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"Welcome, welcome!" you are greeted by a man dressed to the nines about a quarter of a mile down the private beach at the docks as your boat pulls up. There is you on the small boat and a crew but none of the other guests, you arrive one at a time. "I am Wadsworth," the man explains as he holds in a tablet in one hand and motions for you to join him as the ship crew unloads your things and the team of bell hops start shuffling your things back to the hotel. "I hope your trip out to Pezula went well. If you need anything while at the hotel I am here to help. I will be coordinating all events while you are with us. Here is your room card," he adds as he hands you the key card, it emblazoned with your room number.

As he walks with you off the dock and onto the sand he tells you a bit about the hotel (any details can be found online basically if you just google the castle itself) and what you can be expecting during your stay. He explains that you are already paired up for the evening to begin the speed dating before dinner. Each couple will start off at a private table in the dining hall and you will have a short amount of time together. The first round is who you will start off with - names posted below - and once your limited time together is finished a little bell will ring, the men will rise and be repaired up with another person. He explains that he understands that many of the people attending have a wide variety of sexual identifications and not to worry if you are bi-sexual, gay or any other in the rainbow. This is just to let the guest mingle quickly to get a feel for the place.

Once each female has had a moment with each male all the visitors will turn in a card (which you will pm to the GM and CoGm) - So a count can be taken and those who seem the most interested in another can try something a little more intimate after dinner. Once he tells you who you are paired up with for the first round he turns and sees another boat approaching, asks you to wait right there since he will escort everyone to the hotel once they arrive, and hurries off to greet the next guest. This will continue until all the guests have arrived. (After which you will receive another World Narrative (From here on referred to as a WN) to give you the next update.

Room Assignments

Clementine Morgan - Lady A - 1st floor - Room 1A
Christian Emory - Lady A - Detached Bungalow 2nd Floor - Room Bungalow B1
Imogen Badcocke - Charnobylisk - 2nd Floor - Room 2A
Darren Russell - Charnobylisk - 1st Floor - Room 1B
Lukas Jackson - Aewin - 1st Floor - Room 1C
Krista Hale - Aewin - 2nd floor - Room 2B
Leona Song - Salrynn - 2nd Floor - Room 2C
Kosuke Akiyama - Salyrnn - 2nd Floor - Room 2D
Natasha Parks - SouffleGirl123 - 3rd Floor - Room 3A
Dylan Clark - SouffleGirl123 - Detached Bungalow 2nd floor Room Bungalow B2
Victor Wyatt - Arista - Detached Bungalow 1st Floor - Room Bungalow A2
Avira Mendoza - Arista - 2nd Floor - Room 2E
Veronica Bryant - Fabricant451 - 1st Floor - Room 1D
David Sandoval - Fabricant451 - Detached Bungalow - 2nd Floor - Room Bungalow B3
Maurice Jones - Dragoknighte - 1st Floor - Room 1E
Mauriah Jones - Dragoknighte - Detached Bungalow 1st Floor - Room Bungalow A1

Speed Date Pairings - Round 1 (This list will be updated throughout the RP to make it easy to keep up with who you are currently "dating"

• Clementine Morgan - Dylan Clark
• Christian Emory - Krista Hale
• Imogen Badcocke - David Sandoval
• Darren Russell - Mauriah Jones
• Lukas Jackson - Veronica Bryant
• Leona Song - Maurice Jones
• Kosuke Akiyama - Avira Mendoza
• Natasha Parks - Victor Wyatt

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Clem leaned back slightly in her seat and enjoyed the scenery as the boat high speed boat traveled towards the beach shore line. The trip had not been all that bad, she had taken a first class flight from her home to Africa and after a few quick transitions she had been escorted to the final leg of her jaunt to the hotel. The place was beautiful from what she could tell online and the air was just perfect right then. It wasn't too hot, the wind and sea spray was a welcome change, the air was clean and the sight in front of her was breath taking. At this point she figured even if she didn't find someone she could at least enjoy some much needed down time and relax on the beach a bit before heading home but she kept her spirits up. This was a time to just see what happens.

As the boat docked she was greeted by the man who called himself Wadsworth and she returned his greeting with a broad smile as he took her hand and kissed the back of it gently. "Such a pleasure to meet you Miss Morgan, we have everything ready for your arrival," he said as he handed her the key to her room and explained where it was within the hotel. He handed her a small packet that had details of everything he was telling her about, the hotel amenities and more.

"I take it I am the first to arrive?" she asked as she stepped into the sands and slipped her heels off. The warm sand felt wonderful on her feet. Leaning down she rolled up the cuffs of her white pants legs and tucked her heels into her personal shoulder bag that she kept with her as the rest of her things were taken to the hotel by one of the bell hops.

"Yes ma'am you are but we will have more arriving shortly. We have sixteen joining us this week, so there should be a wonderful variety of people for you to get to know; both as friends and perhaps something more," he said with a wink before excusing himself as the next person arrived at the docks and the boat she had arrived on departed. Clem nodded slightly and let herself fall into the sands near the edge of the water and sat there watching, her feet moving so when the waves washed ashore they would run over her skin. It was refreshing and she let out a content sigh as she leaned back on her elbows and just took in the sights around her.

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Christian hopped of the boat before it could even fully dock, landing in the water and it coming up to his waist. Wading through the water he laughed as Wadsworth tried to get him to go ahead and climb up on the docks. The tour guide just waving him off. "Sir! We have a dock for a reason!"

"Yeah, yeah but I enjoy the water," Christian chuckled to himself as he finally exited the water near the docks and held his had out to Wadsworth to shake vigorously. "Beautiful place you have here, I might need to add to my tours. People love this type of ambiance."

"Well I would love to work with you on that but for now," Wadsworth started as he shook the mans hand, handed him his packet and key and began to explain things like he had to Clementine. Christian was half listening to the man, his eyes falling over Clem and giving her a wide grin, flashing his teeth and giving her a bit of a wink. Once Wadsworth was finished Christian just waved him off and trudged through the sands and flopped down next to Clem.

He was only the second to arrive but things were already looking like this could be a wonderful experience. The place was beautiful and as he sat there, the sand sticking to his drenched lower half he flopped back and looked up at the blue sky. He had always loved traveling and taking on new adventures. Looking at his packet he pulled out the list of people that were paired up and glanced over it. Each one had a name but there was no picture. "What a shame," he thought to himself. He figured that was to force people to talk to each other instead of just looking for the face that was next to their.

Folding the papers back up he shoved them into his worn out back pack and looked over to Clem, holding his hand out to her. "Hey Lass, names Christian, you would happen to be Ms. Hale would you?"

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"And we got to see the red panda too, did you know one of them was named Leon?— And—"

"Patatino," Luka's voice slowly cut his excitable son's off, "I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to the zoo with nonna, but you never answered my question. Were you a good boy for nonna?"

"Papaaaaaaaa" The child complained from the other side, "I'm always good! Nonna even let me have ice cream because I did not feed the animals!"

...Brendan wasn't supposed to do that anyway, but Lukas was glad his son was having a good time with his grandmother. "That's my patatino," The father cooed down the phone anyway, chuckling as Brendan giggled from the other side. "Okay, Brendan? I have to go now. Don't trouble your nonna, okay?"

But instead of getting a normal goodbye, his son completely shocked him. "Are you looking for mama?"

His heart raced. What could he say? Lukas didn't apply to take part in this speed dating business, it was his mother's fault instead. But yet here he was, on the boat towards the quickly approaching dock where he could meet people and possibly even find that special someone. How could he explain to his son that there was a slight chance that he could find someone he truly liked again on this trip, someone that could fill the obvious void in both their hearts?

...He couldn't.

Lukas instead avoided the question, clearing his throat before saying goodbye to Brendan once again and hanging up. No doubt his son would ask the same thing later, but at least by then he'd have some sort of answer. He would be prepared next time.

The boat stopped at the dock, and Lukas carefully stepped out of the boat before he was immediately stopped by some weirdo dressed impeccably, greeting him politely with a hint of exitement to his tone. Lukas took the card from Wadsworth, smiling politely in return as the two walked on the beach towards two others that were by the beach. It seemed that Lukas was the third to arrive, the second male (first dry one, at that) out of the two along with a female — and very beautiful one at that.

Wadsworth excused himself as there was a squeal heard from the docks, Lukas turning back to see red falling into the water in surprise.

This was going to be an odd day.

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This day certainly started off odd.

Well, it can be more easily described as bad than odd, but continuity I suppose.

Krista had barely managed to board the plane on time. Her alarm didn't ring, letting her sleep in an extra two hours when she could've used that time to eat or y'know, make the plane. Even as she finished getting ready, she'd ended up forgetting her passport at home, so Krista had to drive all the way back home from the airport to retrieve her passport before she could even make it through the entrance.

And worse than that? The person she had to sit beside was a complete utter asshole.

He took up most of the space, ate and drank the entire time they were in the air meaning a lot of toilet breaks, and worst of all he slept on her while she tried to read. Safe to say, Krista asked to be moved (and about an hour before they were supposed to land, she was finally given space in another part of the aircraft away from that asshole — seriously, fuck this company) and just when she thought that the trip was going to get better from there?

Her battery died.

No more reading.

No more reading.

God, that was hell for her. She sat on the boat, with a frown on her face and looking more tired than refreshed. Even the scenery was not doing enough for the redhead. She was in a bad mood, and Krista could only hope that she didn't deter anyone during the evening.

Maybe all she needed was a nap.

Mm, a nap sounded good.

The boat stopped, and even as the crew warned the tired girl about the small gap between the boat and the dock, she stepped right on the air and fell into the water. To observers, it must've looked like a cartoon character falling after realising they were walking on air. Quick, and utterly hilarious to anyone but her.

A squeal escaped from her throat as her body hit the cold water suddenly. It was certainly quite the wake-up, but not something she was very happy about. Krista was helped back up to the shore by the crew, another well-dressed man apologising and ordering some bellhops to bring a towel for her from the hotel as she waved off their concern. She took the offered towel with a small bow of her soaked head, before patting herself dry. Her hair was a hopeless case anyway, but at least she didn't have to worry about any flyaways while on the beach. "Thank you." She said to Wadsworth as he apologised once more before telling her the standard things: introductions, plans for the day, stuff about the hotel that she'd already known from reading reviews.

"Are you okay ma'am?" Another voice filled her ears, deep and filled with concern. She looked up to see a tall figure staring back at her with warm eyes, waiting for her to respond. "Are you hurt?"

"No, but my pride is." The words escaped her lips, before her cheeks reddened enough to rival her hair as she spoke again, "Oh, god, sorry about that. No, I'm fine I— um..." she stopped, unsure what to say next.

He smiled, the warmth never leaving his eyes as he gestured towards the two others at the beach. A man and woman. "It's fine, I just arrived myself so I haven't introduced myself to anyone just yet. Would you like to come with me?" He offered.

"A-ah," He was an angel. There was no way Krista was sure she'd be able to introduce herself — especially after giving them a show by falling into the water — so to have someone beside her, at least she would have someone's lead to follow. "yes, thank you. I-I'm Krista by the way. Krista Hale."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I'm Lukas Jackson." He introduced himself as the two approached the others at the beach.

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This whole experience was still pretty crazy to Darren. He wasn’t sure what it would be like but he figured if all else failed at least he’d be getting a holiday from it. His plan of action was to go in with a bright and merry outlook on it all because he knew if he assumed the worst was going to happen then it was going to go down that way.

Glancing around at the water spraying around the sides of the boat that was drawing him ever closer to the castle in the cliffs, Darren grinned wide and basked in the sun that was beaming down on top of them all. “This is the new start I need to get myself into gear! Thanks for making the journey enjoyable guys!” He raised his third glass of wine to them all and cheered before downing the glass in one breath.

Taking a satisfied breath and wiping his lips with his hand, Darren waited as the boat pulled into dock. He gave nods and thank yous to the crew and staff that came to take is bags. Darren hopped off the boat and smiled to the dapper fella that called himself Wadsworth. “Thank you, Mister Wadsworth.” He clapped him firmly on the shoulder, a broad smile plastered on his face as he made his way towards the beach. It was nice having all his bags taken to his room instead of carting them by himself.

Walking towards the group of four people, one woman being utterly soaked and one guy being half soaked, Darren gave a jolly wave and grin. “Hi everyone. The name is Darren, it’s a pleasure. Did I miss the swimming competition or something?” He nodded his head towards Christian and Krista, the water still dripping off of them.

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“I know sweeties, mammy misses ya both a bunch too! I’ll be home before ya know it! Now remember t’not fight while your auntie Siobhan is watchin’ ya both, ‘kay?” She beamed at the faces of her two girls, both fighting to be the main face on the screen while they were talking to their mummy.

Imogen kissed the camera of her phone and heard her girls squealing in delight. “Mammy kissed me!” A squeak of refusal interrupted the excitement. “No! Mammy kissed me!” The phone dropped then and the girls began screaming at one another. “JENNA! JEMMA! STOP THAT RIGHT THIS MINUTE! SIOBHAN!!!” She heard her sister scuttling over to the girls then, separating them both and giving them a scolding in the background, all Imogen could see now was ankles being lifted from the ground and sent to different sides of the room.

“I’m so sorry sis! I thought they’d behave wae ya watchin’ them…” Imogen sighed but gave a light chuckle as she shook her head at her sister. “Yeah well ya know for next time, eh? I’ll miss ya too, y’know.” Siobhan chuckled and then rose an eyebrow at Imogen. “You’re gonna find a fella and then ya won’t even realise the time flyin’ by. Just enjoy yourself, Immy. Talk soon!” Nodding and giving a tiny smile, Imogen hung up the phone and put it away in her purse.

She was beyond nervous about this whole thing. She was sure when she had booked into it but now that she was away from her babies she was utterly terrified of what might happen while she was away from them. What if they got hurt? She wouldn’t be there to make them feel better or kiss their owwies… Taking a deep breath, Imogen calmed herself as best she could. Siobhan would take care of them. She had done it countless times over the years so why was she so worried?

The sun was nice but Imogen just wasn’t used to it. Hell, she wasn’t used to not wearing a jumper or jacket most of the time, this bare-arms thing was weird for her. Chewing idly on her thumb nail, Imogen watched as the coast drew closer and closer. The place really was beautiful and she was excited for this despite her nerves about her girls.

A well dressed and enthusiastic man greeted her and gave her his spiel and sent the staff to gather her bags and belongings that she had brought with her. “Oh, uh, thank ya… oh ‘kay… yes. Thank ya.” Giving a slight bow of the head, Imogen walked towards the beach where she saw a group of five people sitting and standing around. There were definitely some cute guys here… She smiled to everyone and gave a little wave. “Hiya. I’m Imogen.”

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Today was a good day for Maurice. He ate waffles today for the first time in a year. He even had syrup on them. MAPLE SYRUP. Even if he didn't meet anyone on this trip, it will have been worth it for the food alone. In the back of his mind there was the nagging voice that afterwards there would be weeks of pain, but he ignored it. For now, he felt like a king. Ritual plain oatmeal for months on end had almost made him forget why breakfast used to be his favorite meal of the day.

Maurice stood at the back of the aft, chest thrust out and hands on his hips like the fucking champ he felt like when the boat stopped. He had a couple of bags with him, with long straps that fit over the shoulder nothing that would be difficult for him to carry, filled with clothes of varying formality and some bare essentials for the trip. A laptop, his 3DS, a couple (light) novels, a DVD copy of End of Evangelion.

He stepped on the dock, politely telling the crew that it was fine, he would carry his own bags and giving Wadsworth a big handshake to his discomfort. Well seemed like he was Lucky number 7. Everyone here was decently attractive, and only two were soaking wet. Maurice was the biggest guy there, physically but not but a huge margin. There were a lot of tall guys already, not one would be shorter than 6 feet tall. The women were a lot shorter, closer to average height at least. He gave a big wave to everyone there.

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Mauriah adjusted her baseball cap so it would better block out the sun. While on the boat she passed the time by wearing down Dum Dum suckers until they were soggy plastics sticks and browsing her phone. It wasn't really all that exciting, but it wasn't mind-dullingly bored. And even if it was, some nothing was part of what she was signing up for. Time away from the arguing and politics of trying to maintain some architectural integrity in a project instead of just letting uninformed clients dictate bad design everywhere for the sake of their taste. She felt the lurch of the boat stopping and looked up onto the deck to see the something off.

That height, that hair. No, it couldn't be. Nooooooooo.

"Oh, hell no. Maurice?" The big man on the dock turned around with a big smile.

"Mauriah, is that you? Heeey! I didn't know you were doing this thing too!" He raised both his arms in the air, bags jostling in the wind. Mauriah walked up onto the dock, face in hands, looking more defeated than anyone should after just arriving at their vacation location.

"I'm Maurice, and this is my sister, Mauriah. What's up?"

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Natasha was ready for this trip, she had cleared her schedule for this week just for this. For now she stood at the front of the boat, sea breeze blowing through her unbound brown hair and the warm sun kissing her cheeks. As for the boat she was the only passenger, odd, you would think they would want to put the group together, socialize and get to know each other, or linger in awkward silence. Then again, maybe that was the point? Maybe something awaited her, and the others, when they arrived. What comes, comes. Spontaneous fun, that was what she was here for, well one of the reasons at least. Getting her friends off of her back for not trying to find love would be a bonus and if this worked out for her... well that would be great! If not though, well that's what happens, perhaps it would make a good article. Natasha shook her head slightly, easing her wandering mind. The islands was coming into view and the ship continued to press onward. Beautiful blue waters, sandy beaches, warm sun. Nothing like rainy England.

It wasn't long before they reached the island, a small collection of men and woman already clustered on the sand, fronted by another man. Natasha gave a wave, flashing a smile in each person's direction. "Hello," she greets the group before making a place in front of the dark-haired man "And you must be the ringleader of this arrangement," she says cheerfully before outstretching a hand and introducing herself. "Natasha Parks,"

Thanking Wadsworth, she took the her key and package before wandering down to the group. "Well, hi," she greets the group, her obvious rural London accent coating each of her words as she offered them all yet another smile and a wave.

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"You'll be back before we visit next week, right daddy?" came the darling voice of Lilly, Dylan's 5 year old daughter, through the bottom of Dylan's smartphone.
"Of course I will, princess. I wouldn't miss seeing you or Tommy for the world," the Australian says into his phone, not really thinking about how odd the scene of a buff, tattooed man cooing 'princess' into a smartphone probably seemed to passerbys.

Dylan had only boarded the boat minutes prior and the on-board crew were making quick work of leaving the docks. "Sorry sweetheart but I have to hang up now. I'll talk to you later, Ok?" he says into the phone. After swapping their solemn goodbyes Dylan ended the call. It was probably good in its own way. It wouldn't be long before his monster of an ex-wife got on the phone and complained about his latest activity. "The kids need consistency, not another almost-parent in their lives," she'd argue, like every other time she'd gotten in contact with him ever since he mentioned it. It was an act of hypocrisy really, she was engaged with someone else already and bad him move in. She just probably can't handle the thought of their children having another motherly figure. Sometimes Dylan wondered what he saw in that woman in the first place.

The boat glided along water as smoothly as a bird did air. Itvwas as if the sea had calmed itself for this very arrival, then again, perhaps Dylan was just used to more violent waters. He watched as land approached in the distance. He had to admit the island is quite breathtaking, and being an Australian coastal boy he was no stranger to blue waters and sandy beaches. Dylan already had his hand extended by the time he reached Wadsworth and was right on shaking it with an "'Ello mate,", sharing small talk with the man as he told Dylan all the information to be known before excusing himself to greet another arrival. Dylan looked over the group "'ello" he greeted them.

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The headache he'd woken up with hadn't let up yet. A groan of both annoyance and defeat slipped Tom his lips as the boat continued to draw closer to the dock. The vibration of his phone drew his wavering attention from the tilting, slightly spinning scenery.

How are you? Were the words that greeted him. Victor rubbed his temples with his right hand, while his left began to type. He's been both surprised and cautious when his father had called him two days ago. With their busy schedules, his parents usually checked in every two or three days. He had talked to both of his parents and after that assumed they'd focus on work again, so the call had taken him off-guard. He'd agreed on the condition that they take care of Sirius for him and if he came back single, they'd atop pressing him to date.

Have a headache that won't go away. It started when I got off the plane. He texted back before focusing on the approachinf dock. His gaze swept across the sand and the people around him, the vibration of his phone going almost unnoticeable as he felt his shoulders relax. It wasn't like he didn't like dating, he'd had girlfriends and boyfriends equally. It was just different and difficult to trust another with his past.

He glanced down to his left wrist, nose wrinkling in distaste as the sun reflected off the metal of his medical bracelet. His mother had made him promise he'd wear it, Victor had agreed bit with a grumble and twitch of his jaw. He didn't detest it, he knew his limits and his pull schedule, it was his mother just worrying about him. He jerked forward and nearly toppled off the side of the boat as it suddenly came to a stop. Brown eyes blinked dazedly before focusing forward. Someone was talking and with more effort than was needed, he tuned into the man's words. He also noticed that people were introducing themselves, he felt a smile twitch his lips.

He raised his left hand, his phone slipping back into his jeans pocket. He took a deep breath and chirped his name out, wave of his hand and smile included. "Hey! Names Victor Wyatt but call me Vic. I hope we have a blast and make friends!" His headache temporarily forgotten, Vic moves forward as a few others do and exists onto the sandy beach. Hopefully they'd get food soon, he was starving, blinking when the man that had spoken easier handed him something, brien eyes scammed the words. Huh, he'd have a room? And a 'date' later? Joy.

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"Okay. You there yet?" Avira knew he was doing it on purpose. He'll she'd answered, so now she was stuck dealing with his randomness. She sighed and fondly rolled her eyes as she boat she and several others were on, moved closer to a beach.

"Yeah as a matter of fact. Now anything else?" She hadn't risen her voice, but the annoyed edge was clear as she spoke. Enrique chuckled softly over the line and hummed softly, something he usually did when teasing her. Avira hadn't known how to react when she found the plane tickets on her nightstand table. She had asked both her parents, her aunt and uncle, though no one wanted to tell her who had bought them. Avira found herself on a plane, going on a dating 'vacation' before she'd fully thought the situation through. Brown eyes darted away from the sand and towards a man as he began to speak.

Wait --they'd have rooms and were expected to start on dates?

Avira tuned into his words and blinked when a small card was in her free hand, a room number written across it. She focused on her brother, who was softly but firmly scolding by the sounds of it, her cats.

"You okay Av?" Avira blinks and glances at her phone screen, having momentarily forgotten she was in a cwll. She absently nodded, then cleared her throat when she realized he couldn't see it. She'd been hesitant to agree when Enrique had appeared at her door with a tray of breakfast and the tickets. Sighing softly, she runs tanned fingers through her long brown hair.

"Yeah, gotta go though. I'll text you later, En." She didn't wait for his response. She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her jeans pocket, the others were moving off the boat and she didn't want to get left behind. This was a present Enrique had told her, she'd make the best of it as she could. At the various names filling the air, she raises her own hand and offers a hesitant smile. "It's nice to meet you all. My name is Avira Mendoza, I hope things go well."

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Wadsworth waited for each of the of the arrivals to get situated and the bellhops to gather all the baggage. Once that was done the bellhops began to make their way down the beach and towards the hotel; making sure that each set of luggage was set into the appropriate room for the name on the bags.

"Now, if you all would follow me," Wadsworth say with a beaming broad smile on his face as he motioned for his newest guest to come with him. "Our beach is completely private for miles in either direction. The waters are crystal clear and provide for such an amazing view if you wish to go snorkeling. The jungle and mountains behind us provide wonderful hiking and climbing adventures. We have saunas, private dining areas, pools inside and out, spectacular verandas and our staff will be on call every moment of the day and night to serve all your needs. Now, please proceed to your rooms and freshen up. We will begin in two hours with the first round of your activities. We will start out with a Speed date in the main gathering room off to the right hereon the main floor. In your folders is the name of the person you will be paired with first. We do ask that you all refrain from speaking with each other from now until then. You signed up for a process, it seems such a waste to just ignore it. Once you are ready, just proceed to the location and take a place at your assigned table for the first round."

With that Wadsworth went on his way to attend to the finishing touches of this evenings events.

Room Assignments And Speed Date Round 1 Reminder

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Clementine stood up and dusted the sand off her back side as the others began to make their ways over to her and Christian. Some had much more interesting ways of entering the scene than she had. She just titled her head to the side as she watched the antics before her. This was the group she was going to be with for the next week? Things were going to get interesting very quickly. Stepping over to each as they arrived she introduced herself in a kind manner to each. She kept her tongue in check for now; last thing she needed to do was to offend someone right off the bat. Would make the entire thing rather pointless.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Clementine but you are welcome to call me Clem for short," she said to each as she held her hand out to shake their respective hands. She didn't say the same thing to each of them, but more or less some variation of it. A smile plastered on her lips that caused her cheeks to start hurting. Wiping the smile from her face she gave in. "Yeah, now I know why my mother used to say - if you hold your face like that too long it will get stuck like that," she said as she pushed her hair out her face as the winds picked up around them.

As Wadsworth ushered them towards the hotel she followed, tucking her hair behind her ear and listening intently to what he had to say. When he asked for them not to speak to each other again before the events began she perked a brow. That was an interesting way of handling things but who was she to say anything? Well, she was exactly the person to say something. "Then why the hell did he hoard all of us together to walk to the hotel at once and let us know who our first date was? Freaking butlers," she muttered before looking down at her papers and noted her room. Checking the map she waved absentmindedly towards the others and left without another word as she made her way to her room.

Keycard and knob turn later she was inside and gawking at the surroundings. This was much better in person than in the pictures. She flopped down on her bed and let out a happy sigh as she stretched out. Rolling over she giggled, this was going to be a nice place to get to rest at night if things didn't work out. Rolling back over she hopped up and opted to take a quick shower before the night began. She wanted to get the salt water off her skin, it made it feel way to tight and dry for her liking.

Stepping out of the shower she wrapped a towel around her and began to unload her bags. Picking out a nice little blue number for the evening. Not too fancy, not too casual, and light enough for the warmer weather. A quick application of makeup and she checked the time. That time went by quickly but granted she had unloaded a lot of clothing.

Making her way down to the main room she looked around, she was a few minutes early but she always preferred it like that. She liked to watch people and being there first was usually the best way to start. Checking the papers once again she found the name of the person she was paired with to start the evening; a Mr. Dylan Clark. She shrugged her shoulders a bit and found their table. Setting her purse on the table she sat down and crossed her legs as she leaned back; her hair falling over her shoulders and spilling down the back of the chair as she waited.

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"Well aren't we just a bunch of people wanting to take a swim?" Christian joked as the others approached. "Hallo Lads and Lasses, I'm Christian," he said waiving a bit before he grabbed his bag and headed off after Wadsworth and the rest. He wore such a bright smile as he walked down the beach, enjoying the sun and wind in his hair. He seemed like a little kid in a candy store right then. He walked along the edge of the water and kicked at it, splashing a bit as he did.

"This place is perfect!" he exclaimed in this thick Irish accent as Wadsworth walked off. Turning he gave a bit of a dramatic and a wink before running like a kid to open presents on Christmas morning to his room, nearly bursting through the door once he got the keycard to work. "Oh this place is so much better than that slum I stayed in over in India," he laughed as he closed the door behind him.

Dropping his pack on the ground he wandered through the room looking at everything, touching everything, checking out everything. Mayhaps Ma was onto something," he laughed to himself as he stepped out onto the balcony and took in the sight before him. He couldn't stop smiling, which wasn't uncommon, but this one was brighter than normal. Maybe he would find a sweetie. There were several stunning people in the crowd and a few with something interesting going on behind their eyes. He couldn't wait to get to know everyone.

A jump in the shower after wasting a lot of time just looking around the room, and a quick jump out he rummaged through his luggage to find something to wear. Finding what he wanted to wear he got dressed quickly. Stopping by the mirror he fluffed his hair a bit. He had stopped fighting the untamed curls years ago. Smiling he grabbed his papers and the keycard before dashing over to the main room.

Looking around he saw Clementine sitting there and he smiled, he had to bite his tongue from saying anything to her. Looking at his paper he checked out who he was starting with tonight; Ms. Kirsta Hale. Wasn't that the girl who fell off the boat? He chuckled a bit as he found his table and had a seat. Now to just wait on the rest to begin.

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Mauriah managed to pull herself out of the pit of despair she fell into upon seeing that her dumb twin brother happened to go on the exact same Speed Dating trip she had booked months ago. What were even the chances of that happening? 1 in a billion? Talk about shitty luck. All she had to do was focus on the positives, like the fact that she (probably) wouldn't have to spend a lot of time around her brother on this one week vacation. After all, he might be a blockhead, but he was well aware of the Rules. He would know what would happen if he decided to get overly involved in her business.

There were also the men, most of them pretty attractive. A lot of tall white men, most of them a couple years older than her. Out of all of them, maybe three were below 6 feet tall, and only the Asian guy could be considered short, at least shorter than Mauriah, who was rather tall as it stood.

Then there was the fact that no matter what happened, this would be a one week vacation away from work in Africa of all places. So even if the whole trip ends up being a bust, it would be an experience she could say she had and maybe get a good story or two out of. All in all, it could be worse.

Mauriah followed the rest of the group, listening to Wadsworth explain all the attractions the island had and about the procedures that they'd need to follow. In the back of her mind, she thought Too late when he brought up that the group shouldn't talk to each other. 26 years too late, really. Still when one of the other women, Clem complained about how dumb the rule was when they had already been put together into one group and interacted some, Mauriah verbally agreed with an "Mmhmm."

When Mauriah stepped into her room, she found herself subconsciously analyzing the room from an architectural standpoint. It was visually composed of wood or wood-looking materials to make the room feel warm, inviting and living. Large picture windows to better frame the view and make the viewer feel- Mauriah shook her head. No. None of that. She was here to relax, not to work. Tonight she was going to have fun, dammit.

Most of her two hours before round 1 (with Darren) was spent redoing her make up and deciding on what two wear from the clothes she brought over to the resort. In the end she decided on a black suit with tiger stripe pattern on the inside with a matching undershirt. Not usual date wear, but if she was going to meet someone, it would be best if they got used to her sense of style ASAP. She also just really liked the suit. It could be really professional or casual at the same time.

When she got to the Main Room, Mauriah found that she was the third person from the group to actually get there. Maybe she could have spent a bit more time getting ready. Being one of the first people to get to a party sucked. This wasn't a party, but the concept still applied. She found her table and took a seat, waiting for the others to show up.

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Maurice followed behind the group, holding up the back. He didn't really pay attention to Wadsworth's droning about features and rules. It was probably information readily available elsewhere, like on the website, or in a travel guide detailing all of these no doubt fun attractions that littered the island. Maurice focused more on not smashing his head into a door post or errant light fixture. It happened often enough that it was always something he tried to look out for. It would also be really embarrassing to go through in the context of messing up in front of a crowd of potential mates. And just like that, Wadsworth left to do Wadsworthy things.

One card swipe later, and Maurice was in his room. He dropped his bags and spent 10 good seconds just taking it in. The place was very yellow. Yeah there was a bit of blue here and there, but yellow was definitely the dominating feature. Maurice's two hours were very lax. He stood at the window and breathed in that oceany, salty beach air that he never really got much of as a child. He played a couple games of Pokemon online with his 3DS. He just laid on his back on the bed for 15 minutes. Then he noticed he had 10 minutes left before the first round would start. He didn't bother changing out of his white t-shirt and baggy khaki shorts. This was supposed to be a casual first round of getting to know everyone, right? No need to get all dressed up. That was what he thought until he got to the main room and saw everyone had put some effort into their appearances. Oh well, too late now. Maurice plopped down in his seat and waited.

It all moved so fast, Natasha was unable to say or do much but offer smiles, take in what she was being told and breathe in the beautiful sea air, it was an unfamiliar scent to the English woman but she found herself to quite enjoy it. Holding her pack in her hands she walked alongside the group of men and women who had signed up for this, or had been forced into it. All of them quite charming in looks, she had to admit. They weren't meant to interact until the first round of 'dates' tonight? She supposed it was to put everyone on a level playing field, make it less awkward if they were all in the same boat but Natasha was willing to at least exchange introductions, put names to faces. However she didn't follow the example of the brown-haired woman, who had introduced herself as Clem, who voiced out against and just nodded. The current tour was barely going slow enough for her to keep up and she could see the reason behind the idea.

She let the bellhop lead her to her room. With a "Thank you," she slid the keycard into it's spot and slowly opened the door. She couldn't help but gawk at the sight that beheld her. It was beautiful. It was also quite roomy, very roomy actually. Probably larger than the little one bedroom apartment in central she lived in. Probably looking much like a child she frantically ran through the apartment from room to room. Inspecting every cupboard, drawer and shelf. It had been too long since she'd had a proper holiday and she wasn't at all regretting her choice.
She bounds back to her room and throws herself upon the large bed, crinkling the white duvet. She gives a gleeful, triumphant laugh followed by a soft sigh, recalling the last couple of hours in her head. Time had flown so fast yet so much had happened. She wasn't even sure if she had processed it all properly yet. She looks up at the ceiling unable to kill the smile off her face, not that she wanted to.

After quite a lengthy shower (it was meant to be quick, but she lost track of time). She changes into a black and white dress and a pair of black heels before making her way to the dining room to see she was not alone. The brown-haired girl who'd spoken up earlier and the long-haired guy (he introduced himself as Christian, right?). Natasha nods a greeting in their direction before wandering the tables in search of her table. Upon finding it she takes a seat. If memory serves her correct she was paired with a guy called Victor Wyatt. Well... this would be interesting

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Dylan read through the pages of his pack only mildly listening to the ramblings of this adventure's ringmaster. As long as he caught the main points what did it matter if he wasn't using focused attention on the man? So many seemed annoyed by this 'no talking to the other participants until the speed dating' thing but, seriously, it would only be hours before that event and with each person about to go to their room it's not like they would have nothing to do for much of that time.

Dylan scratched a tattooed arm as he followed the well-present bellhop to his room. It was quite a site. Very spacious, simplistic yet quite beautiful. The view though? The balcony overlooked the sparkling blue water from a prime position, it seemed to remind Dylan of his coastal home, he'd never lived directly at or across the road from the beach but he'd been there so many times the view was so normal to him yet it never seemed to fail to amaze him. He loved the beach. He stood at the balcony, leaned against the rail watching the water dance in waves and feeling the soft sea breeze on his face.

Clad in a short sleeve pale blue dress shirt Dylan entered the room for the speed dating, glad he wasn't the only one who had made an effort he searched for his table to find his partner already seated. "Clementine?" he questionly greets, taking the other seat, she was quite a attractive, as were pretty much all the women in seemed, "How're ya? I'm Dylan," he greets her, extending a hand

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Darren smiled and waved to all the new arrivals, his eyes gleaning over the women that arrived to get a feel for first attractions. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to stand around and chat before they were being shepherded off to their rooms by Mr Wadsworth. Darren heard the woman that had introduced herself as Clementine complaining to Mr Wadsworth and he snickered at the thought. She had a good point but he wasn’t really bothered by the issue. Just gave them more to talk about on these awkward first dates that they were all due to have.

Finding his room on the first floor, Darren looked around the room appreciatively and began to unpack his things. Fifteen minutes later and he decided he could fit a quick workout in before showering and getting ready for the main event that evening. He stripped out of his clothes and decided to just work out in his boxer shorts, not like anyone would see him and if they did then they’d enjoy the sight so what was the harm?

After his workout he jumped in for a shower and let the warm water relax his now taut muscles. He trimmed off the loose hairs of his short beard and styled his hair before walking into his room in his towel. Opening up the closet, Darren picked out his outfit and got dressed. Everything was made out of lighter materials so he should be okay with the heat here and if he didn’t he could always just take his sweater off.

Satisfied with how he looked, Darren made his way to the main room where a few people were already seated and waiting their dates to arrive. He glanced at the piece of paper for the date set ups and looked for his name. Mauriah Jones was who he was going to be seeing first. Looking around at the place names he noticed that she was already here. She was attractive enough but Darren wasn’t sure that someone with such a loud personality would mesh well with him.

He scolded himself mentally when he realised he was judging this woman by her cover and that was not what he was here to do. He cleared his throat and sat down in front of Mauriah, holding his hand out to her in greeting. “Hi there Mauriah, I’m Darren but you probably already knew that.” He gave her a friendly smile and got himself comfortable in his seat. “This is pretty crazy, huh?”

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Imogen felt a little overwhelmed as all the new faces began pouring onto the beach. She gave smiles and greetings in the right places but forgot to give her name after her first introduction. For some reason she felt a little out of her depth. As Mr Wadsworth came over and began to usher them off the beach and to the hotel, Imogen breathed a sigh of relief. She was silent all the way inside and nodded as Mr Wadsworth informed them that they could not interact with one another before the dating sessions had begun. That made some sense but she then wondered why they’d been gathered on the beach in the first place.

Imogen made her way up to the second floor and walked into her room. She was stunned at the sight of it. She wished she could have brought her girls with her, they would have loved it here! She grinned and ran full pelt at her bed before throwing herself onto it like a small child. Her face was illuminated with joy and she fished her phone out of her bag before dialling Siobhan.

“Shy! Oh my god, ‘eh room is amazing. How are m’girls? Did they stop fightin’?” Imogen played with her hair while she listened to her sister.

“The girls are doin’ good, Immy. Stop fussin’! They’re nappin’ now but I’ll get ‘em to leave ya a voicemail before bed, ‘kay?”

“Yeah, that’ll be grand, Shy. Give ‘em tons o’ kisses from their mammy, ‘kay? Tell ‘em mammy misses ‘em sooooo much.”

“I will, I will. Now ya better get back ‘nd enjoy yer frickin’ singles retreat! Shoo, woman!”

Imogen laughed with her sister and rolled her eyes. “Yes mammy. Talk soon, love ya sis.”

Hanging up the phone, Imogen let out a long, slow breath and took in the scent in the air. She could get used to this. Getting up from the bed, she decided a shower would be a good idea. She spent a good amount of time in there, trying to make the air outside feel cooler than it really was in comparison to the hot jets blasting against her skin. It kind of worked and that was good enough for her.

Walking into the room, Imogen set about fixing her hair, make-up and skin for the night ahead. Satisfied with the final result, she walked to her bags and pulled out her pre-chosen outfit for the first night. Content with her overall look, Imogen calmed the nerves in her tummy with a glass of cold water before making her way to the main room where she could see the others were already beginning to gather.

Keeping to the rules, Imogen gave nothing but curt nods to the singles that were already here and she found her place at her table. Her date wasn’t here yet and she could feel the butterflies coming back already. She motioned for a waiter and asked for some iced water for the table before she was directed to the small jug that was already placed on every table. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she thanked the waiter before pouring herself a glass.

Taking a mouthful of the cold liquid helped yet again but she had too much nervous energy. Grabbing one of the napkins, Imogen began to twist and twirl it between her fingers as a means to chill her jitters.

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It was time to begin and Wadsworth grabbed his tablet before heading over to the main room. As he stepped inside and glanced around his brows furrowed. Oh this would not do at all. Not everyone had arrived but they needed to begin. Time was of the essence and the man was all about keeping things running on time. Looking over at who was alone and who was not he began to quickly assess the situation.

"This just will not do! Alright people," he said clapping his hands together. "We will just have to make a quick adjustment. New pairings will be as follows. "Mr. Emory, would you please move over to Ms. Parks. Ms. Badcocke you will be with Mr. Akiyama. And Mr. Jones, please take a seat across from Ms. Song. Ms. Morgan and Mr. Clark you two will still start this evening together. As well as you two, Mr. Russell and Ms. Jones."

Quickly he moved around the room, mostly to take a hold of the men that needed to switch their seats and usher them over to their new first dates. Switching out name cards on the tables quickly he set the others up at empty tables in case any of the others showed up after they had begun. He obviously didn't look too happy but he forced a hard smile to remain plastered on his lips. Clapping his hands together once everyone was seated the waiters brought around drinks for each of the couples and a few hors d'oeuvres.

"Welcome welcome to Speed Dating, this is your first night together and I promise it to be an interesting one. This first round is to allow each of you to get to know each other a little bit. How this will work is simple enough. When the bell dings you two just open up and start talking. Say the first thing that pops into your head and don't hold back. You each will have fifteen minutes together before you hear the bell again. When you do, all goes silent," he said as he motioned a zipping movement over his lips. "At that time gentlemen you will be told which table to go to next. At the end of the evening once you all have had to speak with each other you will fill out these little cards," he said holding up.

"Place in order from most favorite at the top to least favorite at the bottom. We will tally up the results and tomorrow morning you will find a note at your front door giving you the details of your next date. Shall we begin? Let's!" he said as he picked up the crystal bell at his side and gave it a quick ring.

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As Dylan came over Clementine straightened up a bit and smiled over to him. "Pleasure to meet you Dylan. Seems we have a similar taste in colors," she quipped noticing that he was in a blue shirt and then looking down at her little blue dress. Oh well, it wasn't much but hey it was more than she had had to go on five seconds before that. She was used to drilling politicians. She knew their backgrounds, what they did, what they voted on. This man she knew nothing about. Looking back over to him she tucked her hair behind her ear. "And doing very well thank you. Yourself?"

Clem perked a brow as Wadsworth came in and made the announcement. Well that was a change. At least for several of the others it seemed. Looked like her and Dylan were still together for the first round, which was fine with her. Why bother changing to someone else when they were already sitting there? She listened to the instructions and then shrugged. Okay, fifteen minutes to get to know someone and she had to be the one answering questions instead of firing them off. Great, just great.

As the bell rang she looked over towards Dylan and took a small sip of her wine before setting it back on the table. "I guess I guess I should start. Alright. I guess I will toss out the things that usually make people run. I am an Atheist. Totally tossed that out after being raised by a very conservative man. Father is Senator Morgan, yeah that pile of work. I have no political party. Unless you count making fun of them a party. I host Political Rants on Comedy Central." She felt no reason to lie about who she was, she was raised in front of a camera. A simple google search for her name would show slews of images with her and her father while she was growing up and tons of images of her bashing politicians on TV.

"So, other having a big mouth and an open mind. That is a little bit about me. How about you Dylan?"

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Christian shrugged and stood up, looking around for his new date as Wadsworth grabbed his arm and pointed over towards Natasha. She was a cutie that was for sure and Christian smiled broadly as he as he smoothed his hair down a bit and walked over to her. "Evening little lady," he said in greeting as he pulled his chair out and had a seat.

This was surely a change from who he had been assigned to at first but he wasn't going to complain. She looked very sweet and those big doe eyes of hers were adorable. He nodded to the wait staff as they brought over the food and leaned back in is chair. He relaxed a bit, waiting for the bell to ring. With the way Wadsworth was looking he didn't want to jump the gun and get the man even more frustrated than he already appeared to be. Never tick off a man who does nothing but organize love events for an evening; it was like screwing with people who messed with your food. Not a wise idea.

Once the bell rang he motioned over towards Natasha. "Please, ladies first," he said politely in his thick accent as he smiled towards her. He would have just spouted off stuff quickly, years being a tour guide made it easy for him to ramble but this was a date in a sense and to him it would be rude not to let the lass go first.

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Imogen saw more and more bodies flooding in and she wondered where her date had gotten to. Surely she wasn’t being stood up during a speed dating event… The thought crossed her mind and she wondered if David had walked in, saw her properly and then left straight away. She began to chew on her nails before smacking her hands away from her mouth. She’d just spent time doing her nails so that she looked presentable for a first date scenario and here she was ruining them because someone didn’t like to be on time!

Shaking her head, Imogen looked around as she heard Mr. Wadsworth making his announcement. She quirked an eyebrow at the news but secretly breathed a sigh of relief, people were just running late so at least she hadn’t been stood up. She heard the name of her new date and she spotted the guy that had walked into the palm tree earlier. She tried not to laugh at the memory of it and bit her tongue as Mr. Wadsworth moved Mr. Akiyama to the chair across from her.

She gave him a warm, bright smile and clasped her hands in front of herself on the table as she considered him. He seemed quite disconnected if she was being honest. Like he’d really rather be anywhere else but here. He was still wearing the same clothing that he’d arrived in and she scowled a little at that fact. He wasn’t making an effort and didn’t want to be here. The makings of a doomed date seemed to be on the cards for Imogen’s first encounter and she let out a small breath and relaxed herself. No use in being nervous for a date when your date didn’t care.

“Hi there, I guess I’ll start? M’name is Imogen ‘nd I’m from Ireland. Uh, I guess I’ll start with the things tha’ make people disappear on me quick t’save us time. I’m a single mother, I’ve got two adorable lil twin girls called Jenna and Jemma. They’re five years old and a whole bundle o’ love ‘nd fun. I work part-time as a waitress in a diner. I used t’travel before m’girls came to me. Been all over ‘eh world so I’ve got some stories t’share if ya feel like hearin’ ‘em. Uhmm… That’s about all I can think o’ right now…” She chuckled nervously as her hands tucked her hair behind her ears and she licked her drying lips.

“So what ‘bout ya? Care t’share?” Her smile never left her face and she did her best to be warm and welcoming to her newly appointed date. Leaning forward a little, Imogen grabbed her glass of water and took a sip from it as she waited for his response/reactions. She was genuinely curious about this uncaring fellow even if he would rather be anywhere else but here.

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A collab with @Lady Amalthea

Not everyone had arrived when Wadsworth strolled into the room, tablet in hand. The lack of participants seem to frustrate him. Natasha supposed it would stuff things up a bit. She looked at the empty seat. Ran away before he could even get a word from me she chuckles to herself slightly, leaning back into her chair slightly, making herself comfortable.

Wadsworth announced the new pairings and, soon enough, pulled over a curly-haired man. Tall, very tall. His height was the first feature she noticed, he had at least a foot over Natasha's standing height and she was sitting at the present moment. She gave him a smile as he greeted her and nodded a greeting in return. Starting to look over her new date, however, her thoughts were quickly drawn away from her before they could properly form by waiters who she thanked as they set food and such on the table. Natasha takes a sip from her white wine as she awaits the bell.

Then it rang. Christian said nothing but a go-ahead to start. A gentleman it seemed, nice, she liked a gentleman. The thing that caught her attention most, though, was his thick accent. A London one, much like hers, but his seemed to come more from London itself then Natasha's accent which reflected the rural outskirts of Landon she grew up in.

"Wow, OK, uh... hi," she starts. Oh nice going Natasha, not awkward at all. She fumbles slightly to extend a hand as she continues on. "I'm Natasha... as the name tag on the table already states I guess. Yeah, I've never really done something like this before but, hey, it's a new experience, anything could happen."

"Well where are my manners. My name is Christian and I am very pleased to meet you Miss Natasha," he said cordially, that smile still playing on his lips. It never seemed to go away. It would fade a little then return even brighter. Thing was his smile didn't seem forced, it was just there naturally. "I am a travel guide by trade but honestly I just use the occupation to fund myself being able to see new places. How about you? What keeps your bills paid?" he asked.

He had a brilliant smile, Natasha had to note that, it didn't at all seem forced. It was infectious too, she couldn't help but allow the smile on her own face to widen. "Tour Guide? That must be an interesting job! I'm a freelance journalist myself,"

Christian's smile grew as she smiled; seemed she was relaxing a bit. That was good. He couldn't stand people that were stuck up even though he ran into plenty of those types while he was working. Oh well they paid well, so he dealt with it. "I enjoy it. Let's me see places I normally wouldn't be able to. Love seeing where people come from and the history behind it. So journalist? What type of articles do you write? What tickles Miss Natasha's fancy?"

Natasha pursed her lips slightly before giving her date another smile and a slight chuckle, "Current affairs a fair bit, the stuff that I think to really matter, you know. I know, boring, but that stuff has seemed to stick on me, I try and avoid politics and celebrity gossip. I cover a lot of big fundraisers also, it's nice to show people there is some good in the world." she chuckles once again, slightly less this time, "Not the sort of thing a lot would think interesting but I enjoy it, and it pays the bills so that works. So how does a tour guide find himself looking for love in this way?" she asks leaning in slightly, resting her arms on the table.

She covered things to help people? Damn, that was sweet in his mind. Not enough good in the world as far as he was concerned. Was nice to hear that someone was focused on it. "Well you'll have to let me read some then. Would like to see something besides a purring cat on the web," he chuckled a bit before ruffling his hair a bit and taking a drink of his wine. Setting the glass back on the table he groaned a bit at her question before sighing. "Sorry, wasn't you that caused that lass. Me mum bought me the damn ticket. Thinks it is about time I settled down and gave her grandchildren instead of bounding all over the world. What about you?"

"I'll be sure to send something your way," Natasha replies with a smile. She leans back, sipping her wine before gently placing the glass on the table. "Can't say my story is too much different. My mother's been on my back about trying to find a partner and my friends are all marrying, most have tried to set me up on a date or two. They might get off my back if I make an effort but, if nothing come £ of it, the holiday's totally worth it, it's beautiful," She ran a hand through her long chocolate brown hair, twisting it around her left hand a couple of times before letting it spill over her left shoulder.

Christian laughed a bit and nodding in complete understanding. He knew how it felt to have all his old friends either married and having kids or getting married. "Yes it is. I have to wonder though, why people think we need to get married? I mean, if we are happy with our lives, what is the problem?"

"Exactly!" she agrees, voicing her opinion louder than one probably should in such a setting, gesturing toward him in triumph. She was just glad someone got it. For all she knew her cancer could come back and kill her, a fear often embedded in her mind. Such an easygoing and go-with-the-flow life wasn't one for many but it was for Natasha. She gave Christian a smile as she leaned back in her seat, watching her current date.

Christian chuckled at her reaction. He was glad she agreed. Granted he wanted to try to find someone. He didn't enjoy being alone but he was happy with his life and he took it day by day. For him unless someone really caught his eye there was no point to stop living the way he was. He wasn't avoiding love, he just wasn't going to force it. "Well hopefully since we came here, people will at least leave us alone for a bit knowing we tried."

"You're right there Christian, hopefully," It wasn't that Natasha was avoiding finding a partner but she didn't really care to look and left it to be something that if she found someone she had a romantic interest in she would try but not something she'd go out of her way to find. Perhaps a bit like fate. Natasha leaned upon the table with her arms once again. "Your accent... Are you from London?"

"Yeah, born and raised. Wasn't until after college that I set out on my own. Dad wasn't too happy. He figured I would follow in his footsteps and become a teacher since I majored in history but I just couldn't see myself grading papers all day long. I would have ended up being one of those teachers that just passed everyone cause I forgot to grade the final," he chuckled some as he looked at her. "And you, what little hamlet are you from?"

"I don't blame you. I doubt I could spend my weekends grading papers," she chuckled slightly, running a hand through her chocolate brown hair. "Me? Well I was born and raised in a small town outside of London, I moved to London at... 14 I think it was. It's a long story," Natasha leaned back in her seat. She felt quite comfortable in Christian's company, as if she could hold a conversation with him for the rest of the night, however, she knew the bell would go off soon enough.

"Moved to London when you were 14 and I am just now meeting you? Seems I have missed out. So why the move?" he asked, intrigued by her but then the bell rang and he sighed slightly as he looked over towards Wadsworth. Shaking his head he looked back towards Natasha, smiling softly to her. "Guess we will have to continue this later." Rising from his seat, he reached out and took her hand, kissing the back of it softly. "See you soon I hope."

"Well London is a big city," she points out, taking a sip of wine. That was when he questioned the move came up. Natasha pursed her lips, she wasn't sure if it was a topic she ready to touch base on yet, she definitely didn't expect it to come up so soon. That was when the bell rang. Saved by the bell, at least Natasha would be ready for the question next time. Christian rose from his seat and Natasha stood in the same fashion, the height difference was enough when they both stood. He reached for her hand and Natasha allowed him to grasp it gently in his own, pressing a soft kiss on the back of it. Natasha couldn't help but feel her cheeks warm slightly. Was she blushing? She was blushing, Natasha was sure of it. "I bet you will," she replies, waiting for him to leave for his next date before seating herself on her chair again.

"Hope the rest of the night goes as smoothly as this did," he said warmly before heading over to Wadsworth to find out who he would be spending the next part of the evening with. Glancing back over to Natasha he couldn't help but continue to smile. Maybe this trip wasn't going to be so bad after all.

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Before Krista could respond to any of the other arrivals, Wadsworth had ushered the entire group to the hotel to prepare for the evening event. So far, it looked like the group was filled with interesting people. Even if some wouldn't find their other half, at least it looked like some people could leave the island in a week with a couple of new friends. However, at the front of Krista's mind was the nap she was going to take once she locks herself in her new room.

Her room on the second floor looked simple, if not cosy. It was filled with warm tones of browns, oranges and reds, a balcony that over looked a pretty green scenery (and the pool - Krista dreaded the moment people would figure out where the pool was). Her bed faced the large TV that hung above the unlit fireplace, the TV remote left on the mantle waiting to be used. Krista slipped off her shoes beside the door, heading over to the bathroom for a quick shower to wash off the scent of beach off her body.

She left the bathroom wrapped in a towel, realising her suitcase was already waiting for her beside the bed. She picked up the case, her arms shaking slightly under the weight before plopping it over the table between the two chairs in front of her bed. Krista pulled out a couple of her clothes, critically eyeing each piece before settling on one eventually - a simple dark blue-green dress with nude toned heels. The dress was left hanging over the back of the chair as Krista sat down on the newly made bed tiredly. The day's events - from the trolling alarm clock to the shitty neighbour she had on the plane to the unplanned dip she had in front of people she was supposed to meet for a date - took a toll on the tired teacher, the red head eventually passed out within minutes.

It looked like Krista's day was doomed to repeat again; by the time she woke up again, the skies were already growing darker and the opened balcony doors let in the cool evening breeze that chilled Krista's bare arms and legs. "Oh fuck, not again--" She swore, cursing the gods above as she rushed towards the chair and slipped on her clothes, almost stabbing her eye with the eyeliner pen as she tried doing her make-up while zipping up the side of her dress.

She stumbled out of her hotel room fifteen minutes later, praying that her first date wasn't mad -- or for lady luck to be on her side for once and have her date be just as late as her to save her the awkwardness. She entered the hall, looking at everyone as she realised she was one of the last few people to arrive. It seemed like her date was just as late as she was, and just as Krista raised the glass of cool water up to her red painted lips the seat opposite her was taken up by none other than Lukas.

Lukas was dressed nicely, a a light, plain tee shirt underneath a light grey blazer with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to give him a casual look. He wore dark washed jeans, along with nice dark dress shoes. His hair was styled back, and his face held a welcoming smile -- the same smile he wore when he introduced himself to Krista earlier that day on the beach.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long, Miss Hale," The man apologised, his voice sending shivers up her body. "My Patati-- son is sick and was making it hard for my mother to put him to sleep."

Wait a minute, son!? The first thing Krista did was check Lukas' left hand for any ring, the last thing that she wanted was to be talking to some creep that was cheating on his wife. Lukas noticed the direction of her gaze and let out a laugh. "If you're wondering whether I'm married, I assure you I'm not. My wife passed two years ago so it's just me and my son now."

And now Krista felt like a bitch. She avoided his eyes, her own widened as she stammered out an apology. "I- I'm sorry for your loss, and f-for the way I just acted." The night was already starting off bad, she felt like she'd just offended him and it was only the first round. Krista was truly hopeless.

The tanned god in front of her simply smiled sweetly in return, melting the red head from the inside as he waved off her apology. "It's okay. I expect that if we're going to be speed dating, I might as well be honest so you can make your judgement about me."

At least he was honest, Krista could appreciate that. Despite what he was saying, Krista could note the sadness between his words. He may be okay now but for how long? And even if Krista was thinking about continuing the date with Lukas some other time and even go far enough to be with him after the dating programme, was she going to be okay with his son? I mean, Krista loves children - she would've killed herself by now if she didn't because of her job (even if she taught bratty teenagers rather than the cuter toddlers) - but if (and that's a BIG if) things went well between her and Lukas, was she ready to look after a child that wasn't her own?

Krista knew she was thinking way too much into this; there was a possibility that absolutely nothing would happen between herself and Lukas. But to Krista, thinking about even the most unlikeliest of futures was common. She took a sip of her cool drink, using it to try and think of something to talk about as the time ticked on. She cleared her throat, setting the drink down carefully "you were honest with me, so it's only fair that I'm honest with you right?"

Lukas looked up at Krista, as if waiting for her to continue. "I don't have anything as big to admit as what you, but I'll lay down the basics so you can make your judgement about me. I grew up in New York, my mother ran away to live with her younger boyfriend and left my father - bless that man - and my two older brothers and I alone to be raised solely by him. The fact that you're a single dad just raises my respect for you- it really must be hard to raise a child all on your own. Um, what else... Um, I'm a school teacher now? I teach at the high school I used to study at and I like to think I'm doing well at it? There's also this... my track record with relationships is pretty much non-existent. This whole trip was a birthday gift for me to 'find myself a man to annoy'-- which I think I am doing right n-now, God I'm sorry for talking your ear off."

There was a moment of silence, Lukas staring back at her stunned. He probably didn't expect her to talk his ear off, causing Krista's cheeks to darken in embarrassment as she reached out to pour herself another glass of water.

"I'm the head chef at an Italian place called Basil. It's in Cali, and before that I worked in Vegas before... well." He waved his arm about before continuing. "I grew up near Texas before I moved to Vegas with her. My son-- Brendan-- is staying with his nonna right now. My parents divorced, my father is back in Italy and my mother is still loving her life in that town.

About relationships... you know how my last one went, so I won't talk about that. I haven't dated anyone since her, not as seriously anyway. Brendan is too young to understand -- he's only five -- but it was my mother's idea to try this. A gift, so I understand what you mean by that last bit."

The ringing sound of a bell stopped Lukas from continuing, suddenly going quiet as he looked back over at Krista with a sheepish smile. "It looks like our time is up." Lukas said as he slowly stood up. "It was nice talking to you, Miss Hale." Krista followed, dusting her lap as she gave him a soft, awkward smile in return.

"Please, call me Krista. I hear enough of that from my students. It was nice talking to you too." She responded. With another smile from the sweet single father, Lukas left the table in the direction of his next date.

Krista sat back down, looking at the sheet as she decided where to place Lukas' name. As much as she liked talking to him, she wanted to give others' a chance before deciding which name would go where. Though, Krista was sure that she enjoyed the talk with Lukas, no matter how short it felt or what exactly they were talking about. She wondered whether Lukas felt the same.

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Mauriah looked over the people that walked into the main room and silently judged them on how they dressed and carried themselves, sizing them up both as potential partners and rivals. She knew that she should feel bad for doing this, but she couldn't help herself. Everyone was here for the same reason and if multiple women attached to one man, it would be better to know what you were up to against. First, there was Maurice, and he was a blockhead. Next came in a girl with neck length brown hair, and a short black and white dress. She seemed lost and airheaded. Some guys liked that But the kind of man interested in that wouldn't be her type anyways. Then walked in a guy wearing a blue shirt and a face that reminded her of those monkeys with the really big noses. She stifled a laugh as a man who she recognized as being that bearded man from earlier approached her, his facial expression a bit critical looking before changing to something a bit more friendly. The laughing expression was still on her face, so she didn't have to try to smile at him. He introduced himself as Darren before taking a seat opposite of her.

Before she could reply, Wadsworth came in and fussed about the pairings, switching around some of the matched couples, but it didn't actually affect her or Darren at the very moment. He informed everyone that they would have 15 minutes with each man/woman here in this first round and then they were thrown to the dogs. It was around now that Mauriah realized that she had spent so much time picking out what to do here, she didn't actually prepare any conversation topics. Her mind seemed to freeze, but she couldn't just sit there in awkward silence so she just went with the first thing she could think of.

"So what do you do?" she stammered out, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

"I'm a physical therapist and personal trainer. What about you? I'm sure someone as vibrant as yourself lives a life full of exciting moments." He gave her a wide smile as he looked over her chosen outfit. Not his usual tastes in clothing but she seemed pleasant enough of a person so far (the whole two seconds that they'd been speaking). So that was good, right? He might be trying to lay on charm a little too thick but he was genuinely interested in even just making friendships while here even if it didn't lead to anything further.

"Hah, I wish my life was exciting as even this trip. I'm an architect for a firm in middling size. Most of my time is spent either answering emails, drawing, or arguing with developers." He seemed to be pretty naturally charming, the kind of guy who was able to make an awkward situation at the very least less awkward than it could be. That might be something you have to have to be a physical trainer. You probably see a lot of people in terrible shape and have to maintain a positive front about it.

"This trip is a hell of a thing, isn't it? Never once in my life did I imagine I'd be going on a singles' vacation. But an architect, that's impressive and admirable. Probably sounds more impressive since I don't do it for a living. I bet it has it's days where it tries your patience like any other job, right?" He chuckled and leaned back in his chair as he got more comfortable. This might not be too bad, he'd need to make a mental note not to judge the ladies by their clothing. "You said that your firm isn't huge, but is it based in one of the big cities or in a less hectic area?"

"My job really isn't very glamorous. You go to university and they give you this whole spiel about the grand history of architecture and fill your head with all these architectural principles. Then you get a job and your first client wants you to throw out all that good design in favor of creating three cookie cutter designs that they can mass produce and sell to naive homebuyers." It was around here that Mauriah realized she was beginning to rant and cut herself off. "Um. My firm is located in Norfolk, but we operate all around the state of Viginia. What about you?"

"I live in Washington State, a small place called Poulsbo. Got my own little office and training space there which is just starting to take off. Sounds like you kind of regret going to university, huh? There anything that you really enjoy in your work though? I'm sure you find little bits of joy in your day to day to make it through until finishing time." Well at least she was comfortable enough to ramble on and open up to him about something that was an important part of her life. So far so good. She was clearly intelligent, that was a plus in her favour. Things felt good so far, Darren just hoped they kept running this smoothly.

"I don't regret it one bit. It just gets irritating when people disregard professional knowledge. Imagine if people came up to you for weight loss training, but they wanted to do a diet of 3 buckets of fried chicken a day because it was popular and cheaper than buying fresh. It's something like that out in the suburbs." Things were going pretty well so far, but did Darren seem like dating material? At this point, probably not. Who knows, maybe something would change. It's only been about 3 or 4 minutes.

"Very good point, well put analogy." He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, his hands folding over his stomach as he considered what to ask her next. Mauriah was definitely attractive physically, not his usual type, but definitely good looking. She was smart and had a hell of a mind clearly but despite all these positives, he didn't quite feel that natural spark and flow with her. She'd be fun to get to know as a friend perhaps at the very least. "So what do you do in your spare time? Got any hobbies that you do or are maybe even interested in starting up?"

"I usually don't get too much free time, and I usually don't use it all that well. When I was younger I did some rollerblading, but you couldn't say that it was really a hobby or that I was much good at it." Some being maybe a couple hours a month. Younger being 8 years old when she got some used skates from a garage sale. Maurice got an oversized (for an 8 year old) skateboard from that sale and never used it except maybe once or twice.

"Ah, so if you don't have much free time I take it you don't often take holidays? Is this a rare occasion for you? The trip I mean, not the singles holiday. I think singles holidays are a new experience for everyone here." He let out a nervous chuckle as he realised he may have sounded a little assumptive and if she took his words the wrong way, well things might just not go so smoothly for much longer. He could kind of feel the conversation ebbing away though, she didn't really seem all that interested in getting to know him. Oh well, can't win them all.

"No, I don't really take vacations all that often. My job tends to have enough free time around actual holidays." Mauriah adjusted her sitting position to be a bit more relaxed. She really didn't know how to continue the conversation right now, and from the looks of it, neither did Darren. If this trend went on, it could end up with several minutes of just looking at one another. She drummed her nails lightly on the table a couple times, hoping that maybe she could think of something interesting, but alas, it would not be the case.

Well this had all the signs of going down the awkward route but Darren wasn't one to let that be the case if he could help it. He wracked his brain looking for a way to keep the conversation going even if it wasn't going to lead anywhere romantic. "So to save us both time, am I correct in assuming we don't see this going anywhere romantically in the future? Gotta admit, I'm a little bummed but you seem interesting and nice so perhaps we can just take off the date label and just have a general chat instead, like friends would? How about we talk about our families since we've covered work and recreation. That sound good to you?" Keeping his trademark smile on his face, Darren scratched his beard lightly on his left cheek and leaned back in his chair, one arm resting over the back as his other hand rested on the table. His fingers played with the condensation on his glass of water and he wished there was some wine right now.

"Seems that way," replied Mauriah, who took a sip of water. This guy was applying compliments down way too thick, and she didn't like it. It felt like he was trying to get on her good side so she'd be easily manipulated. That probably wasn't the case, but it was a feeling she couldn't really shake and it was rubbing her the wrong way. She tried to not show it; this was still a date after all. "You've already met my brother, Maurice. I don't know if you watch it, but he's told me that he's a professional wrestler now. I don't have any other siblings, but I do have a lot of extended family I don't know. I'll occasionally get a call, Facebook message or email from people whose name or face I don't recognize who claim to have met me when I was 2 and want me to come by some time. I never know how to respond."

"Oh yeah, that's your brother. Nah, I don't follow the professional wrestling much, not really my kind of thing." He folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head to one side as he considered Mauriah. She really didn't seem to be making much effort here and even after his polite let down she was rather curt and, it was probably just in Darren's head but, a little abbrassive too. This was going to be a long couple of minutes. "Yeah, can't say I understand that problem with distant relatives. I'm pretty close with all mine. Although it must be crazy uncomfortable having your brother here." Darren turned slightly in his seat to look at Maurice who was sitting with a young Asian girl, Leona if Darren recalled correctly. "Do you both get on very well? If that's too personal just say and I'll back off. Just trying to save us both sitting in awkward silence." He saw no need to lie in this kind of situation. He definitely knew this was going no where and he was pretty comfortable saying that it was because of her and not him. That lasted all of two seconds before he silently chastised himself. Don't judge a book by it's cover...

"It's not so bad if I pretend he's not here. It's not like we have to share a room like when we were kids. He talks in his sleep, you know. Not just like a word or two or some garbled mess, but he overpronounces things and says full senses. Once when we were 7 I went to see how far he would go, and ended up having a full conversation with him. I don't actually remember what we talked about, but I do remember when I asked him about it in the morning, he had no clue what I was talking about. He was like," Mauriah adjusted her sitting position, straightening her spine, puffing out her chest and crossing her arms in a way that clearly indicated she was imitating her twin brother's body language, "'What are you talkin' bout, Mauriah? I don't sleep talk.' So I recorded him the next night with a blank tape we had lying around and even after that he didn't want to admit I was right for 2 weeks." Around here it clicked that she still hadn't answered the rest of his questions and cleared her throat. "We used to be pretty close, but after my divorce I had to get away from the area, at least for myself, and I mostly fell out of touch with the rest of my family. He's probably happy to see me again, even if it is at a singles' vacation. He's kind of like a big dog in that way."

It was nice that she opened up when he asked her about her brother and he smiled as he nodded and listened to her story. She couldn't be as self absorbed as Darren was assuming she was. He felt pretty bad about that and grimaced a little at the thought. He had to laugh during her impersonation of Maurice as well and he could feel his shoulders shaking with each breath. It soon came to a stop when Mauriah mentioned she was divorced and Darren felt some sympathy towards her. He knew how hard separating from a marriage could be but at least she'd managed to get fully cut off from her ex. Something that Darren was still unsuccessful at doing.

"Understandable that you'd need your space during something so big in your life though. I actually--" The bell rang signifying the end of the fifteen minutes and Darren gave a happy little smile to Mauriah as he held his hand out towards her to shake it. "Oh, well look at the time, it has been a pleasure to meet you Mauriah. I hope I didn't irritate you too much. Thank you for talking with me." He gave a curt little nod of the head and took off to find his next date for the evening with a little wave back to Mauriah as he left the table.

"It's been a pleasure," Mauriah said, taking his hand lightly and shaking it twice. She crossed her legs and waited to see who she would get paired up with next.