Jess, Rick, and Shaun were trailing the path heading to where the campfire was, several young artists were already gathered around as the sound of laughter resonated not far away. It was already dusk and Jess's eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness of the surroundings.
Her pacing was slow as she tried to avoid more sand getting into her shoes but to no avail. She then felt Rick's hand supporting her as his warm hands instinctively held her wrist.
She smiled to thank him.
As they reached the location, Jess saw the huge campfire blazing brightly amidst the darkened area, another merry laughter broke as everyone was preoccupied with whatever stories they were sharing.
She relaxed.
Rick whispered to her that he'll go and fetch some drinks for a moment, she then nodded and sat down when she finally found a spot. She was about to kick the sand off her sneakers when Shaun kneeled in front of her and removed her shoe.
Surprising was evident in her eyes.
"You should have worn slippers instead" he stated.
"Shaun, you don't have to do that" Jess was trying to pull her legs away but Shaun kept it in place.
When he was done removing all the sand that had been stored in her shoe, she then thanked him for doing such an act.
"We never did this, back when we were younger" Shaun commented as he sat right beside her.
Jess wondered what he meant when he started pointing one by one at the campfire, the people, booze, and music.
She laughed realizing that it was true. "We didn't have the proper childhood," she said in passing.
Shaun looked at Jess momentarily but remained silent afterward.
There are about 10 or 15 people in the area. Jess was not expecting to see alcoholic beverages served at this gathering; the committee is lenient with the rules, which is probably a good thing.
Rick was back bringing three bottles of beer. He then gave one to Jess and one to Shaun.
Both Jess and Shaun thanked Rick when suddenly someone asked the remaining artists to gather around the fire to play games.
Jess has no desire to play anything; she was hoping to chill and mellow out, but she also does not want to rain on anyone's parade, so she decided to go with the flow instead.
They started with charades and Jess was finding herself laughing at how ridiculous they looked when acting out the words, some were good, but others perhaps had no future in the film industry, and the rest of them were hard-core competitive. Shaun was all-out participative and was having a blast.
The game then moved on to the infamous truth or dare. At this point, some artists are already wasted and the dares became extremely disturbing, such as skinny-dipping, alcohol drinking without hands, and body shots.
The alcohol moved from beer to tequila and hard drinks. Jess was slightly feeling tipsy herself and started to feel funny so she decided to walk away from the crowd first and have some air. She walked towards the hammock where she and Rick had spent that morning. The entire area was dim except for the light reflecting not far away from the palm trees, it's enough to see a silhouette of people passing by.
Jess then anchored herself and got comfortable in the sling made of fabric, she slowly swayed herself as she lovingly felt the cold air on her skin.
She felt her head spin. She shouldn't have drunk that much. She can't even remember the last time she had alcohol, but she was having a good time. She felt free.
She started humming a certain melody, as she felt the hammock swing between the palm trees without any care of the world. She told herself that she needed to go back to her room but the pull to shut her eyes was undeniable.
She suddenly felt two strong hands as they made the hammock stay still. Someone is there with her.
Who could it be?
"Jessie" the voice called.
Of course, it's him. The voice she's familiar with.
"Ahhh Rick Reed" she uttered as she tried to get up and steady herself.
"Are you okay? You seem drunk, let me escort you to your room now." He stated.
Jess's eyes were half closed. She didn't notice that Rick squatted within her eye level, so they were facing each other.
"I feel funny..." she commented.
"Yes, because you had a lot of drinks, you shouldn't have pushed yourself." She heard him say.
She laughed feeling lighthearted. She answered, "You should loosen up."
"When was the last time you broke some rules, Rick Reed? They say you're cold and calculated, but I know you... kind, warm, and handsome..." Jess mumbled.
Rick was watching her every move and it was a mixture of amusement and worry for Jess. But he was curious about her unfiltered opinion about him.
"What kind of rules do you want me to break Jess?" He heard himself probe.
Her eyes opened slightly and her lips pouted a little bit. He was unsure if this is how adorable people can look when they are drunk.
She raised her forefinger to her temple suggesting that she was thinking. "Let's see, kiss a girl that you like?" She suggested.
"Do you want me to do that?" He asked further.
She laughed gently. "Truth or dare..." she uttered.
Rick was playing along and answered, "Dare".
Jess smiled mischievously then opened her eyes to say "Kiss me..."
Rick paused for a moment to think but Jess's gaze was fixated on him. He then averted his eyes to her lips and slowly closed their distance.
She felt his warm hands cupping her face as their lips slightly touched. The kiss was soft, gentle, and undemanding but enough to make Jess's head spin. She felt herself levitating in the air, something was burning inside her core as her desire built up.
"Jess, we shouldn't be doing this" she heard Rick reasoned out, momentarily parting their lips. His hot breath was fanning her face enough to feel the distance between them.
"You make my heart flutter Rick; I shouldn't feel this way. But I do" she whispered. She then trailed her fingertips to his eyes, delicately touching his features, feeling them against her light touch, she then moved to his well-formed nose and landed on his lips. Jess took her time tracing his face.
"You are beautiful Rick Reed" she murmured again.
She was looking down this time, and Rick wanted to see her eyes, tilted her chin, and looked at her. He knew she was drunk, and he shouldn't take advantage of the situation, but just one more, one more.
The words keep ringing in his head.
Their eyes met again, heavy eyelids were seen, and Rick took a sharp breath to stop himself from ravaging Jess right then and there, so he inhaled and exhaled some air to keep her senses steady but as her lips continued to part and invite him to take it, all reasons were blindly shut.
"Kiss me..." she whispered one more time.
Rick captured her lips again, this time with more longing and want. His fingers rested on her chin then moved to her cheek delicately feeling her soft skin against his touch.
It takes much self-restraint to end the kiss, but Rick knew he should stop because if not he would regret it.
He gently carried Jess to his arms and walked heading back to her hotel room.
After he secured her and put her to bed, he then removed her shoes and wrapped the blanket over her. He made a final kiss on her forehead before he ushered himself out of her room.
He wanted to linger and feel more of her warmth but that would be wrong and so with one final control he walked away from Jess and readily went to his room.
Rick took a moment to lock his door and went onto the balcony to think.
Would she remember what happened tonight?
For the first time he wanted something for himself, he wanted her. But is he ready to open his scars? What if she won't accept it? Is he ready for the consequences?
His thoughts trailed off as Rick swallowed the remaining water he had been holding for a while now.
"Jess Lynn... why are you doing this to me" he whispered.
***************************************
Jess woke up with a painful headache. She grimaced from the pain and wondered what had happened last night.
Fun is good but too much fun usually results in painful hangovers. She wanted to throw up and die. She forces herself to get up and take a shower. She slowly stripped her clothes off and went to the bathroom and suddenly felt the warm water dripping in her body as the pain slowly subsided.
She then recalled what happened last night, did she walk to her room alone? Some memories were a bit fuzzy; her last recollection was about the games and her deciding to walk away did she go straight to her hotel room? Or did she go somewhere?
Jess decided to deal with those thoughts later, after she finished her bath and put on her robe, she then patted her hair dry. There wouldn't be any activity today but just to finish the song assignment, she decided to just wear something comfortable, she wore a black sleeveless shirt and short denim exposing a bit of her belly and legs.
She was combing her wet hair when she heard a knock.
Is it Rick? She thought. She suddenly felt excited to see him, which caught her by surprise.
She opened the door and blue eyes landed in her direction.
"Shaun? What are you doing here" she asked as she subtly hid her disappointment.
"I brought some hangover soup" he stated.
She smiled; this was exactly what she needed.
"You read my mind! Thank you" she uttered.
She let him in and took the soup as she placed it in two medium bowls. She handed the other one to Shaun.
They were on the balcony together silently sipping the hot soup as it traveled to her throat bringing comfort to her aching head.
"Where were you last night?" Shaun asked as his gaze went into the crystal sea.
Jess turned her head at him. "I am not sure, I don't remember clearly, the last thing I recalled was I walked away to get some fresh air, and then the next thing I know I am in my bed sleeping" she narrated.
"I was looking for you, I was worried." He spoke.
"Hmmm, so it was not you who was with me last night then?" She uttered it without a second thought.
"What do you mean?" Shaun asked, confirming his mind.
She paused and thought. "I think I went to the hammock near the palm trees." She uttered as the images slowly registered.
"I remembered laughing..." she trailed off, darkened images prompting her mind all at the same time. She remembered his hazel eyes, her drunken state. His scent filled her nostrils making her drawn to him, sweet, addictive.
Truth or dare. she recalled the words.
She remembered herself saying "Kiss me..."
"Oh my God..." she clasped her hands into her mouth spilling all the soup she was holding earlier. Shaun readily went to her aid and checked if she was okay.
"Jessie, what's happening?" He asked her to check her wrist for possible burns.
Jess's mind went blank. "What did she do?" She thought.
Embarrassment was evident in her eyes. Blue eyes tried to read her thoughts.
"Did something happen last night?" He dared ask as his grip tightened on her wrist.
She stared at him blankly as her thoughts were running on how she could face Rick Reed this time around.
She groaned loudly as the butterfly in her stomach settled, remembering the kiss Rick and her shared the other night.
"That's it I should die, this is my death, right here." And with one final breath, Jess walked away from Shaun and out of her room as her steps were certain, trailing the path where Rick Reed was...