It's time for spring break — the first group hang outside of Atlanta. Over the break, things might start to look and feel a bit different for some of the group members when they're away from their on campus distractions and responsibilities. Without distractions things are subject to change for the lovers, friends and in-betweens. Keep reading to find out where they go! (All attendees are pictured above — Jake is the name of the guy in the top right)
The events of 2x07 play out the same leading up to the Dhea break up. Mid conversation, Damon and Thea are standing in the middle of his room.
"...I even said yesterday that you were a nice distraction from tennis. Tennis... the thing that I love......I don't even recognize myself anymore. I'm supposed to be the girl that succeeds at the highest level. Not the girl sitting on the sidelines." Thea is explaining why she had to make sure that she spoke to Coach Loni and let her know that she is not redshirting. She felt like leaving Damon's game was something that she needed to do and represented her prioritizing herself. She feels like she has not been doing so.
Damon is confused about why she's saying this. "No one asked you to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. You can still support me AND do your own thing. One doesn't have to take away from the other."
Thea starts moving toward the door. "That doesn't negate the fact that you have this gravitational pull that I've gotten sucked into."
Damon goes to grab her hand. "Can we work this out? Thea I lo—" She pulls back. "I love you."
Thea becomes emotional. "I love you too. I really do... but I can't lose myself in you. I'm sorry. I need a break from you... from this... us. This relationship is just become too much for me." Thea continues walking away and out of the room. Damon is left wondering what the fuck? How did we even get here in the first place? He's done nothing but be there for her. First JR and now Thea saying that he impacts their lives negatively. What am I doing so wrong that makes them feel this way? To take his mind off of it, he heads to the garage party. This was the biggest game of my career thus far. Tonight is supposed to be a celebration. It's time to turn the fuck up. Getting a little too lit and dancing with random girls lead to his next moments with Simone.
After the 2x08 Dimone hug
Pulling back from the hug, Damon feels less tense and worry. Simone too. He realizes he's over the party now. Nothing but a night of trouble is left there for him if he stays there anyway. Not wanting to put an end to his contentment Damon asks Simone, "You wanna get out of here?"
Simone looks around briefly realizing that an entire song had gone by while they were in their moment. "I was on my way out when you stopped me anyway. I think imma just head to the dorm. I'm kinda tired."
Damon softens his voice. "What if there's food involved?"
Simone's eyes light up a bit. "Free food? Okay, fine. What do you have in mind?" What's more convincing than free food?
Damon wraps his left arm around her shoulders, chauffeuring her to the direction of the exit. "How about burgers and fries?"
Simone looks over at him and smiles. "Now why am I not surprised?"
Lando, who seems to be the only one to witnessed the moment they just had is left curious to what it was all about. He watches them as they exit wondering what was it that she would talk to Damon about that she wouldn't talk to me about. Why Damon at all? He's always getting in the way.
Later at the diner on Lennox
It's the weekend and this diner has some of the best burgers and shakes near campus. It's pretty packed, but that's no surprise. It's loud. The restaurant is full of loud voices and laughter. There is music playing over the restaurant speakers. The station is playing a mix of popular songs. As Damon and Simone walk inside they realize that there is only one booth available. A group of 3 come into the diner right behind them, also coming to the same realization. If Damon and Simone are going to claim it, they're going to have to make a run for it. They look at each other and simultaneously think the same thought. They take off running racing the other group to the booth cutting them off just before they get there, slamming their bodies into the seats.
The excitement of it all makes them laugh. As they look at each other across the booth table, they realize that it's honestly hilarious that they even raced to the booth in the first place. After calming their laughter, Simone picks up the large menu that was left on their table and looks it over. She's wondering if she's even hungry, but why pass up on a free meal, hungry or not? Damon observes her looking over the menu, only being able to see her eyes wondering across the menu. He places both hands on the table, locking his fingers together and leans forward. "You know you do that every time right?"
Simone peaks over the menu seeing Damon leaning forward, waiting for her response. She puts the menu down. "And what is that?"
"Act like you don't know what you want to eat when you really do."
Before Simone can respond, their server approaches the table. "Hey y'all, I'm Sherry! I'll be your server tonight. Y'all want a run down of the specials or do y'all already know what you want?"
"Imma have a deluxe combo extra mayo with a coke and a strawberry shake. She's gona have a deluxe combo no tomatoes with a chocolate shake and a sweet tea light ice. Make sure our fries are crispy please." Damon picks up the menu handing it to Sherry.
"Okay, I'll put that order right in for you! Holler if you need me!" Sherry walks away.
"Thanks," Damon says in response.
Simone gives him a shocked look but she's quite impressed that he remembers her order. It's been a minute since they came here to eat together. She was never going to admit that she loved how he did that though.
Damon recognizing her facial expression says, "What? I just ordered what you get every single time we come here. You might have a lot going on now, but you ain't changed that much."
"You don't know that... maybe some things have changed since the last time we were..." Simone's voice trails off remembering that the last time they were at the diner, she was telling him that she needed to figure things out with Jordan.
Damon realizes where her train of thought was going, so he clears his throat and redirects the conversation. It's not something he wants to get into either. "So, you excited for spring break? The trip is only a little more than a week away."
"Yeah, I can't wait. I need a break REAL BAD," she says as she leans back in the booth seat.
Damon sighs slightly while leaning back in his seat too. "Yeah me too."
"You don't have to play it calm. I know you're excited. Your birthday is over the break and the whole trip has pretty much been planned just for you. This is the one time you get to really make everything about you just like you like it."
Damon twiddles his fingers. "I wanna be excited but I'm kinda over everything being about me or everyone making things about me."
"Nah, when it's your birthday you get to pop your shit. It doesn't matter what anyone else says or how anyone else feels about it." Sensing Damon's continued apprehension she reaches across the table and places her hand over his. "Plus you've been through so much this school year. You need to take this time to appreciate getting through it all. Don't worry, It's gonna be fun. Fuck everything else."
Damon is over talking about himself now. "Since you mentioned 'everything else.' I just need to say one thing... about Lando."
Simone tenses up pulling her hand back. "Now why'd you have to go and ruin a good moment?"
Damon throws his hands up. "It's not like that, I promise. It's just that since you didn't respond to my text the other night, I wanted to make sure that I make myself clear. I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have come at you like that. What he did, or what I thought he did isn't your problem and I shouldn't have made it yours."
"Well you were right about what he did. And yeah I might be a little hardheaded sometimes, but next time watch yourself."
"Trust. I learned my lesson."
Simone places her hands flat on the table. "Okay, I have to say one more thing to say about Thea and the whole break up situation. Do what you wanna do. Feel how you wanna feel about it, but I need you to remember this. You've shown up for her countless times. You saw her through her recovery. If she can't handle you shining for a moment while she's still in that space of recovery, that's something she has to work through on her own. That's not on you. It never was..." Damon doesn't verbally respond, but Simone can tell that he's fully digested what she's saying. "Okay now let's talk about ANYTHING else now."
They chat a bit more as they wait for their food to come out. Once the food comes out, Damon devours his. Simone eats her fries and shake, saving the burger for later.
After the tribunal and interview with Reggie Bush
While they wait for their pizza to arrive, the Bringston fam is settled in the common area spending quality time together. This is the first time they have all been together outside of a crisis since their last family dinner. Fortunately, they get to spend more time together just relaxing and having fun during spring break. Thea was supposed to come join them, but she hasn't shown up. She's out on the courts trying to practice. It's probably because Keisha unintentionally got in her head about tennis being her "first love." She's trying to gain her connection back to it.
Nate is the only one concerned about where she is though. Though Thea is apart of the BU Fam, she's not necessarily an integral part of the friend group and she hasn't been a part of any group activities since their brunch when they returned to campus at the start of the semester. Her not being there is nothing new to anyone else. Everyone is excited to have gotten through the drama of the weekend and they are ready to get through this next week of classes so they can find real relaxation, fun, and hopefully a lot less drama during spring break.
Tuesday
It's the first week of March and it's finally spring break. We're going on a group trip to a cabin. (Yes I know that this is a group of black kids in the state of Georgia but let me cook lol)
Simone, Nate, Keisha and Gabby are all in Simone and Nate's room. It's the evening before they leave for their trip and everyone else is pretty much all packed up but Simone. She's been so busy worrying about the thc stuff, tennis, being suspended, classes, PKZ meetings and coordinating with JR to make sure that everything for Damon's birthday is squared away that she hadn't thought much about her own trip wardrobe. She's getting frustrated. Nate and Keisha are on Nate's bed and Gabby is sitting at the edge of Simone's.
Keisha and Nate are scrolling in their phones. Gabby senses Simone's frustration and attempts to calm her down. "Breathe girl. We're literally just going to a cabin for like four days. We're gonna be at the cabin majority of the time too. Just bring something comfortable to wear. You're an student athlete for goodness sakes. If you don't just throw some leggings, crop tops and some light jackets in that suitcase so we can get to the store before the bakery closes."
Simone sighs. "I know I know. I've just been so focused on literally everything else AND making sure that everything is perfect for the trip that I never realized I didn't even have my own shit together for the trip."
Nate looks up from her phone. "Well everything is perfect so stop worrying about that and just pack."
Gabby: "And don't forget your swimsuit, because there is a Jacuzzi."
Simone finally gets it together long enough to pack her bags and they head to the store. Cam, Damon and JR are going to get the board games, card games, alcohol, ice, and coolers. The girls go to pick up the birthday cake, decorations, hotdogs, burgers, buns, chips, non-alcoholic beverages, cups, plates, plastic utensils, breakfast items, and some other essentials for them to have to eat while they're at the cabin. Everyone attending has pitched in their money to the cause.
Wednesday
Late morning the next day, everyone is loading up the cars. They are taking JR, Keisha, and Jake's (baseball teammate) vehicles, because they all have SUVs. Simone, Nate, Gabby, Keisha, Cam, Damon, JR, Santiago and Jake are all taking the trip together. They are actually running on time and things are going pretty smoothly until Thea shows up bags in hand. Since the break up, no one actually expected her to come on the trip, but she did pitch in her money and everything is pretty much already paid for. Since Nate is Thea's only real friend, Thea gets to ride with Nate, Keisha and Cam. Cam will be driving. JR will be driving with Gabby, Damon and Simone as passengers. Santiago and Jake will ride together.
They finish loading up and everyone is takes their seats. Damon goes to sit in the back of JR's car. "You can sit in the front if you want. I know your legs are a lot longer than mine," Gabby says. "Nah, I should be fine. Sit in the front with your man. That's how it's supposed to be." Gabby sits in the passenger seat, Damon behind her, Simone beside him and behind JR. After getting gas, they all hit the highway. Their drive is only about 2 and a half hours long. Simone downloaded some movies and shows on her iPad to watch for the drive and just in case wifi is glitchy or something happens with the tv service at the cabin. She likes to be prepared for anything.
Simone pulls out her iPad propping it up on JR's armrest and hands Damon a headphone. She puts on one of their favorite movies, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As they watch the movie, JR and Gabby chat for a bit in the front with the music low. When they finally stop talking, Gabby realizes the back of the car is silent. She looks back seeing Simone first, then Damon leaning in watching the movie. She makes eye contact with Simone, giving her a look signaling that she knows something is going on back there. Simone rolls her eyes playfully in response. Nothing to see here.
In Keisha's car
Nate looks over at Thea trying to speak in a low tone so that no one makes a big fuss over what she's about to say. "Girl, why didn't you talk to me about coming? Give me a heads up or something? You didn't even show up to hang out with us last week when we were all together after the tribunal. Why would you just show up today?"
Thea: "Well I never said I wasn't coming. Everyone just assumed so."
Nate: "I mean that's a very reasonable assumption being that you broke up with Damon and this trip is for his birthday."
Thea: "I paid my money. I wasn't gona let it go to waste. Besides....Maybe I made a mistake breaking up with him. What better way to fix it than to show up right?"
Nate: "I still don't think this was the best way to go about it. You haven't even talked to him in this last week or so."
Keisha chimes in. "Plus you kinda fucked up the whole sleeping arrangement by just showing up. Now couples won't even get to sleep together cause you decided to show your ass."
Thea: "Well I can just room with Nate."
Keisha shifts in her seat turning directly toward Thea. "And where the hell did you think Simone was going to sleep?"
Cam reaches over to Keisha grabbing her hand, urging her to keep calm.
"I'm cool. Miss all about herself just needs to understand that her actions affect other people." Thea doesn't say anything. Nate urging her not to. "And of course you're gona have to sleep with Nate. No one else wants to room with you anyway."
Thea rolls her eyes. "Okay, I get it. My bad"
Arriving at the cabin
JR pulls into the driveway first. As he gets close to stopping he presses his breaks hard enough to make Gabby, Damon, and Simone's bodies jerk forward in their seats. As they're all waking up hastily he laughs and says, "That's what y'all get for falling asleep on me." Gabby reacts by slapping his arm. "You don't play with people like that. Boy, I thought I was bout to die." Meanwhile, Damon and Simone still sit in shock about what just happened. Everyone finally gets out to stretch their limbs, take in the fresh air, house and scenery. "Wow," Simone says. "It looks even better than the pictures."
"Let's just hope the inside looks just as good. Come one girl, let's go check it out," Gabby says.
Simone runs around to Gabby. They lock arms and scurry to the door. Simone looks back at Damon and JR who are starting to get their stuff out of the car. "Y'all can handle all that on your own right?" She laughs turning back toward the door going to catch up with Gabby. Simone pulls out her phone looking for the code to the key lock box in the Airbnb app. She punches the code in to get the key and unlocks the door with it. Opening the door they immediately see access to the garage is on the left and the mudroom area to hang coats and leave shoes on the right.
They walk straight ahead down the hallway to the living room. It has floor to ceiling windows, and a glass sliding door leading out to the deck where the Jacuzzi is off to the right side. It's just out of site from the view of the living room. The view of the deck comes with the site of hundreds of tall trees. The kitchen is just before the living room. The master bedroom, with its own master bathroom, is downstairs with the living room and kitchen to the left of the living room. It has a door that leads out to the downward slope where the fire pit and grill are. There is access to the deck by taking stairs up from the fire pit area. The rest of the bedrooms, bathrooms and another common/game room are all upstairs.
Walking into the master Gabby says, "So I guess the boys get the master and me and you can take a room upstairs?"
Damon comes up behind them, bags on his shoulders and in his hands, startling them with his words. "Honestly, y'all can have the masters. Me and J don't need all that space."
Simone turns grabbing some bags from him and walks them over to the kitchen. "Nahhh it's your birthday. You should definitely have it."
Gabby still standing in the same spot. "I mean me and JR can take it if y'all don't want it." Simone gives her the eye from across the room. "I'm kidding. Me and Simone will sleep upstairs. But we're definitely gonna use that massive bathroom."
As everyone else trickles in, Gabby and Simone find their room. Then, everyone else finds their rooms and get adjusted to their spaces while Gabby, Simone and JR put the kitchen items away. When they're done, Simone pours some shots for everyone and calls everyone to the kitchen for a group meeting around the kitchen island.
"As you all know, tonight is gonna be pretty chill. We're just gonna drink, play some games and enjoy each other's company. It's like 3:30 now, so I guess y'all can do whatever and then we're gona start game night around 8. We're gona get pizza from that spot up the road. We need to look up their menu to see what they have and we can collectively decide on what to order. We'll pick it up for dinner later. If you guys get hungry before then, we have hella snacks. Oh, and tonight is pajama night, so make sure you come in your flyest sets.... Now let's do a quick toast!" Everyone raises their glasses for the toast, turning their attention to Damon. "Here's to the birthday boy AND a lit week! Drink up!" Everyone throws their shots back.
Once the food order is all figured out and called in, Simone decides to change into workout clothes. She grabs her Bluetooth speaker and goes to do some yoga out on the deck. The weather's really nice today. Cool enough that she won't break too much of a sweat, but warm enough that she doesn't need too many layers. The air is so fresh and there is a nice breeze. Simone transitions poses for about 40 minutes, while everyone else relaxes inside. After she's done, she showers and decides to take a quick nap. She sets her alarm for one hour. Everyone else is pretty much already napping. JR & Gabby fell asleep cuddled up on the couch watching tv. Santiago & Jake are playing video games in the common room upstairs. Damon and everyone else are in their separate rooms.
Later on around 7, JR, Damon, Gabby & Simone all ride out to get the food while everyone else stays back to put up decorations. When they get to the restaurant, Gabby and JR go inside to pick the order up. The restaurant is pretty busy tonight so there is still a little wait. Since they have a moment to themselves, Simone checks in with Damon to see how he's enjoying himself so far.
"Sooo how you feeling? Everything to your liking so far?"
"Yeah y'all definitely did the damn thing. Not gonna lie, JR being involved had me a little worried though."
"Don't underestimate your brother. He's got a little planner in him."
"Yeah, but we all know you're the real planner anyway."
"I didn't wanna be the one to toot my own horn..." Simone uses her arm to facilitate the toot toot movement. "But toot toot!"
Damon chuckles. "Okay miss humble."
"So how are you feeling about Thea being here? I know it's gotta be pretty awkward."
"Honestly I don't even know that I care. She's apart of the friend group so it's not new for her to be around. I just don't understand why she would want to be here after all the stuff she said."
"Maybe she felt bad?"
"I'm not gona make any assumptions if she doesn't say anything. Imma just do me."
The locks to the car click signaling the unlocking of the doors. JR is carrying 4 large pizzas. Gabby's carrying the bags with 3 different large orders of wings, fries and salad. JR pops the hatch and they place the food in the back of the car. They hop in and head back to the cabin.
Back at the Cabin, the decorations are set. There's a 'Happy Birthday Damon' banner hanging above the sliding doors to the deck. Its black with red letters. There are silver number 19 balloons floating just in front of it. There are some red, black, and silver balloons scattered across the floor. Music is blasting. Games are sitting on the table in the middle of the living room. The bottles of alcohol, other drinks, plates and cups are sitting on the kitchen island. When Damon, Simone, Gabby and JR get back, everyone goes for a round of shots, then the boys grab food and move over to the living room to open up the games. The girls stay by the island to eat and chat for a bit.
Keisha standing across from Simone. "So, Simone did you ever figure that Terrell stuff out?"
Simone takes a sip of her drink before responding. "Yeah and he made it real easy for me actually."
Gabby puts her pizza slice down. "What you mean?"
Simone puts her cup down. "He was always bringing up how different I was or how different I did things from other girls. It got tired and annoying real fast. Like, we couldn't just be in the moment without him saying something. On top of that, he was a little pushy but in a slightly aggressive way. No thanks."
Gabby: "I definitely get that."
Nate: "Yeah, it's best to cut that before it goes too far. We don't want Nathaniel out her fighting. Cause I will knock a nigga out."
Keisha puts her hand on Nate's arm urging her to calm down. "It's okay. No one needs their ass beat." Turning back to Simone she says, "Anyways, you and Lando still the same?"
Simone: "Still casual. There isn't any pressure for more than what we got going on. Plus I'm bout to go on line any way so I don't even want to deal with any extra stuff."
Gabby: "You handling that situation a lot better than me. In my mind, if we fucking consistently you my man."
Nate laughs. "Oh don't let her fool you. She's definitely a relationship kind of girl. He's just not her type. You know she like'em light."
They all laugh. "While that may be true, I don't discriminate. Right now, I'm just going with the flow and I currently don't want anything more than what we got going on."
JR comes over to grab a bottle. "Y'all ready to get y'all's asses whooped playing games or would y'all rather stand over here and talk all night? Cause we ready!"
They spend the rest of the night listening to music, drinking, and playing games. Nothing too crazy because they are going on a group hike tomorrow morning.
Thursday
The next day, the group piles into JR's & Jake's cars and head to their desired hiking trail. The hike is about 2.5 miles total and not too steep. There is a waterfall at the end of this trail where civilians are allowed to take a dip if they want. Since it's March, it's not quite warm enough for that yet. Cam, Jake and JR all have their book bags to carry snacks, first aid items, and a few extra bottles of water in case anyone runs out and needs more. As they start the hike, the girls are in the front. Simone, Gabby and Keisha lead while Nate and Thea follow closely behind, then the guys trail behind them.
Nate talking to Thea. "You mentioned that you might have made a mistake breaking up with Damon. Have you talked to him yet?"
Thea: "Not really. There hasn't been much time and I don't even know what to say."
Nate: "Well, now might be the perfect time since there isn't a lot going on. We're all just walking anyway. You should go talk to him."
Nate walks up with the rest of the girls. Thea musters up the courage to talk to Damon. She slows her walk, waiting for the guys to catch up and pulls Damon for a chat. They trail behind everyone else.
Thea fidgets with her water bottle. "So I know that me just showing up probably threw you off a bit. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about that."
Damon tensely raises his eyebrows and presses his lips together before speaking. "It's cool. You paid your part. This is a group trip, so why not enjoy something you paid for."
"Yeah..."
They walk in silence for a few moments.
Damon looks over at her curiously and speaks with slight impatience. "Was there something else you wanted to say?"
"I know that you tried to talk to me after the break up and I wasn't really receptive to that."
"I get it. You made your choice."
Thea: "I'm starting to think that maybe it was the wrong choice."
Damon starts to get a bit frustrated. This peaceful walk is turning into unpeaceful conversation for him. "Why? What has changed in the past two weeks that make you say that?"
Thea looks over at him nervously. "I miss you."
Damon shrugs. "Okay, so none of the other stuff you said meant anything? All those other things you were feeling just went away?"
Thea doesn't have a response.
"So then nothing has really changed huh?"
Thea sighs. "I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it all out."
"Well, maybe that's what you should be doing. Let me know when something is actually different." Damon speeds up his walk catching up with the guys.
Finally at the waterfall
After getting group pictures, pictures with just the guys, pictures with just the girls, and couples pictures, everyone separates doing their own thing. Nate is talking to Thea about her conversation with Damon. Simone is sitting almost alone dipping her feet in the water admiring the waterfall and taking in the cool breeze. This is so relaxing. Santiago and Jake are close by. Cam and Keisha are on the opposite side of the waterfall. Gabby and JR are further back talking to Damon.
"She said she misses me but other than that nothing has changed."
JR listens to Damon attentively before responding. "Remember what I said about you being the sun but it being up to the people around you to get their own insecurities in check about that?
Damon nods. "Yeah..."
Gabby jumps in. "Well, in case you didn't know, Thea's a bit insecure. She doesn't know how to be herself while someone like you is you. She's not used to sharing attention. Yeah you can wait for her to figure all that out but who's to say how long you'll be waiting for that."
Damon rubs the back of his neck as he ponders his response. "I'm honestly kinda over it. If imma make the decision to be with someone, I want it to be different. Just see me for me ya know? I know it's out there... Anyways, imma quit boring y'all with my stuff and go sit down for a few."
Gabby watches as Damon goes to sit beside Simone. He takes his shoes and socks off, putting them to the side and places his feet in the water sitting beside her. He smiles at her and she smiles back while saying something to him. They both laugh and he shoulder bumps her while splashing her with the water. Simone tries to block the splashing, then she splashes him back. "You see that right?"
JR not really paying attention to what Gabby is talking about. "What?"
Gabby gestures ahead. "Damon & Simone"
JR not thinking anything of it, waves her off. "Oh, that ain't nothing new."
Gabby: "Exactly"
Later at the cabin
After showers and naps, the guys help prepare the food for the grill. The girls are pretty relaxed sitting in the living room playing card games and watching tv. A curious Santiago sparks conversation. "We saw you and Thea finally talking. Since she showed up for the trip, are y'all getting back together?"
Damon looks over at him slightly annoyed by his question. "She might want to but as of right now... Nah..."
"Honestly, I never thought she was your type anyway. I know that you guys are both top athletes, but she just always seemed a little bit too wound up for you bro."
Jake slaps Santiago's arm with his hand." You can't just be talking about his maybe future girlfriend again like that."
Santiago throws his hands up. "I'm just saying. He needs to be able to relax sometimes. He's serious enough as is."
JR looks over at Santiago. "So since you know so much about relationships, why haven't we met your girlfriend?"
Santiago: "I thought it was obvious? I'm not tryna be tied down. Damon on the other hand is a one woman kind of guy."
JR laughs. "Yeah you are right about that one."
Damon: "Since you know so much about everything, how about you go outside and light up the grill then?"
JR drops his utensils. "Nahh, that's where I draw the line. I got it. We all know I'm the only one here who really knows how to work a grill anyway."
After the food is done and everyone is just about done eating, they sing happy birthday and serve cake. Keisha switches from her party playlist to something and little more chill but still upbeat. Now it's time for more games. Jake proposes Never Have I Ever to make things interesting. Each person takes a turn saying Never Have I Ever done something that they haven't done before, and those who have done it have to take a drink. Just so no one gets sick or overdoes it, Jake proposes that people make a mixed drink and take a sip of that instead of taking straight up shots.
The group huddles around the square table in the middle of the living room. Around the living room table is a full size couch with two loveseat couches next to it and parallel to one another. There is a tv on the wall parallel to the full size couch. The back of one loveseat faces the sliding doors to the deck, while the other loveseat back faces the kitchen island. Gabby and JR are sitting in the middle of the large couch. Thea beside Gabby closer to the kitchen. Nate sitting on the other side of JR closer to the sliding doors. Damon and Cam sit beside each other on the loveseat closest to the deck, while Simone and Keisha sit on the opposite loveseat closest to the kitchen. Damon and Simone across from one another, Keisha and Cam across from one another. Santiago and Jake sit on large beanbag chairs with their backs facing the tv.
The game starts off pretty harmless. A few easy ways to get people to drink. "Never have I ever been apart of a sports team," coming from Keisha, "Never have I ever gotten my hair braided," coming from Santiago, "Never have I ever had a friend with benefits," coming from Gabby. You know, the kind of questions that get everyone drinking... but the game takes a slight turn.
Nate: "Never have I ever dated more than one person at the same time."
JR, Keisha, Santiago and Jake all take sips of their drinks.
Damon: "Never have I ever sang in front of an audience."
Cam, Thea, Gabby and, surprisingly, Santiago all take sips of their drinks.
Cam smirks at Keisha knowing he's got just the thing to make Keisha take another drink. "Never have I ever stood someone up for a date."
Keisha playfully rolls her eyes sipping her drink. "You ain't never gona let me live that one down huh?" Gabby takes a sip of her drink too.
Santiago: "Never have I ever had more than one sexual partner during the same time."
Jake, Keisha and Nate all take sips of their drinks.
Jake: "Never have I ever knowingly had romantic feelings for more than one person at the same time."
Nate goes for her cup. Keisha and Damon go for theirs. Simone hesitates, but Keisha whispers to her, "If I gotta drink, you do too." Simone awkwardly looks at Damon across her. He's already sipping his drink. She picks her drink up taking a sip.
Keisha: "Never have I ever kissed a friend.... Ahh shit, I guess that applies to me too. I better drink up then." She starts twerking in her seat. Cam senses that Keisha's hit her limit, so he proposes that the group calls it quits on the game.
Simone exhales with relief because the Never Have I Evers were starting to get a little too personal for comfort. I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Cam gets Keisha off the couch and takes her to the kitchen for water. Everyone else sits in the living room talking. Just as Simone is coming from the master bathroom, she hears a familiar song playing.
*Love to see you shine in the night like the diamond you are*
*I'm good on this side, it's alright, just hold me in the dark*
She approaches the threshold of the master bedroom and the living room. She takes a look around, then focuses her attention on Damon for a moment. He, JR and Gabby are sitting on the couch laughing about something so he doesn't notice Simone or the song. Her body becomes paralyzed for a moment. She is so overwhelmed with every emotion she has associated with that song and period of time. Feeling like she needs a moment to herself, Simone decides to go out the door of the master to the fire pit area and then walks up to the deck. She stands leaning over the ledge taking in the night air for a few minutes before Gabby sees that she's out there and goes to check on her. Simone looks back as she hears the deck door sliding open.
Gabby: "Hey girl! You good?"
Simone nods. "I'm good. I just needed some air, plus it's kinda loud in there."
Gabby approaches the edge of the deck. "You sure? Looks like you have something on your mind."
Simone sighs. "It's just... that song. It brings up a lot of memories."
Gabby: "What song?"
Simone: "Better..."
Gabby: "Ohhhh......Jordan?"
Simone: "Kinda sorta, not really..."
Gabby looks at Simone inquisitively. "Then what 'really...' or who?"
Simone looks over at Gabby, slightly shifting in her direction. "You know how you asked me what happened between me and Damon?"
Gabby chuckles. "Yeah and every time I ask, you lie and say it was nothing. I'm very, very familiar with that story."
Simone: "Well, I lied."
Gabby: "Mmhmmm tell me more."
JR steps outside. "Y'all know y'all missing all the fun, right?"
Gabby walks with JR back toward the door. "We just getting some air." As they head back in, she looks back at Simone who is still standing in the same spot. "You coming girl?"
Simone: "Yeah, in a minute."
JR and Gabby head back inside leaving the sliding door open. Simone turns her attention back to the woods. She sees a few deer frolicking along the tree line. She observes them until they head back into the woods. After a few minutes have passed, Damon comes out walking toward the edge of the deck, leaning over it next to Simone. "Not you out here taking personal time on my birthday."
Simone continues looking straight ahead. "So just because it's your birthday, I'm not allowed to be alone?"
Damon chuckles. "Nahhh not without me."
Simone looks over at him and playfully pushes him with her left hand. "Whatever! You ain't special."
"Well, today I am." He realizes that it's pretty cool outside and Simone has her arms folded rubbing her skin. He stands straight up and pulls his hoodie off. "Here, take this. It's kinda chilly out here."
Simone was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't even realize what she was doing. Smiling, she takes the hoodie from him. "At this point, just call me the Damon Sims hoodie collector."
Damon laughs. "Oh, best believe you won't be keeping this one!"
They continue to talk while Thea and Nate are standing at the kitchen island inside. Thea can see Damon and Simone outside talking. She even sees Damon offer his hoodie to Simone. She's studying them curiously. She really wants wo know what's going on with them out there. While she can barely get a word out of Damon, Damon has no business going to find Simone wherever she is. Jealousy is creeping into her as she takes a sip of her water. Nate can see Thea distracted. "You good, girl?"
Thea sighs. "I showed up. I talked to him earlier like you said I should. I told him how I was feeling. But it was never going to be enough."
Nate takes a sip of her drink. "Girl, what you talking about?"
Thea points to Damon and Simone on the deck.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, chile. Plus you heard Simone earlier. She's not even thinking about boys like that anyway."
Thea: "That doesn't mean Damon's not thinking about her that way."
Nate: "Well, based on what you told me, he seemed like he would be open to you guys getting back together if some things change, right?"
Thea: "Yeah..."
Nate: "Well, maybe stop worrying about Damon and Simone being friends, and worry about you and your stuff."
Thea: "I guess."
Friday: their last full day at the cabin
After a night of drinking everyone sleeps into the late morning. When they get up, Damon and JR decide to go for a run, so Gabby asks Simone if she wants to go for a walk to finish their conversation from last night.
Out walking
Simone: "So, I know you want me to give you the deets on what happened with me and Damon."
Gabby: "I meeaannnn I've only been waiting for you to spill since New Year's Eve!"
Simone: "Actually, no one knows this. I don't even think Damon told JR, so please don't say anything to him."
Gabby: "Of course...I gotchu!"
Simone takes a deep breath. "Last semester I cheated on Jordan with Damon." Gabby's mouth drops. "Weellll...actually, I told Nate and Keisha that we kissed. And they got so caught up in the kiss that they didn't ask any more questions."
"So, it was more than a kiss?"
Simone: "Yeah.... we had sex. And I was the one who initiated it. It was kinda a whole thing... Cause that happened and then a few days later Jordan made a surprise visit to campus. I had to figure out all my feelings about both of them and ultimately decided to figure things out with Jordan.... and we all know how that worked out."
Gabby: "Yeeaaahhhh that's a lot. Now I see why you didn't wanna talk about it. What's making you bring it up now?"
Simone: I guess I'm just trying to sort through my feelings. I needed to get it out and you're the only one I trust with this right now. This trip has just been making me feel so confused about how I feel about Damon and where we stand. Without all the distractions and things going on on campus, my mind is kinda hazy. On campus there are clear boundaries and everything flows a certain way all the time. Here, it's just feelings everywhere all the time. Literally can't get away from them if I tried..."
Gabby: "So you gonna talk to him about it?"
Simone: "And what am I supposed to say? 'This trip made me realize that I don't know how I really feel about you... about us?'"
Gabby: "Yeah you right. That doesn't sound smart. Maybe take some time to think on it before you say something to him. Just try not to get too carried away with all those feelings in the meantime."
Simone: "And another thing... him and Thea just broke up. You know she's trying to get back with him right?"
Gabby: "Oh I know, but it's not looking too good for her though."
Simone: "How you know that?"
"Let's just say this, his eyes have not been on her this entire trip." Gabby pauses for a moment, coming to a realization. "Hold on, I didn't even ask you the real tea..."
Simone: "Go 'head and ask."
Gabby: "Was it good?"
JR and Damon stretching on the deck at the end of their run
JR looks over at Damon. "So I've been meaning to ask...is something going on with you and Simone?"
A confused Damon pauses his stretching. That's a random ass question. "What you mean?"
JR stops stretching. "Gabby just said that she was noticing some things... and now that I think about it, y'all do seem even more close since your break up with Thea. Even before we got here, almost every time I came to find you outside of class and practice, you were with her."
Damon goes back to stretching. "We just be chilling. Ain't no different than last semester when I wasn't with Thea. We just have more time to hang now I guess."
"Exactly bro. And I recall something happened, and you was pretty quiet on the details. We all knew that y'all was distant for a minute."
"Yeah but she was with Jordan at the time. Now she's not... So I don't see the big deal in us just enjoying each other's company."
JR gives Damon a puzzled look. "But you was just talking to Thea about getting back together yesterday."
"Actually she was the one who wanted to talk and I don't even think I wanna get back with her anyway."
JR thinks to himself this nigga don't understand the gravity of the situation. "Well I'm just saying....make sure it's not just a 'think.' Make sure it's a know. Simone is one of your best friends. You don't wanna potentially ruin that or cause unnecessary tension between her and Thea over something you're not sure about."
Later, everyone heads into town to visit the shops and go atv riding. When it's time for atv riding, they only have three 2 seaters and one 4 seater left. Cam & Keisha and JR & Gabby get on 2 seaters. Jake and Santiago obviously aren't going to do that, so they're going to ride in the 4 seater. Damon's going to drive the 4 seater. Damon asks, "Okay so who's gonna be our fourth?" Nate nudges Thea to offer herself as an option. She's just trying to help her friend get her man back. Thea steps forward. "I'll ride with you guys!" In an effort to not make things too awkward and JR's words echoing in his mind, make sure it's not just a think...make sure it's a know, Damon agrees. This makes Thea happy but she tries not to show too much excitement. Nate and Simone will ride together in the last 2 seater.
After their time zooming around the atv trail, the group heads back to the cabin to clean up and rest. Damon and Thea got along pretty well but Damon still didn't seem that interested in talking to her much. He was more occupied with having a good time. It just feels different between them now and Thea knows that it's her fault, but doesn't know how to remedy it... or if she is even able to remedy it. She's thinking about just giving it all up and moving on.
A little later, the group takes a few more shots but they decide to be more chill for their last night at the cabin. They want to make sure they have everything cleaned up and are able to leave on time in the morning. After the group hang, Nate and Thea are in the upstairs common room watching a movie. Cam and Keisha are doing their own thing too. Damon, Simone, Santiago, Jake, Gabby, and JR are all in the hot tub chilling, talking about random stuff and listening to music. It's pretty cool out but the Jacuzzi is keeping them warm. Jake and Santiago finally decide to go inside and play video games in the living room.
It's been a fun but long 3 days and JR and Gabby haven't had much alone time. They're kind of over it especially since they had to give up rooming together because of Thea. Anything for their brother and bestie, but they still want to spend some real alone time together. They are sitting cuddled up with each other in the jacuzzi. Gabby has her legs crossed over JR's and her arms are wrapped around his neck. JR has his right hand resting on her thigh and the fingers on his left hand are trailing up and down her back. Gabby's ready to give in, so she stands up. Stepping out of the jacuzzi, she grabs her towel. "I think imma go take advantage of that master shower while the room is free. Y'all have a good night." As she wraps her towel around her body and heads toward the door, she looks back at JR, eyeing him to come with her. "Actually, I could use a shower too." He gets out of the jacuzzi turning back toward Damon and Simone. "Take your time out here." He runs after Gabby.
Simone looks back at them as they scurry off and then at Damon who is sitting across from her. "You know you're gonna have to disinfect that thing when they're done right?"
Damon laughs. "Yeah, most definitely."
After a few moments, the overcast in the sky breaks revealing the moon and the stars immediately catching Simone's attention. She looks up at the sky in amazement. "Wow, we could never see this many stars in the city. It's so beautiful." Damon sits there watching her take in the night sky. The moonlight reflects off the water onto her skin and makes her eyes sparkle. "Yeah, it is," he responds even though he's not even looking up at the sky.
Simone still looking at the sky gets a bit more excited. "Oh wow I think I see the Big Dipper! Or maybe the little dipper?" She says that last part a bit confused. "Anyway, Come look!"
Damon shuffles himself over to her side about an arms length away from her. He looks up at the sky, tilting his head to see what she sees. "Ummm I don't know. I don't think that's it."
"You gotta come closer." The clouds are still shuffling a bit in the sky. He moves closer. "Wait for it.... Okay, yeah. It's right there." She points up at the sky.
"Okay, yeah I see it now." He looks back at Simone who is still taking in the view. "I never knew you were into stuff like this."
Simone looks back down at Damon realizing he's staring at her. "I..." She clears her throat softly and moves herself away from him a bit. "Honestly, I didn't know until now. I didn't think the night could get any more perfect. But seeing this...WOW!"
Damon grabs her hand through the water. "I know what could make the night more perfect."
Her stomach immediately starts fluttering. She looks down at their hands in the water and then back up at Damon. She tries pulling her hand away. Damon holds firm. "Damon, we can't. Now is not the time."
Damon still holding onto her hand. "Why not? You said it yourself. The night is perfect. We're here alone for a reason. I know you can feel it too."
"But what about Thea?"
Damon releases her hand. "What about her?"
"Y'all just broke up not even 2 whole weeks ago. And I know y'all had a talk during the hike."
Damon: "So..."
Simone stares at him for a moment confused about why he seems not to care. "So we can't just be doing whatever cause the night is nice."
Damon stares back at her. That liquor was giving him a lot of courage right now. I know how to put an end to her line of questioning. "You think too much. Just come here." He grabs her body, pulling her closer to him. He softly places his right hand on her neck. She gets immediate chills. He pauses momentarily looking into her eyes deeply. She returns his gaze just before he kisses her lips softly. She's finding it hard to resist him. She reaches her left hand up to his neck and kisses him back. He moves down to her neck (that's her soft spot). In her weakness, her hand falls back down into the water. She can feel herself melting into him once again. Her heart begins to race. He has full control of her body right now. Damn his lips are so soft. She had forgotten how they felt. She lets out a gasp as he nibbles up to her ear while simultaneously grabbing her thigh squeezing it. He traces his fingers along the fabric of her bikini bottom. She's starting to throb. The temperature in her body is rising, but she can't feel anything but his lips against her skin.
Damon's ready to risk it all in this jacuzzi. To make sure she's down for the direction this is going in, Damon pauses kissing her and whispers in her ear, "Tell me to stop and I'll stop." The sound of his voice in her ear makes it even more difficult for her to resist. Everything about this feels so good. She can't tell him to stop. She doesn't want him to stop. "Don't stop," she whispers back. In response, his hands go from teasing her bikini bottom to excitedly gripping her and pulling her on top of him, making the water splash all around them and over the jacuzzi wall onto the deck. She squeals a bit with excitement and they both chuckle at their own movements. She can now feel him hard against her tender clit. He's pulsating to the beat of the rumbling waters around them. She puts her hands around his neck, locking her fingers together, and they begin kissing now more passionately than before. Being on top, she's definitely in her element now.
Damon's starts squeezing her ass pretty tightly as he gets more excited. He follows her motions, pulling her into him more and more. She's been kissing him so aggressively that her mouth is starting to get tired. Pulling back from the kiss, she looks him in the eyes. Her left arm now around his neck, sliding down so that her hand is resting on his shoulder, while her right hand softly touches his face. They stare into each other's eyes in silence for a moment. He releases his grip from her ass. His hands glide up to her hips, then he has a new idea. He gives her a smirk. She smirks back at him in return. He wraps his arms around her lower back, holding onto her tightly. She doesn't know it yet, but he's bracing her for a flip. They're definitely about to do it... again.
They're interrupted by the sound of the sliding door. The sound of the muffled music playing in the house pours out. A shocked Damon releases his grip and Simone pulls back but not before Keisha catches a glimpse. The funny thing about water is that it slows down all your movements. Keisha's shocked and amused, but least of all... surprised. "Well, I was gona ask if y'all wanted any more of the birthday cake before it's all gone, but I see you already have dessert covered." Keisha chuckles as she walks back inside closing the door behind her.
Simone still stuck with a shocked look on her face, stands quickly grabbing her towel. She looks back at Damon saying, "I told you it wasn't the right time." She steps out of the Jacuzzi wrapping her towel around her and heads into the cabin.
Watching Simone walk away from him, Damon exhales deeply and mumbles to himself, slapping the water out of frustration. Yeah, it never is.
Simone finds Keisha and asks her not to tell anyone, especially Nate, about what she saw. She just needs some time to sort it all out herself, and maybe with Damon too. She hasn't fully decided on that last part yet. Keisha had already shared what happened with Cam. We all know that Cam is not the kind of person who is going to gossip so Keisha doesn't have to worry about him sharing anything. Simone showers and goes to bed, not seeing Damon until it's time to get ready to leave the next day. They don't talk much the next morning either. He's just trying to give her space. Honestly, they're both still processing.
Simone asks Gabby to sit with her in the back for the ride back to Atlanta. Being that there is so much commotion occurring during their exit, Gabby doesn't ask any questions. She'll save those for later. The ride back to campus is also pretty quiet and Simone stares out the window most of the time, so Gabby knows that something is up.
Back at campus
After unloading everything, the Taylor Moore Hall group gets settled back at their dorm. After grabbing the last of their things from JR's car, Damon and Simone ride the elevator back up together alone. It's silent for a moment, but Simone breaks the silence. "I hope you enjoyed yourself this week. All we wanted was for you to relax and have a good time."
Damon looks over at her giving her a faint smile. "Yeah, it was really fun. Thanks for all the effort you put into planning with JR. You know I'm not the best at coordination."
Simone laughs. "Oh I know...."
Coming off the elevator, standing near the entry to the boys side of the dorm. Damon's back is facing that side, while Simone's back is facing the girls side.
In order to prevent himself from having to hear the words come out of Simone's mouth, and in an effort to resolve the situation that he created Damon says, "I thought about it and you were right about the timing not being right. It's obvious that we're both not in a space to figure it out. Remaining friends is the best thing we can do for each other right now... be for each other right now."
Listening to Damon talk leaves Simone shocked and a little confused. He was all, "You think too much" less than 24 hours ago. She didn't know how to talk to him about it but she wanted it to go a bit differently when they did finally discuss it. She's not ready to talk about it anyway. Maybe this is an easier choice than having to go there. Maybe it was just the alcohol anyway. Maybe he does still have feelings for Thea and he's considering working that out. Maybe he's just unsure of how he feels. I can't even process all this right now. I have too much to prepare for with tennis and PKZ. I've gotta get back into the groove of things. We don't have time to figure it out. We never have. Why would we even try that if we can't do it at our full potential...my full potential? "Yeah, we both just have so much going on right now. We don't need to keep blurring the lines. Our friendship is too important."
"Yeah..."
Simone takes a step back. "Okay, so I have some stuff to take care of. I'll see you later?" She posses it as a question just to make sure she will actually be seeing him around. She doesn't want there to be too much distance between them once again.
Damon smiles softly. "Yeah...see ya."
Simone and Damon both nod their goodbyes to each other trying their best not to let the other know how much it pains them to be in this position again. Simone's smile drops as she turns around heading to her room swiftly. Damon watches her for a few seconds and turns away just before she hits the corner. Simone pauses for a moment looking back in the direction of Damon, who is already out of sight. She takes a deep breath as she returns to the direction of her room. Her thoughts are still going a mile a minute.
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