Royals

Chapter 56

Our last full day in Maui, Hawaii, concluded as any typical vacation of ours would. After we finished swimming, Joey and I grabbed a quick dinner before exploring random shops. Joey even convinced me to walk around in a coconut bra, a faux grass skirt, and a fluffy, pink luau with my sandals.

"We're in Hawaii, and you have the outfit," he had insisted. "You can't not wear it."

Not only was it fun to dress up in the stereotypical Hawaiian attire, but it also felt nice against the warm, nighttime breeze.

After we finished our touristy activities, Joey and I made our way back to the house. By that point, it was pretty late, so we had started up the fire pit and built a bonfire. We decided to have a "Today's Hits" music station playing in the background while we goofed around. We decided to play a drinking game where, every time a swear word in a song played, we took a shot of vodka.

We were doing alright until "IDFWY" by Big Sean came on.

After that particular song, we gave up with our game. Both of us were giggling hysterically and dancing around the yard. Joey tried convincing me to go night swimming with him, but I was too scared to go because, five minutes earlier, I could've sworn I saw a shark.

Joey also tried to persuade me into believing that what I assumed was a shark was just a diver, but what kind of person scuba dives in the middle of the night?

Finally, he gave up on his wish to swim and thought it would be funny to throw sand in the fire. However, before I had time to influence him otherwise, Joey threw a bucket full of sand into the fire. It didn't take him long to realize that that was a bad decision because the fire immediately extinguished.

"Whoops," Joey shrugged, turning towards me and chuckling. I rolled my eyes at his foolish actions and lead him inside the house. Joey fumbled with the remote until he found the power button, and the TV shot on, deafening both of us.

While I screamed, Joey fiddled with the remote, pressing random buttons until his thumb landed on the sound adjuster. He lowered the TV volume to a low hum and bent over in laughter. Although I was confused as to why the TV was up so loud, I laughed along with him.

Joey left seconds later, traveling to the kitchen in search of our other bottle of wine. After he found it, he excitedly sat down beside me on the couch. He turned to face me and brought the clear rim of the bottle to his lips. He drank it with a smile on his lips, and I watched as the pink liquid swooshed around in the bottle.

When he handed the bottle to me, I thought about how long it had been since the two of us had done this together.

Not meaning to ask it aloud, I murmured. "Why did you break up with Ally?"

"I don't like her," he answered, visibly confused. "I already told you that."

"Why didn't you do it sooner?"

"Jealous much?" he smirked, stealing the bottle away from me.

"Obviously," I scoffed, realizing too late that it was the first time I had actually admitted it to him. "I was jealous of her, which really wasn't fair because you weren't even mine."

"True," he agreed, "but I like that you were jealous."

I sighed, preparing to empty the contents of my heart to the boy of my dreams. "I guess something keeps me holding onto the nothingness that is between us."

"Is this really nothing?" he asks, gesturing to the limited space between us.

"You tell me," I whispered with a quick shrug.

He leaned a couple inches closer, and when he spoke, his sweet, cotton candy scented breath tickled my lips. "We're not something, but we're certainly not nothing, either."