By 6:00, dinner was over, everyone had gathered in the Living Room. Brian was still missing. Nick had checked all the obvious places that he might be: the games room, the banquet hall, and various other places they had toured the day before. The Living Room was his last hope. Laney sat beside Jason on the couch, he had his arm around her shoulder. Laney was unreceptive. She couldn't stop thinking about Brian. Jason noticed.
"What's the matter, Lan?" he asked, touching her hand. Laney shrugged and cracked a fake smile.
"Nothing. I'm fine" she said, trying to sound cheerful. Jason wasn't satisfied. He took his arm from around her shoulder.
"It's Brian, isn't it?" he growled. Laney sighed and turned her body towards him.
"You really hate him don't you?" she said. Jason nodded.
"I hate his guts. But you didn't answer my question" he said. Laney turned her body straight out again.
"I just need some time alone. It's been a weird two days, and my emotions aren't sorted out yet. I think I'm gonna go to my room" Laney said. She put her hand on Jason's knee and stood up. He nodded and kissed her cheek. Laney waved good-bye to everyone and headed for the door.
She had no intention of going to her room. She was going to find Brian. Laney had to talk to him; she had made a decision.
After checking all the obvious places, she planned to go to the hot-tub and sauna. She stopped off at her room to slip on her swimsuit. Even if Brian wasn't there, she could relax.
After changing, Laney headed for the hot-tub. It was on the 1st floor. The elevator clicked open and Laney stepped out. She only had her towel wrapped around her waist, and her sandals. It was freezing in the lobby. She opened the hot-tub door and walked in. There was one person in there: a guy. He was sitting with the back of his head to the door. Laney took off her towel and sandals and slowly walked to the hot-tub. Then walked down the steps. The guy in the hot-tub was Brian. He had his eyes closed. Laney quietly waded through the warm water towards him. Brian opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Hi" he said. Laney smiled and leaned against the side of the tub. There were a few long moments of silence.
"Brian, I've made a decision" Laney replied. Brian turned his body towards her and just stared. He stared so intensely that Laney knew her decision was right. She started biting her nails, nervously. Brian was getting impatient. Finally, Laney took a deep breath.
"My decision is" she began. Laney paused. "My decision is that I don't love Jason. I love you. I have for a while, well 3 years" Laney blushed, then continued, "it was more like a 'I love him to death even though I'll never get him' kinda thing. But now it's different." Laney felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Brian smiled.
"I knew it all along" he said seriously. Laney giggled and hit his shoulder.
"No you didn't! If you did, you wouldn't be hiding down here like a scared little child!" Laney joked. Brian didn't laugh and she knew she had hit a rough topic in his mind.
"It's because of Jason. He threatened me if I got near you. So I stayed away" Brian explained. Laney's expression changed dramatically. Her smile turned into a frown.
"What am I gonna do about him?" she asked. Brian shrugged. They sat in silence.
"I've got an idea" Brian said, brightening up a bit. "You know how Jason's a big guy?" Laney nodded. Brian smiled at his 'brilliant' idea. "I think we should get Kevin to talk to him tomorrow. We'll have the rest of the night to plain" he explained. Laney thought about it, then frowned.
"I think I should be there too" she said. Brian nodded. He rubbed his arms.
"You know what? I've been in here for like 45 minutes! I don't think that's good!" he exclaimed. Laney laughed.
"No, I don't either. Let's get out" she said. Brian waded to the stairs and got out. Laney followed him. He wrapped his towel around his shoulders, then he grabbed Laney's. He put it around her and smiled. Laney smiled back. They stood there, looking at each other.
"So... are you gonna kiss me, or not?" she asked. Brian raised his eyebrows and smiled. He leaned forward and Laney closed her eyes, awaiting the kiss. When she felt his lips against hers, she shivered. It had to be the greatest moment of her life.
