Maddy
The drive down to L.A. is only about an hour and thirty minutes. We still decide to meet up early so that we could get to the house, unpack, take a small power nap, and then wake up and go to eat at a nice restaurant for breakfast. It's only 5:30 am and I yawn as I grab my suitcase from the backseat of my car. It's only six of us coming on this trip so we decided to take two cars. Valdez's and Cgc's. Nova spent the night here last night, so they're only waiting on me.
I had trouble getting out of bed since I slept around 3:30 am. I stayed up late on the phone with Xander who couldn't sleep so he kept me up with him. I only finally hung up whenever I heard light snores from the other end of the line. I'm still only half awake whenever I finally make it to the boys' house. I might take a nap on the way over since there's no reason to be awake anyway and I won't be driving.
I knock on the door lazily and only wait for a couple of seconds until Rhys finally opens the door. "Hey." He's still shirtless, his long, blonde hair messy like he just woke up. I offer him a small smile and step inside. When I make it to the living room, only Xander sits on the couch, distracted by his phone. It's not like I can run up to him and start making out with him. I drop my suitcase near one of the couches as Rhys returns upstairs. The sound of my suitcase hitting the floor catches his attention. His eyes flit up to me and he winks.
I try hard to not smile. I've never had a secret hook-up before. Especially not with someone who I'm supposed to hate. We talked on the phone last night about what we'd do on this trip since well, we can't really act the way we have been for the past week. We're not saying anything to our friends about our newfound hookup, so we decided to just act as we'd usually act. That's fine with me since acting like I despise Xander isn't anything new to me. I'll just make it up to him somehow whenever we're alone.
I don't even think we'll get another chance to be alone for the next week though.
My eyes flit up to the stairs, seeing nobody in sight. I'm sure everyone's still last-minute packing. I'm wearing some slides, instead of my usual heels, so my light feet don't make as much noise. I walk over to the couch Xander's on and pull him up. He allows it and I see the surprise in his eyes. I'm risking getting caught just for a simple touch. His lips pull up regardless and I bring his head down with my hands, kissing him.
His large hands find my ass easily, pulling me closer to his body which also happens to deepen the kiss. I don't like Xander in any more way than I just want to fuck this dude but I think I'm going to miss kissing him. The sound of a door opening makes both of us pull away. I find my way quickly to the couch that's across from the one he was sitting at. I lay my head down on the back on the couch, pretending like I didn't just kiss Xander. Cgc pops into the kitchen —which is visible from the living room and vice versa—already dressed.
"Hey, Mads," he says. I throw up a peace sign, still acting like I'm only half awake. After that kiss from Xander though? I'm wide awake. Cgc grabs a bottle of water before disappearing again. I look towards Xander, who's looking at me. "We can't go in the same car," I say, my voice low just in case. "I'll go with Cgc, you go with Nova," he says. "Unless you want to ride with Cgc and Rhys, I'll be the third wheel," he adds before I can answer. Ugh, I don't think I want to be a third wheel even if I am only planning on sleeping. That's if I can even go back to sleep now.
"I'll ride with C and Rhysie," I tell him. He looks at me for a couple of seconds before only nodding. Heavy footsteps — multiple footsteps — start down the stairs. I don't think Xander wanted me to ride with Cgc and Rhys for some reason, but it's too late to say anything now. The rest of our friends appear with their respective belongings down the stairs. "Who's riding with me and Rhys?" Cgc announces. Xander speaks before me, "I'm riding with the love birds." He stands up and picks up his bag. "Alright, let's go Mads." Cgc takes a bite from the red apple in his hand as he starts walking towards the door.
"You can come with us too if you want, Maddy," Chris says to me. I shake my head, "I'm not sitting in a car with him for two hours." Xander flashes a dry smile at me. "It's fine, I'll see you guys in a bit." I smile at Nova who returns it. Without another word, I follow out the door where Cgc waits by the trunk of his black Mercedes. He holds his hand out for my suitcase which I hand to him. Rhys leans against the car, looking at me. He points his thumb towards the car, "Do you want the front or back seat?" he asks. I open the back door, "You take the front, I'm probably gonna nap." I say. He nods and gets into the car.
Xander exits the house, locking it behind Nova and Chris. I wait for him to look at me. When his eyes finally catch mine, he flips me off. I smile, returning it. No one noticed that exchange, but it's not unordinary either, so I don't worry too much. I slip into the car and take the seat behind the passenger seat. I buckle my seatbelt quickly and rest my head against the headrest. I hope Cgc doesn't kill us.
Cgc adjusts his mirror and waits for Valdez, who's parked right behind us. My phone buzzes in the pocket of my sweats and I pull it out.
Max: Have fun with the guys and Nova, ugly <3
What the hell is Max doing up at 6 in the morning on a Saturday?
Me: lol, go to sleep. and I will love ya.
Max: Also need to talk to you about something ?? I'll wait until you come back though.
I furrow my brows and swallow a lump in my throat. He doesn't know about me and Xander, right? That's the only thing I can really think of right now.
Me: I hate you?? I will not stop thinking about this.
Max: Stop thinking about it. It's nothing bad, swear.
I clutch my phone tighter for some reason, my knuckles beginning to whiten. I ease my grip on it and shut it off, throwing it to the side. If he says it's not bad then I'll believe him. I just hope he's not lying to me.
⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶
The house is a bit bigger than I thought it'd be. There's absolutely no way my parents could ever afford this. The condo sits right on the beach with large glass windows that give us the absolute best view of the Pacific Ocean. If you open the doors in the back, you only have to run a bit to get to the actual beach. If only this was my view every day. "There are seven bedrooms so no one has to share unless you want to," Cgc looks at Valdez and Nova "choose whichever you want."
Both Rhys and Xander don't hesitate to disappear upstairs. Cgc, Nova, Chris, and I remain on the first level. I stare outside, it's almost eight so there are still not many people at the beach. There's a couple of morning joggers and people walking their animals. I haven't been to LA in a minute and I kind of missed it. Los Angeles has always been my number two place to live. New York is one, obviously. I feel an arm wrap around my shoulder, getting ready to pull away when I think it's Xander blowing our cover.
It's not. It's just Cgc. He looks at me as I admire the view. "It's nice right?" he asks. I don't look at him for long, looking back out. "Yeah, are we doing the beach today?" I ask. "Yup." Chris and Nova say in unison from the kitchen. They're both sitting on some clear bar stools behind the beautiful kitchen island. This house is fucking nice. I hope I can afford something like this one day. Cgc drops his arm off of me and walks over to the kitchen. The living room and kitchen are all one big, connected space, so I can still hear and see them from here.
"I can't believe you two didn't go find the perfect room to fuck in," Cgc says. I walk over to them and roll my eyes. Nova's face flushes. She's not comfortable talking about sex like that. I sit down next to her and rub her shoulders. She smiles at me, her face still has a light blush over her brown freckles. "We don't need a perfect room. We can do that anywhere," Chris says, taking a long swig from his water bottle right after. Nova slaps his arm lightly, but he doesn't flinch like I thought he would.
He swallows the water in his mouth, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "What?" he says to his girlfriend who is again flushing. Cgc wears a stupid grin on his face at this. "Don't tell him that!" Nova motions her head towards Cgc like he can't hear what she's saying. Chris rolls his eyes, playfully, and shrugs. Nova covers her face with two hands and shakes her head. "Well, then I'm gonna go snag a perfect room to sleep in," I smile dryly before getting up to find my suitcase.
I carry the heavy thing up the marble stairs. There are multiple rooms at the top, all pretty spaced out. There's also a small balcony at the very top that shows the whole living room on the first floor. I walk past a room, Rhys lays on his stomach like he's already passed out. Neither of us slept on the way over here. We all talked about the most random things the whole way. I've never hung out with Rhys and Cgc alone and when I say they have the weirdest fucking conversations ever, I mean it. I think they forgot I was there sometimes.
Most of the doors are closed after that, besides the one at the end of the hall. I peek my head in, seeing Xander. Shirtless. "Psst," I hiss. He turns his head quickly and sees me. The bruises on his ribs are still there but a little less visible now. He smiles only a little, "Trying to get caught, now?" he says. I turn around, no one in sight. "I think I want your room," I say, looking around the medium-sized bedroom. He smiles, "Beat you to it, Madison." I glare at him which only makes his smile bigger. "You're invited to join me though. You know if you want." He starts walking closer to me, very, very shirtless. I hold my hand up and he stops.
"Stay where you are. The closer you get, the more you blind me," I say. I'm joking obviously. Even though I don't hate him, I still give him a difficult time and tease him. He's stopped completely which I appreciate but also miss. Though I'd probably smack him if he even spoke to me the way he used to once. He puts one hand over his heart like I hurt him with my statement. "And I thought you actually liked me now," he says. I turn my head to make sure no one's coming up. When I look back, he's standing closer.
"Who told you that?" I ask. "You," he says. I roll my eyes, "I'd never openly admit to liking you, Xander." His eyebrows only raise. "So you do like me? You just don't want to admit it to yourself and me." He smirks. I roll my eyes viscously. "I don't like you, I stand by that." I pick my chin up and put my shoulders back. He's taller than me and while I don't mind, I wish I could be at eye level with him. He's looking down at me.
"Hmm," he hums. I tilt my head a little, trying to read him. Is he mad at my answer? He says, "That's not what you were saying last night." He tries hard not to smirk arrogantly, but I see his lips twitch a bit. We had phone sex last night before I went back to my room and I definitely didn't say anything like I don't like you, Xander. I can say it now though. "You're a menace," I say truthfully. He finally breaks out a smile. "Just like you, gorgeous." He pulls me by my waist into his room. He uses my body to close the door. I push him lightly by his chest, not wanting to hurt his ribs.
"What are you doing? My suitcase is right outside your door!" I remind him. That's definitely fucking suspicious, especially if they looked, I wouldn't be in any of the other rooms. "So?" His chest falls heavily. I can't believe he's turned on right now. He comes forward, towards me again. His hands cup my face and I relax into him, looking up at his dark brown eyes. "Nobody can know about this," I say, a lot softer. Ew. "I mean it." My voice comes out a lot harder than before. He kisses the side of my mouth. "I know," he whispers.
"Then, I-"
"But I need you right now," he cuts me off. I look at him for a couple of seconds and then look down at his crotch. I can see the outline of his dick through his gray sweats. My eyes widen, looking back up at him. "We can't! Not right now," I hiss. He lowers one of his hands and cups my ass. I gasp at the unexpected grab. "Fine. I'll help myself then, but I better see you later tonight." Before I can say okay, he opens the door and guides me out. He winks at me and then closes the door on me.
Fuck, well now I'm turned on.