School for Assassins (Rewritten) - Complete

Chapter 34 - Under the Stars

Ely:

"We're celebrating tonight." Shawn announced as soon as we got back into our rooms.

"What are we celebrating?" Dominic asked as he stopped off at the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

"That testing is finally over." Shawn replied as he reclined against the back of the couch.

"What are we doing to celebrate?" Jordan asked with his head inside the pantry, searching for something to fill his bottomless pit.

"If no one objects, I thought we could go to my favorite relaxing spot. It's right on the edge of campus, but very few people actually know about it. And we'll need our swim suits and probably towels." Shawn replied.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

Shawn sighed. "Just stop asking questions and get ready to go. We'll go as soon as dinner's over." He said.

I grabbed a towel on my way to my room, and then shoved it into my backpack. I shoved clean underwear in another compartment and quickly changed into my pink and black bikini. I pulled on a pair of black sweat pants and a baggy light green t-shirt.

When I got back out to the living room, Jordan had just set our trays of food down in the kitchen. Shawn stepped out of his room at the same time as Dominic. I was a little surprised to see Dominic without his hat on.

I stepped into the kitchen to grab a drink and had to muffle a giggle when I saw Jordan shove some beef jerky into his bag. He winked at me as he moved us back towards the living room to sit down.

Shawn handed me a salad and I felt a little zing of pleasure rush through me at the thought of him paying enough attention to my likes to know what I'd want for dinner. And he even ordered it without mushrooms, just like I liked it. "Thank you." I said softly.

He gave me a small quirk of the lips that nearly passed as a smile and turned back to his own food.

"So... this place we're going..." Jordan started.

Shawn gave him a look, "Don't start, Jordan. I'm not telling you where we're going first."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

After dinner, we grabbed jackets and had to hike a ways. We ended up going to an area that I wasn't familiar with, and I found myself asking, "Are you sure we're still on school property?"

Shawn chuckled, "Yes, Babe. I'm sure." He responded. He gave a strand of my hair an affectionate tug and then his hand was holding mine. His hand was large and warm and slightly rough, but I enjoyed the sensations against the palm of my hand.

"We're here." Shawn said. Was that...? I glanced around in the fading light and realized there was a decent sized hot spring there.

My eyes widened in surprise, "Really?"

Shawn nodded. "Yeah, Babe. Whenever everyone's ready, we can get in." He murmured near my ear, sending goosebumps down my arms.

Dominic:

I quickly shed my grey sweatpants and black t-shirt. After kicking my shoes and sweats off, I sat on the edge of the hot springs and waited for the others. In the fading light, I was just barely able to make out Kitten as she undressed.

My eyes nearly fell out of my head. Someone seriously calls that scrap of fabric she's wearing a swim suit? I immediate turned back towards the hot springs and started to lower myself into the hot water to hide the evidence of what that swim suit was doing to me.

Ely and the other guys got into the water as well and Ely sat down next to me. She gave me a small smile and laid her head on my arm. My heart started pounding so hard that I thought it was going to fly out of my chest, and the look Ely gave me under her lashes only made it beat faster. I slouched down and wrapped my arm around her and looked up. I could hear Jordan and Shawn tackling each other in the water a ways off, but right here and now, this was my own piece of heaven. Ely looked up at the stars.

"There's so many." She whispered softly and on a gasp, she clutched my hand and pointed. "Look, Nic." I looked up at where she was pointing and saw the tail end of a shooting star.

"Almost as pretty as you." I murmured softly.

She glanced up at me with her lips parted slightly and seemed a bit surprised at my statement, but I could also just barely make out the faint blush staining her cheeks.

I stroked a curl of hair away from her cheek, and she continued to watch me in a way that made me feel like I was the luckiest man alive.

Moments later, I felt like a tidal wave splashed over me, as Jordan and Shawn decided they were done waiting for us to join their fun.

Ely:

I squealed when Shawn picked me up and hauled me into the middle of the hot springs. It wasn't very deep, although I probably would have had to tread water in the very center. I glanced over and giggled when I saw Dominic dunking Jordan's head under the water.

Jordan came up spluttering and shaking his head like a dog. Shawn shook his head at their antics, but I could hear the amusement in the small snort he gave.

I was able to turn around in Shawn's arms so that my back was to his front and I laid my head back on his shoulder so I could see the stars. Shawn was silent, and his breath tickled the side of my throat. I could feel his gaze on me, but being in the warm water and looking up at the stars was relaxing and I found myself trying to hold back a yawn.

Shawn's deep chuckle vibrated my back and sent goosebumps racing across my exposed shoulders. I finally released a yawn and Shawn said, "I think we should probably get dressed and head back now. We'll need to get ready for the celebration party tomorrow." I nodded in agreement and Shawn spoke louder so the other two could hear him over their splashing. "Let's head back, guys. It's starting to get late and we have to be up in time to help with the party set up."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

After taking a quick shower once we got back to our rooms, I snuggled deep into my blankets to try to fall asleep. I was worried about having another nightmare and by midnight, I was ready to call it quits.

I thought all of the boys were asleep when I climbed out of bed to go to the living room, but as I padded softly across the room, Jordan sleepily said, "Sunshine, c'mere."

I changed direction and lightly padded over to his bed. He half sat up and held up his blanket, silently telling me to slip in. I bit my lip as I watched his face in the faint light coming from the hallway. He raised an eyebrow, asking me if I was going to climb in without saying a word.

I finally gave a small nod and slipped into the bed. He lie back down and wrapped his arm around my waist. I found it was easier to fall asleep with someone else there than when I was alone and I fell asleep quickly as I cuddled up against Jordan's chest.