THAT NIGHT, Gale decided to make it up for Rainbow by accompanying her to the mani-pedi treatment. By getting one himself, since it ought to not go to waste being included in the payment and all.

Nashi and Jeremy were left alone still swimming around, almost feeling that they had the pool to themself.

"We should make this more fun." Nashi suggested.

"How, pray tell?" Jeremy was floating on his back, looking at the stars.

"Holding your breath contest. Whoever wins in each round gets to ask the player something personal." That made her wiggle her eyebrows in amusement. "So?"

"Fine. I'm in. I'm kind of afraid of the water at night, though." Jeremy admits. "So, you shouldn't really rely on my strength tonight."

"Okay, whatever- go!" Nash gasped before going under, closing her eyes and holding her breath as she went.

30 seconds later, she got out of the water, only to see that Jeremy was still in it. She tapped on his head as a signal that she lost. "Okay. You win. What do you want to ask me?"

"Right," Jeremy coughs. "Hmm, I really can ask anything personal? Like, no hard feelings?"

Nashi shrugged in return. "Sure."

"Okay. Why do you like going out with random guys in our school so much? Sorry, if I offended you." Jeremy added the latter to avoid accidental fights.

"It's fine, but is that really how you think of me?"

"I mean, you went out with Ian, Oliver, Peter," Jeremy was still trying to understand his best friend. Maybe there was something she's going through that she couldn't bring it up unless it's through this kind of game. "So?"

"I feel a bit lonely sometimes." Nashi answered. "That's basically it. My Mom and Dad found each other before college. I kind of want to look for my forever boyfriend, too."

"Oh."

Nashi shakes off her arms in the air to get rid of the awkward atmosphere and jumped back in, before rising up again to face Jeremy. "Okay! My turn."

"Unfair! I didn't even get-"

"What would you say if a girl confessed to you?"

Jeremy blinked, completely taken aback from this. "Uh, wow, I'm actually not sure." He tried recollecting the old notes he made for himself at times like this.

"The most organized person I know is shaking." Nashi snickers. "Come on."

"Well, uh... it depends on who this girl is."

"Rain?" Nashi suggested, raising her arms.

"Yeah, the chances of that happening are zero."

"Okay, how about if I were that girl."

Time stopped between them. Jeremy couldn't believe his ears, what she asked of him. Nashi couldn't really think through, either. Maybe it was the water. They've clearly stayed in it for far too long.

"Oh, I, uh, I think we'd work out fine."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We have a lot in common. We've known each other for so long. And let's face it, our parents might've been planning this before we were even born." Both of them laughed at how accurate that would've been; if this had been a confession from both sides.

But instead, it felt ... weird. They had to look away and focus on something else to avoid getting back to the topic. Nashi was resting on the seat and Jeremy sat across her, drying off his hair.

"Do you want to eat dinner now?"

"Yeah, I'm quite famished." Fancy word. Nashi never uses those unless she's nervous.

Both of them went back to their hotel room to change into appropriate clothes. Jeremy had to turn around to give her privacy while changing and when she came out, she was wearing a white summer dress. Something he's never seen her wear before. Jeremy couldn't take his eyes off that dress.

"Well? You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah, uh, yeah."

🌱

AFTER DINNER, Nashi and Jeremy made their way to the mani-pedi treatment spa to look for their two other friends.

Gale and Rainbow turned out to be getting along more than usual. They found it entertaining gossiping while getting their nails done. Soon enough, the four of them finally collided ways.

"Ooh, big date?" Rain teased Nashi for her dress.

"You said this looked pretty on me, so,"

"It does." Jeremy agreed.

"I will never unsee this." Gale added. "Aren't you two eating for dinner?"

Nashi and Jeremy looked at each other before going back to them, "We already ate." They replied in unison.

"Oh, so, we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Nooo," Nashi rejected the idea, thinking of an excuse to spend the night together. "Let's play a little game before going to bed. It'll be a fun thing to remember this trip."

"Sounds like a plan." Rainbow smirked, "I'm in."

"It involves beer."

"You had me at beer and game." Gale chuckles as he walked away with Rain by his side, obviously enthused for what Nashi has in mind.

On the other hand, Jeremy wasn't all too sure about this, since he's never really drank before. "Does it have to involve beer?"

"Aw, come on, are you scared? It's just us." Nashi pulled her wallet while picking out a box of beer available inside the convenience store, carrying it all the way back to their room, where Jeremy turned the TV on to get rid of his anxiety.

"If you don't drink beer, your dares will be worse." said Nashi as she placed the box onto the floor where she put down the mat for them to comfortably sit in later. "Okay, you don't have to drink beer."

"I didn't say anything."

"I know you don't want to. You don't have to." She smiles, leaning against the headboard while concentrating on her cellphone to list a couple of games they should play tonight.

A COUPLE MINUTES LATER, Gale and Rainbow rang on their door, revealing they brought bags of chips to pig out in during the game until they fall asleep.

"Who's ready to party!?" Gale sat beside Nashi, whereas Rainbow was beside Jeremy for the first game.

"What's the first game?" asked Rainbow as she grabbed and tore a bag of chips to chow in on, offering some to Jer.

"Never have I ever." Nashi announced, and since she suggested this, she picked herself to start. "You know the rules: if you have done it before, you drink a shot. Okay, let me start, never have I ever received flowers or gifts from someone on Valentine's day."

Gale and Rainbow looked at each other and clinked their shots together. "Too easy, Nash."

"This is the easy round. You two, tell the story before you go next, Jer."

"Alright." Gale rubbed his hands together, mustering up the words to tell the tale, until Rain cut in and spoke first.

"Gale and I were in middle school. We knew we had no dates and we thought it was a pretty big deal to have one on that stupid day, so we wrote anonymous letters to each other to brag to our classmates." You could tell how proud they still were of the deed.

"Cute." Nashi commented, tapping Jeremy on the back. "You go."

"Uh, so, never have I ever...had shower sex?"

Nashi knew what needed to be done. She poured herself a shot glass and drank it all in one gulp, making the three look at her in surprise.

"Was it with Ian?" Rain was the first to ask.

"Yeah. It was my first time doing that, too."

Jeremy bit his lower lip in annoyance. "And yet, he had the audacity to stab you in the back."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. How dare he?" Jeremy drank a shot, but felt his stomach churning so he ran to the bathroom himself where he vomited the content.

"Whoa, angry Jer alert." Rain snickers.

"Was it hot? Steamy? Were there bubbles involved?" Ah, of course. Her partner-in-crime wanted to know the sweet little details.

"It's in the past."

Jeremy came back in a hurry, with a face towel on his shoulder to wipe the dirt off his face, blinking rapidly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nashi asked, caressing him on the back to comfort.

"Yes. I'm fine." She noticed how Jeremy backed away a bit at her touch. Nashi couldn't believe what she was seeing. She wasn't in the mood to play anymore.

"What's with this tension?" Rain took another bottle in and stared at the two. "Come on, you suggested this game, I say, we finish this."

"Yeah." Gale adds, waiting for their two other friends to agree. "Well? We have a whole week here. You can't escape from this."

"Why did you have to sleep with random guys?"

"I didn't sleep with every guy I dated! It was just Ian, I swear. Why are you asking me that, even?"

"What would your parents say about this? Eo? What if you get pregnant?"

"Dude," Gale raised his hand up to get in between the two of them. "You know Nash wouldn't do that."

"How would we know that?"

Nashi was sitting against the bed, looking away from the group. Rain noticed and clapped to grab their attention, "I think it'll be best if Nash and I sleep together, instead."

Gale smirks, earning a smack on the head.

Jeremy watched the two of them walk to the other room, his heart sank, full of regrets from what he just said.