Chapter 9

Ian shuddered, "Remind me, why am I here?"

Jennifer giggled, "Because this holiday will refresh our body and soul. Plus it'll add some colour to your pale face." She pinched his pale cheeks playfully as he winced.

Ian did not like Bryan's wife at all. She was bossy and made him feel like he was a very small boy. Try as he might he could never flirt with her.

"Leave me alone," he growled, pushing her away.

"Did I just hear you being rude to my wife?" came a low, dangerous voice from behind me.

"Uh-no? Back off, love-sicko," Ian stomped ahead, overtaking Spencer and the guide.

Ian did not want to leave his comfortable, money-making casino and come to this sweaty, hot place. Only the prospect of hot, Brazilian girls had convinced him that such an endeavour might be helpful. Okay, not just that. It was the possibility of opening a new Casino Papo.

"We're here," shrieked Jennifer in delight. She dragged Bryan and ran past Ian. The green and yellow that were splashed all around Ian didn't interest. The sight of a half-dug structure didn't interest. The sight of his friends Kai and Tala didn't interest him. No, what interested him was a short-haired brunette giving orders to some of the workers in crisp Portuguese. Ian moved towards her as if drawn by a magnet.

"Excuse me," Ian put on his smooth, suave voice. "I know we've just met but I think you may have a thing for me."

"Irritating," muttered the girl and moved away.

"Oooh, attitude?" asked Ian, following her. He liked this girl. "Wait, darling-" He put a hand on the girl's shoulder and the next minute he found himself on the ground inhaling the dirt. Red-faced he got up to shouts of laughter. He brushed himself carefully flicking off every particle of dust from his white trousers and walked towards his laughing friends. "What's her problem?"

Tala smirked, "In the two days I have spent in this hell-hole, I have learnt that Gisele here is a black belt in karate and you just got KO-ed."

"Shut up, carrot!" Ian retorted, ready to run in case Tala would chase him.

Tala subconsciously ran a hand through his red hair before taking a step towards Ian. In a flash his foot landed in an ant's nest. A volley of abuses spewed from his mouth. "I hate this place," he shouted.

-Evening, Cottage 8, Iimma Hotel

Jennifer nudged Diana, "Have you got any replies?" She was, of course, referring to the profiles they had made for their solo friends on LoveSparkOnline, a dating site.

"Yes, quite a number they are," Diana replied before logging on to Tala's profile. Immediately Tala's photo and name cropped up with a description. Hello, my name is Tala. I am twenty-six years old and looking for a girl who would light up my day with smiles and jokes. Leave a message if you're interested. Preferences: Blonde.

Jennifer giggled, "I think we went a bit overboard with the description. If Tala came to know about this he would kill us."

"But he won't come to know…" Diana laughed.

"Diana," Kai's deep voice interrupted their fun, "I told you matchmaking is a bad idea."

"But Tala needs someone," Diana put up her innocent puppy-dog look.

Kai sat down on the sofa, "And he will find someone on his own. I have suffered 'Matchmaking' and its one of the wrongest things ever."

Jennifer put up a hand to stop Kai, "You guys are such spoilsports. Let us manage, okay? In a week you will see all your friends going from single to taken."

Bryan entered the drawing room, "Oh c'mon, Jen, this is not one of your romance novels, this is real life. Nothing will happen in a week."

"Wanna bet on it?" Jennifer asked, smiling wickedly.

Diana opened her mouth to start on her 'betting-is-a-sin' speech but Jennifer subtly stomped on her foot.

"Oww," Diana hissed. "Why did-"

"And while we are at it, let's bet who gets more success with matchmaking. Boys v/s girls. Diana and I will obviously win-"

"Hey, Kai and I never lose, right Kai?" Bryan looked at his friend.

Kai sighed, "That's right but I don't think we should do this, Bryan."

"C'mon, Kai!" Diana said. "Loosen up. We're on a holiday."

"We are n-" Kai stopped himself in time. One more word and his secret would be out. Time to change the topic. "Fine, I'm in and we'll win."

"Okay, we call dibs on Ian," Diana said.

At the same time Kai said, "Ian."

"Tala," said Jennifer while Bryan said, "Spencer".

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Spencer walked in.

The four other occupants of the room looked at each and then Diana said in a most reassuring voice, "No. We were just talking about…pencils? Yeah, pencils."

Spencer gave a weird look, "Pencils?"

"And sharpeners and erasers…stationery in general," supplied Jennifer.

"Okay," Spencer put up his hands in defeat. "Don't tell me."

Okay, I am late with this update and I apologise for it. Its College! Its driving me mad…we have a lot of presentations and projects and group-work probs, etc. etc.

On a sadder note, my favourite team lost at T20 World Cup and I am devastated :'( I am so sad and irritated by fake fans...

I was happy to see everyone enjoyed Ty/Hil! Thanks to Gingercookiessnaps (your name is really tough to type but I like it!), Superkami, SMRA (Hey! Thank you soooo much. I am happy my humor is evident :D :D plus I was not sure if I can write Tala well but your review gives me encouragement. Lots of Tala to come. Hehehe! That's quite a lot of awesomeness you attributed to the chapter. I hope you like this one too and please don't apologise for late reviews. In fact, I apologise for late updates. RR!), Pure White Mochi, Ansarinaemah, Rangerapprentice and Susan sewell! You all are awesome!

This was a long-ish chapter to make up for the delay...well, I know its not that long but still! Who do YOU think will have more success at matchmaking? Girls or Boys?

Let me know…REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

See ya!