Au Bord de la Mer

Different is Good

A/N: WOW hey so long time since I've updated! I thoroughly apologize for that. I've not really been in the best headspace to write and I also hit a major writer's block that did not help that much at all. I'm not entirely happy with this, but I think you'll still enjoy it. I'm always my biggest critic :P Anyway, let me know what you think, enjoy, and thank you for still sticking around xx Also big thanks to my twitter friend for helping me get through my writer's block <3 (P.S. If you get the AVPM reference I make here, I love you)

"She's taking too long."

"G, she'll be here soon," Matty grumbled, tossing down a case of beer from the Ford Explorer to George. "And so will the rest of 'em. Just relax and help m-"

"I'm just so nervous for her." Matty watched in frustration as George allowed the second case of beer clink to the ground, nearly breaking as they hit the dirt below them. George flushed red and threw an apologetic look Matty's way as he scrambled to pick up the beer and dusted them off, but as soon as his mistake was cleaned up, he went right back on about Caroline.

"Florida is just so confusing with all the trees. What if her car falls in a swamp or somethin'?"

Rolling his eyes, Matty tossed chips at George's face. "She can drive a car just fine, George. I promise, she'll live."

"And if she doesn't?"

George's face again was pelted with chips. "I'll fish her out of the swamp myself. Now c'mon, you're slagging off and Hann's gonna' need us soon – you especially since you're steering the ship and all."

"Alright, alright."

As much as Matty sympathized with George's anxiety, he could hardly bring himself to care. He, unlike Matty, had the comfort of knowing that somehow, someway, Caroline was going to eventually arrive at Hann's relative's cabin. They had not spent the past week trying to mend a broken relationship.

While he had been scared to wish Rylee goodnight in texts, George was spending hours texting back and forth with Caroline. When Rylee agreed to share coffee with the threesome, Matty had to worry not to cross any lines with her. George had the freedom to flirt and tease Caroline as he pleased. While George could sit confidently knowing he would see Caroline drive up the dirt path of Hann's cabin, Matty could only hope and pray she actually showed up. Hell, he hoped he was not the odd-man-out on what quickly was shaping up to be a couples vacation. He kicked the dirt, frustrated.

"Any word from Ross?"

Ross, who voluntarily agreed to be the odd-man-out for the weekend, had also agreed to drive Rylee from the airport. In the hour since Ross had left, Matty received a radio silence that settled uneasily in the pit of his stomach and made his heart flutter.

The previous night, Matty booked a room for Rylee at a nearby Hilton in London. The flight from Liverpool required too many stops, and Matty did not wish for her to encounter any trouble since she was an invited guest. He volunteered the room, and after some convincing, she humbly accepted. Matty would have rather had her stay at his home, but he did not want her to think he anticipated anything from such a move. He simply wished for her to be comfortable before making such a long flight.

Per her request, Matty invited the rest of the lads over to keep her company in the small hotel room until they needed to duck in for the night. They killed time playing a few rounds of Bird's Eye Potato Waffle and knocking out a bottle of tequila. Rylee had been the first one out each round, and every time Matty said something cheeky, she retaliated with a playful smack to the chest. It was the most physical contact he figured he had received from her since before the break up. He had never been struck by lightning before, but if he had to guess, the sensation mirrored something along the lines of the way her hand felt against his chest when her face absolutely lit up. Her touch was so electric. If the game had continued on any longer, Matty was almost certain he would have slipped pass his personally-written boundaries and kissed her. If George hadn't missed the bin and threw up all over rug underneath the poor room's coffee table, he was very certain he would have succeeded.