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“Um yeah. That's fine,” I replied as I tried to keep my feelings to myself.
We both got out of the hot tub and grabbed our towels. Before we walked out of the area, Alex grabbed me and pulled me in for a quick kiss.
“Thank you for everything. I haven't felt this good about my writing in years,” he said softly.
All I could manage to give him was a small smile. Alex didn't notice since he was too caught up in his own thoughts. He gave me a tight hug before he walked off.
I made it up to my room alone. Once inside, I threw my towel and bathing suit in with my dirty clothes and changed into my dry sweats, then I threw myself on the bed. I stared at the ceiling feeling a little frustrated, although I didn't mean to feel that way. I was glad Alex was happy and making progress with his writing, but what about mine? Lately, all we had done was talk about his work. I was starting to feel left out. The whole reason we had made this agreement was so that we could write together. I needed help with my career. I knew I wasn't imagining how one-sided this relationship was starting to feel.
Turning over, I tried to get some sleep. This was too much to think about right now. Besides, I needed to be well-rested for tomorrow because I knew Alex would bombard me with more details about his book.Chapter Seven - HazelThe brain-storming session the following morning was very brief. A lot of the other writers in the group talked aloud or shared ideas, but Alex and I remained quiet. I could tell his thoughts were elsewhere, and I didn't know how to feel about that since I was still kind of upset from the night before. I didn't make any effort at conversation, not that he would have noticed.
Once the group had finished, Alex disappeared upstairs to work on the next chapter in his book. He left without so much as a goodbye. I groaned in frustration at that, finding it increasingly difficult to hold in my emotions about the situation. I needed to figure out how to get my mind off Alex and back on my writing. I had made no progress since going on this retreat.
After walking across the conference room, I poured myself a complimentary cup of coffee. As I sipped, I looked around the room at the few people from our group that remained. Jay sat in a corner by himself. I remembered how nice he had been on the first day of the group. It had been so easy to talk to him since he had been very helpful and enthusiastic about my ideas.
I wondered if I should talk to him again. How would Alex react to that?
Suddenly Jay looked my way. He spotted me and waved. I waved back.
He walked over and started talking to me. “How come you're over here by yourself, Hazel? I thought you'd be busy writing since you have so many brilliant ideas?” he asked with a big smile that put me at ease.
I finished my coffee then threw my cup away. “I was just getting ready to take a walk. I need a bit more inspiration before I start writing,” I admitted.
“Do you mind if I join you? You can run your ideas by me again, maybe I can help you narrow down your options so you can get started?” he offered.
I was shocked by Jay’s words but could tell his offer was genuine. “Sure! I'd love that. We can talk about your writing too. I saw you were so into it earlier,” I replied. It was true, he had been writing furiously in his notepad before our conversation.
He laughed as we left the conference room. “That was just a silly scene. I think I dreamed it up. I thought it was pretty cool, so I'm going to start my novel from that scene,” he explained with a shrug.
I was actually impressed. Jay sounded like a really talented writer.
“That is such a unique idea. I've never heard of a writer doing things that way before,” I replied, sounding a little in awe of him.
He chuckled softly. “It’s no big deal. I just like to think outside the box. It challenges me and helps me create new ideas and think in different ways.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes as I tried to absorb his words. I liked Jay. He was a nice guy, very friendly and insightful. I thought I could learn from him, and maybe his techniques would help me with my own writing.
My thoughts were interrupted as he asked, “So what problems are you having with your story? Maybe I can help.”
I stopped walking and looked at him, not used to having someone be attentive to my needs. “Actually, I'm not sure where to even begin with my writing. I have a lot of ideas I want to try out, but where do I start?” I asked him.
