AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jillian
I took the elevator to the restaurant to have breakfast before starting my day. I felt great today. I slept like a baby all night for the first time in years. As the hostess took me to my table, I saw Drew and Jess. I pretended not to notice them, but she called me out as I walked by.
“Jillian.”
I stopped and plastered on my perfected smile. “Good morning,” I spoke.
“Good morning.” Drew gave a small smile.
“Do you have dinner plans for tonight?” Jess asked.
Shit. Really? Oh God, no. I started to fumble with my words and just thought to hell with it. She’d know I was lying.
“No. Actually, I don’t.”
“Excellent. Drew and I would love for you to join us. Right, baby?” she asked as she placed her hand on his.
“Sure.” He looked down.
“I would hate to impose on your vacation,” I spoke.
“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. If I thought that, I wouldn’t have asked. So, yes?”
“Yes. That would be nice. Thank you.”
“Great. I’ll have Drew make reservations, and then we’ll pick you up at your room, say around seven o’clock?”
“Seven sounds good.”
“Which room are you in?” she asked as she cocked her head.
“The Presidential Suite on the ninth floor.”
“Perfect. We’ll see you at seven.”
“Enjoy your day.” I smiled as I walked away.
My mind went back to what Drew said to me last night about her being a jealous person. Why would she invite me to have dinner with them? She knew that Drew and I had met on the plane, and I could tell by her reaction that she instantly hated me when we first met. Why the sudden change of heart? I sighed as I sipped my coffee. Now that I thought more about it, Drew never looked happy when I saw the two of them together, and it was like he was a different person when he was with her. It was almost as if he was a different man than the one I met on the plane and paddle boarded with yesterday.
When I headed out to the private boat I rented, Juno greeted me.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jillian.” He smiled as he hugged me.
“It’s good to see you too.”
“Are you alone on this trip?”
“Yeah. I’ve decided to embark on a journey of self-discovery.”
“Self-discovery is good.” He smiled as he handed me some scuba gear. “And what better way to get in touch with yourself than to swim with the dolphins? I’m going to take you to a special place not many of us take visitors. But for you, I’ll take you there.”
Juno started the boat and took me to a cove. As I stood there, looking over the side of the boat, I saw a group of dolphins swimming around the crystal clear, aqua-blue water. I would never grow tired of this. I’d been swimming with the dolphins for years and loved every minute of it, but this time, it would be a different experience for me.
“There they are. They’re waiting for you to play with them, Jillian.” Juno smiled.
As soon as I climbed into the water, a group of dolphins swam up to me as my hands skimmed the top of the water. I’d learned over the years how to play with them by swimming around in a circle. Suddenly, they started to swim away and then circled back, with one of them brushing his nose against my body as if to tell me to follow them. Diving down into the water, I followed them out a few feet and found myself in pure bliss. They were in a playful mood. Some spun around me, while others jumped out of the water. They welcomed me into their oceanic playground. They kept a close eye on me as if they knew what I was going through and every emotion that flooded my mind. I found myself in the presence of joy and peacefulness. I was suddenly face to face with one dolphin as he was mere millimeters from me. I slowly raised my hands and placed them on each side of his nose. As I stared into his eyes, I became aware of this moment, as if I suddenly woke up from a life that had only been a dream. I saw freedom and fearlessness. His clicking became more pronounced, and the other dolphins swam over to me. They encircled me, and as I looked around into each of their eyes, I felt an abundance of love and strength.
Returning to the water's surface, I played with them for a while longer and climbed back into the boat.
