Different

77.

"Do you want to head down to the beach?" I ask him, wanting to soak in a little more sun before we leave tomorrow. 

"Sure, I could use a nap in the sun" he laughs, probably still feeling a little groggy. 

"Okay" I chuckle back, before heading inside to put my bikini on. I change in the bathroom, to Jace's despair. "Can you rub this on my back?" I say, as I reenter the bathroom.

I see that Jace is already wearing his swim shorts. "Sure can" he smirks, while putting some of the lotion on my back. His hands wander further down, and I have to smile to myself.

"I already covered that part" I say, teasing him.

"Really? What a shame?" he says, just as he's about to touch my ass. 

I laugh and grab the sun lotion bottle out of his hand. "Your turn" I say, ready to cover his back for him. 

"I don't need sun lotion" he says, and I look at him with wide eyes.

"Yes, you do. Do you never use any? You know that's terrible for your skin, right?" I tell him, making him turn around.

"Whatever you say" he says, smirking. I quickly cover his back, arms, and chest, and Jace does his legs himself.  When we enter the kitchen and living room area downstairs, I'm happy that the others have already left. I'm not sure I want to face them yet, after the drama from yesterday. It was an uncomfortable situation, and I somehow hated that everyone seemed to be mad at Jace. A few hours for just the two of us might just be what we need. 

I walk through the living room and open the double doors that lead out to the patio with the swimming pool on it. I'll never get over this breathtaking view of the ocean. Jace comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Do you have an idea how good you look right now?" he whispers into my ear, making goosebumps arise on my body. 

I lean my head back to place it on his shoulder, while trying not to feel self conscious with him staring at me. Even though I lost a good amount of weight before I started college, I'm still not the skinniest. Don't get me wrong, I like the little curves I have. Sometimes I just wish I'd be a littler better trained, like Jace. Of course I could work out more, but the panic disorder doesn't make it easy, when I get scared every time my heart starts to pick up its pace.

I turn around to face Jace, and see that he has our two big towels over his shoulder. "Come on" he says, grabbing my hand to pull me down the few steps we have to take until our feet hit the sand. It's not too hot today, which I appreciate. Still, the weather is nice enough to tan in the sun. We find a good spot near the water and place our towels in the sand. Both of us lay on our back, and close our eyes to enjoy the sun and the sound of the waves. 

"I'm fucking tired" Jace mumbles. I turn my head to face him, and see that he's laying on his side, placing his arm on my belly. 

"I'm trying to tan" I chuckle quietly, removing his arm from my skin. I lay it next to my body, intertwining my fingers with his. 

"Whatever you say" he says, before dosing off to sleep seconds after. I guess he really was tired. Jace sleeps about thirty minutes, when I can't lay still any longer. I want to lay on my belly, but I don't want to disturb Jace's nap either. Seems like he really needs it. The 80 degree weather is taking a toll on me, and I decide that instead of laying on my belly, I need to cool off in the ocean. Sorry, Jace. 

I remove my hand from his carefully, and get up successfully, without waking him. Happily, I take a few more steps until my feet are in the cool water. I take a big breath of the salty air, before walking further into the ocean. Oceans kind of freak me out, and I would never actually go swimming in them. Going in until the water comes up to my waist is fine. I enjoy the cool water for a few minutes, until I'm ready to head back into the sun. Turning around, I'm surprised to see Jace awake, leaning up on his elbows, watching me. I walk back to him quickly, not wanting him to stare at me for too long.

"Hey sexy" he smirks at me, as I sit back down on the towel. 

"You're up. How was your nap?" I ask him, as my cheeks turn red slightly.

"Much needed" he chuckles, before turning to lay on his belly. I copy him and do the same. "How was the water?" he asks me back.

"Great. I'll miss having the ocean a few steps from where we live" I admit.

"Yeah. We'll come here more often, if you'd like. Or I'll take you to Italy, France or some shit. Have you ever been?" he asks me, genuinely intrigued. 

I nod my head back at him. "Yeah, to both. It was before I had my panic disorder. I guess I've already traveled far, but I've never explored more places in the US, that are closer but still so beautiful" I tell him. Jace nods his head at me. "Have you?" I ask him back.

"Fuck no. I've traveled a lot in the US, but I've never been across the pond."

"Let's make a deal then, I'll show you Europe, if you take me across the US" I say, more jokingly than serious. 

"It's a deal" Jace says, smirking back at me. Who knows if he's serious, but after this week, I'd love nothing more than to travel with him. Traveling nowadays seems to be hard for me, but when I'm with Jace, I feel safe no matter where I am.

"Were you even born in Washington?" I ask him, since I don't even know from where my boyfriend really is.

"Yeah" he nods his head at me. "Born and raised in Bellingham until I went to college in Seattle."

I nod my head right back. "Wild, how I didn't even know that" I say, wondering what else I don't know about my boyfriend. 

"Not that again" Jace says, making himself comfortable again. "You know me, that's enough" he adds, and I decide to ignore his statement. 

Jace and I spend a few more hours in the sun, before we both decide that we've had enough. To our surprise, the kitchen isn't empty anymore, when we arrive back inside early in the evening. The others have returned from their trip.

"Hey guys" Bree beams, when she sees us. I smile right back at her.

"Hey. How was the aquarium?" I ask all of them, as we join them around the kitchen counter.

"It was great!" Sarah says, engulfing me in a side hug. 

"What are we doing tonight?" Ben says, taking a sip of his water. 

"How about another bonfire, for our last night here?" Austin suggests.

I like the idea right away. "Yes! You can play for us again" I suggests, turning towards Jace. 

He rolls his eyes at me playfully. "Fine" he gives in. I squeal in delight and look forward to the evening. 

"I'll cook us dinner first" Austin says, embracing Bree in a sweet hug. 

"Alright, I'll help you" she says, planting a kiss on his lips. 

"Then we'll go collect some fire wood" Ben says, talking about Jace and him. 

"Good plan, man" he answers and is off, after planting a kiss on my lips too. 

I take a big breath, and decide that I should probably shower after the beach day we had.

"Hey. I'm glad to see you two are okay" Austin says, with Bree still in his arms.

I smile at the two of them. "Me too" I admit. 

"No, really. He's pretty grateful that you seem to forgive him every time he fucks up. He doesn't mean to, he really doesn't, and somehow you seem to get that. What you two have is special" he says honestly.

My heart melts at his words. "Thank you. I'll go upstairs to shower, but after, I'd be happy to help you in the kitchen" I say, wanting to get the sun lotion off of me. 

"That'd be great" Bree says handing Sarah a knife, who's ready to cut some vegetables. Nodding my head back, I quickly make my way upstairs to take the shower I've been longing for. Tomorrow's drive comes back into my head, and I notice that I'm starting to shake slightly. I look forward to Jace returning, and our last evening with everyone. I want to get my mind off of tomorrow, and enjoy tonight while it lasts. 

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