falling

part 5: travelling

His hand cupped my face, slowly rubbing his thumb across my cheek then my lips. I tried to keep my breath even. His lips got slowly closer and closer. Half-closed green eyes looking into mine. And...the plane jolted. I spring up.

"Easy there, fighter. The plane just hit turbulence." My friend beside me said.

"Oh." I said groggily then took a double take. James settles and closes his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Shh, sleep." James swipes his hands over my face to prompt me to close my eyes. I swat his hand away.

"James," I slap his arm.

"Stop hitting me."

"You're sitting beside me. You weren't there before."

"Tara and I switched. Now go back to sleeping and drooling on my arm." I hit his arm again. "Ow."

"That's for saying I drool." I leaned back and tried to call asleep again. James laughed and shifted closer to me.

~~~

"Can't walk. Too tired. Carry me." I whimpered and leaned against James.

"Yes, you can and no, I won't." He chuckled but didn't push me away. "We have to get our bags and leave the plane." We stood at the baggage claim carousel, me with eyes closed and James totally awake. I didn't understand how he could be so perfect all the time. Hours on a plane and it was like he had just been in a massage. He looked like he'd just left his room while I looked like I stumbled down a flight of stairs in a hurry.

"Isn't that yours?" A bored but perky voice said and I slowly opened my eyes as a purple duffel passed by me. I jumped forward to grab in and almost slipped before James grabbed my arm. He pulled me back, shaking his head and took my bag. Brynn smirked at my misstep but looked at James hand still on me. She quickly turned away walking towards our other friends who had already gotten their bags.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I took my bag.

"Ignore her. That's what I plan on doing. They'll have their fun and we'll have ours and hopefully survive this trip." James grabbed his green bag and we walked to our group. I tried to pretend that Brynn didn't bother me and that it didn't make me excited that he'd said 'we' as if there was an us.

Tara had ordered a car for us. She and Alec sat upfront and of course, Brynn sat in between James and I in the back. She tried batting her eyelashes and leaning over James throughout the ride to look out the window.

"Why'd we just pass the hotel?" I asked and the car got quiet except for the radio.

"Because that's not where we are staying." Tara smiled as she glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

James looked tense at me again. The same way that I supposed he looked when we talked on the phone when I found out he didn't tell me about the trip. His eyes pleaded at me.

"That's where you said we were staying and that's where I told my parents we were going to be." I said. Brynn supressed a giggle and I elbowed her.

Alec looked back at me and said, "T got us a private house on the beach. It's sick. It's a resort close to here that rents them out."

"Tara, I can't afford that. I don't even know how much it costs and I know I can't."

"Then maybe you shouldn't've come." Brynn said.

"Oh shut it, Brynn." Tara said before I could. "Don't worry about it."

I knew that was code for 'I got you. I paid for it.' But it might as well have screamed 'you're poor'.

I couldn't deny that it was a beautiful resort when we finally got there. I was right though. There was no way I could've afforded to even spend a meal here let alone an entire week. The 'villa' that we were staying in has five rooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. The entire place has a beach side view and a fire pit out back. As the others began pushing past me and claiming rooms, I barely made it a few steps into the place. We had thankfully arrived early enough in the day that the sun was still high and soon Alec and James had raced towards the beach probably to surf with Brynn and Tara soon to follow looking more like runway models than girls about to tan. I sat on the couch and begun to read when my book was snatched out of my hands.

"You're not seriously?" Tara had doubled back when I wasn't looking.

"Honestly, I was probably about to fall back asleep more than read but-" I shrugged.

"Read it on the beach." She dog-eared my page and walked towards the beach again. I rolled my eyes and rifled through my bag for my bikini. I walked into the nearest bathroom and changed, throwing my flannel back on as a cover-up and sliding my sunglasses on top of my head. I shoved my clothes into my duffel and made my way to the beach.