Chapter 219

"Goodnight guys, see y'all tomorrow," Thomas said and headed inside the resort, too tired for small talk.

"Yeah, can't wait to live freely for a whole year," Jeremiah added, "Anyone know if Jasper's returned?" He casually asked.

"Yes. I saw his car in the garage," Cody replied, leaning beside the door to the large reception. 

"Okay, then... goodnight, guys," Jeremiah said and left.

Andre was standing beside Pole and Jasper, watching Cross who was still speaking to Florence on the beach.

"Any of you want to take him in," Andre questioned.

Pole shook his head, "I'm just as bratty as he is. I'll lose it with him. You seem to be the best fit for him, you know how to tame down your emotions, stay calm in difficult situations, and are understanding. Not me, I'll put a hole through his skull in a second. He's meant for you, mate, and, the boss directly handed him over to you. I want no trouble," he smiled at Andre.

Andre sighed, defeated. Was this going to be his life for a year? Would he survive it? Should he ask to resign like Ida?

"You know? Another person who would have tolerated him just fine was Ida, but -"

"I won't. I don't like him. I only tolerate you if I like you. Goodnight, guys," Ida cut Pole off and walked into the resort, ignoring Cody, who still stood by the door.

"Hmm, Ida's really changed. The only person he used to speak freely to was Zeno, now Zeno's gone, Ida's turned so cold, almost like a boss himself. You know something, right? What happened to Ida?" Pole asked Andre, staring at him with curious eyes.

Andre held Pole's shoulder and turned him in the direction of the resort, "Go in, use the elevator, and get to the fifth floor, room 200, that's your room. Get in, and crash." He gently pushed Pole in the direction of the entrance. 

"So bossy," Poke muttered. 

"Hey, cutie, wanna go up with me?" Pole put a smile on his face as he saw Cody.

Cody sighed and shrugged, "Yeah." He nodded and followed Pole inside. 

As they walked toward the elevator, Pole cleared his throat, "Hey, maybe you might tell me. What's up with Ida? Why has he changed? Why does he want to leave the job?" He asked.

Cody slowly shook his head, "I think it's personal. He wouldn't want people talking about it." He replied as he stepped into the elevator. 

"Right... I tend to ask a lot of questions," Pole chuckled.

The door was about to shut when a hand slid in between to stop it.

The door slid open again to reveal Ida holding a bottle of water in his hand. He stepped inside and stood between Pole and Cody as the door closed.

No one said a word the whole time the elevator moved up. 

Pole was unaware of the tension between Ida and Cody. Cody felt stuffed and hurt. He had a lot of things to ask Ida, but if he recalled correctly, he lost that right when he asked Ida to completely stay away from his life. 

He was the one who asked Ida to stop existing beside him. It painfully dawned on him that he was the sole reason why Ida decided to leave the job. 

The soft hiss of the elevator door sliding open brought Cody back to the present, and before he could even lift his head, Ida was already out of the elevator, striding forward without looking back.

"Are you leaving?" Pole asked when he saw that Cody wasn't moving to leave.

Cody nodded, "Yeah, goodnight." He said and walked out, heading straight to his room which happened to be just beside Ida's. 

Pole stood in front of the elevator for some time before he decided to enter his room. He was perceiving something but he couldn't put a name on it.

His curiosity was heightening, but he could also feel the trouble that would come with his meddling. 

With a sigh, he entered his room. Tomorrow he would look deeper into Ida's case, something didn't seem right.

Meanwhile, a few doors away from Pole's, Jeremiah quietly left his room, heading down the hallway. He reached the last door and knocked, he didn't know why he was here, but at the moment, he wasn't thinking. 

The door was pulled open to reveal Jasper in his half-buttoned white shirt and a glass of wine in hand.

Jasper's brow furrows as he stared at Jeremiah in front of his door in his comfortable grey joggers and white shirt.

He looked ready for bed, so why was he here?

"What?" Jasper asked, not leaving the door. 

"I couldn't sleep," Jeremiah replied. 

Jasper frowned deeper, "What does that have to do with me?" He sipped his wine. 

Jeremiah sighed, "Nothing. I just needed to be in someone's company." He said.

Jasper raised a brow at him, "You have a twin brother. He's your best company," He said and moved to close the door.

"Huh? Wait," He held the door, stopping Jasper from closing it.

"Stop messing with me, Jeremiah," Jasper said with a frown.

Jeremiah smiled, "You see, I'm not messing with you. I can't stay with my brother, he's always on the phone with Will, and sometimes they do these nasty things on videos..." He made a sound as if he wanted to barf, "Please, I'll just sit quietly and share your drink with you. I promise not to be a pain in the ass tonight," he explained and pleaded.

Jasper stared at Jeremiah for a long time; he couldn't bring himself to believe him. Jeremiah was mischievous, he didn't want anyone playing silly pranks on him that night.

"Pole?" Jasper asked.

"I don't get along with his vibe and he looked ready to crash," Jeremiah replied. 

"Cody?" Jasper asked again. 

"He's sulking, missing his boy... no, ex-boyfriend, I don't want to hear sad stories tonight," Jeremiah supplied.

"Ida?" Jasper raised his brow.

Jeremiah chuckled, "Don't even go there. Man's an icy island; his request to resign already shows he doesn't want company, I don't want to make him uncomfortable." He said. 

"Andre?" Jasper asked lastly.

"Probably still downstairs waiting for the little boss to finish enjoying the night's breeze. I want no part of their drama. Come on, just let me in already, you're my best fit," Jeremiah pleaded, taking his hand to touch Jasper's hand but Jasper removed his hand from the door.

"I hope I don't regret this," Jasper muttered as he left his door open and walked into his room.

Jeremiah followed him in, locking the door as he watched Jasper walk toward his balcony. 

Without hesitation, he followed Jasper out.

"Wow, what a beautiful view. My balcony is facing the uninteresting part of the beach and city," Jeremiah said, breathing in the cool air.

Jasper didn't respond, he simply sat on the double sofa and poured himself some more wine.

Jeremiah sighed as he leaned against the glass balustrade, the city skyline reflected faintly in its surface as wind tugged at his hair. The night was calm, cooling.

Light from the room spilled onto the balcony, casting sharp angles across the frosted glass balustrade.

"Today was so fun; at least, the boss and Zeno rekindled my hope in love. I was almost losing hope with the way everyone was breaking up. I think we just have to find that right person," Jeremiah said and leaned further against the balcony.

He frowned when he didn't hear a response from Jasper. 

"Hey, I'm talking to you, you know?" He said.

"You asked for a company, not conversation," Jasper replied, staring out at the beach.

Jeremiah scoffed quietly, "Why is everyone turning so bossy?" He murmured. 

"If you fall off that balcony, I'm not taking responsibility for your death," Jasper commented when he saw the way Jeremiah was freely leaning half of his body over the balustrade. 

"Fine, since you care about my safety, I'll leave the balcony and sit with you," Jeremiah smiled and went over to Jasper. 

He lowered himself beside him and took his glass from him.

"You can't... never mind," Jasper wanted to stop Jeremiah from drinking from his glass but it was too late, Jeremiah already fixed his lips on it and sipped the drink into his mouth.

"We could share," Jeremiah suggested. 

Jasper took a deep breath and massaged his temple.

Without a word, he stood and walked back inside the room.

Jeremiah watched Jasper closely as he fetched another glass and returned to him. He recalled what Jasper had told him earlier; he didn't want to get too familiar with anyone, no first-name basis, no close-nit relationships. 

Why was he so afraid of being genuine friends with him?

Jasper returned and sat down, silently pouring himself another drink.

"Hey," Jeremiah started.

"What?" Jasper asked, staring at the beach again.

"You said you don't want shortened names, right?" Jeremiah asked.

"I said so," Jasper replied.

"Why? When you said you don't want to get yourself in a situation you can't get out of... did you mean growing feelings?" Jeremiah questioned directly.

Jasper turned to look at Jeremiah's face, and he frowned as he saw Jeremiah's hair blown around by the wind and blocking his amber eyes.

"How's that any of your business?" Jasper questioned.

Jeremiah shrugged, "Well, I think it's my business because, when I called you Jas, you specifically told me not to. So, are you avoiding ever,ything that could make you fall in love with me?" He asked boldly, subtly shifting closer to Jasper. 

Jasper's eyes didn't leave Jeremiah's, "Yes. Is that a crime? Protecting oneself?" He asked in return.

Jeremiah smiled, "It's not. But, generally speaking, I'm not that bad, you know? I might get under your skin every once in a while, but I'm chill. I'm not hard to love, I'm a good listener, I'm caring, understanding... and... I'm good in -"

"Submit your pitch somewhere else. I'm not interested," Jasper cut him off.

Jeremiah sighed, "So cold, no wonder you could never win Zeno's heart," He commented. 

Jasper's face hardened, "Mind your words, Jeremiah. Or, you can leave." He pointed to the door.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes at him, "Hold on, don't tell me you're out here drinking because you're still heartbroken over Zeno?" He asked.

Jasper scoffed, "You're crazy. I got over that a long time ago. I'm not one to wallow over lost love, what's not mine, is not mine. I'm just de-stressing, don't cook up stories." He explained.

"Ah, fine then. Let's de-stress together. Will three extra bottles be enough de-stressing?" Jeremiah asked.

Jasper smirked, "Now, we're talking." He clinked his glass with Jeremiah's and gulped his wine down.

As they drank, Jeremiah kept bringing up random topics to discuss, and somehow, Jasper found them funny. 

They shared laughter as the alcohol intoxicated them.

"Can you pour some more for me?" Jeremiah asked, holding his glass out to Jasper.

Jasper raised his brow, "No. I think we're drunk enough. We might just pass out if we drink more." He said and took the glass from Jeremiah, placing it on the table.

"Ah, bummer!" He slapped Jasper's arm, "If you're able to reason this way it means you're not fully intoxicated," He poked Jasper's cheeks, hiccuping.

Jasper held Jeremiah's hand and removed it from his face, "Stop poking me. I'm drunk, just never the type to lose reasoning when drunk." He said, returning Jeremiah's hand to his lap.

"Hmm, so cool," Jeremiah shifted closer, leaving no space between the sides of their bodies as he deliberately pressed his sides against Jasper's. 

"Stay away, man, I need some space," Jasper said but didn't push him away.

"No, I'll just rest for a while," He said and leaned his head on Jasper's shoulder, closing his eyes.

Jasper sighed, letting Jeremiah have his way, he was too exhausted to argue.

He looked away from Jeremiah's calm face and stared out at the beach once more, but he didn't look for long. 

He suddenly felt Jeremiah's unblinking stare on his face. Slowly, he turned and gazed at Jeremiah, a questioning look in his eyes as Jeremiah remained quiet.

"What?" Jasper asked, gulping as he felt something shift in Jeremiah's gaze.

Jeremiah didn't say a word but Jasper felt something, and it scared him because he seemed to want whatever that was.