New cover, new story - totally rewritten and updated!
A shared car ride home goes awry for Tyler the jock and Supernerd Eliot when they get lost in the dark on a country road and their vehicle stalls. Luckily, they find the Halfway House Hotel, where a series of odd events seem to conspire to bring them together.
Excerpt:
“Good evening,
gentlemen,” the rather statuesque woman said softly. She had a dark brown wavy hair
that scraped her chin as she moved and a warm, welcoming smile. “My name is
Alicia and I’d like to welcome you to the Halfway House Hotel. How may I help
you this evening?”
“We’d like two single
rooms, please,” Eliot said politely, noting their hostess wore a similar garb
to the woman he’d seen a few moments earlier. Except her blouse was plain and
she wore a gaily patterned scarf around her neck.
Alicia scanned the open
register on the desk in front of her, running her finger down the page, and
shook her head. “I’m sorry, sirs, but there are no single rooms left. In fact,
we’re completely book—oh, wait. I do have one room left, we had a cancellation
about half an hour ago and it’s not been crossed out yet. But it’s a double,
would that suit?”
“Are there any other
hotels around here?” Eliot asked, worrying at his lower lip with his teeth. A
double? With Tyler? Not if he could help it. Before Alicia could respond, Tyler
interjected.
“We’ll take it,
thanks.”
“What?” Eliot smiled
at the receptionist then said to Tyler. “Can I speak to you for a minute?”
Tyler rolled his eyes and followed Eliot a few steps away from the desk, where
Eliot lowered his voice, so they wouldn’t be heard. “It’s a double!”
“So?” Tyler sighed,
seemingly unconcerned about the implications of a shared room. “I don’t know
about you, but I’m tired, hungry, and I am not dragging my ass and your
suitcase back down that damn driveway. It’s one night and, as long as you don’t
snore, it’ll be fine.” He grabbed Eliot’s forearm and urged him back to the
desk. “Is the restaurant still open?” he asked, blatantly ignoring Eliot’s
discomfort.
Alicia nodded then
turned the register to face Eliot. “Yes, the restaurant is open until ten, and
may I recommend the steak? It’s delicious.”
Eliot filled in their
names and the address of the university. It was an antiquated way of
registering, in fact he couldn’t remember ever having checked-in like this
before, and he questioned it.
“This is rather
quaint,” he said, gesturing to the register. “No offence, but most hotels are
computerized nowadays, aren’t they?”
“None taken,” Alicia
replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I believe they are, yes.
Unfortunately, technology is taking a little longer to catch up to us here.”
When Eliot had finished filling in their details, she turned the register back
to herself and noted the time of check-in. “There, all done. We do ask for
payment up front, for both the room and dinner. If you don’t mind.”
“No, of course, not.
That’s fine by us, right Eliot?” Tyler covered a yawn, clearly wanting to get
to the room as soon as possible.
“That’ll be $50 in
total.”
“You mean $50 each.”
Eliot was confused.
“No, $50 in total.”
“But—”
“That’s fine,” Tyler
said, cutting Eliot off. He took out his wallet and pulled out a fifty, which
he handed over to Alicia with an apologetic smile. “You’ll have to forgive my
friend, it’s been a long day.”
Alicia laughed
politely, gave them a receipt for their payment, then picked up the
old-fashioned hand bell on the desk and shook it. The sound echoed around them.
One of the other doors off the reception area opened and a tall, thin,
pale-skinned young man in a crisp red uniform approached the desk.
“This is our porter,
Michael,” Alicia said as she handed the porter a key. “These gentlemen will be
staying in room twenty-one. Michael will show you to your room, but please
don’t hesitate to ask should you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Tyler
again answered for them both, much to Eliot’s consternation.
“By the way,” Alicia
called as they followed the porter, who had picked up both their suitcases,
toward the stairs. “Enjoy your stay.”
“I’m sure we will,”
Eliot replied.
“Oh, I guarantee it.”
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