When the tour ended, we piled off the bus, back onto the sidewalk. Shayla and I both stared down at him. “Well?” Shayla asked. “Anything at all?”

“Not really,” he muttered. “I mean, most of the sites were vaguely familiar—I’m sure I’ve seen them before, but that’s not saying much, is it, for a major city? I remembered nothing in relation to me or my past.”

Great.

I felt as glum as the weather as we returned to the hotel. I’d really been hoping to avoid going near IBSI’s headquarters. Even with Shayla here, it felt like tempting fate. Still, it looked like we might have no choice now.

As we neared the elevators, Shayla said, “I’m starving. Let’s go get dinner. Josh can try to eat something again, too.”

“How are you feeling, by the way?” I asked Josh, as we made our way toward the restaurant at the back of the hotel.

“Still have stomach twinges,” he mumbled.

As we took a seat and ordered, I didn’t have much of an appetite. I just picked at some pasta and salad. Josh was able to down half a small bowl of asparagus soup without retching, which was at least some comfort. But it still worried me he’d lost his appetite compared to just a day ago.

Shayla tucked into a full-blown meal. “I hate this cold,” she grumbled after she’d finished, pushing away her plate. “Makes me put on weight.”

Returning to the elevators and making our way back upstairs, I asked the witch the inevitable question. “So now what? Tomorrow we need to approach the IBSI to see if that area could be more stimulating to Josh?”

“Yeah,” she replied grimly. “I suggest we leave around 8 AM. I’ll magic us to the outskirts.”

I glanced at Josh, who looked just as unenthusiastic about the idea.

“I’m going to do some reading now,” Shayla said, opening the door to her room. “As for you two… it’s better if you stay in your room but, since it’s still early, if you want to wander around the hotel a bit, I guess that’s okay. Just don’t leave it, obviously, and try not to bump into anyone.”

With that, she entered her room and shut the door.

I walked around Josh’s chair to face him. “Well? What do you want to do? We could go exploring a bit, or I guess return to the room and watch TV or something…”

He still looked weighed down with the disappointment of the day, the same disappointment that I felt. He shrugged. “Don’t mind.”

I didn’t particularly feel like watching TV so I suggested, “Then let’s explore a little first.”

I returned to the elevators and we moved up the hotel one level at a time, exploring each floor, all of which looked basically identical. Just more long, winding corridors, passing the occasional staff member and even more occasional guest—until we reached the top floor, the ninth floor of the building where we discovered a gym and a swimming pool. My eyes brightened instantly. Cool. They were both empty, too.

I pushed Josh’s chair up to the doors of the gym. It was a shame that he wasn’t up to using gym equipment right now. I moved to the glass doors of the hall that held the swimming pool. They slid open automatically, inviting us inside. We entered, a rush of warmth engulfing us, the pleasant scent of chlorine filling my nostrils. I walked slowly around the large, empty pool.

I left Josh for a moment and went to the edge of the pool to dip my finger in the water. Comfortably mild.

Now that I thought of it, I really felt like a swim. Josh seemed to have already read my mind as he watched me approach the water. “Why don’t you take a dip?” he suggested. “I’ll watch.”

I felt a bit guilty at the thought of leaving him at the side while I enjoyed a luxurious swim. But since he’d suggested it, I decided to go ahead. The only thing was… I didn’t have a swimsuit with me.

I returned to Josh’s chair and pushed him toward the ladies’ locker room, leaving him outside while I entered to see if I could find any swimsuits. There were many items inside courtesy of the hotel—bath robes, towels, shampoo, an array of soaps, and even perfume—but no swimsuits. I guessed that meant I would have to swim in my underwear. I doubted the manager of the hotel would like that, but I also doubted anybody would bother to stop me, even if they spotted me through the CCTV cameras.

So I stripped off my clothes and bundled them into a locker. Then I wrapped a robe around me and returned to Josh, waiting patiently where I’d left him outside the changing rooms.

I moved to the edge of the pool, keeping the robe tightly wrapped around me as I sat down and dipped my legs into the water. Then I quickly slipped off the robe and slid inside before Josh could see too much of me… even though underwear was no more revealing than a bikini.

The water really was deliciously warm. And jets of water shot from the walls of the pool, giving a bubbling effect like in a jacuzzi. I swam up and down for a bit and then moved to the edge, letting the jets of water massage my back. It occurred to me just how relaxing this would be for Josh.

I looked up at him. He was still watching me. “Hey, Josh, why don’t you join me?”

He merely scoffed. “You’re joking, right?”

“No. Come in. I promise I won’t let you drown.”

When he was still reluctant, I pressed, “Come on. Be a sport… It would make me happy if you joined me.” And I know you’d like it in here too, if you just trusted me.