"Why is everything moving?" Laila asked as she joined the others in the main room. "Am I imagining it?"
"No, love. That's the alcohol," Cam replied.
"I told you not to chug."
"For your information I didn't chug the second one," Laila said haughtily, shooting Jace a glare. It turned to a giggle instead when Anthony took her hand.
"Don't worry. We'll take care of you."
"Yeah," Jace agreed, though he was looking at his friend suspiciously. Or maybe Laila was imagining it? Her vision was a little odd at the moment. But her doubt faded when Jace smoothly came between her and Anthony, moving the latter aside and freeing her hand. "Are you good?" He asked her quietly.
"Stop babying me. I'm not drunk," she insisted. It didn't seem to make him feel better. He stared for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. "Yes, I'm good," she added. "Better?"
"Yeah." He seemed distracted. The others had already left the room. Their voices echoed down the hall, crude and boisterous as ever.
"You ready?" Wes asked. He was the only one who'd waited.
"Ready Freddy!" Laila giggled again as Jace sighed and took her arm, leading her from the room. "What time is it?"
"Midnight?" Wes guessed. "I dunno, I left my phone back there." He nodded toward their deserted hotel room.
They were already halfway to the elevator, where Jace's bandmates were waiting.
"Hurry up, mate," Skip complained. "I wanna get my dick wet." He laughed as Laila's eyes grew wide at the comment. Maybe coming here was a mistake. "I'm kidding. I meant in the pool," Skip assured her.
"Mmm," she grimaced. Hanging out with a group of guys was so new. She still wasn't used to their tactless humor or overall dynamic.
"Are you sure—"
"Jace, I'm fine," she interrupted him. "Why are you suddenly worried about me? You're supposed to hate me."
"I told you I don't. Is your memory really as fucked as the rest of you?"
"See!" She shoved a finger in his chest as he laughed. "You hate me."
He nudged her into the open elevator without a word. She frowned, wondering why he was still vacillating after all this time. Every time she thought they'd had some type of breakthrough into a friendship, or at least civility, he had to go and be an asshole all over again.
"I can't believe you're drinking," Wes mused. "Are you drunk?"
"I don't think so?" She looked up, then down, then did a quick pirouette as best she could in her current shoes and the nearly full elevator.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Seeing if I can still spot," she told Jace. "I can, so I think I'm good."
"Good thing I brought another." Skip pulled a third wine cooler from who knows where.
"For me?" Laila's hand went to her chest, matching the flattered surprise in her voice.
"I'm sure as hell not drinking it." He pushed it into her hand.
"Thank you. You guys are so sweet," she gushed. "You do make me nervous just 'cause there's so many of you and you're so..." She gestured around, not finding the words she'd planned to use. Everyone was watching in amusement while she struggled to finish. "Loud! Obnoxious? Aggressive? But just like... verbally. But not aggressive aggressive, just a lot. A whole lot. I guess typical guys? I'm not used to it. I only hang out with my cheer and dance friends who are nothing like you guys." She gestured again, waving the wine cooler. Cam laughed and swiped it from her hand, then handed it off to Jace.
Jace raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Open it," Cam encouraged.
"I'm not—"
"Please?" Laila gave her puppy eyes, hoping they would work on him for once. His green eyes surveyed her for a second, and in that moment the elevator doors slid open.
"Let her have it," Wes said. "You sure you want another one?" He waited for her to nod. "C'mon, dude. Don't be a buzzkill."
"Fine." Jace pulled the keys from his swim trunks while everyone but himself and Laila left the elevator, heading for the pool that was gleaming past the glass doors.
Laila stepped out and pulled him along. The other guys had loudly shoved the doors open, falling into their usual banter as they headed outside. A loud splash went up when someone ran ahead and cannonballed into the water.
"What's going on with you?" She turned to Jace. "You're being weird."
"Just take the drink, rabbit." He shoved the open bottle in her unsuspecting hand. "It's not vegan, by the way."
"It's not?" She gaped.
"Of course not."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Why would I? You're the vegan, it's your job to know this shit."
"Jace..." She was tearing up now. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Stop crying," he said. She couldn't tell if he was concerned or simply annoyed. Either way, he didn't sound happy. "You already had two, right?"
"Yeah," she sniffled.
"What's one more?" He shrugged carelessly. "I won't tell if you won't." His lips turned up in a smirk, causing a butterfly to shoot through her stomach.
"Like a secret?" She whispered. "You wouldn't tell?"
"Not if you don't want me to."
She watched him, contemplating. It went against her morals. At the same time, it was delicious. And she was having fun. And tonight had been a night of bravery and adventure. What was one more rule break after she'd already gone so far out of her comfort zone?
"Okay," she conceded. "I guess it's okay. But only for tonight! I'm staying vegan. This is an exception. And don't tell anyone."
"I won't."
"Are you guys coming?" Wes' voice shouted from outside.
Laila glanced at Jace one more time before taking a swig of her open drink and prancing down the hall. She shoved the glass doors open, giggling as she emerged into the warm night air.
What the hell, she thought, I'm allowed to break the rules for one night.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Jace following close behind. He caught the door she hadn't bothered to hold open and strode out to the sound of his noisy friends.
"Shouldn't you guys be quieter?" Laila asked. "Isn't it quiet hours or something?"
"No such thing here," Cam replied. He was treading water in the deep end with Dominic beside him. "We chose a party hotel. Can't you tell?"
Laila could tell now that the nerves had settled and she took a good look around. A few more people were drinking around the pool. Someone else had just run and jumped in. There was noise floating through windows of half the rooms and multiple sources of loud music. She hadn't even realized it was a 'party hotel' with how fancy and classy everything was. It was the nicest party hotel she'd ever been to.
"Well in that case..." She paused to take another swig of the wine cooler, then shoved it into Jace's hand and took off running. She laughed joyously before taking a dive right onto Dominic's head.
Water rushed over her as she landed, taking him down along the way. She opened her eyes to see him underwater and clearly caught off guard. She grinned at him, waiting until he returned it, before swimming to the top.
The sound of laughter met her ears. Dominic surfaced a moment later, spluttering and shaking the hair from his face.
"That was brilliant!" Anthony was laughing at his twin's downfall. "I love drunk Laila."
"I'm still not drunk," she sang. She was admittedly unsober but nowhere near drunk. Or at least she assumed so—she honestly had no frame of reference.
"We love every form of Laila," Dominic chimed in, placing an arm across her shoulders. "Don't we, Jace?" His grin fell on Jace, who was the only one not swimming yet.
"Nope," Jace chuckled as Laila pouted. "Don't you want your drink?" He held it up. She eagerly swam to the edge.
"Cannonball!" Wes had climbed out to jump in again. A large wave hit Laila as he broke the surface beside her.
"Yes, please." She reached up to Jace, who swiftly pulled it away.
"No glass in the pool."
"Since when do you care about rules?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"What do you mean? I always have," he replied seriously. "You're the rule breaker, not me."
"What?" Her head tilted in confusion. "What're you talking about?"
"You don't remember?" He was clearly teasing now. He stepped back as she reached for the drink again. "Come and get it." He held the drink up, slowly going toward taking a sip.
"I want it!" Laila's hands grabbed the pool wall and she easily hoisted up, then swung a leg onto the concrete. She gracefully—or in her mind it was graceful—climbed out and lunged toward him. He dodged, laughing. "Jaaaace," her voice was whiny, "please give it back?"
"That's not gonna work again," he said, referring to her pouty face. He held the drink above his head. "Come get it."
She accepted his challenge and dove forward, attempting a tackle. It didn't faze him; he stayed upright as she tried and failed to grab the drink.
"No fair! You're taller than me," she complained. "This is cheating!"
Their bodies pressed together, hers soaking wet while she shoved up against him in attempt to reach the drink.
"Is it? Or is it me being better than you?"
"Jace!"
"Laila."
The name caught her by surprise. She was so used to him calling her rude nicknames that she froze. The sound of his voice saying her real name, and in a normal manner at that, made her heart flutter.
In that moment Cam ran past, snatching the drink from Jace's hand along the way. Before she knew what was happening, she'd been scooped up bridal style. Jace took a running jump and launched them both into the pool, holding her snugly the entire way. The sound of his laughter and her screaming disappeared underwater. Her eyes opened as he swam away, surfacing a split second before her.
She came up beside him, shoving hair from her eyes and coughing out water that had rushed in while she was screaming bloody murder.
"What's the matter?" He barely held back a snicker.
"Screw you."
"Anytime you want." He smiled.
"I don't want you, I want my drink," she shot back. "The one you so rudely gave away."
"Here you go." Cam appeared to her right. He was sitting atop the pool wall, legs in the water while the rest of him stayed on the ledge. He held the drink out and she happily took it.
"Thank you." She downed the rest of it before handing the bottle back. "I wanna play a game."
"What kinda game?" Cam set it aside, his eyes intently on her.
"Ever played chicken?" She asked. It was her and Caleb's favorite game to play in the pool. Amanda wasn't a huge fan because she always lost when it was her turn up top, but it was their go-to pool game either way.
"You mean chicken fight?" Dominic appeared beside her.
"Yeah."
"Hell yeah! Let's play." Dominic was already lowered in the water for Anthony to climb atop his shoulders.
"Who wants to play with me?" Laila looked around. She was hoping Wes would volunteer, but he was halfway across the pool where they'd left the drinks. He popped open another beer, then returned carrying a second one that he handed to Cam.
"What're we doing?" He asked.
"Laila and Jace are about to play chicken fight."
"I didn't say with Jace," Laila protested, but it was too late. Wes and Cam were both seated drinking beers. She didn't necessarily want to play with Skip. As much as she didn't trust Jace in general, she trusted Skip even less. Mainly because he seemed like the perviest of the group. She sighed and turned to Jace. "You wanna play?" She asked, trying to keep the hesitance from her voice.
"Hop on," he said, too easily for Laila's liking. It was suspicious. He lowered in the water to place his shoulders at surface level.
She hesitated for a moment before mounting his back, painfully aware of how close her body was to his. Her cheeks flushed as he gripped her thighs and stood. She leaned forward for balance, then quickly leaned back again to minimize contact. Jace chuckled from between her thighs.
"What?" She asked.
"You don't have to be so nervous," he said. "I'm not gonna do anything."
"Yeah, don't be nervous Laila," Anthony chimed in. "I'll go easy on you."
"I'm not nervous about you," she started, "it's Jace I'm worried about. He's—" her words turned to a squeak as Jace purposely let her fall back. She grabbed his head as he laughed.
"What's the matter?" He asked.
"Don't do that!"
"What? This?" He did it a second time, laughing again as she shrieked and fell backward. He caught her thighs at the last second.
She took a moment to steady and calm her racing heart before declaring, "I don't trust you. I want someone else."
"Why?" Jace's voice was filled with fake sadness.
"You know why. You're gonna keep dropping me for fun."
"Would I ever?"
"You just did it twice!"
"You can trust me," Wes said. He set the beer aside.
"Yes, please." Laila eagerly agreed to the new partner. "I trust you way more than Jace. A million times more. A billion times more! A million billion katrillion times more—"
"That's not a number, idiot—"
"I trust Wes a million billion katrizillionmabillion," she continued right over Jace, "ten trillion times more than Jace."
"Are you sure you're not drunk? Those aren't words." Jace chuckled as she tried to climb down on her own.
"Positive." She shoved his head in an effort to get down, but from this angle it was too hard.
"I'll help," Jace offered.
She started to thank him but screamed instead when he jerked backward, shoving her thighs from beneath to make sure she fell. Her legs flailed as she crashed into the water. She eventually came back up coughing.
"Jace!"
"You just can't stop screaming my name, can you?"
"Oh my gosh," she groaned. She splashed his face before moving to Wes instead. "You know what?" She turned back to Jace. "You and me. Let's go. I'm gonna shove you into the water so hard."
"Is that so?" Jace raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, bitch! Let's go!"
"Okay. I think you're drunk," Wes laughed as he dipped into the water so she could easily get on his shoulders. "You've never called anyone a bitch. Have you?"
"I don't think so. But if the name fits." She shrugged, staring Jace down. "C'mon. Let's go." She gestured impatiently for him to choose a pair of shoulders and climb on. Wes was upright now and she was steadily atop his shoulders.
A cool breeze picked up but she barely noticed. She was too determined to beat Jace.
"I'm not getting on top of someone," he said. "Unless it's you." He smirked as she grimaced.
"No. Hurry up. I'm getting cold up here."
"You heard the lady," Skip said. "Go on, Jace."
His bandmates started yelling for him to play until he finally caved just to shut them up. "Which one of you assholes wants to carry me, then?"
"Not me," Cam said. "I'm still on this." He held up a beer. "I'll watch."
"I'm busy." Dominic jerked backward to drop his brother, who took him down by the neck. Gurgling came from beneath the water as the two of them tried to subdue each other.
"Are they trying to kill each other?" Laila was watching in horror.
"They'll be fine," Cam waved a hand. "It's all you, Skip."
"Get on board." Skip bent for Jace to get on.
They positioned themselves right as the twins resurfaced. This time they switched places, with Dominic deciding to go on top to play.
"Ready?" Laila looked down at Wes, who nodded.
She wasn't ready, however, for the intensity in which Dominic and Jace went at each other. She gasped at how violent they were being. It only lasted a few seconds before Dominic was mercilessly thrown off Anthony's shoulders. Her eyes widened as the winners turned to her.
"Are you gonna be that rough with me?" She asked nervously. She'd only played with her own friends. She wasn't used to this level of mayhem.
"Come on and see," Jace challenged. His smug smile made her resolve kick in.
"Go!" She gripped Wes' head while his hold on her thighs tightened. They came within reach of Jace, and immediately the two started going at it.
Laila was shoving and pulling Jace with all her might, squeaking the couple times he managed to sway her but overall managing to hold her own. She was surprised at how easily she managed to hold up against him. Unless...
"Are you going easy on me?" She asked. He didn't answer, seemingly too focused on staying upright.
"I'm not," Skip said.
"Not you," she replied through a grunt as Jace once again came at her. "I'm talking to you, Jace. Don't go easy on me!"
"Do you really think I'm that soft? To let you beat me for no reason?"
"It's what you did with our race, right? I figured it out when I saw how fast you are during the game. You let me win."
"You really think so?" He barely managed to stay up as she tried to knock him down again. She was letting out countless sounds of effort as she tried to win.
"Yes." She barely got it out through the effort. "You did. Don't let me again. I wanna win fair and square."
"You sure about that?" He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly it seemed like he was staying up with no effort whatsoever. She nodded. "Alright. Suit yourself."
She braced for what was coming, but wasn't ready for how swiftly he got her off Wes' shoulders. She went down with a shriek, nearly taking Wes with her from how determined he was to keep her in the game. Still, Jace had taken her down with ease.
She popped up in the water while Jace damn near cackled. Cam was in the water now, playing around with his brothers while Skip let Jace down.
"It's what you wanted, right?" Jace was smiling smugly.
"I guess so." She pouted as everyone went back to messing around. She knew he was going easy on her, but she hadn't realized he was going that easy on her. It was kinda sad how easily he'd won.
"Sorry Laila," Wes said, though he was smiling, too. "I tried. I gotta say though, I knew he was going easy on you." He laughed as she realized she was the only person who didn't know right away.
She stopped pouting; she couldn't help but laugh, too. It was kinda funny now that she thought about it. After watching Dominic and Jace go at it with such aggression she should've known he wouldn't treat her the same. "Okay, fine. You win. Thanks for being gentle, I guess." She smiled at Jace before swimming to the ledge. "I'm gonna go in the jacuzzi."
She got out and headed for the jacuzzi, which was calling her name. It was suddenly freezing cold. She shivered, speeding up to get there faster. It was way on the other end, several feet past the shallow side.
Heat was emanating from the water before she even touched it. Her foot dipped in and warmth immediately spread up her legs. She got in and sat against the wall with a content sigh. The hot water felt amazing. Her eyes closed to the sound of the guys shouting insults and profanities from the other side of the pool. They were fun, but it was a bit much. It was nice to have time away from their chaos. Especially since she'd be with them until morning.
"Tired of us already?"
She jumped at Jace's voice. "No," she said somewhat honestly. "You guys are just... a lot."
"I know. You said that during your drunken rant earlier."
"For the last time, I'm not drunk."
"Just a little loose, right?" He smirked as she realized maybe she was less sober than she'd realized, after all. Either way, it was still manageable. Nothing felt out of control, so it was fine.
"I'm not tired of you guys," she said. "Are you getting in?"
"Sure. If I'm not bothering you." He descended the couple steps and sat in the water across from her.
"You're not bothering me. I mostly came over here 'cause I'm getting cold."
"I know. I can tell." His eyes dropped the slightest bit. She followed his gaze, then turned bright red at the realization of how he knew. He laughed as her hands shot to her chest, covering the evidence. "It's okay, rabbit. It's natural."
"Shutup," she mumbled, for once genuinely embarrassed. She'd felt nervous and shy and even uncomfortable around him before, but never so exposed. She rubbed her bikini top, hoping to get rid of the evidence.
"Need help?" He offered. She quickly shook her head, turning even redder, if that was even possible. "If you change your mind, let me know."
She started to tell him to go away, but the idea left when she saw the way he was looking at her. It was new. Her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out what he was thinking. Finally, she decided to ask.
"What're you thinking about? Why're you making that face?"
Almost a minute of silence passed. Or maybe it was only a few seconds. It felt like forever before he said, "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" She must have misheard him.
"I'm only saying it once."
"But for what?" She asked slowly. What she wanted to ask was which of the thousand asshole things he was sorry for, but the shock of him using those words—she hadn't even realized they were in his vocabulary—made it too hard to get the rest out.
"For being such a dick," he paused, waiting for a response, but she was speechless. "Don't get me wrong, it's been fun, but I guess I can start helping more."
"Helping with what?" Her voice was barely there.
"You know. With the rumors."
"I don't understand," she murmured.
"I'll help if you want me to. Take it or leave it."
"I'm so confused," she said. "What do you mean by help?"
"You're pretending to be my fiancé so I don't get shipped back to parents who are desperate to be rid of me. I'll pretend to be your boyfriend so the rumors of you being a cheater and all that stop."
"Huh?"
"You're being so stupid." He sighed impatiently. "I'm offering to pretend we're dating at school so everyone fucks off about you cheating on the imaginary boyfriend. Deny that he ever gave you the ring and say I gave it to you a while ago. You can tell them you're embarrassed to be dating someone so far out of your league—"
"Hey!"
"So you wanted to keep it secret for a while. Or tell them—"
"Can I just say we're dating now?" She interrupted. It seemed he was heading toward a list of insults at this point. "I'll say I broke up with the boyfriend a while ago and the ring is from you, but I wanted to keep it under wraps because the boyfriend wasn't over me and I didn't wanna rub it in his face. Does that work?"
"Whatever flips your skirt," he replied. His eyes once again fell to her chest; her hands had dropped from the shock of his apology, but she was too surprised to care or bother covering up again. It was taking a while for his offer to process.
"So you're really gonna pretend to be my boyfriend to help me out with the rumors?"
"I figure I owe you that much," he said. "But don't expect more. I apologized and I'll get our shit classmates off your back. That's it."
"Thank you." She finally smiled, the shock having worn off. "Do we start tomorrow?"
"Sure. But don't think this means I'm being nice to you."
"Wait, but how will people think we're dating if you keep being so mean to me?"
"It's the charm you fell in love with." His smile was cocky as she rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want help warming up?"
She bit her lip, eyeing him. For some reason it sounded nice. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was how cold the night had become, but she moved across the jacuzzi to sit beside him. Then at the last second she decided to sit in his lap.
"I guess you can help. But not with that," she said, stopping him from touching her chest. "Don't even try it. Am I too close?"
"No," he answered. His arm wrapped around her waist. She was warming up already. "For the record, I didn't know your drinks aren't vegan," he said. "I read the label while you were changing."
"So you would've told me if you knew?" She asked hopefully. It would make her feel a lot better. He shrugged a careless shoulder, which she took as his way of admitting that he would have.
Their eyes met for a second before she smiled. He didn't return it, but that didn't matter. She adjusted in his lap, not protesting when his other arm wrapped around her, too, and leaned against his chest. This was good practice for pretending to date at school.
Although, it was more intimate than she'd be at school. Her chest was against him, still obviously cold, as he'd already pointed out twice. His body was reacting to her as well, but she didn't point it out for two reasons: she didn't want him to think she was uncomfortable and move, and she also didn't want him to think she was nervous and tease her for it.
Or maybe... maybe it was because she actually like it?
"Why're you so quiet?" Jace asked.
"No reason," she said hurriedly. "I'm just thinking about stuff. About not you," she was stammering, trying to stay calm and not blurt her real thoughts. "I've never been this close to a guy," she blurted it anyway.
"Emotionally?" Jace's eyes danced with amusement. He knew good and well that wasn't what she meant.
"No. Physically," she replied. She was blushing again.
"Is that so?"
"It is so," she said, imitating his accent.
"That was horrible," he said rudely. "Worst accent I've ever heard."
"Worst accent I've ever heard," she mocked him again. "Is that so? Is that so? Is that so?" She kept going, putting emphasis on a different word each time until she was giggling uncontrollably.
"I wish you'd shutup."
"I wish you'd shut—" her voice cut off as he closed a hand over her mouth. Her laughter was muffled until he finally freed her face. Her eyes flickered to his lips. "Why'd you do that?"
"To shut you up."
"You know, there's another way you can shut me up."
She pivoted before he could answer, straddling him against the wall, and kissed him. Her fingers closed around his hair, grabbing a handful when he kissed back. She deepened the kiss as his hands trailed down her back, moved past her waist, past the band of her bikini. She pressed into him as his hands reached her butt. And then he abruptly stopped.
"What?" She asked breathlessly, sitting back to look at him. He was enjoying it just as much as she was; she could tell as much from his body's response.
"We shouldn't do this now."
"Why not?" She asked sadly.
"You're not sober."
"I'm sober enough," she protested. But he shook his head.
"You didn't stop me from touching your arse," he said. "You always stop me."
"But what if I want you to this time?"
"Then you'll still want me to tomorrow. When you're sober."
She groaned and sat back. Every inch of her wanted to keep going. To let him do whatever he wanted. She sighed lightly before giving up. "Okay, fine." She moved from the straddle but stayed in his lap. "Can I at least stay here?"
"For as long as you want," he replied.
She turned in his lap, settling back the way she'd originally been, and rested against him. A couple minutes of silence passed before her eyes lulled shut. It must be almost two in the morning at this point. It was way past her bedtime. Normally she got a full eight hours of sleep to stay in top condition for dance and vocal perfection.
Footsteps approached, followed by Wes' voice asking if she was asleep. She wasn't yet but she was too sleepy to answer. Maybe sleep was a good idea. Maybe she'd just take a quick nap on Jace's lap. He was surprisingly comfortable, after all. And he was doing a great job of keeping her warm.
Jace shifted beneath her before answering, but she didn't hear his response. The sleepiness had already won.
***
Hi guys! So the goal is to finish this story within a month or two, time permitting. I told you all i didn't forget about it 💜 hope you enjoyed!