A strange man by the name of Collin claims he comes from 25 years into the future and tells Emma that she will be married in a year's time.
He even leaves her a clue - he is someone she has already met.
Who is Collin anyway?
*Highest rank: 44 in C...
Emma tries her utmost to avoid Ethan as they travel through the airport, not because she is angry at him, but because she is still embarrassed by the incident. She had even rejected a lift from him in the morning, which proved to be a disaster because the jam almost made her late. But she can only do this much to escape him, and it isn't long before he corners her in Starbucks, just before boarding.
"Go away, Ethan," Emma whimpers. She tucks her legs on the seat and buries her face in her knees. If she cannot see him, he cannot see her.
"Em, please. Stop doing this. Look at me!"
"No!"
He pries her arms away from her head. "Emma..."
"No!"
"Okay, what do you want me to do? I'm sorry, I really am..."
"It's not your fault."
Truthfully speaking, Emma isn't sure what she is so upset about now. Possibly the fact that he has seen her in a compromising state. No- definitely that. He has seen her body, her body! Not under beach circumstances, but in a position ready for -
The thought of it already drives her mad.
"I don't remember anything, okay?"
Emma glances at him. "What do you mean? Nothing happened."
He nods obediently. "That's right, nothing happened."
"Yup, you didn't see anything."
"I didn't see anything," he repeats, and the ridiculous conversation finally brings a smile back to Emma's face.
Denial is always the way to go.
They are interrupted when Alice and Liam, who have gotten them drinks, wave at them from outside. "C'mon you two. We're boarding!"
Ethan looks at Emma affectionately and brings a hand over her head, gently ruffling her hair. "Woohoo, holiday!"
He quickly bounces off his seat and heads for the boarding gate. Emma follows suit. It has been some years since she and Ethan have been on a trip together, and she won't deny that she is looking forward to it. She knows it is going to be splendid.
* *
Hours later, after an insanely long flight and a transit at Singapore, the group finally arrives at the tropical island, where the temperature is a good 40 degrees Celsius away from New York. They barely escape the sweltering heat with a bus ride to the resort. But Bali is what it is - a paradise - and it is hard to not fall into the awe of it all, of luscious greens and alluring blues, of the sky, the forestry, and the sea.
After a pompous welcome and half-hour check-in, the entourage head up to their rooms, and Emma is more than pleased when she steps in. Their windows entitle them to a gloriously exquisite view of the sea. Everything is perfect - well, all except one thing.
"Alice, didn't I tell you to book a room with double beds?" she says as she stops in front of the queen-sized bed. It's not that she is that conservative, she just happens to have poor sleep posture, and she needs a sizeable bed space.
"I tried, Em. But they're fully booked."
Alice shrugs it off and heads to her room, but Emma knows that her sister has got something up her sleeve. She probably orchestrated it.
"It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before," Ethan says with nonchalance, and dumps his bag down inside.
It doesn't look like Emma has a choice, because even when she phoned the concierge, they had regrettably told her that there are now no double bedded rooms. Ethan even seems hurt that she despises him.
Just four nights, she tells herself as she starts to unpack, and nothing odd will happen.
* * Emma flicks on the TV, and immediately frowns at the programme. Friends With Benefit. That is definitely not an appropriate movie in this situation when she is sitting in bed with her Y-chromosomed best friend.
She lifts the remote, about to switch channel, when a hand stops her.
"Don't! It's Mila Kunis!" Ethan exclaims.
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"Give it back!"
"Nope. Why can't I watch this?"
"I'm not comfortable watching this with you, friend." Emma deadpans. Before she could do anything, however, Ethan seizes the control from her.
Emma tries to regain it, but Ethan does everything to protect it from her reach. He casually brings it above his head, and Emma grasps frantically for it, only to return with nothing. Fired, she brings one leg over and climbs above him. She pins his arm down and finally snatches the remote control from him, only for Ethan to deadpan back at her, "talk about uncomfortable."
With a smirk, he rolls over, and the tide is turned. "You're not letting me watch the movie because you're afraid of this?"
Emma stares at him, wide-eyed with shock. Her heart beats furiously against her chest because she knows, she knows that they are simply too close for comfort. He isn't going to do anything to her, is he? No... he can't. She shakes her head vigorously, as she comes to her senses.
It is, of course, just a figment of her imagination.
She glances at Ethan, who is happily devouring an apple as he enjoys the movie. She shall relent. With a sigh, she brings the covers over her head and attempts to sleep.
