jealous ➳ daniel howell

18

The boys make Maiara and I chocolate chip pancakes with bacon, and it's the best breakfast I've ever had.

I'm finishing my last piece of bacon when I feel Dan come up behind me and wrap his arms around me. He presses his lips to my neck and I smile, "Dan, can you and Phil please be our personal chefs?"

"Seriously, guys," Maiara adds on, "These are better than IHOP pancakes."

"Depends, how much would you pay us?" Dan asks.

I let out a small laugh, "Sorry, honey, I'm broke until I hit it big." I intertwine my fingers with Dan's.

"Which will be soon because you're an amazing actress," Phil says, "We might as well just move in now."

"Awe, you're too sweet." I stand up and toss my plate into the sink. "So, what do you guys want to do today?"

"Let's go to the beach." Maiara suggests.

I shrug, "I'm down. Santa Monica?"

"Fine with me. Dan?" Phil asks as everyone looks to Dan.

Dan nods and smiles, "Sounds good."

Every time I see him smile, I automatically smile back. It's just that contagious.

"They're having a moment," I hear Phil whisper to Maiara, "Let's go get ready."

I see them leave the room in the corner of my eye and I break my stare, looking down. "We should go get ready, too."

I look back up and he's still smiling at me, so I roll my eyes and head to my room.

I put on my swimsuit, which is a plain purple tankini (because my body is ugly and wouldn't look good in a bikini), and throw on some shorts. I pull my hair up in a messy bun and throw on some shades, not really giving a shit about what I look like.

When I head out of my bathroom I catch a naked Dan standing in front of my bed, pulling his swim shorts up.

"Shit, sorry." I quickly turn around.

He chuckles, "Nothing you haven't seen before."

I feel my face go red and I smile, then clear my throat. "Are you decent?"

"Depends on the definition of decent you're using."

"As in clothed, you doofus."

"Oh. Yeah."

I turn around and smile, "Are you saying you're not the other definition of decent?"

"...What's the other definition of decent?"

I shove him playfully and head over to my closet, grabbing my small backpack for trips to the beach. I pack my favorite tie-dyed beach towel and some sun tan oil.

"Is that what you're wearing?" He asks with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

He shrugs, "I guess I just thought that I'd be lucky enough to see you in a bikini."

"Oh, um...I'm not confident enough to wear one."

"What? That's crazy, you are so beautiful." Dan puts his hands on my waist.

I feel my face go red again, "Thank you, Daniel. But being confident is something a person has to do on their own."

He frowns, "I understand. ... Are you ready to go?"

I nod, "Yeah," I put my phone in the back pocket of my shorts and stuff my purse in my bag, and grab my keys. "Let's head out."

•••

After Maiara took way too long to get ready, I drove the four of us to Santa Monica. Phil and Maiara were in the back, and Dan kept annoying us by constantly switching radio stations. He finally settled on a classic rock station and leaned back in his seat, lowering his shades.

It was extremely hot outside today, so there were way too many people for my liking, and way too many occupied parking spaces.

"Dammit. I can't find a place to park," I'm sure I drove around the block at least three times, just waiting for someone to leave.

"Right there!" Maiara shouts, causing me to slam on my brakes. The car behind me lays on the horn.

"Jesus, Maiara!" I shout.

"Sorry! If I wouldn't have said anything, we would still be going around in circles."

I can see Dan smirking in the corner of my eye.

I pull into the tight space between two trucks. "Getting out of here is going to be a bitch."

"Shit...you parked in a two hour parking spot." Maiara states.

I do a small sigh, "Whatever. If we want to stay longer, we can just move the car. Besides, I'm sure it'll be less crowded two hours from now."

I carefully open my door and slip out, and avoid hitting the nice Ford F150 next to me.

We make our way across the Pacific Coast Highway, Dan holding my hand because he didn't want me to 'leave him behind.' What a cutie.

We dodge running children and flying beach balls, and finally find a spot on the warm sand. Maiara and Phil head to the pier while Dan and I set up a spot.

I lay out my beach towel and grab the sun tan oil, watching Dan stare at me as I take off my shorts and rub the oil onto my extremely pale thighs. What is he staring at?

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." I say, and then watch in disbelief as he grabs his phone and points it towards me.

"...And this sexy photo will be uploaded to Cosmopolitan in no time." He smirks.

I want to argue, grab his phone and delete the picture immediately. But then I realize doing that would cause Dan to tell me how 'beautiful' I am an unnecessary amount of times.

Besides, he's not serious about sending that to Cosmo. I've never even been in that magazine before. At least, not that I know of. It's too popular for a small actress like myself.

"Want me to rub some on your back for you?" He asks, reaching his hand out for the bottle.

I bite my lip and lay down on my stomach, "Sure."

"Are you alright?" He asks, and I suddenly feel his large hands on me, "You seem...and feel...a bit tense."

I shrug, "I'm okay. It's just, it's a busy day and there's tons of people here, I feel like everyone's staring at me."

I see him turn his head to the group of girls walking by us, and he smiles, "They're staring because they're jealous of your beautiful body."

"Or, they're jealous that they don't have a hot guy like you to rub tanning oil all over their half naked bodies."

He lets out a laugh, and I find myself smiling. "Well, there you go, princess. You're all...oiled up." He says with an awkward laugh.

My smile turns to a small giggle, "Thank you." Hearing him call me princess made me feel happier than before, if that were possible.

I lay my head down, taking a deep breath and letting the sun's rays hit me.

This is heaven.