Page 19 of Vitamin Sea

A wave of pessimism suddenly rolled over her.

There was no way it had stayed in the loose pockets of her shorts.

And even if someone did find her phone, there was no way it wouldn’t be completely waterlogged.

It was small in comparison to what she had apparently gone through, but she would be lying if she said it didn’t make her a bit upset.

After all—while she was gainfully employed and financially sound, things were going to get tight after she moved out of Liam’s place, and she was once again living on a single income—something she hadn’t had to do in five years.

If nothing else, a small voice in her head told her it would be another fresh start.

Her contacts, photos, files, videos, and voice recordings were all backed up to the cloud.

The only thing she would have to worry about would be the tedious task of installing apps and trying to remember all her passwords.

Which was a chore and a half.

The ground beneath her suddenly changed to something more solid—she could tell by the difference in the movement and bumping of the stretcher.

Well, that and the surroundings.

She was at another resort. Which one she didn’t know.

She hadn’t taken any time to see what others were in the area and didn’t know what was around.

It appeared to be adult in nature—for the entire trip from the beach and into the resort grounds, there hadn’t been a single child in sight.

No branding had given away the name of the place, but from the finishings she could see, everything looked expensive.

“Ms. Ryder—.”

Chloe turned to look at Dr. Vargas.

“We’re going to take you into our first aid room to get some of your vitals.”

Chloe nodded as best as she could while lying down. She noticed that Jack and his friend were still hanging around.

Dr. Vargas turned to them: “Mr. Fraser, Mr. Silverberg—you’re welcome to wait outside while I check Ms. Ryder and to make sure she doesn’t need to go to a hospital.”

Jack looked at his friend: “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay to make sure she’s okay.”

His friend nodded his head.

“Of course. I’m going to get a drink—do you want anything?”

“A Scotch would be great, thanks.”

Chloe watched Jack’s friend—Mr. Silverberg or Mr. Fraser, she wasn’t sure which—head off in a different direction.

The inside of the resort was expansive and airy with neutral tones and warm lighting; natural elements like lush potted plants, stone accents, and gentle water features dotted the inside, and she saw well-dressed guests and polished, professional-looking wait staff.

Her travel editor experience told her it was a five-star resort. She would bet her career on it.

She snorted quietly. She had just escaped death but was already back in work mode and curious how a nudist resort ended up next door to something so high-end.

It wouldn’t surprise her if she learned that this resort had waged an unrelenting campaign against having a nudist resort being built next door to them.

Or maybe they hadn’t found out until right before it had opened.

Either way, she couldn’t see them being too happy about their new neighbours.

She was hoping it wouldn’t cause them to have any ill will towards her.

Toss her back out into the ocean, they might, if they got wind that she was staying at Costa Morpho.

She wondered if the guests at this resort had any idea what was just around the corner from them. Not that Costa Morpho was something scandalous. In the Western world at least. She could see how it wouldn’t fly in some of the more conservative countries.

Inside the first aid room the walls were white with typical doctor’s office human anatomy posters and medical accessories decorating the space: tongue depressors, a blood pressure monitor, an uncomfortable-looking plastic bed with white roll-paper covering.

She was starting to feel more alert and was fully able to appreciate the battering her body had been through.

It felt like she had been thrown into a washing machine, and someone had set the dial to heavy duty.

Fortunately, Dr. Vargas seemed to be aware of how she was feeling and told her he was going to run some pain medication directly into her IV.

“It will take a few minutes, but it will dull anything you’re feeling,” he said without a glance.

Chloe was grateful. She just hoped the medication wouldn’t send her into la-la land.

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Vargas said offhandedly, “it’s just extra-strength Tylenol. It will stop the pain for a few hours, and I’ll prescribe you some pills for when it wears off.”

“Thank you,” Chloe mumbled gratefully.

“Are you a guest at the resort?”

“No.” Chloe shook her head slightly. “I’m at the one next door—Costa Morpho.”

If Dr. Vargas was surprised, he didn’t show it.

“Are you here with anyone? Is there an emergency contact, perhaps?”

“My friend Lala,” she replied. “If you call the resort, they should be able to get ahold of her. We’re in the Reserve Suite. I think I lost my phone in the ocean.”

Dr. Vargas nodded and went to the phone sitting on the counter. He punched in a few numbers, held the receiver up to his ear, and seconds later was speaking in Spanish to the person on the other end of the line.

“Gracias,” he ended before placing the receiver down in its cradle. “The front desk is going to call the resort to get ahold of your friend. How are you feeling now?”

“A bit sore. Something tells me I’m really going to feel it in the morning.”

Dr. Vargas nodded again.

“You’ve had a traumatic experience but fortunately no broken bones or major lacerations.

You should take it easy the next couple of days.

You don’t seem to have a concussion, but someone should keep an eye on you all the same.

And make sure you have the doctor at Costa Morpho see you tomorrow for a checkup,” he directed.

“Actually, leave that with me. I’ll call and arrange it and send them over my notes. ”

“Thank you,” Chloe said gratefully. It was a miracle she had survived, and she was fortunate that she would walk away entirely unscathed.

Well, maybe not entirely; her mind went back to the superficial injuries she had sustained.

Another thing she was walking away with was a much healthier appreciation for the ocean.

From now on, without a life jacket, she would be steering clear of the water.

“I’m going to keep you here for another half an hour for observation. I’m just going to step out to my office and make a call to your resort. If you need anything, use this phone to call the front desk and they will have a nurse or myself come and assist you.”

“Thank you, Dr. Vargas,” she repeated.

He opened the door and stepped out with his hand still holding it open. Chloe could hear voices, but she was too tired to strain to hear what they were saying.

“Ms. Ryder,” Dr. Vargas appeared in the doorway once again, “Mr. Fraser wanted to know if you would like company?”

“Yes,” she nodded enthusiastically.

“Okay,” the doctor motioned to Jack who, apparently, was standing off to the side.

A millisecond later Jack, with a look of concern on his handsome features, walked into the room.

Chloe was glad she wasn’t currently hooked up to a heart-rate monitor or a blood-pressure cuff. Even in her dazed and injured state Jack was enough to get her heart rate up.

“Hey,” he said softly as he approached the stretcher. “How are you feeling?”

“Better now that you’re here.” She had said it before she could stop herself and then blanched when she realized what she had said.

Fortunately, Jack seemed to take it well and a large, easy smile blossomed across his face.

“Well, in that case, maybe I should pull up a chair and make myself comfortable.”

Chloe smiled back. “That would be nice.”

Jack did just that.

“Are you staying at the resort?” he asked.

“No.” Chloe shook her head and twisted her face a bit knowing what was coming next.

“Where are you staying?” he asked.

“Costa Morpho,” she said with a bit of hesitation.

Jack didn’t give any outward appearance of knowing what the place was.

“Costa Morpho?”

“Yes.” Chloe paused. “It’s just around the corner.” She paused again. “It’s actually a nudist resort.”

She wasn’t quite sure what had made her blurt out that last part.

Jack looked lost for words.

“Naturist resort, I mean. But I’m not a nudist,” she said quickly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. To each their own. I’m a travel editor and I’m on an assignment. I didn’t actually know I was going to a nudist resort . . .” Chloe trailed off.

“Travel editor.” He looked impressed. “That’s a pretty cool job. But didn’t you Google the place beforehand?” He seemed a bit incredulous.

“No.” She paused. “I’ve had a lot going on in my personal life.

And I also try and avoid looking up any resort or hotel I’m going to be staying at.

That way I don’t show up with any bias and I experience everything for the first time.

I’m not tainted by any TripAdvisor or Google reviews.

You can imagine the shock when I walked into the lobby and everyone except for the staff was naked. ”

He laughed out loud at that.

“I imagine that was quite the scene.”

“Oh, it was something.” She snorted at the memory. “I almost thought I was being pranked. But it’s not so bad once you get used to it. If you want, you could come check it out sometime?” she raised one of her eyebrows in question.

Good Chloe , she thought, patting herself on the back. Lala would be proud. She had come within seconds of death and now she was hitting on her savior. Maybe it was some sort of trauma response?

“I’d like that.” Jack smiled at her.

“I would give you my number, but Poseidon is currently in possession of my phone,” she said wistfully.

“How about your email?”

“That I can definitely give you. My laptop is sitting safe and sound and, more importantly, dry in my hotel room.”