"Baby, it's time to wake up." I awoke to Jamie leaning over me in bed, I looked around, not recognizing the room I was in, before remembering we were at the Ryan's cottage.
"But I don't wanna." I said, turning around and burying my head in the pillow.
"I know baby, breakfast is ready though." He said, rubbing my back gently.
"I'm not hungry." I mumbled.
"If you say so, I'll be downstairs though." I groaned in a response, also just not ready for the chaos that would be endured. Jamie leaned over and kissed my head before walking out the door. I really didn't want to get up. I pulled my phone off the charger and started scrolling through TikTok. It only took a few minutes for the door to open again and Jamie to walk in.
"Baby, I thought you were going down to eat?" I said, without looking up from my phone.
"Well, how could we leave you up here all alone?" Except it wasn't Jamie. I jolted up as soon as I realized it was Charlie.
"Charlie? What are you doing in here?" I asked, making sure my bottom half was completely covered as I was only wearing underwear.
"Oh I just came to see how you were doing." He responded coming over to the bed and sitting on the edge.
"I'm fine, just not hungry." I said, trying to be dry to him to get him to leave. "Where's Jamie?" I asked.
"He's downstairs, I told them I was going to the washroom." He said. "Now I can come up here and do what I really want to."
"What's that?" I asked, kind of having an idea of where this was going. I wanted Jamie. I tried to scoot as far away on the bed as I could, but I was already on the edge.
"This." He said, now leaning all the way over and kissing me, and slid his hand down to touch my boob and butt before I could push him off, he just stared at me in response.
"Jamie!" I yelled, and immediately heard a plate crash and running up the stairs. The door swung open hard and Jamie stood in the doorway.
"What the fuck are you doing, Charlie?" Jamie asked, his jaw clenched.
"Just trying to show her what she's missing." He responded, standing up from the bed. At this point almost everyone was standing behind Jamie as the door.
"What is going on here?" Jessa asked, coming behind Jamie.
"I'm trying not to throw Charlie into the fucking lake, that's what." Jamie responded.
"No I meant to Charlie, what did you do?" She asked, pushing past Jamie and getting close to Charlie, he didn't respond.
"Sky? What happened?" Jamie asked, his hands now clenched into fists by his side.
"Can you come here?" I asked softly. Jessa ran over and put her arms around me. "He touched me, and kissed me." I said into her neck.
"Jamie." Jessa said while holding me. Jamie nodded and walked over to Charlie, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and dragging him downstairs, the rest of the guys followed. Justin was the only one who stayed back with us, and closed the door behind.
"I'm sorry for ruining this." I said getting out of Jessa's grip.
"What do you mean you ruined this? And there's nothing to be sorry for, Sky." Jessa said.
"Yeah, this is most definitely not your fault, this was Charlie. We all figured he'd get over it but yesterday before you guys got here he was weirdly excited for you specifically to come. And throughout the day yesterday he kept staring at you too. Even after you guys went to bed he mentioned really weird comments about you multiple times. I'm sorry that we didn't catch it or stop him earlier." Justin said.
"That's okay." I said, proceeding to tell Justin about what Charlie had said at the beach last week.
"Damn. I think he needs to go home, I think he needs to leave." Justin said, standing up and going downstairs, closing the door behind him on the way out.
"Are you okay?" Jessa asked. I nodded.
"Honestly I'm fine, it was just super uncomfortable. I knew something was going to happen as soon as he came in here and closed the door, it was just an off feeling. I just didn't expect to be groped." I said, laughing a little bit, trying to make light of a not good situation.
"I can't believe he'd do that, I've known him since we were all kids, I grew up with them being Justin's twin, just always hung around and I wouldn't expect that. If he was hitting on a girl that was clearly interesting sure kiss her, but you have made it so clear that you're not, not to mention you're dating one of his best friends." Jessa said.
"Should we go downstairs?" I asked.
"If you want to, I'm not sure what they're doing to be honest." She said. I nodded.
"Just warning you, I am in my underwear right now." I said, letting out a little chuckle.
"All good, girl, you were in a bikini yesterday, practically the same thing." She said, getting off the bed so I could get up and put some pants on. I grabbed the first pair of shorts I could find and slipped them on, before grabbing my phone and putting it in my back pocket, and sliding my slides on before we opened the door and walked downstairs.
"Get the fuck out, I don't care, don't you dare touch my girlfriend like that ever again!" I heard Jamie yell as we started down the stairs.
"Why don't you ask her how she liked it, then we can figure out who leaves?" Charlie asked him, looking over at the stairs.
"You really think there's even a question about that? What did she do the second you kissed her?" Ryan asked Charlie, he didn't reply.
"Exactly. She called for me." Jamie responded, getting closer to Charlie by the second.
"Jamie, maybe calm down a little bit, we can figure this out without yelling about it." Myles said.
"Fine. Can you tell me why you think it's okay to kiss your best friends girlfriend?" Jamie asked, with a fake smile on his face.
"Because I wanted to, I think she's hot. I think she deserves a guy who will treat her right." Charlie responded, smirking.
"Dude, come on that's not right at all." Ryan said.
"Can I just say something?" I asked walking towards the group. No one responded so I took that as my chance to talk. "I've been treated wrong by a lot of guys in my life, but no one has ever treated me as wrong as you just did. You just betrayed your best friend in doing so too. For the record, even if I was single, after that shit you just pulled, I would never go for you." I said to him. There was another silence.
"I think it's time for you to go now Charlie." Ryan said.
"Sorry, Ry."
"Oh no, it's not me you need to apologize to." Ryan replied, looking over at Jamie and I.
"I'm sorry." He said, not looking up from the ground, his teeth clearly clenched. I didn't say anything, it sure as hell was not okay, and I was not accepting that shitty apology. Jamie didn't say anything either. My heart was broken for him, that was his best friend. Myles had come downstairs with a bag and handed it to Charlie, waiting for him to leave. He did after another minute or two of everyone just staring at him. As soon as he left Jamie came over to me and wrapped his arms tightly around me.
"I'm so sorry, Jamie." I said into his chest.
"I'm so sorry that I didn't stay with you or didn't drag you down with me, I'm so sorry." Jamie said into my hair, kissing the top of my head.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, you didn't do anything wrong." I said quietly. Everyone else slowly filed out of the room and back into the kitchen.
"Baby, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm supposed to protect you and I didn't. I knew something was wrong when he said he was going to the washroom and went upstairs." Jamie said, he pulled away slightly from me, and kissed me with love and anger.
"It's okay, J, I didn't expect anything like that to happen. I'm sorry I ruined the trip." I said.
"You did not ruin the trip, you made it so much better by you being here. He ruined the trip. But it'll be so much better without him here." Jamie said, pulling me close again.
"Can you just stay with me today? Either you or Jessa being with me? Is that okay?" I asked. Jamie nodded profusely.
" I wasn't planning on leaving your side at all." He said, forcing a smile out.
"I love you." I said.
"I love you most." He replied. "Come on, lets go get you something to eat." I nodded as Jamie grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers and dragging me to the kitchen where everyone else was.
"I'm sorry guys." I said almost as soon as we got into the kitchen, it was quiet inside.
"It's not your fault, Sky, you have nothing to be sorry for. If he's going to act like that he shouldn't be here." Max said, forcing a smile.
"Come on, you need to eat." Jessa said, patting the chair beside her. I walked over and sat down. Jessa and Jamie both started putting food on my plate for me.
"Thanks guys." I said, smiling at them both. Jamie sat down on the other side of me and started eating his food that had gotten cold. We all ate in silence, almost awkwardly. I felt terrible, I didn't want to ruin the weekend. My chest clenched and my hands were clammy. It only took about 10 minutes for everyone to be done and we started cleaning up. I stood up and grabbed mine and Jessa's plate, walking to the sink and started to fill it up. I flinched a little as Jamie put his hands on my hips.
"Sorry." Jamie said, quietly.
"It's okay, you just scared me." I responded. I knew he was going to be cautious now, and I really didn't want him to be, I was truly fine. He fully wrapped his arms around my torso, holding me tight, putting his head on my shoulder.
"What do you want to do today?" Jamie asked.
"Maybe tan and read a bit. What do you want to do today?" I asked.
"I could tan and read a bit too." He responded, leaning his head over and kissing my cheek.
"Don't wanna hang out with the guys?" I asked.
"Nope, I told you I was going to stay by your side fully."
"Jamie you can hang out with the guys, I'll stay with her it's okay." Jessa said as she grabbed a tea towel and started drying the dishes I've already washed.
"I don't want to leave you though after this morning." Jamie said.
"I'll be fine, baby, we're here so you can hang out with the guys that you don't get to see too often. I'm sure Jessa's plans were in the same realm as mine anyways." I said.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes I'm sure. I'll let you know if I need or want you, okay?" I asked him.
"Okay, don't be afraid to say anything, you know I'll stop whatever I'm doing and run to you." He said, kissing my cheek.
"I won't I promise." I said, turning around and kissing his lips lovingly.
"Okay, you two have fun. I think we're going for a walk for a bit then." Jamie responded as he started walking away.
"Okay, have fun!" I yelled as he was far enough.
"You too, I love you!" He yelled.
"I love you most!" I yelled back as he closed the door behind him. The rest of the guys were already outside playing some basketball to wait for him.
"Alright, now that this is done, lets go get our tan on." Jessa said, hanging up the tea towel on the back of a kitchen chair. We both ran upstairs and got changed, grabbing whatever we needed and coming back downstairs. We went outside to the back and down the wooden steps, laying our towels down in the sand.
"So, are you okay? Like really?" Jessa asked as we both laid down.
"Yes, I am truly all good, it's over and I know it's never going to happen again. As long as Jamie's not mad at me for being kissed by someone else, and someone else touching me, that's all I truly care about." I said, pulling my sunglasses off the top of my head and onto my eyes.
"No, he's definitely not mad at you for that. I think he might've killed Charlie if the rest of the guys weren't there to watch him to be honest. He's very protective of you. We used to have a group chat from before COVID of the cottage group, we hadn't used it since summer 2019. I think it was the day he met you the message we got was him saying he just me the love of his life. We were all super confused about it, the guys were trying to tell him you can't know someone's the love of your life the second you meet someone." Jessa said. "But they were wrong. I have never seen someone love so kindly, passionately, and with their entire soul. All we ever hear about from him is you. We have to pry to learn about anything else. That's how I knew we were going to be great friends, felt like I knew you already." She laughed a little bit at the end of her speech.
"I love him, and I'd honestly do anything for him. The day I met him I knew my entire life was about to change. One of the first things he even said to me was that I smelt nice, I mean what hockey player says that to a girl the first time they meet her? I work with hockey players and have for like 3 years, that's never happened. And then sneaking out of a hotel to go eat nachos with the girl and her team? Not to mention skipping out on partying with the team just to talk to her? I knew immediately I had a good one. But I never imagined moving out to California with him. It's crazy to me to be honest. He's genuinely everything to me, I'd give up anything and everything if it meant that was the only way to be with him." I said, I could've said so much more.
"Can I be invited to the wedding?" She asked, laughing a little bit.
"Of course you're invited." I said, laughing with her a little bit.
"Has he talked about putting a ring on it?" She asked.
"Only every day." I laughed out.
"Not surprised, it took him 3 months before he said he was putting a ring on it." She said laughing still.
"He told me to expect one come the new year."
"Really? I'm shocked he's waiting that long."
"So am I, I wouldn't be surprised if he dropped down on one knee in a month. It was my rule though, the girls think I'm crazy for saying that I won't accept one until we've been together for at least 2 years." I told her, moving some hair out of my face.
"That's reasonable." She responded. We sat in silence for a few minutes, both pulling out our books and reading for a while.
"I need a drink, do you want one?" I asked eventually, getting up and dusting some of the blowing sand off of my legs.
"I'd love a water, please." She responded. I nodded and started walking to the cottage, grabbing two waters out of the drink fridge.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing not on the beach?" A very familiar voice asked from behind the fridge door. I smiled brightly closing the door and putting both waters on the counter as quickly as I could to wrap my arms around Jamie's neck. He followed by wrapping his arms tightly around my torso. "Missed me that much already?" He asked, chuckling a little bit.
"I always miss you as soon as you're gone." I said. I grabbed his hat off the top of his head and put it on my own.
"You should wear hats more often." Jamie said.
"You think? I don't love how it looks." I responded.
"I love it."
"You say that about everything I wear."
"That's because it's true, baby. You look amazing in everything." He said, putting a finger underneath my chin and tilting it up, kissing me passionately. "What are the odds you wanna go upstairs now that it's quiet in here?" He asked against my lips.
"Jessa's going to come looking for the water I'm bringing her." I said, kissing him again, and putting a hand in his hair. "Plus, I'm not sure I really want to do that right now." I said. Jamie pulled back a little bit.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't even think about that. I am so sorry, baby." Jamie said, now running a hand through his own hair and looking down.
"Baby it's okay, it's fine, it just might take a little bit of time." I said.
"Are you sure? Do you still want me?" Jamie asked. I nodded profusely.
"I do, always, Jamie. I'll never not love you or want you." I told him, closing the gap in between us and hugging him tightly. "I love you more than anything in this entire world, I can't imagine my life without you and nothing, I mean nothing, will ever change that." I said, kissing him. "We can probably do that later if you think we can be quiet enough. I just meant I wanted to tan while the sun is still out, it's supposed to rain tonight."
"Oh. I didn't know that, I just assumed the worst." He said.
"That's okay baby, I didn't explain it very well, I would've assumed the same thing." I responded. He leaned down and kissed me again, taking his hat back off my head and onto his own.
"As beautiful as you look in that hat, I need it to make sure everyone knows I'm yours." He said, and kissed me once more, lightly touching the J resting on my chest. "And you need this to make sure everyone knows your mine."
"Not because you own me, but 'cause you really know me." I said. His face softened it looked like he almost melted into my words.
"I love you so much. I don't think you even understand how much you mean to me, Sky." Jamie said and hugged me tighter. "I can't ever get close enough to you, I just want to hold you skin to skin 24/7 for the rest of my life."
"I love you more than any one has every loved anything. I can't even describe it. I can't say it enough. You are everything, Jamie." I said.
"Not surprised." A voice came from the front door.
"Are you two ever not draped all over each other?" Justin asked from the front door, where the rest of the guys stood behind him and Ryan.
"We took bets on the fact that you took so long because Skyler was in here." Myles added.
"We should've sent someone else for the beers, we knew this was going to happen." Eric said, laughing a little bit.
"Sorry for loving my girlfriend, guys." Jamie said in a sarcastic tone.
"You should be, we need the guy time." Ryan replied, clearly also very sarcastically.
"Yeah gosh guys, I need some girl time too." Jessa said from the back door. We all laughed a little bit, no one heard her come in either.
"You live together can you not get enough of each other?" Justin asked.
"Nope." I responded, leaning my head further into Jamie's chest.
"I mean, it is pretty cute." Ryan said, putting a hand up and looking at the other guys. They all had big smiles on their faces, I could tell they were just happy for their best friend.
"Are we going golfing?" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, I think so. Do the girls want to come? We might be there for a while." Max said. Jessa and I looked over at each other, neither of us interested in going golfing.
"No I think we're good, thanks though." Jessa replied. They all nodded.
"Alright, J, forget about the beers go get changed and let's go." Eric said, the boys all ran upstairs to go get changed into their golfing outfits. Jessa and I sat in the island chairs waiting for them to come back down.
"What are the odds they'll be back for dinner?" Jessa asked.
"Depends on when the rain starts." I said. "But, doubtful either way." We laughed a little bit, nodding and knowing we'd be on our own. It only took a few minutes for them all to make their way down the stairs.
"Aw, don't you guys look adorable." Jessa said, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of them all together.
"Don't stare too much ladies, we know we look good." Ryan said, spinning around to show off the outfit. They all wore the exact same shorts with the same shirts just in different colours, it was pretty adorable to be honest.
"Oh you guys all look amazing." Jessa said.
"I love the coordination." I added. "It really shows that you're a group. No one will get lost at the course."
"Nah, Eric will still find a way to get lost somehow." Max said.
"Well in that case you just have to tell people to find the guy wearing the same shorts and a bright purple shirt." I told him, trying to hold back my laughter.
"Everyone will be able to see the bromance, I don't see the issue here." Jamie said, his smile as bright as the sun.
"That's the perfect way to do it." Jessa responded.
"Alright, get out of here before the weather gets bad." I said, trying to make sure they had enough time.
"Are you trying to kick us out?" Myles asked.
"Only a little bit, we're going to have a One Direction party and it starts in 2 minutes whether you guys are here or not." Jessa responded, making me laugh. She grabbed the speaker from the kitchen counter and turned it on, connecting her phone to it and pulling up One Direction's discography on Spotify.
"Alright, let's bounce before we stay in the girl fest." Justin said, trying to push everyone out of the cottage. Jessa and I both laughed at them all. Jamie ran over to me and kissed me before following the guys out to their cars.
"Party time!" She yelled as soon as the door closed, hitting shuffle on the music. We started singing and dancing as we slowly cleaned up the cottage. Throwing empty cans out, sweeping, and washing every surface. It didn't take long as nothing was really that dirty.
"So what else are we doing for the day? Do we go back out to the beach or hang out in here for a bit?" I asked her.
"We can go back out to the beach for a bit. I feel like I still look really pale and we've been out there for two days straight." She said, looking at her arms.
"Same, I feel like no colour is latching onto my skin."
"Girl, you live in California, you're already tanned." She said, grabbing a palm bay and a water as we headed down to our spot on the beach again. We laid back down and picked up our books, keeping the speaker beside us with some music, just not as loud anymore. We spent the entire afternoon out there, not even realizing the time until the sun slowly started to set.
"Oh shit, it's already 7:30, want to go back inside and make some food?" Jessa asked, picking her phone up.
"Yeah, we probably should, shouldn't we?" I responded. We packed up our stuff and went inside. "I might shower quickly." I said, heading upstairs. She just nodded at me. I went back to the room, closing the door behind me. I glanced at the bed, where it happened and it hit me a little harder, being alone, in the room. I let out a shaky breath and tried to ignore the feeling. I went into the washroom and turned the shower on, jumping in once the water got nice enough. I stood there for a moment, and I didn't even notice when I started crying. It felt like nothing when I was with people, but now that I was alone I could feel a brick on my chest, pushing me down. I broke down completely, now just bawling and kneeling down in the tub, trying to be as silent as I could so Jessa wouldn't notice, or if the guys got home none of them would hear either.
"Baby? Is that you?" I heard Jamie ask from the hallway. I didn't reply, just wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to seem normal. "I'm coming in." He said softly, opening the door and closing it quickly behind him. He pulled back the shower curtain and saw me on the ground, trying to wipe my face off. "Baby, what happened?" He asked.
"It's nothing." Was all I could muster out to him.
"Don't lie to me, pretty girl." He said. He didn't even undress before he sat on the edge of the tub and pulled me up to sit on his lap, squeezing me tightly in his arms. I already felt a little bit better knowing I was protected in his grasp. "Why are you crying, baby?"
"I don't know."
"Yes you do. Is it from earlier?" He asked. I slowly nodded, I didn't want to say it, knowing that if I did the fast tears that slowed down when I forced myself would start up again, and I didn't want him seeing me like this. "It's okay to cry and feel sad about this." He said, kissing the top of my soaking head. He slowly moved me off of him and now took all his clothes off, joining me in the shower. He moved me underneath the water, grabbing the shampoo and scrubbing my hair, thoroughly, not too harsh though. I knew exactly what he was doing, he was trying to wash Charlie off of me. He did the same thing with my body, scrubbing it thoroughly, but still gently, trying to get every last bit off. And then he started all over again. He did this three times. "How's that?" He asked after he finished rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, and breaking the silence we were in the entire time.
"Better. I feel better." I said. He didn't say anything else, just nodded and turned the water off, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around me, drying every part of my body off, and then doing the same for himself.
"Do you want to just stay upstairs for the rest of the night? I brought my laptop, we can just watch a couple movies up here." He said.
"I do, but I'm also hungry." I said.
"Okay, let's go down and eat and then we'll come right back up, does that sound okay?"
"That sounds perfect." I said. We walked a couple feet down the hallway to our room for the week and Jamie helped me get dressed into a pair of sweatpants and a t shirt, changing into the same thing himself. He intertwined our fingers before walking down the stairs and sitting at the table with everyone else. It was quiet as we sat down, almost silent, like there was a heavy cloud over the room. The only sound coming from the rain on the roof and the forks and knifes against the plates, plus Ryan's jaw cracking with every bite he took. I slowly put some food on my plate and started eating. I was shocked at how hungry I actually was, I just wanted more and more food. Once we finished eating, Jamie cleaned up or plates and Max and Myles took care of the dishes for the night, Jamie just lead me upstairs, pulling out his laptop and opening Netflix as I got into the bed.
"I'm so sorry, baby." Jamie said as he got into bed with me.
"It's okay, I'll be okay." I responded, my voice was cracking and weak, I could barely understand myself.
"You don't have to be okay right now though, feel your feelings. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." Jamie said as he kissed the top of my head, and I laid on his chest. He turned on Divergent, the movie had decent enough vibes for the night. We watched it in basically silence. I didn't want to start any conversation, and I know Jamie didn't want to say the wrong thing. He just ran his fingers through my hair the entire time, that and feeling his heart beat reminding me he was there, and I would be okay.