Chapter 10: To Make Lasting Memories
8th June 2011
The 'S bomb'.
Drew swore that he was never, ever, ever going to forget the meaning of the phrase 'S bomb'.
He had woken up in a good mood that morning on the couch. He and May had managed to wonder back into the room after consuming copious more alcoholic drinks, in the form of fizzy champagne and multi-coloured cocktails, and scoffing down a few more puddings followed by more drinks at the poolside bar as the sun set behind the sea in the background. When was the last time he got so drunk that he couldn't even remember how he made it to his own bed?
Never. He had to be somewhat controlled in terms of his behaviour when in public – after all, his family had a reputation to keep up so it was vital that he didn't cause any bad publicity. The only attention he'd ever gotten from the media was when he was pictured out on dates with several different girls, though to him, that hardly counted as bad media.
Drew sat up and looked around the room, shuddering at the state of it. Clearly he and May had cracked open a further bottles of wine when they had returned last night, judging from the bottles that were strewn on the floor and the wine glasses that sat on their sides on the coffee table. The other couch that was positioned across from his was dishevelled too. May had fallen asleep on that one the night before but where was she now?
The said brunette stepped out of the bathroom in a long, pastel yellow maxi dress with black ties that went round her neck, the perfect airy outfit to go about in the hot sun. She walked up to the couch where Drew sat and handed him a wet flannel for his head.
He looked at the flannel, then to May, then back at the flannel before he took it and muttered a "thanks".
"No problem." May said then ushered Drew up onto his feet. "You need to get ready."
"For what?" Drew asked but stood up anyway.
"You are going to find out what the S bomb is!" May exclaimed excitedly whilst she gently guided Drew to the bathroom and shut the door for him.
The pair ate a lot less at breakfast. May had settled for two plates of scrambled eggs and bacon with toast whilst Drew had a creamy bowl of porridge with a mug of coffee. May had not said a word about what the day's activity was, leaving Drew to ponder what it could be (which was not fun when he was hung-over).
A limo was sitting at the hotel's main entrance and they hopped in and settled down. May nodded to the driver, signalling for him to go. She had pre-arranged everything while Drew was in the shower this morning, from booking the limo to finding out precisely how to get there... Well she had made sure that the driver was going to follow them and direct them to the right places and do whatever else she needed him to, like her personal assistant.
Once they arrived at their destination, everything clicked. So that is what the S bomb meant: shopping. May had asked the driver to take them to the fashion district of Sinnoh.
"So the S bomb' is just shopping." Drew stated with a raised brow. For something that had the word 'bomb' in it, it wasn't nearly as dramatic as he had expected.
"It's not just shopping!" May said as her eyes twinkled taking in the of sight in front of her: a glass roof let the sunlight pass into the long marble tiled passage that was lined with all the big name shops – Berlitz, Paris, Edna amongst several others – and small, upper class restaurants that sat out in the open, allowing visitors to take in the incredible architecture, the stiletto shaped pillars, the live string quartet in the open walkway and the massive water fountain with mermaid and fish statuettes leaping at the intersection where one of the designer shops-clad passage met the other. "This is more than that. This is much more!" May added as if she were possessed.
"It's going to take more than a few shops to completely obliterate my wallet." Drew commented matter-of-factly before May grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shop with her.
The sales girls politely nodded as they entered. May gave them a polite nod back, remembering the days when she too, worked in a boutique. She always remembered thinking that if she was ever rich enough to shop in a boutique without money troubles then she'd definitely be polite to the staff, something that lifted her mood when a customer did it to her back in the day.
May picked up a midnight blue dress and held it against her frame then turned to face Drew. "What do you think?" she asked, her face gazing at him expectantly.
"Why don't you actually try it on." Drew suggested.
May smiled a devious smile; a wicked look. And Drew instantly knew he was going to regret suggesting it. "If you want me to" May flounced off and picked up more dresses and tops and skirts and stacked them onto the sales girls that were following her around the shop.
Drew flopped down onto the velvet cream sofa in front of the dressing room area and sighed.
"I'll be right back." May winked then disappeared behind door.
Moments later, the door opened back up, revealing May who was now wearing the most gorgeous cream coloured halter neck dress that swept the ground as she strode out in sheer confidence. She looked over to Drew as if to ask him of his opinion.
"Not bad." He casually commented as he rose to his feet and slowly walked closer to May and around her, eyeing her up in the dress. "But I'm pretty sure you already have a dress like this."
"You said it yourself. I have one 'like' this one but I don't have this one." May retaliated.
"So getting one that looks the same is completely futile."
"But you never know when you'll need to doll up in a dress."
"Are you hinting that you've got something planned for later?"
"Of course I've got something planned, but the plans I've made don't require such a fancy dress."
"Then why buy the dress at all?" Drew questioned with a raised brow.
"Just for back up." May said as she admired the dress on her in the mirror. In the back of her mind, she was thinking about Paris and her fancy parties, or some business ball that Drew would inevitably be invited to at some point. Surely there'll be one right around the corner. "Plus, all your suits practically look the same."
Drew couldn't argue with that.
The day continued for on in a similar manner of May dragging Drew along to specific shops then coming out later with the chauffer carrying many bags and boxes out.
Drew had never seen one buy so much sewn up fabric in a single go before. He had always imagined those exaggerations to be fictional but now he knew better. No more S-bomb. No more metaphorical bombs of any sort.
The pair had changed into something more fitting for the evening before setting off to their next destination. May still hadn't revealed where they were going but Drew learned not to question – last time he asked he was in for an overwhelming surprise despite thinking otherwise.
"May, are you ready yet?" Drew shouted again from his spot on the sofa. He had spent the past half hour playing on his phone whilst May frantically pranced around the bathroom prepping and preening.
"Yes," May said as she unlocked the door to the bathroom and stepped out in a floral whit dress with pink flowers and green leaves, clean white stilettoes and a baby pink clutch. "I'm ready. Follow me." May drew Drew in with her finger, exerting her dominance, and led him to the lift.
Drew made no protest and followed the brunette down to the lobby, through the fountain and into a quiet, red carpet lined flooring that offered a view of the hotel's infamous gardens on one side and the fountains on the other. At the end of the corridor was a spiralling staircase that ascended right up, round and round, making it difficult to tell how high it actually was.
"It's just up here." May said as she took the first step up and held out a hand for Drew.
Drew looked at her extended hand sceptically for a split second before taking it and following her up the steps slowly. Once at the top, May led Drew over to a single table in the centre of the round room, where tall windows stretched from the floor to ceiling and another formed the roof itself; where around the base of the window small tea lights twinkled; where loveseats sat at the far end facing away from the table and out towards the incredible view of the sea which was lit up every night by small paper boats with candles being released by gullible tourists who believe that such a simple act could grant wishes.
"What do you think?" May asked as she approached the table and spun round to face Drew, who had stopped at the top of the stairs to behold the ultimate sight of simplicity.
"What is this place?" Drew asked as he approached May slowly but confidently. He hated to admit it but May did a brilliant job of creating a romantic getaway scene. Ever since he was young, Drew had known this hotel like the back of his hand and he was almost certain that this had never existed.
"It's heaven." May replied. "It's a place that the hotel actually contacted me about once when I was still a student. It was one of my design projects from my uni days and it just so happened that the owner of the hotel came to see our class design show that year. He paid me to adapt the design to fit the dimensions of this room."
By now Drew was standing mere inches away from May, his torso practically touching hers. "You're one of those people I always think I have figured out but you always manage to pull something out of the bag." Drew breathed down into May's ear. His fingers had swept her tendrils aside, softly grazing her skin and sending subtle chills down her spine as he did so.
"I'm never what anyone thinks I am." May replied back, keeping the sultry, romantic mood in check. Her eyes were locked on his and she had his undivided attention, his admiration and his…
Grrrr.
Both May and Drew pulled their eyes away from each other at the sound of May's grumbling stomach.
"Yep, you definitely surprise me all the time." Drew said playfully as he wondered round to one of the seats at the table and pulled it out for May.
"I told you so." May said although deep down she was absolutely mortified that her stomach ruined what could've been a glorious moment.
After what seemed like the most perfect meal, May and Drew shuffled over from the table to the loveseat. Drew sat against the side with high back with his arm slung along the edge and, more importantly, snuggly around May's shoulder while she leaned on his chest with the stem of the champagne flute entangled with her fingers. Both of their faces were slightly flushed looking from the alcohol and May was sure that her tummy would no longer grumble after their five course dinner.
They had moved over to the loveseat straight after consuming their final course of a delicate panna cotta, one of Drew's favourites, and popped open a new bottle of bubbly. Drew listened to May gush over how beautiful Pastora was, and how inspirational the interior and architecture is and frankly, Drew enjoyed listening to her enthusiasm and passion for aesthetics things.
"Okay so, since I decided what to do today, is there anything you want to do tomorrow?" May asked.
"I've done most things here before so I guess I don't mind as long as you don't drop any more metaphorical bombs." Drew replied. It took him a long time to revert back to normal Drew mode from Zombie shopper.
"If you say so." May shrugged then took another sip form her glass. "Maybe we should do some sightseeing tomorrow."
"You can plan it then." Drew said.
"I'll go do that now then." May said as she struggled to get up to her feet and stumbled towards the staircase. The brunette was drunker than she sounded and Drew caught onto that as soon as he saw May rose to her feet.
"May," Drew stood up after May and failed to grab her hand when he realised the extent that he had drank. Thinking fast, he insisted on something else, "Let's go for a walk." He suggested then grabbed her hand and led her back down the stairs and through the busy lobby. His pace was fast, too fast for May who had trouble taking in what was happening. She did not protest in any way and instead went with what was going on.
Drew took another turn and headed straight towards a set of tall doors with gold frames and a stained glass centre, which was manned by uniformed staff who opened the door as the approached. Once through, the pair found themselves in the hotel's private garden.
If May wasn't drunk, she would gush about the fact that the garden had claimed many awards over the years and how popular it is to use as a backdrop for wedding photos and how she would love to capture the sun set behind the vibrant colours of the flowers.
"Where are we?" May asked, her words slurred just enough for Drew to notice.
"We are in the garden, getting some air." Drew replied as he stood back and watched May stumble further forward into the garden, her heels sinking into the grass. He approached her and placed a helping hand under one elbow as his other hand reached down, "Take you shoes off." He ordered.
May said nothing and complied. She leaned on Drew, putting more weight on the boy than necessary as he helped her remove her shoes and regain her balance on the soft grass.
"Aren't you going to take your shoes off too?" May asked in her ditzy, intoxicated state.
And to her surprise, Drew made no protest and removed his footwear too, and enjoyed the cushiony feeling beneath him. "There." Drew said to May, who had managed to work her way further forward, towards the twisty labyrinth of hydrangea bushes. Drew picked up his shoes and followed May.
"This place is pretty." She giggled once he had caught up. For someone who was throwing in a lot of curves to her walk, she travelled fast.
"Thought you might like it." Drew figured.
May smiled at him as she pinched a small flower from the bush and slipped it into Drew's hair. "Beautiful."
Drew looked at May. Sometimes, there really was no denying how compatible they were; they had the same ambitions, aspirations, hopes, dreams and even the same sense of humour. He sometimes wondered what would've happened if he had never seen the private investigator's files on her. Would they still be together? Only for real?
He looked at her once again, only this time, May's attention had drifted from the flower in his hair to his eyes, his stunning, bright green eyes that glistened in the slowly darkening skies. And before he could tell what was happening, he leaned in, his lips touching hers.
I finally updates! Woo! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of May and Drew actually getting along because, as you may have guess already, that's not going ti last long ;) review to send me inspiration!
Happy Halloween and much love,
silver-hedgehog
x x x