Forgive & Forget (Edited)

Chapter 20

I also have a little work I need to do while I'm down there, so I take my sketchbook, work laptop, and its case out of the cubby from behind the stairs. I put my laptop and the case it goes in on my bed since I'm going to be charging it tonight and my sketchbook in the main part of my backpack along with my pencil case. I take one of my laptop chargers (she has 2, one for each laptop) along with two phone chargers, an Apple Watch charger, and a speaker charger and leave them on my bed. I leave all 5 of my chargers out so I can charge all of my electronics tonight.

I also pack 2 purses and a beach bag in my suitcase. I take out a duffle bag and put the floats and water guns inside it. I zip up the duffel bag and look at the racks above the drawer that has my bathing suits inside. I find the cover I'm looking for and take it off the hanger. I fold it up and put it in my suitcase. I also pack 4 pairs of pajamas, multiple pajama socks along, multiple regular socks. I walk into my bathroom to take out some lady products and painkillers. I'm not supposed to get my period for 4 weeks, so I don't need any pads or tampons, and the painkillers are for just in case.

I look into the cabinet under the sink and get my portable first aid kit. I also take out multiple washcloths for my face and my body scrubber which has a loofah on the other side of it. After taking out a few plastic and big ziplock bags, I go back to my closet and put everything I brought from my bathroom in my luggage. I put my washcloths shoes in the same compartment of my suitcase, which is fine since I put my shoes in shoe bags before putting them in my suitcase.

I put my lady things and the plastic bags in a small compartment in my backpack. The plastic bags are for dirty and wet clothes and the big ziplock bag which is for my wet washcloths. I take my toiletry bag out of my suitcase and put my body scrubber and pain killer bottle inside and put it back in. I put my first aid kit in the main compartment of my backpack before I walk up the steps inside my closet and open my jewelry box. I take out whatever jewelry I want to bring and put it in a small jewelry bag. I also take a pair of sunglasses and go back down the steps. I put my jewelry bag and sunglasses in my backpack before zipping it up. I walk out of my closet to get my wallet before walking back in and putting it in my backpack as well. Finally, I close my suitcase and backpack and carry the 3 bags to my bedroom door.

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I sit on my bed and make a list of last minute things I need to pack tomorrow. My laptop, phone, watch, speaker, makeup, cuticle oil, chapstick, and my house keys. I won't be taking my car to the Maldives. Two of my family drivers will be driving me and the group to the runway and there will be three cars already there when we arrive.

After making my list, I grab my keys and leave my room. I walk out the front door and get into my car. The group and I thought it would be a good idea to chill in the park after packing. Before going to the park, I have to pick up my soon to be girlfriend of course.

She's already outside and at the curb when I get to her house. She hops in the car, and we're off. When we get to the park, we get out of the car and walk to the basketball court. The guys wanted to play ball while we hung out, so why not. Ivy had brought her ball, but I also brought mine too.

The rest of the group is already there when we arrive. The guys, except Leo, are already playing. Cami and I go sit down on the bench next to the girls, Leo, and Olive to watch the boys play. After a while of scrolling on my phone, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look over to see Cami looking at me.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"Can you teach me how to shoot?" She asks.

"Yeah, of course. Let's go over there." I reply. The basketball court is big. 3 games can be held here at once as there's enough room and baskets. I take Cami to the court next to where the boys are playing. There's enough space in between so our balls won't get mixed up.

"First things first, your feet. Your feet are very important when it comes to shooting a good jumper. There are a couple ways you can have your feet, but I'm gonna show you the way I prefer." I say and she nods.

"So, I like to have my feet staggered. I have my right foot in front of my left foot because my right is my shooting foot. So whichever foot feels more comfortable in the front, put that one in the front a little bit." She does as I say and I continue speaking.

"A lot of people jump really high when they shoot, but the problem with that is it's hard to stay consistent. I don't jump very high unless I have to, because I like to shoot the same way. So when you jump, don't jump extremely high, it's just like this." I say and show her. After she practices jumping a little bit, I move on to the next thing.

"Next thing is how to hold the ball. So, I like to have my dominant hand, which is my shooting hand, behind the ball, and my non-dominant hand, which is my guide hand, on the side of the ball." I show her the position of my hands on the ball and give it to her before she does the same position.

"Next is set point. Your set point is where you set the ball before releasing it. Everyone has a different set point, but I like to have the ball right in front of my eyebrows. After that is release point. When you release the ball, you wanna release it at its highest point. You don't want to wait too long on the way down and you don't want to release it too early, you have to release it at the top of your jump shot." I explain first, then demonstrate.

After I explain a couple more things about shooting jump shots, I pass Cami the ball. She positions her feet and hands, and finds her set point. After she does that, she jumps a little off the ground and shoots the ball. She lightly squeals and hugs me when it goes in. By that time, it's gotten pretty dark outside, so Cami and I tell the group we'll see them in a couple of hours and drive off to her house.

"Do you wanna spend the night at mine or yours?" I ask her when we pull up to her house.

"I'll spend the night at yours so you won't have to get me in the morning." She says. I leave the car on and walk with her inside. I say hello to her brother and father before going up to her room and grabbing her suitcase and backpack. I bring the 2 bags downstairs while Cami grabs some last minute things. I put her bags in the trunk of my car and get in the driver's seat.

A couple minutes later, Cami walks out with her dad and brother. She hugs them and kisses their cheeks before getting in the car. She puts her purse in the backseat and I drive off.

I take her suitcase upstairs when we arrive at my house while she carries her purse and backpack. I walk up to my room and put her suitcase next to mine. She puts her backpack on her suitcase and hangs her purse from my desk chair. Cameron lays down on my bed under the covers. She had already brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas when we stopped at her house.

I walk into my closet to change into some pajamas myself. I then go into my bathroom to brush my teeth. When I finish, I take out my extra chargers and plug up my phone, laptop, airpods, speaker, and Apple Watch. Cami has also plugged up everything that she needs to charge tonight. It's still pretty early. It's only 9:15, but since we have to leave at 2:35 in the morning, we have to go to sleep early. We'll only get about 4 hours of sleep, but we'll be able to sleep on the jet and during the ride to the bungalow.

After turning off my lamp, I get under the covers and cuddle up to Cameron, knowing the next few days will be spent in paradise.

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Hi everyone. I hope you all enjoyed chapter 20. In this author's note, I want to clear up a few things about Olive in case anyone is a little confused.

Olive is queer or non-binary which means they don't identify as neither boy or girl, however, they are more feminine than masculine. That doesn't mean they are a girl. It just means they'd rather go into girls' bathrooms or locker rooms, wear more feminine clothing, and hang out or share rooms with girls rather than guys. But they do not identify as male or female, they are non-binary or queer and they're sex is female.

I hope that explains Olive's gender and sex if any of you were confused. Some people don't know the difference between sex and gender. There are only 2 sexes (male & female) but multiple genders.

Anyway, thank you all for your support with my book and hopefully the next chapter will be out soon.

Love you all !!❤️❤️