Page 20

T he following day went by quickly. After we got up, we ate breakfast downstairs before we climbed into the car. I examined the driver before entering the vehicle.

"Don't crash," I mutter.

"I won't crash." he's quick to answer.

"I don't believe you."

"Who’s that?" he asks.

"Because you're a child."

"And you're barely an adult."

"At least I am one." I fight back. In my perspective you remain a child because you are still 17.

"Maturity counts." he crosses his arms. I'm more mature than you.

I laugh at his comment. Your sense of maturity is an illusion if you believe you surpass mine.

"Maybe you're the one who's delusional." he sneers. We shouldn't overlook the fact that he's annoyed, along with possibly being bipolar.

I watched my jaw move downward by the smallest possible amount.

"Wow. You know–"

As I'm about to speak Kylie interrupts me with her words. "Alright, you two! That's enough, let's go!" she yells from the back seat.

I roll my eyes. Passing him I mutter under my breath "You're gonna kill us all" while deliberately nudging his shoulder.

I'll aim to hit your side of the car if we crash. I found his sarcastic remarks irritating.

We both share mutual feelings about one another. I wished he would take the first hit if I lost control of the car, and he felt the same way about me.

I'm just joking. Jeez.

I fastened my seatbelt as Jaxon started the vehicle to depart from the hotel. I inserted my headphones and took a break from stress for the initial few hours.

During our drive we stopped at two bathrooms stations we refueled our car and took turns driving.

I exchanged my rear seat position for a spot in the front row while Elijah assumed driving responsibilities.

My headphones stopped working which made me open my eyes. I accessed my phone and noticed multiple messages from Hazel.

I smile at her message. The thirty-minute drive to the house begins to trigger my vacation jitters.

I love that feeling. The stomach fluttering you feel right before a vacation starts. It's the best.

The red light made us pause while my window stayed open, and my elbow rested on the windowsill. The car next to us honked to get my attention.

Looking out the window I spot a red Jeep with almost no doors holding guys who appear to be my age. Maybe older.

"Hey!" One of them yells. "My friend thinks you're pretty hot!"

I smile as they all start laughing. They all engage in conversation with each other while shouting additional remarks.

Just as I started to respond Elijah interrupted me. Please stop harassing my sister guys. He moves closer to be visible through the window.

"Sorry, bro, but she's, like, smokin' hot." Another Callls out.

I released a brief laugh just as the traffic light turned green. A portion of me remained dissatisfied after our departure from that encounter.

Receiving compliments from people feels nice but I think calling someone hot or smokin' hot isn't the best way to compliment them.

I'd instead be called pretty.

The fine could be exchanged for something like sexy.

I would include sexy on my list of good compliments. I won't even consider it hot. People use the word too much until it loses meaning and heat should describe temperature does not serve as praise.

I felt El tap my wrist. "You, OK?" he mouths to me.

The tap on my wrist was the first time I became aware of my slight frown. "Yeah." I mouth back, nodding my head.

I maintained my silence until we reached our destination. After traveling for thirty minutes, we arrived at a pale yellow house with columns that were illuminated and numerous windows. The gate next to the house opened to the backyard.

Palm trees lined the front of the property and when I exited my vehicle I was immediately hit by the ocean breeze. The presence of two cars ahead of us indicated that the others had reached before us.

My prediction turned out to be right when Hazel came out of the house to hug me. Hazel held me so firmly that it caused pain in my lungs.

"Hi, Hazel." I laughed.

"Hi, Em." she smiles.

I collected my belongings and discovered

Hazel's bags in the living room. She told us that the guys were using the living room located on the house's other side and this one was ours. I placed my bags on one of the mattresses spread across the floor.

The house belonged to one of Neha's father's friends, so most bedrooms remained locked except the master bedroom.

The backyard featured a beautiful patio alongside its main highlight which was the pool. We should still remember about the kitchen dream they had.

This place will provide me with the best time ever.

After everyone had found their places to rest we walked to the bike rental place. Hazel and Kylie remained with me while her gossip provided entertainment. Our conversation circled around Felix as usual but there was something intriguing in their discussion.

Hazel states that she needs to give herself a sunburn tomorrow on purpose.

"Why would you do that?" I ask her with a laugh. He won't know whether I'm blushing. Hazel eyes me with a smile.

"Oh my god, Hazel." The moment we reached the bike shop Kylie burst into laughter.

"It would be wise to do that since she resembles a tomato so much–" Hazel slaps my shoulder to interrupt me.

"Shut up." she snaps.

With certainty in my words, I declared "You know it's true."

Hazel rolls her eyes while everyone gets their bikes. Some bikes came equipped with baskets while other bikes arrived without any. I approached the man at the register so I could retrieve my belongings.

"Are you new here?" He hands me my bike lock and key while asking if I'm new here.

I suppose so but my friends and I are vacationing down here. "How long are you guys here for?" he asks with a smile.

"Three days...why?" Where is this leading?

They have organized a large beach bonfire for tomorrow evening. You guys should come." He pulls me into the conversation about the bonfire while his head drops at the sight of an incoming text.

"What beach?" I ask.

The beach event tomorrow will be held at the beach down this road. The event will begin at seven if you choose to attend.

I will consider the invitation before I complete the payment and rejoin my companions.

When I proposed the party idea to my friends they showed their interest in attending. After our bike ride, we made our way to the house to begin showering.

The desire to be clean made me the first person to enter the shower.

Sabrina informed us that we will have dinner at a small restaurant in town. She said to dress casually. Casual wear usually means jeans, but humidity makes them too uncomfortable to wear. Jean shorts casual. That's fine, I guess.

I chose a top to wear before I started exploring the remaining rooms of the house. The doors were all locked as I anticipated but some rooms revealed running water from showers so they must have been bathrooms. One room was left unlocked.

I opened the door and discovered the room had nothing inside except for a middle-floor spinny chair left unused. The room was empty from the moment I entered.

Someone led me into the room and secured the door before I could leave. I spin around and, oh god.

"What are you doing?" I question him about his actions while he presses himself against the door.

"You lied, didn't you?" Instead of answering my questions he poses his own.

"Lied about what?" I'm quick to fire back.

He says, "At diner" and makes my stomach plummet. "You lied at the table."

No, I didn't. "What are you talking about?" I let out a nervous laugh. "This is so pointless." I attempted to walk around him to reach the door after dismissing him.

I expected things to fail yet find myself unable to understand how he managed to trap me against the door. A place I really shouldn't be.

"Don't do that." He stood before me while his tone took on a softer quality.

"Do what?" I said to the ground. "Lie."

Shit.

This is not good. This is not good. I should get out of here. I reached for the doorknob to leave but his hand clasping my wrist shows my escape attempt failed disastrously.

The contact forces me to close my eyes tightly. I feel my wrist burning in a stupidly good way while the desire to stay wins against my need to leave.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie right through my teeth again. He knows it. I know it. My floor-staring manner reveals my intentions too clearly.

"Then let me refresh your mind. Our reason for being in the closet escapes me but I remember our presence together in that space. We remained silent for an uncomfortably extended period before you began yelling at me. His explanation starts and my mind spirals into chaos.

I swear he didn't know. He looked clueless at the table. I believed he went back to drink more at the event. I know I didn't see him. I just thought–

"Then you kissed me. Don't you remember that?" I didn't look up because my eyes were locked downward when he asked his question.

The words contact my ears, and I sense my skin reacting against me.

The heat in my cheeks returned to me the moment he described. No no no no no. Could you stop it? I work hard to control my feelings yet when he tilts my chin up to force my gaze upon him, I surrender.

"C'mon Em, I know–"

"OK! Fine!" I snap. You know damn well we kissed so don't pretend you didn't. I stay quieter during that part when I slap his arm away.

That smile on his lips makes me want to slap it away. "I knew you were lying."

"Oh, shut up." With my available hand I push against his shoulder.

I struggle to push my arm away from him but find myself unable to move. I reach for his arm with my second hand to free myself, but he counters my movement by pushing me and holds my hip against the door, so I remain stuck.

Emerson, I will make this direct since we need to get to the heart of the matter. He whispers above me revealing his belief that he won.

Standing this close to him makes maintaining eye contact difficult for me. We stand way too close together and there's excessive contact. Way too much of everything. Dammit.

I can't ignore the last part, though. He thinks he won. I know what he's talking about. We made this wager some time ago. My fear grew when we discussed it last because I sensed he was making progress.

The pain is immense because I understand now how my skin reveals my weakness before his gaze.

But he knows I'm never easy. I refuse to accept defeat in this wager. The bet didn't set any rules against my winning. So, what's another player going to do?

I breathe deeply to regain my composure. "You haven't won anything," I mutter.

Your stillness combined with this position's striking familiarity makes me think I might have won. he retaliates.

My anxiety swells within me when he makes his point. I could be the victor of this bet. I lift my brow at him while my courage slowly comes back.

He cocks his head at me which shows he's curious about my intended direction. "And how have you won?" His method of questioning causes my face to nearly show weakness.

"Well, look at us, Rowan.

You positioned me against this door and locked us in this room before making out with me. I direct my finger toward his heart while his expression becomes increasingly ominous.

"So, what are you saying?" he asks.

"I'm saying this bet isn't over. Expectations can change to include another participant.

The room felt like it was heated up thirty degrees because my words came out with unexpected confidence. I couldn't comprehend that I entered this bet on purpose yet knew losing would destroy my pride, so this outcome was unacceptable.

He narrowed his eyes at me as if he was searching for the right words to say to me.

"I'll even make it harder for myself." I blurt. I'll include kissing you in the closet as part of the count even though I was drunk when it happened which shouldn't count.

His lips moved just a little bit, and you needed a close look to notice it. Wait. Why am I looking at his lips? The reason they draw your attention is because they're located right before your eyes.

A terrible idea popped into my head, but I didn't care at that moment. I gripped his forearm which held me against the wall while I stared directly into his eyes. You expect me to participate in your ludicrously sinful game

Rowan? I'll play the damn game." I rise onto my toes while whispering.

I smirk as I spot his eyes dart downward.

I start at his elbow and move my fingers downward until they settle on his wrist. When faces get this close it means people have one thing in mind.

To kiss. "I. Will. Win." He lunges for the kiss I baited before I swiftly pull away to remove his hair tie in one fluid motion.

I open the door while smiling and call us out before I exit the room.

I'm shocked at what I just did. I sped down the hallway.

Going to dinner couldn't be more tense. The tension arose solely because Jaxon was seated beside me. Although dialogue surrounded us at the table we remained in complete silence.

I attempted to hide my emotions, but my stomach churned with butterflies when he slid his foot beneath my ankle to pull my leg closer which made it difficult to maintain my guise.

My frustration grew because I couldn’t stab the butterflies at the speed I needed.