Twenty-Nine // J.G.

four.

The night had been fairly good to me as I woke up an hour after sunrise, refreshed and ready for a full day to focus on nothing but myself. I was accustomed to being an early-riser, though I can thank jet lag for this one since my body clock reset at least twice yesterday. I couldn't recall what time I had fallen victim to slumber, but I vaguely remembered the others being very much awake when my book began to slip from my fingers.

Disregarding the very tiring and very embarrassing first day in Hawaii, I had already mapped out my plans for the day and was revived with the fact that none of them involved any of the boys. It was just me and the island, shopping and relaxing the day away.

Before doing anything, I crept out my room to have my morning tea, knowing that I could enjoy a little bit of quiet time as I knew the boys would still be knocked out considering how late those girls had them up. The cold tile of the kitchen floor brought me to my tiptoes, and I sucked in a sharp breath before scurrying across to the cabinets.

"You good, lil' mama?" Nate's voice rose up from the silence, startling me like always. He chuckled while I dug through the shelves for my tea bags.

"Good morning, Nate." I greeted with a cheery tone. Nothing could possibly ruin my mood this morning. "I didn't think anyone was awake." After I put a cup of water in the microwave, I turned around to see him rolling a joint. I gave him a skeptical look, crossing my arms while amusement lined my lips in a grin. "You really couldn't do without it, could you?" I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head.

"Wake up 'n' bake up." Of course, his infamous motto. I turned back around once the microwave beeped.

"Be careful." I warned, moving to sit at the kitchen island while stirring my tea. A lopsided grin painted across his lips as he blew out a puff of smoke and rested his head back against the couch.

"As far as y'all are concerned, this is for medical purposes." We shared a laugh, and while he continued to get high, I scanned over the mess of a living room. Sammy and Jack's limp bodies were sprawled out across the sectional sofa, shirts absent from both their figures, and by the looks of it, they'd be out cold for at least another four hours.

"Well, I'm going out today." I let Nate know with a cheerful tone. "And since I'm sure you guys are exhausted from last night, it looks like I'm going solo."

"No you're not," A separate voice spoke up before Nate, sending chills down my spine. I hated the sound of him, and I sure as hell did not want to stick around to hear what he had to offer this time. Jack sat up from the couch, a low groan passing his lips as he stretched his arms up, accentuating his fairly large biceps. "I'll come. You know, for protection." His sleepy smile only contributed to the persuasion of his morning voice, although I possessed enough strength of mind to stand up to him.

"And what makes you think I need to be protected?" Well, the inquiry sounded better in my head, but it was too late to reclaim it as I watched him observe my smaller figure with a forming smirk on his lips. I hated when he did that. I take back what I said about nothing being able to ruin my mood. Only the ever-so-charming Jack Gilinsky would manage to do it within a mere minute.

"Come on, Mar. It'll be fun, I promise." His brown eyes seemed to enlarge into a rather annoying puppy face, something that I had difficulty resisting from anyone. I looked over at Nate for help, but he seemed to be in his own world while I was left alone to deal with Jack in this one.

"You have twenty minutes to get ready." I muttered, knowing I'd regret this decision later on.

With an overly enthusiastic smile, he swayed up from the couch and swiped his shirt off the ground.