Ellie was no stranger to rash decisions. She'd been this way her entire life. That star she had tattooed on her ankle? She thought about it for five minutes. That period she'd gone with bleach blonde hair? Maybe two minutes tops. Breaking up with her boyfriend of three years? She didn't even think about it. She'd just decided one day that she was bored, and needed something new from life. Now that rash decision had caused some ripple effects. Ripple effects that fractured her personal life and caused a split in the shared friends group she and her boyfriend had enjoyed together. Many of her friends had turned on her, claiming that she'd ambushed Tyler. That she was making a big mistake. That she was being selfish and cruel. So one rash decision begets another, and before Ellie knew it she'd booked a flight to Cabo San Lucas and found herself a resort reservation for a week. She'd just needed to get away. She convinced herself if she could let the animosity blow over while she was away, she'd find her life basically how it was before the breakup. She was going to go alone, and she wasn't going to befriend anybody. No boys, nothing.
Ellie had been in Cabo for almost four days now. She'd managed to put her phone in the room safe and not look at it once. And she'd taken the opportunity to spend all day, every day, relaxing on the beach. After all the drama back home, she made every possible appointment she could at the spa. She'd been to a massage, a mud bath, the sauna and steam rooms, and had a facial done yesterday. Anything to help her forget the mess she left behind.
She also enjoyed a fair amount of margs. She made sure to always have one in hand. She wanted to get the full value of the all-inclusive resort. The constant presence of margs may have been the culprit for when she slipped walking through the hotel lobby last night, which caused her to stumble and snap the strap on her flip flops. After judging that they were basically done for, Ellie decided she'd go out and try to find a cheap pair she could wear for the rest of the trip.
Ellie made her way out in a pair of sandals she'd swiped from the spa. Just enough stability to get her to a store. She walked out the resort and down the sidewalk, seeing that a beach shop was just down the road. The perfect cheap shop to grab just what she needed and then get back to the sand.
Ellie admittedly stood out like a sore thumb in Mexico. Her pale skin and light brown hair that she kept down to the middle of her neck immediately drew gazes as being somebody in a foreign place. She had soft brown eyes, and stood at 5'4" weighing 125lbs. She maintained an hourglass figure that she was accentuating this day with her light blue bikini top and denim booty shorts she'd chosen as her outfit. She'd intended to get to the beach immediately, and had even packed her tote bag with a towel, sunscreen, and a romance novel she'd been planning on reading.
She entered the store, a bell lightly ringing as it closed behind her. "Hello? Hola?" She called out. Nobody came to answer, and she wondered if the store was closed. She shrugged her shoulders, somebody will come soon. She walked over to the wall, looking at the pairs of flip flops on display racks. She checked the prices, hoping the cheapest ones weren't ugly. They were. Hot pink atrocities that she couldn't stomach buying.
She continued to peruse, and heard the bell ring again as an older gentleman entered alone. Ellie turned her head briefly, hoping he was the employee she'd been waiting for. But judging from his appearance it was more than likely he was also a fellow resort guest. He had an odd look to him. He was tall and gaunt. Maybe 6'5" and 180lbs. He kept his long greying hair back in a ponytail. He wore glasses that covered blue eyes. He wore a grey t-shirt and tan cargo shorts, with white socks and dad sneakers on. Ellie noted the strange man, and turned to look as she focused in on a standard brown pair. As she reached out she heard a deep voice over her shoulder.
"I think so too, a much better choice than those pink ones."
Ellie turned around, and the man was standing there behind her as he kept his arms around his back.
"That is, if you wanted my opinion." He said with a smile as he politely nodded, extending his hand out and introducing himself. "Im sorry, this is so rude of me. I'm Mark. What's your name?"
Ellie extended hers in return. The man didn't seem intimidating or off putting. There was a softness to him that didn't infringe even as he approached her. She kindly smiled as she turned around and extended her hand out. "I'm Ellie. It's nice to meet you Mark. And yeah, aren't they terrible to look at?" She said with a laugh. She grabbed the brown pair off the rack as she looked around. "Where is ANY employee? Do you work here?"
"Oh gosh no." He said with a laugh. "I was just in here looking for a new beach towel. Mine got ruined yesterday and I figured this would be the place. And you definitely seem like you're in the market for a new pair of sandals." He said, as Ellie felt his eyes peering down at her feet. She had size 7 foot that she kept pedicured, her current iteration a soft pink color.
"Oh, yeah I busted my flip flops last night. I tripped. So I'm using these special spa ones. I think these will get the job done. I just don't want to steal them." She said, holding them from her hand as she tried to peer behind the counter. No luck.
"Well, I'm no employee or anything. But I think if I were you I'd go with those leather ones over here." He said, pointing towards a dark brown pair of flip flops. They looked legit, a really nice pair. But they were twice the price of the ones she was holding.
"Oh, well they're very nice but they're like twice the price. I can't justify that." She said as she kindly tried to step aside and carry her flip flops to the cash register.
"Well, what if I bought them for you?" He asked, stopping Ellie in her tracks.
"Really?" She said, spinning around and looking at him. She was never one to turn down something free. Especially something as throwaway as a pair of flip flops. "I mean, if you're offering." She said with a shrug, walking over and placing her cheap pair back on the rack as she grabbed the leather ones.
"Well, shouldn't we try them on?" He said, motioning towards a small bench that sat against the wall.
"Oh, yeah sure. I guess." She said as she dropped her tote bag and sat down. She dropped the new sandals onto the floor, and was about to move her feet over to the new shoes as he stopped her.
"Well, one moment. Do you mind?" He said, dropping to his knees in front of her as he took one shoe in his hand. He slowly reaches down, lifting her up by her ankle and gently removing her sandal as he holds her foot up in the air for a moment. "Wow...." He mutters, before gently guiding the new flip flop onto her foot.
"Umm..." Ellie stammers, not entirely sure how to handle what just happened between them. "Yeah, the shoes look Good." She said, unsure of what the price of these "free" shoes really was. Was this one of those weirdo foot fetish guys? She shifted slightly in her seat as her one foot was let down as the other raised. His hands felt.. well... comforting? There was this mix of strength and softness in his grip. And as his fingers lightly brushed against her toes while switching out the shoes, she couldn't help but feel a certain tingle run up her leg.
"Well, Thankyou, they look good!" She said, awkwardly smiling as she let both of her feet drop down to the floor. The new flip flops felt much better, and she wiggled her toes a bit as she looked down at them. "They feel way better than those spa ones." She said with a nervous laugh. "Well, I think I'll go ring the bell now and we'll be on our way? You still need to find that towel don't you?" She says as she stands up and grabs her tote bag.
He smiles as he stands up with her. Now that they're facing one another, Ellie is a bit taken by how much she has to strain her neck just to look up at him. He looks down at her, and she can still feel his eyes going down to her legs and feet. "Yes, well, let me tell you something. I'm pretty sure I can just grab one at the hotel. But Ellie, I must say, there's something about you I find fascinating. And I'd like to get to know you better."
Ellie raises her eyebrows, gripping her tote bag against her chest as she looks up at him. "You've found me fascinating already?" She asks, skepticism already flowing from her voice. She had a hard time believing a guy she thought was trying to get in her pants. "I'm sorry but I find that hard to believe. Seems like you're trying to smooth talk."
He opened his arms to try and offer a reassuring posture. "Oh no, not at all." He said. "I totally understand your skepticism. After all, we've just met. How would I know? But Ellie, there's a certain aura about you. Something that's drawing me in. You see, I'm a writer by trade. And you have something about you that I want to get more familiar with." He said as he smiled, his eyes tracing up and down Ellie.
