Secret Rulebook of Cheating

Rule #29: In the End, It Has to End

I returned my phone into my bag. 'We should really head back, though. It's almost time to get up.'

'Okay,' Jason didn't argue but I could feel the mood drop.

We didn't talk on the way back. We didn't hold hands. Jason didn't have his arm around my shoulders and I didn't have mine looped around his. We were just two separate figures walking in the chilly morning – thank god for the blankets.

The silence continued in the room. Jason took the cover from my back and put it back in the wardrobe, together with the one that was already in his arms. He started stripping off and I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, not wanting to stir my anyhow confused emotions any further. I had also taken my pyjamas with, so I jumped into it. When I went back to the room I noticed Jason was already on his side of the bed, his eyes closed. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not but I didn't want to disturb him. I moved silently through the room to switch all the lights off and went to lie on my half of the mattress. I turned my back to him and blew out a heavy sigh. What a night!

'Nikki...' I heard some voice call my name but it felt so far away. 'Nikki!' This time, it was closer. 'Wake up!'

My eyes fluttered open, letting the surrounding flood in. I couldn't actually see much of it, but believe me, what I was seeing was much better than any surrounding there was. It was a pack – a six pack to be exact – heaving up and down in the rhythm of breathing. I could also hear a rhythm, a drumming right under my ear.

Oh god!

I jerked up and Jason smirked at my startled face. 'You just couldn't keep your hands off me, could you?'

And his cockiness was back.

I looked around as I assessed the situation. At some point during the night I had snuggled up to Jason. Not that he had minded, obviously – his arm was wrapped around my back, his palm resting on my hip, up until a moment ago, when I had jolted up.

'Um, did we sleep like that all night?' I uttered a little embarrassed by my sudden subconscious need to cuddle up to him.

'We only went to bed a couple hours ago,' Jason replied not really giving me an answer.

'What time is it?'

'We're leaving in half an hour,' he informed.

'Half an hour?' I repeated in horror. 'And you didn't think to wake me earlier?' I scolded. I was a girl after all. And not only did I need to take a shower, get dressed, smooth my hair and all that but I also had to pack.

'I figured you'd want to cuddle some more.'

I threw daggers at him. Not literally, but my eyes did.

'Okay, okay,' he lifted his hands in defence as he stood up. 'I'll be very quick in the bathroom and then I'll get us coffee. Happy?'

'Go!' I nearly shouted pointing to the bathroom door. I had already lost two precious minutes in this argument.

Forty minutes later, I was in the lobby where the rest had already gathered, holding my backpack in one hand and the paper cup of coffee Jason had brought as he had promised in the other. He had managed to fit everything in his bag for no more than five minutes after he came back from the coffee shop and had left the room all to me.

'What took you so long?' he teased, fully aware that he'd get my narrowed eyes in response, to which he only chuckled.

'Aw, I'm going to miss you, guys!' Sylvia whined and came to hug both me and Jason.

'We'll see each other soon,' I assured.

'Come on, no mushy crap,' Rob butted in.

'You just lost your goodbye hug, bro,' Jason joked.

'Oh, no! Not the hug!' Rob cried fake-upset. He spread his arms and headed toward Jason, making as if he was going to hug him. Jason on the other hand flinched back. He dropped his luggage on the floor and raised his hands defensively. He started backing away as Rob was advancing and soon the two boys were running.

'Wait, I want a hug too!' Dan called after them and went to join the other two with his arms open. They chased each other for a while and we burst in laughter as Jason hit a wall and was trapped by both Rob and Dan who made a sandwich of him, crushing his body to the wall.

'Bye, Nadia,' I went to give her a hug despite the scene that had just unfolded before us. Jason had returned with the boys and uttered one worn out 'bye'. They had almost made a tattoo of him on the wall.

'Have a safe trip,' she wished back.

'Thanks. And say hi to Mila!' I asked.

Both girls responded, 'We will.'

Jason and I headed out to wait in the car while the boys said their proper goodbyes to the girls. He had taken the key from Rob and popped the trunk open. I let him take care of my luggage for me and climbed on the backseat, gazing out the window at nothing in particular. In a minute, he was on the other side of the armrest. He pulled the door closed behind him and as the thud faded, we were engulfed by silence. It wasn't awkward, really. But it was somehow heavy.

'So...' Jason decided to break it, taking his time with his next words, 'this is it.' I shifted my eyes to him and he added, 'The end of summer.'

And of our arrangement, I finished his thought and it hung in the air between our meaningful looks. That was what made the silence heavy. Because it hadn't worked the way it was supposed to. It had made things worse. But some things were better left unsaid.

I turned to look out the window again when he grabbed my hand and my head jerked back his way. He opened his mouth to say something but then the front doors flew open and Jason dropped my hand as Dan and Rob entered.

'Ready to go?' Rob asked, looking at our reflections in the rear-view.

Neither of us answered.

Rob turned on the ignition and we drove off. We had been driving for a few minutes, Dan and Rob chatting about something in the front – I wasn't really paying attention, when a sentence actually managed to pierce through my thoughtfulness.

'You two are awfully quiet back there,' Dan observed.

I turned to him instinctively, and noticed as Jason did the same. He had been pretty much mirroring my pose, except, he had propped his head on his hand, staring out the window, while I was just sitting back.

'It's the end of summer,' he beat me to the answer, repeating his last words before Dan and Rob had gotten in the car. I wasn't sure what the boys made of that answer but it sure spoke a lot to me.

'Yeah,' I added quietly and the disappointment was so obvious in my voice that I regretted saying it.

Rob and Dan threw us a couple more glances and went on discussing something between them. I flipped my head to look out the window again, sinking in my thoughts again.