We're Just Friends

Chapter 5

Lauren's POV

By the time I woke up again, it was morning. Looking at the time on my phone, I saw it was half seven. I slowly sat up in bed, careful not to wake Julia who was still fast asleep next to me. I threw my jumper on before slowly unzipping the tent and stepping outside. When I emerged, I saw Joey sat in one of the chairs boiling some water over the fire.

"Morning, JoJo," I said softly as i approached him.He turned to look at me with a smile on his face.

"Morning, Lo. Did you sleep ok?" he asked. I took a seat next to him and nodded.

"Yeah, it was ok. How about you?" I asked and he smiled.

"Not too bad thanks. What happened to you last night? I was worried about you," he said.

I smiled, "Oh, I just got a bit tired, that's all. I'm fine though. I'd tell you if there was something wrong," I replied. Joey rested his hand on my knee.

"Make sure you do," he said before proceeding to make both me and him a coffee.

It wasn't long before Brian and Meredith stepped out of their tent and joined us by the fire as well.

"Morning," Meredith said as she and Brian sat down.

"Hey. How are you two?" I asked, smiling at them.

"We're good," Brian said with a smile.

Half an hour later, and everyone was awake. We were all discussing what we wanted to do today, and eventually decided on going to the beach. After breakfast, we all headed back to our tents to change and get ourselves ready for the day. When we were all ready, we began the walk down to the beach.

Joey led us to a spot that was big enough for all of us and we all started setting up. I laid my towel down on the sand and took off my shorts and T-shirt to reveal my blue halter neck bikini.

"Wow Lauren, that bikini's so nice. Is it new?" Julia asked as I shoved my clothes in my bag.

I smiled, "thank you. And yeah, I thought I'd treat myself," I replied. "Hey JoJo, would you mind putting some sunscreen on my back please?"

I walked over to him and extended the bottle. He nodded and took it from me, squirting the sunscreen onto his hand before rubbing it on my back. I couldn't describe the way Joey's hands felt as they massaged the sunscreen into my skin. All I knew was that it felt right. And, now that I was single, I had no problem with enjoying the feeling of it.

"Let me know if you want me to put some more on later," he said once he was done.

I smiled, "thanks. Want me to do yours?" I offered.

Joey accepted and we switched places so I could put the sunscreen on his back. I had to stand on my tip toes to reach the top of his shoulders, but I didn't mind.

"All done," I said with a smile.

"Thanks Lo. Hey, you coming for a swim?" Joey asked and I shook my head.

"Not now, maybe later," I said and Joey switched on his puppy dog eyes.

He blinked at me a few times, begging me to say yes. "Please LoLo," he whined.

"JoJo, you know I'm not the strongest swimmer," I said, not wanting to let him down.

He smiled, "yeah, but I was a life guard, remember?" He replied.

I sighed, "let me read one chapter of my book and then I'll see, ok?" I said and he nodded.

"I knew I could talk you round. I'll come and get you in a bit," Joey said before running to catch up with the boys.

I shook my head, smiling as I watched Joey run into the water to be with the others. I walked back to where the girls were and sat down, oblivious to the fact that they'd just seen the whole exchange between Joey and I.

"Lauren! What the hell was all that about?" Meredith hissed as I pulled my book from my bag.

"What?" I asked.

"You and Joey were just flirting big time," Jaime commented.

I sighed, "no we weren't. We're just friends, and besides, I had-have a boyfriend," I said, praying they wouldn't notice my slip up.

"Had?" Julia asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Have. I have a boyfriend," I clarified.

They didn't seem to say anything else so I turned my attention to my book. Sometime later, the boys were spotted walking back up the beach to join us.

"You guys have to come in. The waters great," Dylan said as he sat down next to Jaime and pulled her into a hug.

"I'll come in after lunch," Jaime said, leaning back against him.

"Lo, you gonna come in?" Joey asked.

I sighed, "yes, Joey. I told you I would. Now does anyone want a drink or some snacks? I'm gonna go to the store," I said, standing up.

I took everyone's orders, and Joey decided he'd come with me to help me out. We put our clothes back on and began the walk up the beach to the nearby grocery store.

"Have you heard from Will?" Joey asked as we were going along.

I shook my head, "no, nothing. I'll give him a ring later to see how the party went," I said.

Joey smiled, "do you know what you're going to do about him?" He asked. "Sorry if I'm overstepping. You don't have to answer."

I sighed, "no, JoJo you're fine. Actually, I don't need to do anything. Because he broke up with me last night. I know I just told you I didn't hear anything but I just wanted to pretend that everything was ok. But I can't pretend with you," I said as the tears began to fall from my eyes.

Joey didn't say anything. He stopped walking and pulled me into a hug as I cried. His arms held me close to him, and his hands rubbed circles on my back to soothe me. He didn't let go until I had stopped crying.

"Is this why you went to bed last night?" He asked and I nodded.

"He messaged me. He broke up with me in a fucking text. And then I found out he'd been seeing some other girl for six months. Why wasn't I enough? Why can't I be enough for anyone?" I cried. Joey pulled me back into his arms and planted a kiss on the top of my head.

"It's gonna be ok, Lo. I've got you," he whispered. We stood there together for what felt like a life time. Standing on the beach, wrapped up in Joey's arms, everything felt ok again.

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Hope you enjoyed chapter 5!

I'm working on another richpez fic and some one shots so hopefully I'll have some more stuff to upload soon!

E xo