trees. Maybe that could be my secret place here.

He pulls me up and walks me to the bathroom.

I've never wanted to get naked and climb in a tub so badly in my life. The tub is a huge stone circle. It sits in the middle of the floor. I'm positive eight people could fit into it.

"The back wall is the shower. But I see that I'm not going to get you out of the tub. Look here." He holds up a basket of bath stuff. "Bubble bath. Salts. Oils. You're going to be in heaven. And now the secret." He walks to the other wall. Then somehow it opens. "Our rooms share a bathroom. The doorknobs are hidden. My parents didn't notice."

"Couple things."

"Ok."

"I'm going to need to know how to get out of here if the knobs are hidden."

He chuckles and shows me two hidden levers. "Easy to find once you know what you're looking for. I know my uncle gave us these rooms on purpose. None of the other ones are like this. What else?"

"You're going to walk in on me in the tub every day."

"I look forward to it. Anything else?"

"I want to take a bath."

"What if I want to take a bath?"

"It's big enough. You can have half."

He pulls me close and kisses me. "You expect me to stay on my side?"

I pull my shirt off. "Not at all."

His shirt goes flying, and he grabs his pants.

His dad's voice fills the place. "HELLO?"

"UGH." Everett stares at the ceiling.

I put my shirt on quickly. "In here."

"You know, you can shut doors. All the doors on this level are open. Why are you standing in here?" He stares at Everett. Then he looks at the open door revealing Everett's room. "You two figured that out quickly."

His uncle comes in from Everett's room. "I was making sure you two figured this out. Jessica seems like she's having a hard time with it."

Jerry nods. "She is. She still sees him as a little boy."

"He's nearly 18. She's right there too. It's not like they're 5-year-olds."

"I know. She's coming around slowly. It's taking some time. Don't tell her about this."

"Yea, I'm not the dumb one. I did go to BlackRock after all."

"Really? You should have said something. You're so secretive about it."

Ann yells, "Aurora! Sweetie. Are you in here?"

"Bathroom. Come on in."

She walks in and looks around. "What in the world?"

Jack points at the wall. "Wanted to make sure they noticed it before one of them walked in on the other."

"Yes, I'm sure that's what you were doing, Jack."

Jerry shakes his head. "Don't tell Jessica."

"OH!" Another lady throws a bunch of towels into the air. "Sorry. I didn't realize you were having a meeting in here, sir."

"It's fine." Ann waves at her. "If anyone asks, these two always slept in separate rooms and didn't have a shared bathroom between them."

"Of course, ma'am."

Ann takes my arm. "You need to meet the dressmaker. You'll need something fancy for when the other alumni show up for dinner. You can blame Jack for this. We'll see you boys there."

I hear Jerry say, "Were you still going to take a bath?"

Everett half yells, "Well, not now."

They're laughing as Ann pulls me out of the room. We go to a fitting room of some kind. It reminds me of those wedding dress shows. Where they try the dress on while surrounded by mirrors and family members.

I watch Jessica and Ann each pick a dress. I shake my head at the dress person when they leave. "I have no money. I can't afford these. But I wish I could."

"The owner of the estate keeps me on the payroll. I get paid whether you pick a dress or not. That's my job. Make sure everyone has fancy clothes. So, let's figure this out. You are young. Edgy might be the way to go. You're different than everyone else here."

"How so?"

"There's a strength about you. It takes a lot of strength to be honest. And you are honest. Also, smart..." She pulls some dresses. "I've been told you've been accepted to BlackRock about 12 times. That puts you very high in the smart category. You're also sexy, but you don't know it. Your hair screams homeless. And your lack of makeup puts you in a category of your own. You're not afraid to be who you really are. You're not hiding behind layers of perfection. You are strongly and honestly, you." She hands me a gown. "Let's see this one."

"What do I do with my bra straps?"

"Yes." She pulls it tighter across my waist. "Sweetheart neckline is good for you. This is a terrible length. Let's try again."

"Ok."

"This is it." She hands me another. "Sweetheart neckline. I love the train. The leg slits are a little high, but I can alter that quickly." She roams off talking to herself. Then she comes back. "This is perfect. Go get your hair done while I fix it."

Ann pulls me into another room. Women are getting hair and makeup done everywhere. I sit down, and I don't even know what they do to me. Different people seem to be working on different parts of me at the same time.

"What color was the dress?"

"I don't know. She told me to come back and get it."

A girl stares at me for a second then runs out. She comes back three seconds later and takes my hand. "Black dress with true red accents."

"I need to switch her lipstick color." My lips get washed off while someone squeezes my finger. I can't keep up.

Then suddenly, everything is done. I look at myself in the mirror and fall right back into the chair. I didn't know I could look this good. These people know exactly what they're doing. Bright red lips are a lot though. My hair is gorgeous. It's up somehow, but pieces are flowing down. They put curls in the flowy parts. My nails are long and match my lips.

Then they help me get the dress on. It's black and strapless. The neckline is nice. It flows to the floor with a small train that drags. There are slits up to both of my thighs. Makes me a bit nervous, but they're not too high. I put on some bright red high heel shoes. I guess I'm glad I had one day of practice with high heels.

The dressmaker hands me a little red purse. "Perfect."

"Yes. You did perfect as always." Ann smiles. "I brought some rubies. But, they are owned by the estate. You can only wear them for the night. They must be returned." She puts a necklace and matching bracelet on me.

"This is beautiful. Thank you for letting me wear it."

"Of course. It really does bring the whole outfit together. Let's go to dinner."