That night, Irene was dreaming in her sleep.
In her dream, she was working in a bar as a waitress. People come and go in the bar, some customers are generous, giving her big tips.
There's one particular customer that caught her attention, he was clad in a black ensemble, from black jacket, all the way to his shoes. He was good-looking and exudes a devilish aura around him. Throughout the night, countless women flirted with him but he didn't reciprocate their lavish attention.
She delivered a drink to his table and was rewarded with a hefty tip. "Thank you, sir!" she said graciously.
"My pleasure, sweetie," the handsome guy said. "Are you free tonight?" he asked.
Drowning in his hypnotic blue eyes, Irene was speechless for a few seconds.
"Are you free tonight, sweetie?" the handsome guy repeated his question.
Irene smiled and shook her head. "No, sir. My boyfriend is waiting for me outside after my shift ends tonight" she replied with a lie.
"Oh, too bad..." the guy said in a disappointed tone.
Irene left the guy's table and proceed to deliver drinks to other customers.
While she carry on with her job inside the bar, she tried her best not to glance at the handsome guy, but when she does, the table was already empty! The guy had left the bar.
Three hours later, before 10:00.
Irene left the bar after her shift ended and walked on the sidewalk, waiting for the bus to arrive so that she can go home.
A few minutes later.
A car stopped on the side of the road and the driver exited the vehicle.
Irene looked at the handsome guy, he was the one in the bar! She was surprised to see him outside. She thought he had already gone home.
"Hello, sweetie! Do you want a ride home? I can take you home," the guy offered.
Irene shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, sir. But I'm waiting for the bus..." she replied.
The guy took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll just park my car over there just in case you change your mind," he said.
Irene didn't respond and watched the guy heading back to his car.
She patiently waited for the bus, but got worried when thunder and lightning began hammering the heaven above, then droplets of rain starts falling on her head.
"Damn, it's going to rain tonight!" Irene said, looking heavenward.
To her surprise and annoyance, the rain starts falling heavily in just a matter of minutes. Irene was already getting wet from the rain.
The guy left his car and brought an umbrella with him, he went to Irene's side and made the same offer again. "It looks like the bus won't be here anytime soon. Why don't you get in my car and I will drive you home," he suggested.
Shivering in the cold and can't wait for the bus anymore, she finally agreed.
Irene and the guy got in the car.
Inside the vehicle.
"I'm sorry, I got your chair soaked with water," Irene apologized.
The mysterious guy smiled brightly. "No problem, don't worry about it," he said and handed her his coat. "Wear this, it will keep you warm," he offered.
"Thank you!" Irene accepted the coat and draped it on her body.
"Where is the location of your house?" he inquired.
"I live in St. Vincent, at the outskirt of the town. A two hours ride from here. Do you still want to offer me a ride to my house?" she asked.
"Yes, of course!" the guy replied with a smile and started the engine. He drove the car, going in the direction of the main road.
Irene studied the guy's profile while he was focusing on his driving. Is he a good guy or a psycho one? But he doesn't look like he is a killer on the loose. He looks like a decent guy though.
He glanced at her briefly. "Don't worry, I'm not one of those psycho guys who kidnap women and hides them in the basement, turning them into sex slave. I can guarantee you that I'm a good guy," he said, reassuring her, trying to make her relax in his presence.
Irene sighed. She's not completely convinced yet that she's truly safe with him, she will only feel better if she's finally back home safe and sound.
A few minutes later, they already exited the city. The car was now heading to St. Vincent, one of the places located outside the city.
Outside the vehicle, the rain was falling hard from the sky.
When they were about to reach the town of St. Vincent, there was a traffic jam because the bridge connecting to the town was destroyed by the raging water coming from the mountain.
Irene addressed the guy. "What I'm going to do now?" she asked worriedly. She's desperate to go home.
"Let's just turn around and go back to the city. You can stay in my place for a few hours while waiting for the rain to stop. As of the moment, the water is strong and the bridge is not passable for any types of vehicles. Therefore the best thing to do is wait. Don't worry the rain will stop tomorrow morning," he said reassuringly.
Irene was shaking her head. She can't fully trust this guy yet. He is a stranger to her.
The guy glanced at Irene and noticed the expression of uneasiness on her face. "Still afraid to go with me to my house?" he asked. "I completely understand why you're hesitating to go with me," he said, smiling a bit. "By the way, my bad! I forgot to introduce myself to you. My name is Brent Martinez... how about you? What is your name, sweetie?" he asked.
For a moment, Irene hesitated to reveal her name but realizing that she was already indebted to him, she might as well introduce herself to him properly. "My name is Irene Lopez," she replied.
"Nice meeting you, Miss Lopez!" Brent said, extending his hands for a handshake.
Irene accepted his handshake, their hands touched for a brief moment, she was surprised to feel a sudden spark that ignited between them the moment their skin touched. She removed her hand quickly from his.
Brent looked at Irene. "Did you feel it?"
"What-?"
"The spark was ignited between you and me the moment our hands touched," he said, smirking.
"It's nothing. It's just part of your imagination!" Irene replied in denial, ignoring his teasing.
Brent smiled in amusement. "Alright, where do you want us to go? You don't like going to my place because you are afraid of me. But we can't stay inside my car for a long time, you need to get rid of your rain soaked clothes or else you will get sick because if it. Why don't we just find a hotel nearby so that you can change into a dry clothe and stay there while waiting for the rain to stop," he suggested.
"That's a better idea!" Irene finally agreed.
"Okay, I'll drive my car back to the last Inn that we saw on the road," Brent said. He started the engine and navigate a U-turn, leaving the traffic jam behind them, going back in the direction of the city.
When they reached the High Road Inn, Brent parked the car in the parking area, they were greeted by the staff of the inn and was informed that there was only two vacant room available.
"We will take it!" Irene said quickly.
Brent went to the cashier section and paid for the rooms, which is good for 24 hours usage.
"I'll pay you, how much is the room?" Irene asked.
Brent shook his head. "No need. Let's just go to the store outside so that you can buy dry clothes," he suggested.
"Okay," Irene agreed.
They went inside the 24 hours store adjacent to the Inn and Irene bought long pants, a t-shirt, and disposable undies.
Irene paid her purchases in the cashier's section despite Brent's offer to pay them from his own pocket.
They returned to the Inn and went to the second floor.
Brent was standing outside Irene's door. "See you tomorrow. I'll bring you to your home and don't say no! Goodnight. Sweet dreams, sweetie," he said softly, looking tenderly into her eyes.
Irene rolled her eyes. "Thank you. Goodnight. See you tomorrow!" she said and shut the door on his face, locking it from inside.
She released a sigh of relief.
She entered the bathroom, discarded her wet clothes, and took a shower.
A few moments later, she emerged from the bathroom already wearing dry clothes.
Sitting on the bed, she typed a message on her phone informing her mother that she can't go home tonight because of the bridge that was destroyed by the flood. She was currently occupying a room inside an Inn to spend the night with. She will go home tomorrow morning.
Done sending the message to her mother, she plans to sleep right away, but she can't go to sleep yet because her hair is still wet.
She picked up the towel from the chair. While drying her hair with the towel, she was thinking of Brent. He seemed to be a good and decent guy, however, there's something mysterious about him. The way he just came out of nowhere, barging into her life is questionable!
Indeed!
Done drying her hair she turned off the light and went to bed.
Twenty minutes later, she drifted into a deep slumber.
...
The following day.
Irene stirred on the bed and woke up to a bright new day. Her right hand landed on something hard beside her! A warm body!
To her horror, she saw a guy - face down, lying naked beside her on the bed! She quickly jumped out of the bed.
Who is this guy?
When she looked at his face closely, she was horrified to discover who it was!
Oh, no!
It's Brent!
How did he enter her room in the inn?
Wait...
She roamed her eyes around her.
This place looks familiar! It's her room in her grandmother's ancestral house!
Ah, she remembers it now! She was dreaming last night!
What the hell is going on?
She's definitely not dreaming anymore!
Back to reality!
But why is it that Brent was lying on the bed in her room at this very moment? He should exist in her dream only!
No!
He's not real!
He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Good morning, sweetie!" Brent spoke tenderly.
Irene's heart stopped beating, her face turned paper white. She stared at Brent, shocked to see him in her room. "Oh, my God! You're real! What's going on?"
Brent grinned in amusement. "Of course, I am real!"
"H-how did y-you b-become real?" Irene asked in a terrified voice.