The Balcony Boy

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 5

I wake up the next morning to sun shining through the curtains and the smell of bacon. I walk through to the living room/kitchen area to see my mum and dad cooking in the tiny space. My mum is the first one to notice me, “Morning love, how did you sleep?” +

“Could’ve been better.”

“Well, nothing a bacon butty can’t fix.” I smile as she slides the plate over to me along with a glass of orange juice. I take one bite and groan. No matter what country we’re in, my dad can make a decent bacon sandwich.

I finish it quickly and dust the crumbs off my hands. “Do you want another one?” My dad asks me, turning from the stove.

“Is that even a question?” I ask and he laughs, adding another sandwich to my plate. I pick up my plate, deciding to eat it on the balcony. I leave the plate on the table, taking the sandwich and walking over to the railing to eat it. Even though it’s still quite early, plenty of people are already at the pool; I don’t fail to notice that Jake isn’t there. I sigh, longing for the water.

I stay on the balcony for a while, looking at the view. My eyes flick to Jake’s balcony and my heart stops. Jake is stood there, casually leant on the railing, eyes already glued on me. I immediately turn and walk back into the room, desperate to get out of his burning gaze.

1

After breakfast we all go down to the pool. Once again I begin the day with a few lengths of the pool. Everything is going great, until someone decides to stand in my path. I come up from under water to be face to face with Jake.

Why, God? Why me?

He smiles at me as I pull my goggles on top of my head. I’m breathing heavily because of my swimming and try to control it? “Do you like swimming?” He asks me, smirking.

“J’adore la natation.” What am I doing?!

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I nod and try to walk around him, he’s a couple inches taller than me, but I’m not short at 5 feet 8 inches. He must be about 6 foot. He grabs my arm as I walk past. “Je suis désolé.” He says, I shake my head and roll my eyes, trying to walk away again, but he doesn’t loosen his hold on my arm. Before I have time to realise what he’s doing, he’s pulled his arm back and splashed me with water. I stand shocked until I come to my senses and splash him back.

Soon, we’re having a full-on splash war. When I get close enough, I grab the top of his head and dunk him under the water. I hold him under for a few seconds before letting go. He comes back up and grabs my waist, tickling me. I scream (is it possible to scream in French?) and try to get out of his grasp. He holds my waist, lifts me up, and throws me into the water a few feet away.

I’m laughing when I come back up to the surface, and so is Jake. He goes under water and I try to get away, but he grabs my ankle and drags me backwards whilst I try to stay above water. I give up and instead use my other leg to kick him in the chest, not hard enough to hurt too badly, but just enough for him to let go. He does and stands still, smiling at me. I smile back before shaking my head and turning to go.

“Wait!” I turn back to him, questioningly. “I really am sorry.” He says sincerely. I nod, before getting out of the pool.

When I walk back to my family, my mum looks up and smiles. “Drinks?”

I sigh, “Same as yesterday?”

“Yep, thanks love.”

I groan and walk towards the bar. I order the drinks as usual and hand over the money.

“Need help carrying them back?” Jake appears next to me seemingly out of nowhere. My God, he’s everywhere today. I really don’t want him to help, but I could really do with help carrying them back.

I reluctantly nod and he takes three drinks off the top of the bar, leaving me with two. He stops to let me walk beside him, “Lead the way.”

I roll my eyes and walk in the direction of my family’s sunbeds. My mum looks up and her eyes settle on Jake behind me. “Thanks love, who’s this?”