Page 24

J AMIE calls out from behind us that we need to turn right up this way before biking down to reach our destination.

I applied pressure to the pedals and made the turn to enter a busier street. Hazel ran behind Emerson who passed me at a fast pace because she felt better today than yesterday.

While remaining in the bike lane I looked at my phone to see what time it was. Tomorrow morning, we need to wake up early because tonight marks our final day in this location.

We ended our bike ride at a gelato shop we noticed earlier during our town walk. We secure our bicycles before breaking into the shop while laughter makes half of us struggle to breathe.

JAMIE failed to notice that Camden had come to a halt which led to him crashing into him. The argument that was pursued was hilarious. The line moved forward as people placed their orders with Em and I stationed right at the end. She placed her order first when we reached the front and then I quickly gave mine.

"Together?" The cashier asked.

"No." she shook her head.

"Yes." I interrupted her conversation and handed a twenty-dollar note to the cashier. She gave me a sharp gaze, but my infamous smile met her eyes which led her to roll them back in response.

"What a gentleman." she sneers.

You owe me some gratitude for this situation. I give a dismissive shrug before I take my change and toss the additional coins into the tip jar.

My gratitude would depend on my feelings toward you and the notion that tipping women goes beyond basic courtesy. She smiled, stating her case. The free dessert was your real contribution to the evening, Rowan.

"I acknowledge you at least," I informed her while leading the way.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." she scoffed, sliding into the booth.

The other person found a seat next to us while I moved beside her to her dismay. Is Rhodes asking us to practice on Friday? I ask.

"Unfortunately," Felix groaned, scooting closer to Hazel. We need to practice from four to six because he somehow predicts our return time.

I give a nod before scooping up some ice cream. I look at Emerson who also notices what I've spotted. During this vacation their romantic feelings for one another have grown significantly. The situation improved when Felix found the courage to kiss her.

My phone went off with a flood of notifications all at once. I removed my phone from my pocket where it revealed that all the notifications were coming from Instagram. The girls who started following me on Instagram turned out to be the same ones from the party once I checked their profiles.

Yeah nope. That's not even worth discussing. Emerson whispers "Manwhore, I see" beside me which makes me turn my head to look at him.

"Ladies, man. I don't have control over the fact that girls keep flocking to me. I boast, swiping out of the app.

"Yeah, because you're just so drool-worthy." Her mocking tone prompts her to drop her hand which strikes my leg unintentionally with her cold fingertips resting on my knee.

It's easy to overlook such things yet remembering her complete lack of action remains impossible.

Her hand remains still, and she chooses not to move it. My head turns towards her, but she remains seated as she scrolls through her phone and eats pieces of ice cream periodically.

She notices my gaze and looks back at me. I squint my eyes while she mimics my action and then gives me a subtle smirk that causes me to move in my seat. Bold, but I knew that.

She knows how to play. Always has.

As soon as we return home the outside world has completely turned dark. As the others enter the living room I make my way to the bathroom.

Throughout our entire bike ride back I kept thinking hard about ways to provoke her and move forward in this bet.

I left the bathroom but couldn't think of anything. While I walked down the hallway I noticed an open door. I pushed the door open and found the empty room I had visited just days earlier.

The sight of an attractive feisty girl trapped against the wall greeted me when I entered.

I entered laughing and moved toward the spinning chair where I sat down. I took out my phone to check what I missed. I rotated several times before understanding that pushing hard on the chair causes it to recline slightly but then I chose to get up and return to everyone when the door slammed shut.

I ended up walking next to someone I've really wanted to spend time with alone. She took care of me. "Emerson. Just who I was looking for."

"Aww. You've stayed in my mind this whole time Rowan which is really sweet.

Tell me a time she isn't. In either of these situations she always shows up.

She approaches me to ask a question after taking a few steps.

But she's still far. "Oh, c'mon, Em. I don't bite." I joke, and she walks closer. "Better. So, what question did you need to ask me?

She mentions the bet and my anticipation builds because I'm excited about where this will lead. Bets always have winners. How do we win?"

I explain my initial point stating that my goal is to make you fall for me while smiling at her. She gives me a nod and then moves to stand beside me. Again, too far for my liking. I move towards her until she sits at my feet.

I understand but I need more details about what you mean. She asks while taking the bold and dangerous step of straddling my lap.

I lift an eyebrow at her because I'm shocked by her daring move. She's getting bolder. I need to elevate my game.

My hands rest on her hips while she positions hers on my shoulders. The meaning depends entirely on your interpretation. I gave her a vague answer.

I was completely unsure how to respond when she asked. Her appearance was overwhelming as she straddled me with her superior beauty.

The chair reclines slightly when I push back and her unfazed face falters. She grips the armrests while biting her lip's inner side.

Jesus.

"This is a bit...compromising, isn't it?" The rhetorical question leaves my lips while I prepare to face her gaze. She attempts to stand but I secure her hips against the floor. Uh-uh. You got yourself into this position, Em. Deal with it."

She turns her head aside displaying clear signs of reflection on her recent actions. "Sit up," she commands me while she seems to be breathing hard. The situation amuses me but she remains unamused because she repeats herself. "Sit. Up."

"Boo. I was having fun." I respond sarcastically and yet instead of sitting up to her request I lift us both from the chair and her legs naturally wrap around my waist.

"Jaxon." She wraps her arms around my neck as I hold her while she is lifted into the air. "Put me down."

I moved until she found herself backed into a corner. "Why?" Her facial expression prompts me to ask questions which sparks my curiosity.

She gives me full attention before she clears her throat. "Just put me down," she orders again.

I have a strong desire to intensify the situation I acted on it. "And what if I don't?" By pressing her against the wall she found herself completely trapped.

"Jaxon."

Your body language suggests you don't want me to put you down. I point out her failure to resist my control. "Actions speak louder than words Em."

She looked like she was freezing up. Her face remained perfect still while her eyes remained fixed on mine without any change in expression or distance.

Oh, c'mon, she must do something.

She communicates her intentions when she trails her hand up my neck while drawing me nearer.

Not that we could be any closer.

Jaxon, this will be my final warning. Her lips

move continuously as she keeps talking. "Put. Me. Down."

I move my eyes upward to meet hers and I respond with a smirk. "You never learn, do you?"

"Learn what?" she breathes heavily.

Choosing bold actions requires accepting their outcomes. I scan her body to bring our current situation to her attention.

She whispers confidently that she's capable of handling the situation. I know I've succeeded because I can see you questioning whether you want to go through with them.

I laugh. I wasn't questioning anything. I could kiss her. She's allowing me to. But I choose not to. There's no questioning involved.

This moment feels extremely tense, yet my phone decides to ring at this exact time and thanks to the separate ringtone I know exactly who is calling.

It's comical. My phone decides to ring right now when I need it at least.

My desire to test that theory remains strong even though I whisper this while our lips dangerously approach each other. "I should take this."

She shows both disappointment and relief on her face when I gently place her on the ground. The door opened and someone bolted out faster than I had ever seen before.

She exits but I decide to answer the call and move toward the other way. "Hi, Mom."

I'm relieved that it's late now. The timing prevents people from asking about my appearance because if it were earlier I would receive these questions. It was hot and getting hotter.

I intensely disliked my present emotional state.

Screw that. I know I like it. I'm bothered that his actions or inactions alone trigger these emotions within me.

The situation feels unjust because I'm uncertain whether my influence on him matches his impact on me. I recognize his love for challenges while I do my best to combat the feelings, he stirs in me and avoid the terrible temptation to kiss him.

But it's getting harder to fight.

The entire experience remains unprocessed after twenty minutes. The fact that I'm horny intensifies the situation right now.

My freedom from scrutiny stems from the fact that a ten-minute bathroom break is typically only a concern for schoolchildren.

I try to forget what happened but cannot stop picturing the possible outcome if his phone had remained silent. Let's face it: I probably would've kissed him.

The moment I picture kissing him I find myself thinking about much more intense encounters.

Oh my god, this is bad.

I move my head back and forth while searching for different thoughts to focus on. Despite my efforts to move past him I find myself thinking about him again and wondering where he could be.

He got on the phone to talk with his mom some time ago. Their typical conversations probably don't reach twenty minutes unless something important is being discussed.

Despite my desire to avoid it, I find myself returning to the room and following the path he took when I ran away.

His voice outside leads me to open the sliding door. I assume we're having a typical conversation yet finding myself listening to an important discussion.

And I don't even mean to.

"God, Mom, I don't want him around."

I feel my expression change when I hear him speaking. He sounds out of breath like he's...crying.

What the fuck.

I stop moving when his sniffle reaches my ears because I realize my suspicions were correct. I am unable to move or speak even if I could. He remains unaware of my presence behind him while he moves around the house.

My brain is overwhelmed with numerous racing thoughts. He doesn't cry. It's unusual for guys to cry but when they do it's an intense experience. His only display of tears happened when Laura's guinea pig passed away when she was a child.

He told a lie saying his tears didn't fall. He deflected responsibility onto his emotional sister during that time.

I find myself torn between wanting to give him space because he is upset while also feeling driven to understand what has happened.

The door closes behind me as I enter the kitchen space. My inability to remain still reveals that something isn't right inside me. I walk around the island making frequent stops to check my phone for no apparent reason while I keep pacing.

Screw it.

I don't hate him. Even though I shouldn't be concerned about him, I must stop him from leaving now while he appears so distressed.

I move quickly but silently to the front of the house before leaving. There appear to be no people on the streets in my line of sight. The main road to the right shines a light while the left remains pitch black even though there are occasional lampposts.

Even though it sounds foolish I decided to go left. There's an intuition telling me he's located over there.

The feeling inside me warns me I would become the first character to perish in any horror scenario.

I take each step cautiously because hearing something would make me run back to the house in fear. I push forward and my legs begin to quiver as I spot a figure ahead.

I know it's him.

The distinctive way he walks with his hands placed in his pockets confirms that it must be him. He continues walking until he recognizes my presence.

Each step pushes my legs to their limit until they nearly collapse when I reach him. When my gaze meets his glossy eyes, my eyes begin to water.

I reach out and hug his torso so hard that I fear releasing my grip will reveal I'm hugging someone I don't know all while my legs fail me and I'm about to collapse.

Deathly worry occupies my thoughts about him. His embrace provides me with some comfort. I gasp for breath while feeling about to cry. The sight of his tears' impact compels me to join him in crying.

"It's not necessary for you to speak," I say while leaning back to look at him. My main concern is checking if you're okay at this moment.

He looks at me with an empty stare. His mouth opens and closes rapidly revealing his uncertainty over what to say. "I'm okay." He manages to force those words out of himself.

At his weak but comforting words I press my face back into his chest. Our return walk remains silent and feels incredibly tense.

He leads me towards the house even though I am supposed to be escorting him. I continue to maintain my arm in a resting position while making slight hand movements to make sure he hasn't left my side.

We ascend the steps to the porch before I pause. I want to avoid looking foolish in front of our friends because I can't explain why we're coming back together.

He steps up behind me and with one hand he circles around my hip while the other tilts my head back at an angle so that I can look over my shoulder at him. I observe his eyes yet fail to understand his emotions in this moment.

He's not showing me anything.

The moment his lips crushed mine I finally felt something. I placed my hand on his hip followed by a sweep of my other hand up his chest to finally encircle his neck while bringing him closer.

I want to twist my body to pull him toward me so that his face is right there for me to deliver a more intense kiss. But I don't get that.

He disconnects momentarily then kisses me with desperation for the final time before his hand releases my hip followed by his hand falling from my chin.

We remain silent as he steps into the room while our breaths fill the space between us. A tear escapes my eye when I blink. I clean away the tears and steady myself before re-entering the house.