Hidden Treasure

“Excuse me, Mr. Gaskarth?”

Alex jumped a little at the slim fingers tapping him on the shoulder. He pushed his eye mask off and ripped one of the ear buds out, squinting up at the fit brunette stewardess that was leaning over the empty seat next to him. He blushed when his eyes drifted down to her exposed cleavage and judging by the smirk on her face he knew she got the attention she was looking for.

“I’m going to need you to place your seat in the upright position. We’ll be landing shortly,” she whispered as she tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder.

Alex nodded and fumbled with the lever to raise his seat. He tried with all his might not to steal glances at her chest. She must have noticed, since she bent down a little more, exposing more of herself.

“Is there anything I can get you?” she asked, seductively licking her bottom lip.

She was tempting, but she seemed like trouble. He had a feeling that if he gave in and asked for something not on the menu she would run to some tabloid and his location would be exposed. He was trying to steer clear of brunettes anyway. Not to stereotype, but he had too many bad experiences with them – the last one took advantage of him to propel her career.

He shook his head as he tried to smile politely. “No, thank you.”

She raised her eyebrows, probably surprised to be turned down and stood up straight.

“Let me know if you change your mind,” she said with a wink as she turned on her stiletto and made her way further up the plane.

Alex shook his head as he put his ear bud back in, paying more attention to the Blink 182 song playing on his old iPod. Aside from simply needing a vacation, he also wanted to take some time to get back to his roots. When he wasn’t soaking in sun rays and waves, he was going to indulge in everything that made him who he was before the fame, hoping it would level him out a little. He drummed his fingers against his thighs as he peered out the window down to the turquoise water below him.

The plane few in circles as it descended, Alex’s eyes glued to the island. He never wanted to admit how nervous he was, but he could deny the butterflies raging in his gut. He’d never traveled by himself ever, let alone gone on vacation without anyone to enjoy it with. He was suddenly aware of the risk of not telling anyone where he was or how to get ahold of him. But if anything extreme were to happen to him (which seemed very unlikely), it would just have to be meant to be.

After landing, he grabbed his back pack from the overhead compartment and slung it over his shoulders as he waited for his turn to depart. He walked down the long hall, his heart pounding from both the excitement and nerves. He slid his shades over his eyes and pulled his ball cap down low, hoping he wasn’t too recognizable.

After receiving his luggage from baggage claim, he exited the airport in hopes to hail a taxi. His body felt washed over with warmth as the sun beat down on him and it felt perfect. After waving one down, he threw his duffle bag into the trunk before sliding into the back seat. The driver looked back at him through the rearview mirror.

“Aloha, sir,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” Alex replied.

“Where to?” the older man asked as he pulled away from the curb.

Alex reached into his back pack and pulled out his reservation slip for the hotel.

“Hal…Haleku..lani?” he fumbled over the word. “The resort?”

The driver’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, yes sir! Right away!”

The drive to the hotel was kind of quick, but not so much painless. The older man was very eager to find out more about Alex, given he was staying in one of the nicest hotels in Honolulu. Alex never gave him any straight answers, especially about his name or occupation. Thankfully the driver didn’t push too much for information, and even suggested a few places he should visit if he had the free time. Alex jotted every single place down and thanked the gentleman for his help.

“Here we are,” the driver said as he pulled into the valet parking lane. “Beautiful Halekulani.”

Alex collected his bag and got out of the taxi, the driver beating him to the trunk and pulling his duffle bag out for him. Alex took his wallet out of his back pocket and found a hundred dollar bill, folding it and handing it to the driver as a tip. The old man looked down at the bill then back up at Alex, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Oh, thank you sir! God bless you!”

The driver sped off, waving to Alex before turning onto the highway and disappearing. Alex gripped his duffle bag and started towards the sliding doors.

Just the lobby itself was more than Alex was expecting. Sure, he looked at pictures of the resort before booking a room there, but they did no justice. There was no doubt he would be living in paradise for the next week.

He walked up to the check in desk, being greeted by a man maybe only a few years younger than him. The man smiled at Alex and he returned the gesture.

“Welcome to Halekulani Resort, sir. How can I help you?”

“I need to check in, please,” Alex nodded.

“Alright, do you have a reservation?”

“I do. It’s under Parker,” he said, mumbling the name a little.

The man typed the name into the computer, then looked up at Alex, his brows furrowed. “Peter Parker?”

Alex blushed slightly and nodded. “Yes.”

The young concierge seemed amused and asked no further questions as he pulled out the room key for Alex. “Here you are, Mr. Parker. Your executive suite awaits you. Please enjoy your stay and have a great time in Honolulu. If you need anything feel free to call the front desk and we’ll be happy to accommodate you.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled as he slid his room key into his back pocket and picked up his duffle bag before heading to the elevator.

As soon as he walked into his suite on the top floor of the resort, he dropped his bag and explored the rooms. Past the full functioning kitchen and staged living room were two open French doors, and through those you could see miles and miles of turquoise ocean. His feet carried him to the large balcony that extended the whole length of his suite and after soaking in the view for a moment he walked through the other set of French doors into the bedroom. The king sized bed looked crisp and clean and he was a
bit tired from traveling so he kicked off his flip flops and dove onto the bed.

As he laid on his back looking up at the ceiling and listening to the waves and the seagulls and the breeze blowing through the palm trees, it was almost enough to take him out for a nap. He rolled over onto his side and pulled one of the pillows from the top of the bed and rested his head on it, moaning from how plush it was. He closed his eyes for a few minutes and just as he was about to drift to sleep, his eyes snapped open. He realized he could take a nap anywhere – while he’s in paradise he needs to enjoy every second of it.

Alex pushed himself up and stripped out of his clothes, pulling a pair of swim trunks from his duffle bag and sliding them on. He slid on his flip flops and picked up one of the towels sitting on the dresser and put on his sunglasses, making sure he had his wallet and his room key before heading downstairs to the sand.

The long boardwalk from the resort to the beach seemed to go on forever. All Alex wanted was to feel the sand between his toes and to feel waves splash up around him. When he finally reached the warm, white sand he kicked his shoes off again, holding them by the straps with his fingers. He trudged past many people that were in groups, and their collected laughter and pure enjoyment made him walk faster. He knew the bliss they were feeling from their company was the kind of serenity waiting for him in the water.

Once he found a small radius of unclaimed sand, he dropped his shoes and towel and tucked his wallet in the folded cloth safely before sprinting towards the ocean. It was nice and cool to his feet that were getting a little too hot from the sand, and he kept going further, all stress and anxiety from real life back home washing away with every touch of salt water. Soon he was up to his chest in the ocean and he bent his knees, fully submerging himself.

When he resurfaced, he felt like a completely different person. He soaked in the feeling of freedom and picked up his feet, slowly leveling himself out so he was floating on his back. In that moment, feeling weightless in the small portion of infinite water, he was happier than he’d been in a really long time. He stared up at the sky, wondering what kind of mayhem was going on back home, when a mint green and white surfboard zoomed by, missing him by only a few inches.

It startled him enough to where he lost his balance and he struggled to maneuver his bottom half to put his feet back on the ground when the wave the surfer was riding came by, whirling him in a somersault underwater. He tried to remain calm as he fought his way back to the surface and once he did he gasped for air.

“Are you okay?” he heard, but it took him a moment to find the source until he saw the surfboard floating and the girl clinging to it.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m alright.”

“I’m so sorry,” she yelled over the loud noise of the waves. “I didn’t see you.”

He took a few more steps towards shore. “It’s fine,” he yelled back.

The girl pulled herself up onto her surfboard and turned it towards Alex. “You sure you’re okay?”

He nodded, jumping up to avoid being taken out by the wave barreling past him. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

She nodded and laid down on her board before paddling to catch the next set. She looked back at Alex right as she was about to take off and apologized again, Alex waving his response.

He stayed at the beach a few more hours, mostly in the water until he felt his fingertips start to prune. After reluctantly decided he’d had enough for the day – because if he could he would have spent his whole vacation in the water – he collected his things, dried off, and went for a short walk around the neighboring businesses of the resort. He needed to find a phone to use anyway, and the convenient store a few buildings down was sure to be his best bet.

After buying his phone and a few other miscellaneous things, he headed back to the resort, stopping at the bar for a quick drink. Only then, sipping on his Jack and coke alone in a sea of people coupled off, did he realize how lonely his time there would be. He was just so ready to get away, he didn’t even think about having someone there to share the experience with, let alone talk to. It was probably too late to invite Jack, and he was probably too busy keeping the band afloat while he was gone to come join him. In a brief moment of insanity, he thought about calling Carly, but he was quick to brush that idea off and turned his cup up, downing the rest of the spicy liquid.

He turned on his phone and set it up with the minutes card he’d bought along with it. He figured it was about time he texted Jack to let him know he’d arrived safely and that he didn’t completely regret his decision to leave.

I’m here dude. Everything’s good. I’ll call if there’s an emergency.

As he ordered another drink and as it was being sat in front of him, the phone buzzed loudly.

Be safe, bro. Enjoy your week.

Notes