(Jay's POV)
The Best Worst Morning Ever
I woke up, and my head did not just hurt. It exploded. A million tiny drum players were having a party inside my brain, and they were all wearing heavy boots.
I opened one eye. The sunlight hitting the resort window felt like a laser beam poking my face. I groaned and rolled over, pulling the white blanket up to my nose. Everything smelled like fancy coconut soap and ocean air.
Then, my eyes hit the bottle on the kitchen table across the room.The fancy bottle. The clear glass bottle with the gold label.Memory hit me like a flying pillow.
Oh no.
Oh nononono.
I did not drink the healthy organic fruit juice last night. I drank the super expensive resort vodka. I drank a lot of it.
I closed my eyes tight and squeezed my pillow. Bad memories came back in big, scary flashes.
Usually, I didn't remember anything after drinking some kind of alcohol but this time, I remembered dancing in the dark like a broken robot. I remembered making weird animal noises.
And then, the worst part.
Keifer.
My face turned so hot I thought my hair might catch on fire. I did not just get silly. I went totally wild. I remembered ripping his nice, clean white linen shirt right off his shoulders because I felt hot.
I remembered trying to unzip my own dress. And then, because he was being a perfect, nice gentleman and telling me to sleep, I attacked him. Not a mean attack.
A love attack. I bit his neck. I bit his shoulders. I left marks.
"I want to disappear," I whispered into my pillow. "I want a giant hole to open up under this bed and swallow me forever."
"Are you talking to the pillow, or is the pillow talking to you?"
A voice came from the door. A deep, smooth, completely awake voice.
I peeked over the blanket. Keifer was leaning against the door frame. He looked perfect. How did he look perfect at eight in the morning? His messy dark hair looked cool, not crazy like mine.
He held two big glasses of ice water and a little yellow pill. But I did not look at his face. My eyes went straight to his neck.There they were. Three big, bright purple spots right near his collarbone. They looked like little angry grapes.
"Water," Keifer said, walking over with a giant smirk on his face. "For the fiercest warrior on Ulopong Island."
I hid under the blanket again. "Go away. I am dead. You are talking to a ghost."
He sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped. He pulled the blanket down from my face, very gently, until my eyes peeked out. His smile was so big it made his eyes crinkle.
"Ghosts do not drink all the expensive vodka and try to steal my clothes, Jay," he teased. He handed me the water and the headache pill. "Drink up, Dracula Barakuda"
Is it a promotion now?
I sat up slowly, holding the blanket tightly around my chest like a shield. My throat was as dry as sand. I swallowed the pill and drank the whole glass of water in three giant gulps.
"I am so sorry," I squeaked. My voice sounded like a sad frog. "I thought it was the billionaire juice. The bottle looked exactly like the fancy juice from the commercial."
"Sure," Keifer said, nodding solemnly, but his eyes were dancing with fun. "The vodka that costs two hundred dollars a bottle tastes exactly like apple juice. Easy mistake."
"It had a picture of a fruit on it!" I yelled, then winced because my own voice hurt my ears.
"That was a logo of a fancy crown, Jay. Not a mango." He leaned closer, tilting his head to the side. He pointed a finger right at the purple marks on his skin. "So, what do we do about these? I have to go downstairs in an hour. Staff are going to think I fought a very small, very angry tiger."
"Tell them you fell," I mumbled, looking at my lap.
"Fell on what? A pair of human teeth?" He laughed, a short, barking sound that made my heart do a stupid little flip. "No way. I am telling everyone the truth. I am telling them my wifey Jay got tipsy and tried to eat me."
"Don't you dare!" I gasped, hitting his arm with a soft pillow. He caught the pillow easily and stood up. He looked down at me, his smile turning a bit mysterious. "We will see. Get dressed. The day is moving, and since you owe me your life, you are buying me breakfast."
The Walk of Shame
Ten minutes later, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror trying to fix my hair. It looked like a bird nested in it. I threw it up into a messy bun and put on a simple yellow sundress.
I looked pale, but at least I did not smell like vodka anymore. When I walked out, Keifer was waiting by the door. He changed his shirt, but he chose a blue t-shirt with a wide neck. The purple marks were completely visible. He was doing this on purpose. I knew it.
"Are you really going out like that?" I whispered, pointing at his neck.
"Like what? Wearing clothes? Yes, Jay, that is the law," he said innocently.
"You know what I mean! The spots! Can you wear a scarf?"
"It is ninety degrees outside on our beach," he pointed out. "We are on a private island with nobody else around. If I wear a scarf, our three staff members will think I lost my mind. If I show the marks, they just know I had a very interesting night."
"Keifer, please," I begged, putting my hands together.
He opened the large villa door and stepped out into the bright sunshine. "Nope. I think I like them. They are like little medals of honor for surviving the great Jay Attack of 2026."
I groaned and followed him out. The stone path around our villa was beautiful, with big green palm trees and pink flowers everywhere, but I could not enjoy it.
I kept walking two steps forward him, trying to use my body to block anyone from seeing his neck.
We reached the outdoor dining deck, which looked over the empty blue ocean. Tuan, our main house manager, was setting the table with plates of fruit.
"Good morning, Sir and Mam Watson. "
Tuan said with a polite bow.
"Good morning!" I shouted loudly, jumping in front of Keifer. "Nice weather, Tuan! Look at that big bird over there by the palm tree! Do not look at anything else!"
Tuan blinked, surprised by my loud voice. Then, as I stepped aside to grab a glass of juice, Tuan's eyes glanced at Keifer's neck. His eyebrows shot up high. He looked at Keifer, then he looked at me, then he gave Keifer a tiny, silent nod of respect.
I wanted to jump into the water and swim away.
We sat down at the table. I immediately grabbed a big cloth napkin and held it up right in front of my face."You cannot hide behind that forever," Keifer said, pulling the napkin down with one finger.
"Watch me," I muttered.
"Come on, look at the bright side," he said, leaning across the table. "You wanted our island vacation you would never forget. Mission accomplished."
"I do not remember half of it!" I complained. "That is the problem! You have all the power because you remember everything and I just remember being a crazy person."
Keifer placed his chin in his hand, looking at me with a look that made my stomach feel like it was on a roller coaster. "Oh, you want to remember? I can help. Do you remember when you told me my eyes looked like shiny blueberries?"
"I did not say that."
"You did," he said, nodding. "You said, 'Keifer, your eyes are like big, beautiful blueberries, and I want to put them in a muffin.' "
"Oh my goodness," I hid my face in my hands.
"And then," he continued, his voice dropping lower, sounding very smooth, "you told me that I was too polite. You said a real island boy would dance with you in the dark kitchen."
I peeked through my fingers.
"Did I dance well?"
"You spun around, hit your foot on the trash can, and then fell into the big laundry basket," he said calmly.
"Okay, stop, no more," I pleaded.Tuan brought out our breakfast. Greasy eggs and bacon for me to help my stomach, and a healthy fruit bowl with black coffee for Keifer.
He looked so cool and collected, while I felt like a puddle of melting ice cream.
"So," Keifer said after Tuan walked back to the kitchen. "Since you were so wild last night in our house, I think I get to make the rules today. It is only fair since we own the place."I sighed, defeated.
"What are the rules?"
"Rule number one," he said, counting on his finger. "You have to do whatever I want all day. No complaining."
"Fine," I said. "What else?"
"Rule number two. Every time I point to my neck, you have to tell me one nice thing about me to pay for the pain you caused. Or maybe a kiss would be fine too, I will compromise only for u wifey!!" He said smirking heavily.
My jaw dropped. "That is blackmail!"
"No, it is tax," he smiled wickedly. "The Jay Tax. And look at that, my neck feels a little itchy right now." He tapped the purple spot near his collarbone.
I glared at him. "You are a monster."
"That is not a nice thing," he countered.I squeezed my fork. My face was bright red. "Fine. You... you have nice hair. Even in the morning."
Keifer grinned, looking very pleased with himself. "Thank you. This day is going to be great. I will take kisses tax at night!!"
The Beach Trap
After breakfast, the sun got really hot. Keifer decided we should go down to our private beach area where the staff had set up big, comfortable chairs under white umbrellas.
I thought our beach would be safe since there were no other guests or villas on the whole island. I thought I could just lie down, put on big sunglasses, and sleep off my embarrassment. But Keifer had other plans.
"Time for a swim," he announced, standing up and taking off his shirt.
I froze. Without his shirt, the marks on his collarbone and shoulder were completely open. He looked like an athlete, all tall and muscular, but with giant purple polka dots.
"Keifer!" I hissed, looking back toward the villa. Carlos, our gardener, was working on some bushes near the sand. "Carlos is right over there! Put your shirt back on!"
"Can't," he said, stretching his arms. "I need to swim. It is too hot. Hey, my shoulder hurts a little bit right here."
He tapped a spot on his left shoulder.I closed my eyes. "The Jay Tax again?"
"Go ahead. I am listening."
"You are... very good at swimming," I mumbled quickly.
"Louder, please. The waves are noisy."
"You are a good swimmer!" I shouted. Carlos stopped cutting the bushes for a second, looked at us, and then quickly looked away with a smile. I wanted to die.
Keifer laughed and ran into the blue water, splashing around like a happy kid. I stayed on my chair, pulling my big straw hat over my eyes. I tried to think about normal things, like my university back home, but my mind kept going back to last night.
I remembered the feeling of his linen shirt under my fingers. I remembered how solid his chest felt when I bumped into him. Even though I was super tipsy, I remembered that he did not get mad.
He didn't take advantage of me. He just held my waist to keep me from falling, spoke to me in a gentle voice, and tried to help me.
He really was a perfect gentleman. It was almost annoying how nice he was.
After a while, he came out of the water, shaking his wet hair like a dog. Water drops flew everywhere, landing on my legs.
"Hey!" I yelled, laughing and blocking the water with my hat. "Get up," he said, holding out a wet hand. "We are going on our jet skis."
"No way," I said. "My balance is terrible today. I will fall in and the fish will laugh at me."
"There is nobody else on this island to see you fall, Jay. Move it. Rule number one: no complaining."
I sighed and stood up. We walked over to the small dock where our two jet skis were tied up. Carlos had already left two life vests on the wood for us.
We pushed off into the calm, clear water of our private lagoon. It was beautiful. You could see all the way to the bottom, where little yellow and blue fish were swimming around the coral.
I started my jet ski slowly, keeping it at a safe speed.
Keifer was already zooming around, making big circles in the water and looking like a professional vacation model. He drove his jet ski right next to mine, slowing down to match my speed.
He tapped his neck while driving with one hand."Jay Tax time!" he shouted over the sound of the engines.
"Are you serious right now?!"
I yelled.
"Rule number two! Say it or I will splash you with my wake!"
"Fine! You have a very nice smile!" I screamed.The moment the words left my mouth, Keifer turned his jet ski fast, throwing a huge wall of water right over me.
"Whoa!" I yelled, getting soaked.I wiped the salt water from my eyes. Keifer stopped his engine right next to me, laughing so hard."You missed a spot," he joked, pointing to his neck. "I think you need to tell me I am good at driving now."
I moved my jet ski close, reached out, and gave his arm a playful push. "Rule number three," I shouted, starting my engine and driving away. "Do not tease your fiancé on her own private ocean!"
The Lunch Truce
We walked back to our villa to change into dry clothes for lunch. I put on a green shirt and shorts, and Keifer finally put on a normal polo shirt that covered most of his neck.
I felt a huge wave of relief. We went to the shaded outdoor patio where Maria, our chef, had prepared lunch. She had made a big plate of fresh fish tacos and left two cold sodas on ice. She smiled at us and then left us alone so we could eat in peace.
"Okay, let's have a truce," I said, lifting my soda glass. "No more neck jokes for the next hour. My heart cannot take it."
Keifer clinked his glass against mine. "Fine. A lunch truce. But only because I am hungry."
We ate the tacos in happy silence for a few minutes. They were amazing—spicy, crunchy, and fresh. My hangover was finally starting to fade away completely.
"In all seriousness," Keifer said, wiping his hands with a napkin and wiping my mouth too. "Are you feeling okay? No more headache?"
"I am fine," I said softly. "Just... really embarrassed. But the biting, Keifer! The biting was too much!"
"I think it is a great look for university next term," he joked, his eyes sparking. "I will tell everyone in our classes that the island weather did this to me."
"Don't you dare," I laughed, throwing a small piece of ice from my drink at his chest.
"Alright, alright," he said, "Now can I get a genuine answer?"
"I am fine," I said softly, looking at my plate. "Just... amazed at how patient you are with me. I usually never lose control like that. I am the organized fiancé. I am the one who keeps our schedules perfect. You know that very well, don't you?"
" I know wifey ", he said in a pure sarcasm.
"Did I say anything else stupid?"
I asked. Keifer went quiet for a second. I looked up. He was watching me with a very intense look in his eyes. The playful boy from this morning was gone, replaced by something much deeper.
"You said one thing," he said slowly.
"What?" My heart started to beat fast again, but not from embarrassment this time."You asked me why I always study so hard with you in London," he whispered. "You asked if I was just trying to finish my degree fast, or if I was trying to build a perfect future for us back home in the Philippines."
I gasped. I felt the air leave my lungs. Did I really say that? That was my deepest, most serious thought about our future marriage.
"Did... did I really say that?" I whispered.
I don't know why I just don't seem to believe his words??? Do u think I really said this??
Keifer nodded. He placed his hand over mine. His palm was warm and solid. "You did. And then you fell asleep on the kitchen floor before I could answer."
I swallowed hard. The sound of the ocean waves felt very far away. "Oh."
"Do you want to know what my answer was?" he asked, tilting his head.
Before I could answer, Tuan walked up to clear the plates. "Will you need anything else for the afternoon, Sir and Mam ?"
Keifer didn't take his eyes off me. "No, Tuan, we are good for the day. Thank you."
Tuan walked away back to the staff quarters, and the intense moment broke a little bit. Keifer smirked again, the teasing look returning to his eyes. He leaned back in his chair.
"Keifer!" I complained, throwing a crumpled napkin at him. "That is torture!"
"Rule number one, Jay. No complaining."
It Is Bedtime, Dracula
After a quiet afternoon of driving our golf cart around the island cliffs, the sun finally went down and darkness covered our villa. We ate a quiet dinner, and by ten o'clock, my legs felt heavy and my brain was completely exhausted from the long, dramatic day.
I brushed my teeth, changed into my favorite soft pajamas, and crawled under the big, cool sheets of our bed. A second later, Keifer walked into the bedroom. He had changed into gray sweatpants, but he was not wearing a shirt.
The bedroom lights were soft, and those three purple spots on his neck practically glowed in the dim room.
He climbed into bed next to me and propped himself up on one elbow, staring down at my face. He looked like a handsome villain in a movie.
"Ready for sleep, little tiger?" he murmured, his voice full of fun. I pulled the blanket all the way up to my chin. "Yes. Do not talk to me. Do not look at me. The day is over."
"The day might be over, but my neck still hurts," he said, tilting his head so the marks were right in front of my face. "I think you need to kiss them to make the pain go away."
"No way!" I gasped, my face turning bright red. "I am not touching your neck ever again."
Keifer leaned down closer, his face just inches from mine. His eyes were dancing. "Are you sure? Last night you could not stop yourself. You were tearing my clothes off, Jay. You said I was too hot. Do you feel too hot right now?"
"Keifer, stop it!" I squealed, hiding my face under the blanket. He laughed, a low, warm sound, and gently pulled the blanket down from my eyes. He reached out and tapped the tip of my nose.
Then we slept together cuddling and embarrassed day comes to the end.
Yeah I know he forgot his Kiss Tax but don't make him remember , okay? Team Jay!!!.....