It’s late when they finally make their way back to the cabin.
Bunny: Want to watch a movie?
Voidcritter: It’s kinda late…
Bunny: I know, but I’m not quite ready for the night to end. And…I’m not looking forward to sleeping on the couch.
Voidcritter: In that case…sure, but I get to choose it!
Jalisa turns on the Romance Channel, but they don’t end up watching anything. They talk through the whole movie. After a few hours…
Voidcritter: I can barely keep my eyes open.
Bunny: Yeah…me either. I guess it’s time to say goodnight.
Voidcritter: Good night, Nate. See you in the morning…
Bunny: *under his breath* Yeah…if I can survive until then.
Jalisa goes into the bedroom and crawls up under the covers. Nate curls up on the couch and does his best to get some rest. It’s not easy to sleep in a full costume, but somehow he manages to drift off…
…but only for about 40 minutes. Nate gets up with his neck and back aching. He’s definitely not going to make it through the night on the couch. He walks over and knocks on the bedroom door.
Bunny: Jalisa…are you asleep?
Jalisa spent those 40 minutes agonizing over the big decision that she has coming up. She’s thinking about everything that Nate has said to her when he knocks on the door.
Voidcritter: No…not yet.
Bunny: *outside the door* I don’t think the couch was made for sleeping.
Jalisa gets out of the bed and walks towards the door.
Voidcritter: Oh…you can sleep in here.
She opens the door and lets him in.
Bunny: Are you sure?
Voidcritter: It has to be torture trying to sleep on that rock hard couch.
Bunny: Yeah, but this’ll be a different type of torture.
Jalisa knows exactly what he means.
Voidcritter: Maybe, but we’ll survive.
She pulls him into a tight hug and repeats herself…
Voidcritter: We’ll survive…
Bunny: We have no choice, do we?
Voidcritter: I’ll take the left side, so the right side is yours.
Bunny: You’re not a wild sleeper, are you? Because I forgot to bring my safety helmet.
Voidcritter: *laughs* No…not at all. Are you?
Bunny: Well, I haven’t watched any Kung Fu movies lately, so the chance of me reenacting a fighting scene in my sleep is pretty slim.
Voidcritter: *slightly concerned* What?
Bunny: Just kidding…
Nate and Jalisa lie down in the bed, but despite the perceived difficulty of sleeping next to each other, they both fall asleep with no problem.
Nate is the first up the next day. Dread fills him as he realizes that his time is almost up. If he doesn’t win this challenge…this could be the last 4 hours that he’ll get to spend with Jalisa. That feeling carries him to the bathroom and remains there as he attempts to get ready for the day.
Jalisa is up warming up chicken nuggets in the microwave when Nate joins her in the kitchen.
Bunny: Good morning, beautiful!
Voidcritter: Good morning…I thought about making breakfast, but I’m not too confident in my cooking skills.
Bunny: I don’t really cook either, but I can make a hell of a sandwich. My specialty is PB&J.
Voidcritter: *chuckles* That’s everyone’s specialty, isn’t it?
Bunny: Nobody can spread the jelly quite like I can.
Voidcritter: Somehow, you made that sound sexy.
Bunny: *laughs* That’s my other specialty.
They sit down at the counter with their food.
Bunny: So, how should we spend our last few hours here?
Voidcritter: I don’t know. I’m not ready for this trip to end.
Bunny: Neither am I, but we’ll just have to make the best of it.
Voidcritter: I agree. I think the best way to spend it is to get to know each other as much as possible. Is there anything about me that you’d like to know?
Bunny: Hmmm, let’s see…what would you say is your best physical feature?
Voidcritter: Are we supposed to talk about that?
Bunny: Just one feature…that can’t hurt, right?
Voidcritter: My eyes…I get a lot of compliments on my eyes.
Bunny: The shape, size, or color?
Voidcritter: The color
Bunny: Well…I’ve always been told that I have ferocious eyebrows.
Voidcritter: *laughs* What?? Is that even a compliment?
Bunny: *amused* Well…I always took it as one, now you have me doubting it.
Voidcritter: I’m sorry. I’m sure your eyebrows are incredibly sexy!
It’s Nate’s turn to laugh.
Outside, one hour before their getaway ends…
Voidcritter: *swats at gnats* These bugs make me glad that I’m in costume!
Bunny: Same here. *heavy pause* So…the next time you see me will be when these costumes come off.
Voidcritter: Maybe not…there’s still an elimination coming up.
Bunny: Either way…I’ll get a chance to show off these muscles soon. *flexes for Jalisa*
Voidcritter: *giggles* I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.
Bunny: Yeah…well, you’ll know soon enough. And I’ll get to see those eyes that you get so many comments about. I hope I’m the one that gets to stare into them for the rest of our lives.
Voidcritter: *deeply touched*
Bunny: It’s time to go. One kiss for the road *blows a kiss*
Back in Newcrest…Nate and Jalisa hug before parting ways.
~~~Jalisa’s Thoughts ~~~
(The Voidcritter) This getaway has given me a lot to think about. Nate never fails to make me laugh, and he’s so honest about the way he feels. The love was always there, but this trip gave us the chance to really build a friendship. He’s right…we’re so close to the end. I wish I could say that this getaway has made my final decision easier, but it’s had the opposite effect. There’s no clarity…I’m even more confused now.
Jalisa has some time to kill between dates, so she spends it hanging out with Chef Green. She can really use his advice right now. So she seeks it out while watching him prepare steaks on the grill out back.
Voidcritter: So…it’s down to one last date and I’m just as confused as I was the last time we had this conversation.
Chef Green: Confused…or afraid to let one of the guys down?
Voidcritter: I guess a little of both. Is it possible to be in love with two people at the same time?
Chef Green: Maybe, but I can’t really say…I’ve never had that problem.
Chef Green takes the steaks off the grill and places the serving dish on the table. They both sit down and grab a plate.
Voidcritter: So let’s say that although I have strong feelings for both Nate and Merlin, I’m really more afraid of breaking their hearts.
Chef Green: They both knew what they were getting into.
Voidcritter: I did too, but that doesn’t make any of it any easier.
Chef Green: Well, you’re going to have to choose one guy. If the other cares about you as much as they claim to…they’ll be willing to let you go.
Voidcritter: But you say that as if it’s easy.
Chef Green: Did the word ‘easy’ come out of my mouth?
Voidcritter: No
Chef Green: That’s because it’s in no way easy, but sometimes if you really love someone…you have to set them free. Not doing so will only hurt them.
Voidcritter: But I’ll be hurting one of them by eliminating them.
Chef Green: Yeah, but if you don’t make a decision…you’ll risk losing them both, which will hurt everyone.
Jalisa isn’t sure if this conversation has helped at all, but she still appreciates the opportunity to vent and express her feelings out loud.
28 Blind Date Summaries | read from the beginning
