Hotel Grandèur, 11 : 45pm.

He couldn't sleep again. He felt guility and devasted looking over to his ex girlfriend, Ellesmere Harte, who was fast asleep on the bed. Had he been unfair to her or was he right ? He asked himself.

Love was meant to be mutual and also physical relations weren't accepted when each partner wasn't psychological and emotionally disturbed.

Brian Hobbs and Ellesmere Harte worked together for two years. They worked for a printing press then in Arizona. He was the editorial manager and she was his assistant. That was before he was betrayed and ended up losing his job.

She stayed with him throughout, when he had to deal with a failed job and was struggling with bankruptcy. He moved to California, there he found a better job as a managing director. They were in a long distance relationship.

Eventually she broke up with him claiming she had been pressurized by her father into dating Davis Cullen, her boss. Davis had  promised her and her father a greener pastures. She left Brian to die slowly of depression and heartbreak.

That was two year ago. Although the scars had healed, it still hurt.

About two weeks back, Ellesmere contacted Brian to inform him she'd be visiting California for a vacation and would like to catch up with him.

Two weeks back.

Brian was preparing for work when he received a message from Ellesmere Harte, his ex girlfriend.

The message read, " Hello, it's me. I was wondering if after all this years you'd like to meet. To go over everything. They say time was supposed to heal but I haven't done much healing over the years. I don't know maybe you probably don't wanna talk but if you are reading this, I just wanted to tell you that over the past few months I haven't forgotten who we used to be. When we were younger, and free . I  have forgotten how it felt before the world wouldn't let us be. It feels so different between us and an humiliating mile apart, as well.  I called about a thousand times to tell you, am sorry for everything that have done but when I called, no one ever picked up. I know that  sorry wouldn't fix all the damage but am still sorry for breaking your heart. I know now, clearly, it doesn't tear you apart anymore."

At that point, Brian couldn't help but break down in tears. After all this years, he was recalling all their times together. Something he had hidden away in the deepest parts of his heart. Though he hadn't told her, she still held a better part of his heart and his life too.

Wiping his eyes for any remaining tear drop, he continued reading the message. " Hope you are doing fine ? I don't mean to tell you about myself. Am deeply sorry. I hope that you were able to make it out of that time, when everything..... It's no secret that I broke your heart so deeply. To tell you how sorry I am for everything that have done. Am coming to California for a vacation. And I'd like us to meet, catch up. Hope we can be friends again. Love, Ellesmere."

It was a hard decision but Brian knew if he ever wanted to move on with his life. Maybe this was going to be the right step to take.

He replied, " Hey sure. Just tell me when you'd be arriving and where to meet you. Hope we can remain friends."

*******

Today was the set two weeks he was going to be meeting Ellesmere Harte again.

She had messaged him the details of her flight hoping he'd come to welcome her, " 1.45pm Flight BR 214, arrival from Arizona."

Another message followed showing the address of where she was going to stay in case he couldn't come to the airport, " Hotel Grandèur, Royal Dutch street, south California."

Around 12.45pm, the plane took off for California. On the plane  others stayed awake eating, trying to read magazines, staring out the window, Ellesmere slept through most of the flight, only waking up when they were within half an hour of their destination.

Amongst the first passengers to alight from the plane was Ellesmere. They all held economy class tickets, although with the huge amount of money at her disposal Ellesmere could easily have afforded a first class seat.

She looked around to see if Brian had come , though she searched round the crowd she didn't sight him.

" Please excuse me. I'm straight off the aircraft ...." She asked a stranger who was backing her at the time.

As the stranger turned to see who was calling, it turned out to be Brian. Ellesmere was caught by surprise, she thought he hadn't come.

Feeling so overwhelmed, she hugged him. Brian Hobbs, he had changed. He was looking quite handsome wearing that jacket and his amber green eyes still wouldn't cease to amaze her. He had changed alot this past few years. I wish I could tell him how much I missed him. She thought to herself.

"Ellesmere, you look so much prettier. I was just about calling you to see if you'd arrived." Brian smiled wondering how she always managed to throw him off balance each time they met.

He took one of her bags. He had to act like a gentle man, after all they were meeting to get the grudge over with.

Arriving at the hotel, Ellesmere went straight to the receptionist showing her the ticket of reservation while Brian was holding on to her baggage. The lady whose name tag appeared   ' Christa Macaulay ' handed her the keys to the room labelled 206 and a brochure which served as a map.

After getting to the right place, Ellesmere's room, Brian felt quite weird stepping into his ex girlfriends' hotel room and begged to take his leave.

"What's all this about ? I just came in from Arizona and could do with some chit chat." Ellesmere requested that he stayed.

Brian stared across the table, not knowing what to say. He sat on the couch farthest from the bed.

" So how have you been over the years ? Have you been able to start your dream job ?" Brian said quietly.

He still remembered. Ellesmere thought. She had wanted to be a model while her and Brian had been together. When they broke up, she had forgotten all about that dream.

" Hello. Asking a lot of questions here while you stirring things up all down the room." Brian said snapping her out of her thoughts.

" Well, have been good. I haven't been able to strike a deal with any brand but am still working on it." She lied to avoid any further questions.

They chatted a while stating everything each one of them had achieved throughout the years. Brian told her all about the city of California while Ellesmere told  him how almost everything in Arizona was now different.

" Coffee ? It's lukewarm." Ellesmere asked preferring to know what he would like to take.

" No. I don't take coffee." Brian said to her. She knew he didn't like coffee. Instead, he preferred wine. She just wanted to see if this had changed too almost like everything else about him.

She went over to the refrigerator, pouring them each a glass of wine. She offered him a glass hoping he wouldn't reject it. " A toast to our friendship."

" A toast." He said gulping down the content in the glass.

They both drank a glass after the end of a new conservation . It was getting late, Brian wanted to take his leave.

" No don't leave me." Ellesmere said quite drunk, walking and staggering.

Brian could tell she was but it was getting really late. He had to go. In an attempt to open the door and leave, Ellesmere hugged him from the back.

Turning he saw she was losing her mind. She had opened her shirt down the front, exposing her cleavages.

" Get on with it. Come on quickly ! Please! " She said to him.

" Ellesmere, this is wrong as a matter of fact. You are drunk. You are not in a right sense of being." Brian said trying to button her up.

She said kissing him as he tried buttoning her shirt. Instead she started unbuttoning his. She was desperate.

Brian pulled away making several attempts to leave. The door wasn't opening.

"Are you looking for the keys ? I threw them on the bed." Ellesmere said.

Was she mad or just drunk. Brian thought. " Ellesmere... This is damn wrong. And you know it. Let's just stay friends." He said trying to make her calm down.

"No I don't wanna stay friends. I love you and you know you love me too." Ellesmere said.

" Ok, I admit I love you too. But you quit, remember. I didn't quit on us, you did for your rich boyfriend." Brian blurted in anger. He knew she was drunk  but people only said what they truly felt when they were drunk. She was right, he loved her and still did but he was never going to stopp so low to get what he wanted.

" I didn't. You know I never really quit on us. Both of us were running out of time. You know it, it wasn't my fault. " Ellesmere said sounding steady, almost insolent.

Her approach was so ridiculous, so ham handed, that for one second he wanted slapping her in the face. Her  mind was fixed on only one objective - she wanted them back together not as partners but bed mates.

" Okay Ellesmere. Just take a rest and we'll talk about this later." Brian said hoping to convince her to go to sleep and then walking away but she was adamant. She was desperate.

She sitted him on the sofa, taking off her jacket revealing her inner wear. She pulled off her hair band letting her hair flow down her shoulder. She glopped her lips in strawberry roll-on lip gloss till it almost dripped off. She sat across his lap pulling him in  for a kiss against his will. He pushed her away again.

So you want us to become lovers again. He smiled. " Ok then have a drink with me .... A toast to our new relationship." They drank clinking their glasses

It was diluted wine, 90% water. He knew well enough what he had done. He tricked her into drinking water.

She started feeling naseous. She ran over to the bathroom vommiting all she had that night into the toilet with her head inside the sink. After awhile, she passed out.

That was Brian cue to leave but he couldn't. Though she did wrong, he couldn't leave her lying there. He picked her up and placed her on the bed covering her with the blanket.

He knew he loved her but maybe she didn't, rather she was playing with his emotions like every other person in his life had done so far.

Brian was a product of a brief affair between a French girl and an American school drop out. Thought to be a mistake. When the child was born, the girl abandoned the baby .

Pascal Hobbs, his father took the baby. Registered it's birth to provide requisite documentation that he was an American citizen. He had his mother's amber green eyes and her pastel wavy long hair too. Though he never met his mother, he knew his eyes were hers since his father was blue eyed.

Long after he aged eighteen, that was when he was told the truth as his father's cosmopolitan girlfriend took his mother's place throughout his life. He had been named Brian since his mother's was Breanne. Even though, he never knew her, she still held a bigger part of his existence.

He shoved at his hair, wished he could delude himself so he could go back to sleep but he knew if he closed his eyes, he'd go right back to thinking again.

He had work to do the next day. He couldn't mix work with personal life. His boss won't accept that excuse. He had been granted special take off, the previous day on the excuse his family friend was coming to California for the first time. He had to welcome her. If he knew all that was going to happen, he wouldn't have come.

As the sunrose , Brian picked his belongings and made his way out of the hotel. He was never going to get over yesterday  or less forgive Ellesmere for what she did.

Was he doing the right thing ? He asked himself.

Well, he had to change his clothes and get to work. Now, all he had left in his life was his work and nothing more.