A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. Writer's block and pure laziness have gotten in the way of my writing, but that's no excuse, anyway. I know the previous chapters aren't related, but this chapter is a direct sequel to the last one. And it has proven to be the most difficult to write so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Warning: Fluff and lots of storytelling before the actual hotel scene starts. I hope you'll enjoy it, nevertheless. :)
Scenario 4: Drowning
"Oh Jeremy, this place is so nice! I'm sure this is going to be a great weekend!" Liana gushed as she strolled around the large reception room, stopping once in a while to admire the expensive interior decorations with awe.
Jeremy managed a nervous smile as he watched his girlfriend study their luxurious surroundings. It better be, he thought. After all the trouble he had gone through over these past months to get to this day, it better be great.
Truth was, ever since he saw the blonde girl in a café a little over a year prior, Jeremy had known, had absolutely known without the slightest hint of a doubt that Liana was the only person he would be willing to spend the rest of his life with. It sounded almost ridiculous and unbelievable even to him, since Jeremy was never one to believe in destiny and 'soul mates', or that there could only be one true love for each and every person in the world, but as soon as he found himself drowned in those beautiful deep blue eyes, he realized that those silly fairytales he and Ian used to laugh at when they were little were true. That true love did exist, after all, and Liana was the one for him.
From that day on, he had been determined to get to know her. At first it didn't seem like a very difficult task, seeing as Jeremy had always had a way with women. But Liana wasn't just any woman. Surprisingly enough, none of the tricks Ian taught him had worked. Not until the day Jeremy decided to remove his suave, womanizing mask and just be his usual, awkward self around her did Liana begin to warm up to him. Two and a half months later, Jeremy was overjoyed to find that their feelings had become mutual.
The more time Jeremy spent with Liana, the more he realized that he wanted, no, needed her. He also realized that she wasn't like any woman he had met before. While Jeremy could easily have most of those women eating out of the palm of his hands with just a few sugar-coated words, Liana followed a multi-step plan and took things slowly. Very slowly. Slow to the point even Ian had grown tired of watching his brother pine for one girl like a 'lovesick puppy', in his own words. "I don't get it. What's so special about her, anyway? Are you willing to throw away your youthful years waiting for her to complete her step-to-step relationship manual or whatever the heck she calls it? Jeremy, wake up, mate. There are plenty of fish in the sea."
But Jeremy paid his brother's comment no heed. As long as she was happy, he was happy. That was why despite having been in a relationship for almost a year, they were still stuck at Step Four: Kissing.
That was also the reason why Jeremy had put a lot of expectations into their little perfect weekend together. Because it was the transition from Step Four to Step Five: Sharing a room. Yes. Finally.
"Jeremy," Liana's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "I think we should check in now. I'm tired; I'd love to rest a bit. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
"Of course." He concurred, and began to approach the reception desk. Liana caught up with him and gently took his hand into hers. The small gesture was enough to send butterflies fluttering in his stomach.
"How did you find this hotel?" She asked casually. "I mean, it's beautiful, not so expensive, and it's not too far away from the beach. It's perfect!"
Well, he didn't exactly find it. A few weeks prior, when Jeremy had been having a major headache trying to find accommodation near the beach for the two of them to stay, Ian acted uncharacteristically nice and unexpectedly offered some help and suggested this hotel to him. How did Ian know about this hotel, Jeremy had no idea. But it was a pretty good suggestion, taking the price, service quality and proximity to the beach into consideration, so in the end Jeremy decided to go with his brother's idea and book a room for two.
He just didn't tell Liana that small detail, because he was aware that the blonde wasn't very fond of Ian, and knowing this wonderful place had been suggested by him would most likely ruin her good mood.
"Um… A friend told me about this place," He said as they finally got to the reception desk.
Liana nodded, acknowledging the information. "I see."
In that exact moment, a redhead receptionist emerged from under the desk, almost giving the pair a heart attack, and smiled apologetically as she tried to smooth her curly tresses. "Sorry. Stupid paperwork, they never stay in one place. May I help you?"
"Yes, we have a reservation," Jeremy said when he had finally calmed down after the redhead's sudden emergence out of nowhere.
"Alright," She eyed him for a moment and began typing on the computer in front of her, "Name, sir?"
"Jeremy Haywood."
The receptionist's frown deepened and for a moment, she looked as if she was trying to recall something, before turning back to the computer and typing out what Jeremy assumed must be his name.
"Found it," She informed them and this time, her gaze turned to observe Liana. "Room 203, sir." She turned around, took a key from a key cabinet and handed it to Jeremy, the weird look never leaving her face. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." Jeremy took the key from her and quickly led Liana away. That receptionist was outright creepy, he thought.
-x-
"There it is." Liana pointed at the one door at the end of the corridor. "203, right?"
"Yeah." Jeremy nodded, then inserted the key into the lock and twisted it counter-clockwise twice. When he heard a crack, he opened the door.
"Mm, this looks nice, don't you think?" Liana asked as she stepped into the room. "A little bit too pink, but it's nice."
Jeremy peeked into the small room next to the entrance. Yeah, she was right. Even the bathroom was pink. He started to feel a bit uncomfortable. This hotel was definitely nice, but definitely weird.
And it just kept getting worse.
Because the next thing he noticed was that there was only one bed. A double bed, to be exact.
What? This wasn't his reservation! He had specifically booked a room with two separate beds! Oh, no. This couldn't be happening. Don't these fools know how to count? Can't they count to more than one?
Suddenly, anger flared within him. The weekend was supposed to be perfect. Well, almost perfect, since perfect was such a strong word and nothing was ever perfect. And it had been almost perfect, until now. What if Liana took this as a sign that he wanted their relationship to progress faster by sharing a bed? From day one, she had made it crystal clear that she didn't want her ideals to be questioned, and that everything she did was for their own good.
Oh God. This was more than just a silly mistake made by a bunch of innumerate hotel staff. This had the potential to ruin everything. Everything.
Luckily Liana hadn't noticed the horrible mistake yet, as she was still busy rearranging flowers in a vase that was placed on the small coffee table. And that was when Jeremy realized his second problem.
There was a coffee table.
But no sign of a couch, an arm seat or a chair.
Which meant, unless he fixed this horrible mistake and ask the staff to add another bed, he would have no other alternative, beside sleeping on the floor (or on the coffee table itself, but that was nearly impossible), than sharing the bed with her. Which of course, was not going to happen. Not that he had a problem with that, but Liana did.
Well, so much for a great weekend.
-x-
When Melissa started work that morning, she never expected any trouble. She was expecting a normal, peaceful Friday spent daydreaming about the plans she had for the weekend. Instead, she ended up with an angry familiar-looking customer.
Well, that was unexpected.
"The room I reserved was supposed to have two beds," Jeremy popped out of nowhere, nearly giving Melissa the receptionist a heart attack, and slammed his palm on the reception desk.
The redhead woman yelped in surprise and terror, dropping the receiver she was holding. "W-What?"
"You heard it," He said, exasperated. "Care to explain why on earth is one bed missing?"
Melissa quickly checked the computer with a few clicks of the mouse, but then answered him with the response he most likely did not expect to hear. "But your reservation said you wanted a room for two!"
"With two beds," He added. "I don't care how you people screwed such a simple reservation up, fix this! Please!"
"I'm terribly sorry," She said. "I-I don't know how this happened, but it's impossible, Mr. Haywood…"
"Just fix it! I didn't pay for these kinds of services!"
"I can't!" She snapped back at him. At this point, they had attracted the attention of every single person present in the reception room. Countless curious stares were on them. Realizing they were attracting unwanted attention, Melissa lowered her voice.
"Look, I'm sure we have strictly followed your reservation." She whispered, prompting Jeremy to lean closer to listen to her. "But look, please don't make a fuss over this, Mr. Haywood. I see you had no problem sharing a single-bed room with your girlfriend last week."
"What on Earth are you blabbering about?" Jeremy asked incredulously. Last week? With Liana? He was sure this was the first time he and Liana stayed in this hotel. This creepy receptionist was mistaking him for someone else, much like the way she mistook two beds for one.
"I knew it!" She exclaimed, albeit quietly. "I knew you looked familiar! I've been trying to recall where I met you earlier today."
Okay. This was getting way too creepy. Jeremy decided it was time he left. Every minute spent near this receptionist gave him goose bumps.
"Whatever happened to your brunette girlfriend, Mr. Haywood?" Melissa continued. "Did you dump her for the blonde one?"
Jeremy ignored her and simply walked away. True, he had many flings in the past, many of which are brunettes, but ever since he met Liana a year prior, he hadn't been dating anyone else. And the incident that redhead had described happened a week ago. Impossible. That couldn't be him. That woman was outright insane. He wondered why they still let her keep her job. "Maybe that was why they couldn't even get a simple reservation right," He thought.
-x-
When he got back to their room, Liana was already examining it with great scrutiny. Upon hearing him enter, she flashed him a radiant smile.
"Jeremy," She said. "Where have you been? I was beginning to think you accidentally flushed yourself into the toilet or something."
Jeremy's face contorted into an awkward smile at her weird joke. "I… went to talk to the receptionist."
"Oh, yeah?" She carefully hung the sunflower painting back to its usual spot after taking a quick look at it, completely oblivious to Jeremy's distress. "What's so important?"
"I… You see…" He stuttered, unable to find a proper explanation. He found it strange that he was the one explaining the situation to her, he had thought Liana would be the first to confront him on the bed issue.
"What's wrong, Jeremy?" She asked and sat on the bed. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Well… You know… There's only… one bed." He finally managed to say.
Liana shot him one of her 'Why thank you for reminding me that, Captain Obvious' look. "Yes. There's only one bed. What about it?"
"You mean… You're not mad?"
"What could I possibly be mad at?" She laughed.
"That we'll have to sleep in the same bed?" He reminded her. Liana laughed even harder. Seeing that, Jeremy felt a need to explain himself. "You see, we're only at Step Four going into Step Five, but Step Five didn't mention anything about sharing a bed."
"That's what you're worried about?" She smiled and pulled him down with her. "Oh my God, Jeremy. How else should I word Step Five? 'Sleeping in the same bed'?"
"You mean…" It took a moment before comprehension dawned on him. "Ooh… Sharing the room, which includes the bed…"
Liana couldn't stop laughing. "You didn't have to be so careful, Jeremy."
"I have to." He insisted. "I love you, Liana, and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable in a relationship. I wanted you to be happy. I-I was so scared when the hotel staff misinterpreted my reservation, because I was afraid it would make you upset… I was afraid to lose you."
"I know," She smiled at him. "And I love you too. Want to know something funny, though? 'The step-to-step relationship manual', as your brother likes to call it, was a patience test. To see if there's someone who can love me enough to wait for me, to put up with the way I 'take it slowly' with the relationship. Alexa told me that I'm too picky, that no one would be able to pass that test, not before my seventieth birthday. You proved her wrong, Jeremy."
"Wait… Does that mean I passed the test, whatever that was?" He double-checked.
Liana nodded. "Yes, you did."
"But there are at least fifty steps!" He was sure there were. Liana showed him a copy of the 'manual' once when they began dating. Words could not describe his terror at seeing that thick, heavy book. "I've only completed four!"
Liana raised a silencing finger. "I'm the creator. The creator decides when you pass and when you fail."
"Okay… But what exactly does 'passing' and 'failing' mean?" Jeremy frowned, confused at Liana's odd choice of words.
"Well… You passed, which means you're the one I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with. You're the one, Jeremy." She explained. "I hope you get it, cause I'm not repeating it again. It's embarrassing enough saying all of that."
Without saying a word, Jeremy gently kissed Liana. She remained stunned for a few moments, before returning his kiss passionately. In that moment, Jeremy realized that even though he had already decided that Liana was the one for him just by looking into her eyes the first time they met, Liana took a much more practical approach, one that took them almost a year to carry out. But in the end, it was all the same. They were meant to be together. And once again, Jeremy was reminded that perhaps, destiny and soul mates, and the fact that there was only one true love for each and every person in the world was true. Perhaps fairytales and happily ever afters do exist.
"I love you, Jeremy." Liana whispered in his ear as her hands began hiking up the hem of his shirt. "Let's begin Step Six right away, shall we?"
"Agree."
Soon his shirt landed on the floor.
-x-
Early in the morning, the phone rang, shaking them both from their slumber.
"Jer… Get the phone…" Liana yawned. Mumbling something under his breath, Jeremy didn't reach the phone until the fifth ring.
"Hello?" He said, trying to suppress a yawn.
"Mr. Haywood, sorry to disturb you so early, but there's a man. He wants to talk to you." The voice of that creepy-as-hell receptionist rang through his ears.
All traces of sleepiness disappeared from Jeremy's mind as he held the receiver closer to his ears. "What? Is he here, at the hotel?"
"No," The receptionist explained. "He's on hold. Would you like to talk to him, Mr. Haywood?"
Deep sigh. "Pass him through."
There was a click, then a beep, then silence. Just when Jeremy was about to hang up, a voice spoke that sent chills running down his spine.
"Maaaate!"
"Ian? What the hell?" Jeremy scolded, picking up the receiver he had dropped.
"Ian?" Liana echoed, instantly feeling uncomfortable. "What's he doing, calling us so early in the morning? And how did he know we were staying here?"
Jeremy gestured for her to stay silent.
"Hehe, looks like you and blondie had a good time, eh?" Ian continued with his taunting voice.
"Shut up, you idiot. If you called simply to say that, I'm hanging up." Jeremy bombed him with his ultimatum.
"No, no, wait," Ian's voice softened. "I was just checking on your progress with the step-to-step relationship manual. But judging from the way you sound so cheerful, I'm guessing you made a huge progress, eh mate?"
"Why would you suddenly be so interested in-" Jeremy's eyes widened in terror as he put the pieces together.
"I see you didn't have a problem sharing a single-bed room with your girlfriend last week."
"Whatever happened to your brunette girlfriend, Mr. Haywood? Did you dumb her for the blonde one?"
"Look, I'm sure we have strictly followed your reservation."
"I knew it! I knew you looked familiar!"
"Ian," Jeremy gritted his teeth, "What have you done with my reservation?"
"Oh, I just… changed it a bit," Ian responded. "Come on, it was meant as a retaliation for bailing on me and Alexa last week, but I think it did you good, don't you think? Which step are you on?"
Alexa… That brunette girlfriend she was talking about!
"None of your business. Now tell me, since when are you and Alexa dating?" He teased Ian.
"Ian and Alexa are dating? I knew it wasn't a good idea to matchmake them!" Liana yelled.
"Ah-ha! I knew it was a matchmaking scheme! You so deserved my vengeance, Jeremy Haywood!" It was Ian's turn to yell.
"Ian, I suggest you find a place to hide, preferably somewhere outside of this continent, because when I'm back, you're dead."
"Love you too, mate. See ya." Then he hung up.
"What was that about?" Liana asked after Jeremy had put the receiver down.
"Oh, nothing really special," He replied. "Basically Ian tricked us into this whole mess to get back at us for bailing on him last week, called us to gloat about it, and news flash, he and Alexa are dating."
"That's so fast." Liana commented. "Maybe we should have adopted their approach. But still, that jerk! How dare he!"
"Well, you have to admit he did help us." Jeremy countered. "Though I knew I shouldn't have borrowed those one hundred dollars…"
And then it hit him. One hundred dollars. The ring! The ring he had bought for Liana!
Jeremy hastily reached for his shirt on the floor and searched through the pocket. After a moment he drew out a tiny box and held it to Liana.
"What's this, Jeremy?" She asked, curious.
"Long story. But I bought this for you, Liana." He explained. "It's also part of the reason why we're here. I bought it with the money I robbed from Ian."
"Okay…" Liana nodded, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the revelation. But her grin soon resurfaced. "Are you… proposing to me, then?"
"Hm… Is there another word for that?" He returned her with an equally mischievous grin.
Liana burst out laughing. "You know, when I said we should adopt their approach, I was only joking."
"But I'm not," He said. "I passed the test, remember? I'm the one you're willing to spend the rest of your life with."
"Alright, you win," She sighed. "Go."
"Will you be my wife, Liana?" Jeremy asked, clutching his chest for effect.
"That's so cheesy, but yes. Yes, I will." She answered and watched as Jeremy slipped the ring onto her finger.
"Ah… It's so nice to know that I don't have to follow that stupid manual anymore," Jeremy sighed in relief.
"Who said we're done with it? Once we're married, we'll have the rest of our lives to complete it. And then, we'll pass it down to our children."
"You're so evil, Liana, you know that?"
Funny how it took him and Liana a year to go through four steps, but it only took one mischief caused by Ian and they've already completed two steps in less than eight hours. Jeremy guessed he had to thank Ian, after all, just like how Ian had to thank him for getting him and Alexa together.
"Fine. You're so on. What's Step Seven?"
The End
P/S: This has been my absolute favorite chapter. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Jeremy and Liana are my favorite couple. So please, if you like it, please take ten seconds to tell me! Reviews are loved and cherished, as always.
See you next update!