Author's Note: May seem like I'm moving things a bit fast, but shame on those who are familiar with my work if you thought that. We're still just getting started. ;D This chapter is dedicated to red headed psychos wanted for not only listening and hearing out all my insane rambling, but for also having a part in the play You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. (I probably SO butchered the title of that play. D: ) Anyhow, enjoy!

Chapter Four

Matt waited around for Andrew and the guys to finish eating lunch, waiting for them to leave so that he would have the opportunity to do what he wanted to do. The plan was simple, to head out after they left for the surf shop and meet Devin down at the Plaza and accept his offer to go on a tour of the town. He would be able to go there and back on foot before the guys got back, so they would be none the wiser. All Matt had to do was to wait for them to leave, which felt like it took forever. Matt feared that if he waited too long, then he might miss Devin and lose his chance to talk to him, which would mean he would have walked down there for nothing, and completely blown his chances of hanging out with him.

Something suddenly occurred to Matt while he was waiting. How would he go out with Devin if the guys would be back by the time Devin got off work? They would likely wonder where he was going since he was pretending to be sick, and possibly catch on to his rouse. What could he say to get them off his trail? How could he hang out with Devin without arousing anyone’s suspicions? Matt would have to have a good reason to be going off without any of them, especially at night. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? The guys were getting ready to leave, and Matt was still trying to figure out a way to get away from them so he could go out with Devin.

“We’re heading out,” Andrew said.

Matt snapped out of his train of thought, and looked up.

“Wha?”

“I said we’re heading out. We’re going to the surf shop, and then we’re hitting the waves,” Andrew repeated. “Sure you don’t want to come along? You don’t have to surf or anything if you don’t feel up to it.”

Matt smiled, and shook his head.

“No, I think I’ll just stay here to be safe. I’d hate to ruin you guys’ fun,” he replied.

“Alright. Well if you need anything, we all have our cells, so call one of us if something comes up,” Andrew said.

“Okay,” Matt said. “Have fun.”

“We will. Feel better,” Andrew said, giving his brother a wave goodbye as he, Joe, and Kyle left. Matt waited a few minutes before he got up to make sure they didn’t come back. Once he was sure they were gone, he jumped off the bed and changed out of his swim suit into some shorts, and slipped his sandals on. He started for the door, and paused for a minute.

‘Should I bring my phone?’ he asked himself. ‘What if they try getting in touch with me and I’m not here?’ Matt considered it, and grabbed his cell phone as well. Once he had it he started out the door, and paused once again. He remembered he didn’t have a key to get in, and would be locked out when he came back. He thought quickly, and noticed the chain lock on the door. He took the chain and stuck it between the door and the door frame, leaving just enough space to keep the door from closing all the way and locking. He wasn’t going to be gone all that long, so he didn’t figure it would do any harm to keep the door like that. Once everything was set, Matt was off.

--

It was a little further to The Plaza than Matt thought, especially considering all the times he had passed it before, he had been in a vehicle. It was also a lot hotter than Matt imagined it being as well, considering he had been on the beach in the water or in the pool anytime before then, so he wasn’t being exposed directly to the sun’s heat then. He was dripping sweat after just fifteen minutes of walking, and he wasn’t even half way there yet. He wondered if he had made a mistake in leaving the hotel to go see someone he had only met the night before. For all he knew, Devin could have been jerking his chain and lying to him. He may not even be there, which would have made Matt’s long and arduous trek down the strip in the blazing heat for naught.

Matt’s mouth was beginning to get parched, his vision blurry. It was hard to see because of all the sweat in his eyes, and his hair was beginning to get a little too long for him, which contributed to his difficulty seeing. The sun was beating down directly over him, relentlessly. Matt thought he had made a bad error in judgment, and considered calling Andrew to come get him, but figured they were already at the surf shop, and would only ruin their fun if he called for them to come get him. Not only that, they would likely question why he was going to The Plaza, which was a question Matt knew he wouldn’t be able to answer. Either way Matt looked at it, he was screwed. He couldn’t call for the guys to come get him, and he would likely faint if he kept going, either there or back. He didn’t have any money on him to stop anywhere to get a drink and take a break, so that was out of the question as well. The best he could do was sit under some shade and cool off a bit before heading back.

Just as he was beginning to look for a shaded place to sit, Matt noticed the glint of a sign from the corner of his eye. He covered his eyes to block out the sun and glare, and spotted a sign not too much further off in the distance that read The Plaza Hotel and Resort. Matt’s spirits suddenly lifted, and a smile came to his face. There it was, not even half a mile down the strip. He had gone this far, what was a little bit further? At least if he passed out from heat exhaustion he would be close enough to the hotel to get noticed, hopefully by Devin who would whisk him away inside and tend to him and make sure he was alright. Wishful thinking, he knew, but it was a nice thought.

Matt managed to force himself to jog the rest of the way until he was standing next to the sign of the hotel. Looking up he was taken in by the sheer scope of the hotel. It was several stories bigger than the one he was staying at, and it was also a lot nicer at that. Out front there was a circle drive that passengers pulled through, where they had their luggage unloaded by bellhops and their cars parked by the valets. Matt had never seen or been to such a hotel before in his life, aside from what he’d seen on TV and movies all his life, and it was all exactly as he had seen it on there. Matt suddenly became aware of his attire and thought how strange and sloppy he would look going to a high end hotel dressed as he was. He would probably be turned away or carted off by security for dressing like a complete shmuck. But surely if Devin worked there, if he found him, he could set things right.

That was, if Devin actually worked there.

Matt walked up the front lawn of the hotel and headed towards the front entrance. There was a guy who looked to be about Devin’s age standing out front dressed in a white dress shirt, black slacks, and a red vest. Matt assumed he must have been a valet as well, and wondered if he might know where Devin might be since he was obviously nowhere to be seen. Reluctantly, Matt headed over to the valet to talk to him. Upon getting closer he realized just how ugly the guy really was. Red hair with a part down the very middle, pale white skin with freckles, and crooked, stained teeth that would put a chainsaw to shame; the guy smiled at Matt came up.

“Hello, can I help you?” the ugly valet asked.

Matt swallowed, trying to think of what he should say without stuttering and sounding like a mentally handicapped person.

“Um… I… I was wondering if, uh… Devin was around?” he stammered. He cursed to himself for sounding like a complete moron.

The ugly valet paused for a moment, and smiled.

“Oh, Devin? He’s off parking someone’s car. He should be back in a few minutes. Is there something I can help you with?” the ugly valet asked.

“Oh, uh, no, no, er… I’m actually a friend of his and needed to speak to him about something and just wonder if he had a moment to spare,” Matt replied.

“Ah. Well, if you don’t mind waiting, you can head inside and I’ll have him find you when he gets back. Will that be okay?” the ugly valet asked.

Matt smiled sheepishly and nodded.

“Yeah, that’d be great,” he replied.

“Alright. You just head into the lobby and wait inside. Devin will be with you in just a few minutes,” the ugly valet said.

“Thank you,” Matt said, bowing his head slightly, gratefully. As he headed inside, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was a good thing Devin worked there otherwise it was going to be a long, disappointing walk back to the hotel. Of course, he’d probably die from a heat stroke before he made it back.

--

A young guy sat down at the bar inside the hotel as Tenyce served some guests their drinks. She immediately took notice of the guy when he sat down. She hadn’t seen him around the hotel before, and he didn’t look like the type that would stay there considering the way he was dressed. He looked a little young as well, probably no older than eighteen or nineteen tops. But one thing she noticed was how red and flushed he looked, as though he’d just run a 10K marathon in the blazing heat. He looked a little tired, worn out, but one thing was certain. He was a definite cutie, and she felt sorry for him. Even though she knew he wasn’t a guest and probably didn’t have any money on him, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to be charitable for once in her life. Tenyce went over to where the young guy was sitting, and smiled her best as she greeted him.

“Hey there, what can I get for you?” she asked.

The young guy looked up, and seemed a bit confused by her question. He looked at her strangely, and swallowed.

“Uh, excuse me?” he asked hesitantly. He even sounded cute, Tenyce thought.

“I said what could I get for you? You look tired and thirsty, figured you could use something to drink,” Tenyce replied.

The guy swallowed nervously, and glanced around.

“I’m… not old enough to drink. I’m not even staying here,” he said.

“That much I figured,” Tenyce replied. “But still, we don’t just have alcoholic beverages here. We have soda as well.”

The guy looked around with uncertainty, as though he were being watched by something or someone. Tenyce thought he was a little strange, awkward, but in a totally adorable way.

“Um… do you have Coke?” he asked.

“We sure do. Is that what you want?”

“Sure, please.”

“Coming right up,” Tenyce said as she bent down to fetch a can of Coke from the mini fridge under the counter. She stood back up and sat the can down on the counter, and then grabbed a glass with some ice and sat it down. “There ya go,” she said with a smile.

The guy felt around on his pockets, and swallowed hard.

“I… don’t have any cash on me.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me, baby,” Tenyce said.

The guy smiled awkwardly, and bowed his head slightly.

“Thank you,” he said, popping the top of his Coke as he poured it into the glass. Tenyce couldn’t help but keep from smiling watching him. She had never seen such an awkward, timid guy like him before. It was refreshing to see a young guy there at the bar compared to the usual older, boring crowd that frequently visited it.

“So what brings you around these parts? You don’t look like you live around here, so that must mean you’re a tourist. Since you aren’t staying here, where are you staying, and what brings you to The Plaza?” Tenyce asked quizzically.

The guy finished a glass of Coke in a single gulp, and wiped his top lip with the back of his hand before taking a refreshing breath of air.

“I’m staying down at the Bermuda House,” he replied. “I’m here with my brother, cousin, and a friend of my brother’s from Colorado for spring break.”

“Ooh, cool,” Tenyce said. “So how’d you end up here at The Plaza? You looking for someone or what?”

The guy started filling his glass up with the second half of his Coke, and took a sip.

“I’m looking for someone,” he replied, taking yet another sip of his drink.

“Do they work here, or is it a friend that’s staying here?” Tenyce asked.

“Oh, they work here,” the guy said, hesitating for a moment, “I think.”

Tenyce raised an eyebrow, and leaned against the counter as she looked at the guy with growing interest.

“What’s their name?” she asked.

The guy took a long gulp from his Coke, finishing it off. After wiping his mouth again, he replied.

“Devin.”

Just then, someone called someone’s name out from across the lobby.

“Matt?”

Tenyce and the guy both looked up and found Devin coming through the doors, rushing over to the bar in a hurry.

“You know him?” Tenyce asked Matt at the bar.

Matt shrugged, and nodded.

“Sorta kinda,” he replied.

“Matt, I didn’t think you’d come here!” Devin said in a surprised tone as he reached Tenyce and Matt at the bar.

Tenyce looked at Devin, and then back at Matt, finally connecting the dots between them.

“Wait a minute,” Tenyce said, “is this the same guy you were gushing to me about earlier?”

Matt’s eyes about bugged out of his sockets as he sat straight up and turned to face Devin, who was turning bright red in the face.

“You were gushing about me?” Matt asked.

Devin swallowed, and bit his bottom lip in embarrassment.

“Well, I wasn’t gushing, but I did”-

“Don’t downsize it, honey,” Tenyce interrupted, turning from Devin to Matt. “He was totally gushing over you like a teenage girl would over Brad Pitt.”

Matt looked from Tenyce, to Devin, then back to Tenyce.

“Are you… serious?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Like a heart attack,” she replied.

Devin’s face was cherry red by the time Matt and Tenyce’s exchange was over. He looked down at his feet in complete and total embarrassment. Matt’s face started turning bright red as well as he tried not making eye contact with either Tenyce or Devin.

“Well, now that I have you two glowing like jack-o-lanterns, I’ll leave you two alone so you can talk about whatever it is you wanted to talk about,” Tenyce said, smirking slyly as she left to help some other guests who were approaching the bar.

Matt and Devin stood at the bar, completely embarrassed by the other and unable to look at each other for long while.

“So…” Devin said, finally breaking the silence, “you… wanted to um, talk to me?”

Matt was still bright red even after Tenyce had left. He had no idea what to say.

“Um… yeah,” he muttered softly.

Devin stuck his hands deep in his pockets, and rocked on his feet anxiously.

“So, uh, what… did you want to tell me?” he asked.

Matt bit his bottom lip, and glanced around, trying his hardest not to look Devin in the eyes.

“Well, I was thinking… earlier you offered me a, uh… um…” Matt trailed off, losing his train of thought as he accidentally looked Devin in the eyes. His mind suddenly went blank. Devin swallowed, still ever smiling.

“A… tour?” Devin asked, completing Matt’s statement.

Matt grinned bashfully, and looked down, nodding. Devin laughed, and craned his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

“I didn’t think you’d accept,” he said in a strained voice.

Matt quickly looked up, and blinked absent mindedly.

“You didn’t?” he asked.

“Not really,” Devin replied. “I especially didn’t expect you to come all the way here just to tell me so…”

Matt started blushing again, and started tapping his foot anxiously.

“Well, I didn’t know of any other way to get in touch with you, so…” he said.

“Yeah,” Devin said, smiling ear to ear, “but I still didn’t think you’d accept.”

Matt became curious.

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know, I guess because I thought you thought I was some kind of crazed stalker that liked flirting with out of towners and offer them tours of the town in the hopes of having them fall in love with me or something crazy like that,” Devin said, trailing off into soft laughter.

Matt chuckled, and swallowed.

“Well… I thought it was nice of you,” he said, “and… you seem like a nice enough person, and I’d love to see more of Daytona. Since you know it just about as good as anyone, I figured you’d be the best guy to go to.”

Devin laughed, and put a hand up behind his neck, scratching anxiously.

“Well… since you put it that way, what the hell,” he said. “So, uh… when would be a good time for you?”

“When do you get off?” Matt asked.

“7.”

“Then how about… 7:30?” Matt asked.

“How about 7:15?” Devin asked.

“Deal,” Matt replied.

“Great,” Devin said, grinning. “It’s a date,” he said, pausing for a moment before he blushed again. “I mean, not… really a date, but… you know…”

Matt began blushing again, and chuckled a little bit.

“I know what you mean,” he said, still smiling. “So… I guess… I’ll see you at 7:15 then.”

“Great,” Devin said. “You want me to pick you up, or you wanna meet somewhere or…”

“We can meet… I mean, since it’d be weird if my brother or someone saw me riding with some strange guy they’ve never seen before,” Matt said.

Devin laughed, nodding.

“Good point,” he said. “So… how about out front of your hotel?”

“That works,” Matt said.

“Great,” Devin said. “I guess I’ll see you then.”

Matt nodded.

“Alright then,” he said, grinning like an idiot. “See you then.”

The two of them shared a wave goodbye as Matt left the hotel, and started back to his hotel. Devin followed him with his eyes all the way out the door, and breathed a heavy sigh, dropping his shoulder once he left. Tenyce crept up behind him without him noticing.

“Does someone have a date?” Tenyce asked.

Devin jumped in surprise, and turned around to find Tenyce behind him laughing.

“It’s not a date,” he said. “I’m just giving him a tour of the town. Nothing else.”

Tenyce nodded while rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, sure. A “tour” you say. The way you two were talking and looking at each other told me it was a whole lot more than a “tour”,” Tenyce stated.

Devin swallowed, and sighed.

“Who knows,” he said, smiling, “maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Regardless, we’ll just have to wait and find out.”

Tenyce rolled her eyes, and shook her head.

“You’re hopeless,” she said, playfully slapping Devin on the shoulder with a hand towel.