If you haven’t read February 23 yet, you can do so here.

If you stumbled onto this post by accident and haven’t read any of the other stories, head over to this post to find out more about this project.

Adrienne climbed into the pool, testing the temperature with one foot then the other. It froze her toes, but she forced herself to climb down to the next rung until her calves were submerged, then her thighs, and stomach, until eventually her entire body bobbed in the calm water. Even after a stifling day in Muscat the water had cooled considerably overnight. For a few minutes Adrienne bobbed near the edge as her body acclimated, then she forced herself to push off. She did a couple of lazy laps before coming to a stop in the center of the pool. 

She let the ocean waves buffet her slightly, there was a comfort to the motion, and to the water. The closest she could get to a sensory deprivation tank at sea. The pool at three in the morning. Very few guests were awake so early (or late) and most of the noise came from the waves, most of the light from the stars. 

With nobody around, Adrienne had stripped down to her skin before she’d climbed in, every inch of her body in contact with the water. This was always where she had done her best thinking. Usually about the business, but something else plagued her. 

By all rights, it should have been the business worrying her. They’d been trapped at sea for two weeks, they would definitely have to compensate their guests in some way which would undoubtedly be expensive, but the thing that worried Adrienne most was Cleo. 

Adrienne had assumed she was doing the right thing by ignoring Cleo. They had enjoyed a couple of great dates, but nothing had come of it, so Adrienne had moved on. Then Cleo showed up at her door wanting to hang out. Their day in Muscat had been nothing short of magical, but what did that mean?

It was a truth universally acknowledged that Adrienne McCoy didn’t fall in love. She didn’t date people. And she certainly didn’t obsess over them like some teenage fangirl. Adrienne McCoy had sex with willing women as often as she could. Different willing women. She hadn’t even had sex with Cleo. She couldn’t justify any of it. 

She shook her head to clear it, forgetting she was in the water and got a mouthful of chlorine for her trouble. Angrily, she swam back to the ladder and pulled herself out of the water. Cleo was a problem for another day. 

You can read February 25 here.

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