Maria sighed. “I hope so.”
“It will,” Lila insisted.
Lila spoke to Maria like she knew something I didn’t. We hadn’t even seen the inside of our room yet and Lila was already singing this hotel’s praises. Her desire to convince a total stranger that they had something special baffled me. It struck me that, if I had been here alone, I likely would have taken the room key from Maria without exchanging more than three words.
“Once I get you set up, I’ll give you some ideas for things to do. Do you have any plans for your trip?” Maria asked as Lila took the brochure from my hands and opened it up.
“I guess not,” she said. “We had this whole itinerary with friends—it’s a long story—but we’re on our own now.”
It struck me again how odd it was that we were here. I had hardly ever been alone with Lila, and now we were on this trip together, checking into a room and figuring out travel plans. I was almost convinced that, when I finally went to bed after being awake for nearly twenty-four hours, I’d wake up to find that this was all an exhaustion-induced hallucination.
“Oh,” Maria looked surprised when she saw our booking. “I have you two in the shared room. Usually, couples prefer a private room. Are you sure I can’t move you?”
“We aren’t a couple,” Lila said at the same time I said, “We’re not together.”
We looked at each other quickly before looking back at Maria. “We also don’t have a giant budget for this trip,” Lilaadded, before leaning into me and whispering. “The shared room was a third of the price.”
“I don’t mind sharing,” I chimed in. I had never stayed in a hostel myself, but Oliver had stayed in a bunch during snowboarding trips. They were probably livelier than my usual antisocial preferences, but I had earplugs.
“If you’re sure.” Maria eyed us both, not looking convinced. “Alright, then. Passports please.” We handed them over while she continued the rest of the check-in process. Once she explained that our room would be a right turn out of the office and down at the end of the property, she handed each of us a key before spreading out a map on her desk. She uncapped a pen and circled the hotel.
“Here’s where we are. Just across the main road is the heart of Santorini. I imagine you’ll want to explore that area quite a bit.” She circled a second spot on the map. “You must eat here. There will be a line but it’s worth it.” She drew another line. “These steps will take you to the water. There’s also a gondola you can take back up, or donkeys. But that’s a little stinky,” she laughed and continued. “I highly recommend the hike to Oia. Time it for sunset, it’s perfect over there. Are you planning on renting an ATV?”
Lila bit her lip and tilted her head. “We weren’t planning on it. Is that safe?”
Maria shrugged. “Up to you. You’ll see a lot of people driving them around. There are a lot of accidents, but if you have any sense, you should be okay. If you do rent one, it’s a good way to see the island and some of the beaches.”
Lila’s eyes lit up at that suggestion, but she still looked uneasy.
“Where should we rent one?” I asked. Maria leaned over the map and circled another spot.
Lila turned to look at me. “Youwant to rent an ATV?”
I shrugged. “How else are we going to see the beaches? I can drive us. I used to have one of those things in high school.” That was a partial lie. Oliver and I had a part time job one summer, bailing hay at a farm. The owner had let us drive his around.
Lila still looked uncertain, but ultimately smiled at me gratefully. “If you think it’s alright...”
Seeing her relief tugged at my chest a little. My taking the reins on this one thing had put her at ease. It really shouldn’t have. What had I ever done to earn even the tiniest grain of her trust? Yet I somehow had, and that fact made me sit up a little straighter.
“Breakfast is served from seven to nine in the room next to this one. Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.”
“Thank you so much, Maria,” Lila beamed. “We’re so happy to be here.”
“I’m happy to have you.” Maria chuckled. “Get some sleep. Hopefully you’re tired enough that the jet lag won’t be a problem.”
“It definitely won’t be,” I said, already knowing I’d pass out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Lila went to grab her bag, but I snatched it before she could get it. I let her lead the way, following the dim lights illuminating the walkway.
When we arrived at the room, Lila used her old-school key to unlock the doorknob. It wasn’t terribly late, so it wasn’t likely that anyone we were sharing the room with would be sleeping, but she entered cautiously anyway.
The door opened to a wide, short hallway, with a small table and hooks to the right. On the left was a bathroom. I poked my head in to see a few toiletry bags cluttering the counter, but other than that it was thankfully quite clean. It was also large andcovered in white tiles, with two stalls for showers and two stalls for toilets.
“This lookscozy,” I said under my breath as Lila scurried into the room, a giant smile on her face.
“It’s huge,” she breathed as we both stepped into the main room. A bunk bed was set against each wall and there was a sofa and chair in the middle of the room. I had never stayed in a shared room like this, but it was much bigger than I had pictured it. I couldn’t help but notice the men’s shoes that were lined up next to two of the bottom beds as we walked to the only empty bunk.
“I’ll take the bottom,” I said, slinging my bag onto the lower bunk, one that would barely fit my six-foot-two frame.
