The Royal Wilder Hotel Pt. 03

It was Day 4 of Nathan's vacation in Madeira, he had taken the time to fully indulge himself on the Portuguese island paradise. He had spent a whole day in Funchal, enjoying the local cuisine and had even picked up a bit of Portuguese from an elderly bar owner who was fascinated with tourists coming to what he affectionately referred to as "his" island.

Nathan hadn't messaged Natalia since he arrived. He did not want to appear too eager to please, he had relaxed his approach to taking the photos Natalia asked of him to show her, but was careful not to overdo it.

"Remember, you have to give out what she gives. When you're attracting her, match her energy. Don't do too much, or too little."

Nathan had memorized this passage from his "Dating Doctor", an online relationship guru who he had signed up for some time back after his most recent ex-girlfriend had dumped him. Nathan back then was desperate to get his Emily back, given their relationship had lasted since he was 21. Nathan was 29 when Emily broke up with him, he wasn't about ready to throw away eight years just yet. Sure, this was a selfish thing to do but then again, so is breaking up with your significant other. That's at least how Nathan viewed it when he handed over £40 each month for his relationship coaching.

Of course, Nathan didn't get Emily back. They had been hooking up for some time after the break up, but Emily kept throwing up what Nathan's coach referred to as "Emotional roadblocks" that taught Nathan that she was too scared of re-committal, this boded poorly for chances toward reconciliation.

Nathan elected to stop what he and Emily were doing on his terms. He agreed that if she wasn't ready to commit, then they shouldn't try. But he also stated that he would not tolerate being relegated to being "just friends" with her, watch her fall in love with some other guy whilst he sat on the sidelines. It was Nathan's proud moment when he recognized he had this power over her all along; to say no to terms he did not agree with. To stand up to what he disagreed to. When Emily objected, wanting Nathan to be there for her he simply retorted; was he supposed to go on their outings with them? Emily, The Next Boyfriend and Third-Wheel Nathan? On Birthdays? Christmas? Anniversaries? Marriage? How would he be expected to cope with that? How would he expect their friends to deal with it? It was a gesture Emily wanted to at least try to soften the blow but Nathan knew better, if he could not have her as his partner, he would not have her at all.

They lost touch almost 8 months after the break up, and haven't spoken since.

Nathan had been mostly poolside on the 4th day, having planned to go hiking up to Pico Ruivo in the morning so he needed his sleep. He returned to his hotel room at around 7pm, having been out in the sun for a good spell throughout the day. He had burned ever so slightly on his forehead, but it wasn't that noticeable. Nathan had tired from being out in the sun all day and was ready to sleep after he had his shower. He returned to his bed, with all intention to set his alarm and-

"Hey! Where are my photos of your holidays?! :D" Said the message from Natalia.

Now this, at least according to Nathan's Date Doctor was what he referred to as I.O.I; an Indicator Of Interest. Nathan had gone no-contact with Emily for almost a month after the break up and she'd sent a similar message regarding a promotion Nathan had received at the Hotel he worked at, and it showed that Emily, or Natalia, in this case had noticed Nathan's absence and wanted himto talk to them.

Nathan decided to send a funny picture of his sunburn on his head, pulling a silly face as well. He captioned it with "Caught the sun" and sent the photo over. Natalia read it almost instantly.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are omaras :)"

What's omaras? Nathan thought. Natalia said she was Lithuanian so he loaded up a Translator on his phone. "Lobster" came back as the English translation. Nathan replied with an emoji line of four Lobsters as his response, this was also another way of breaking the ice with attraction he had learnt - never be afraid of emojis! Exploit your silliness and get her laughing!

"Put some Aloe Vera on before you sleep." She added. The Date Doctor, during Nathan's training taught Nathan that women love to give advice even when it's obvious or non-important. This was another good sign that showed a woman is interested in a physical relationship.

"I do actually need to go to sleep soon. I am going hiking tomorrow morning!" Nathan responded, having made himself comfortable on his bed.

"Oh, well before you sleep I am wanting to show you my clothes that I had purchase today?" Natalia replied. She sent across 6 photos of her in a changing room, each wearing a different dress.

"What's the occasion?" Nathan asked.

"I am going to a friend's barbecue in August and I have not seen him for so long. Not since school! :D" She replied.

Not.

Seen.

Him.

This mystery guy, could he be serious competition? He already had a head start over Nathan, having gone to school with her and all.

No - come on dude! Focus. Nathan told himself.

She's texting YOU.

She's asking YOU for YOUR opinion.

She's sending YOU photos of herself.

Nathan snapped himself out of his thoughts and took a closer look at the pictures. His decision didn't take him long.

"I really like your red dress. It complements your figure really nicely and the tone matches well with your hair color." It was almost like Nathan was reading straight out of the Date Doctor's "How to get your Ex-Girlfriend Back" Book again. Nathan had taken a shot in the dark with the red dress. It suited her, very well in fact. The black shorter dress was a close second, but he felt it was too revealing.

"Okay! So red it is then! What are you going to be doing in August Nathan?" She replied. Nathan could see where this was going. August was over a month away, and he had not many plans aside from his nan's birthday to occupy his time in that month with.

"I will be going to my Nan's birthday on the 14th, but aside from that I don't have much planned aside from work. Why?" He asked.

"Ohhhhh. Okay, no is just my friend is having a barbecue on the 14th too."

Damnit! What are the fucking chances?! Nathan thought to himself.

"Well, If you're inviting me I'm absolutely flattered!" He responded positively.

"We have not known each other for so long though, so I am a bit curious as to how that will go down with your friends?" He wondered. This wasn't part of Nathan's training before, this was an independent enquiry.

"Well, I told my friends about you and they said to me that you were really nice and like my knight in glowing armor :)"

Nathan was flawed. He had that much of an impact on Natalia that she told her friends? And to boot, he pre-emptively passed their tests? What. A. BONUS!

"Awww your friends are awesome!" Nathan didn't worry about correcting Natalia's incorrect euphemism about Knights in shining* armor.

"Tell you what." He added.

"Let's see what happens closer to the date. How long will your friends be in London? Are they coming from Lithuania?"

"Well my friend from school he is. From Vilnius. But he goes home after three days. My other friends live in Kennington."

"Really?!" Said Nathan. "I live in Clapham, that's not that far from me at all. Let's definitely organize an evening out, I'll bring my armor! :D"

"You are so funny! Yes, I'd like that :) Goodnight omaras"

Nathan slept well that night. His confidence beamed with not only having secured an outing with Natalia and her friends, but also the prospect of her male friend - his competition potentially missing out on their outing in London. All Nathan had to do now, was "organize" a time inconvenient for him.