I woke up the next morning, a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist. My back was pressed up against what felt like a stone wall. I turned to see Trey, sleeping peacefully beside me. I smiled and realized something.
It was the first time we had slept together.
I leaned in slightly and kissed the tip of his nose. His eyes fluttered open, engulfing me in a sea of different colors. Trey smiled at me.
"Hi," he whispered, reaching up with one of his hands and brushing my curly blonde hair behind my ear.
"Good morning," I replied.
"How'd you sleep?" he asked, his eyes bright.
"Not well at all. I had this brick wall pressed against me the whole night and it was really uncomfortable," I replied, a smirk on my lips. He chuckled.
"Why were you sleeping with a brick wall?" he asked.
"Because, he's really attractive and I just wanted to get into bed with him," I replied. He laughed and leaned in, his lips pressing against mine gently.
"Well, the brick wall says that he slept really well and that he thinks you're the most beautiful girl he's ever slept with," he told me.
"Tell the brick wall to call me some time," I replied. He chuckled again and pulled me close to him, enveloping me in his warmth. He buried his face in my hair and sighed.
"Mmm, Caley..." he mumbled.
"What?" I asked.
"I don't think I ever want to let you go," he said, pulling away slightly so he could look into my eyes.
"Well, I kind of have to shower, so you're going to have to," I joked.
He laughed and kissed my lips gently at first and then with more longing. I brought my hands up to his face and he placed his on the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. The electricity between grew fiercer by the second and I knew I had to pull away before anything happened. I moved away, my breathing uneven.
Trey's eyes glittered and I felt my cheeks flush.
"We should probably go get ready before Mom comes up," he whispered. I nodded and we both sat up. Trey looked at me and then began laughing.
"What?" I asked, getting defensive quickly.
"You--your--haha--your--your hair!" he managed to get out as he clutched his stomach, rolling around on the bed laughing. I leaned forward so that I could glance in the mirror that was attached to his dresser. Sure enough, my hair was sticking up in several different directions. I looked like I had been electrocuted. I felt a smile creep up onto my own lips and started laughing, too.
"Stop! It's not funny!" I exclaimed, hitting Trey as he continued to laugh.
"It's hilarious," he replied. "You totally have sex hair," he added. I felt a deep blush rise onto my cheeks.
"Trey!" I exclaimed. He sobered up, but he still had the shadow of a laugh on his lips.
"Sorry, that was inappropriate," he said, fighting to keep a straight face.
"You're an ass," I said.
"Yeah, but you love me anyway," he said.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
Love? Did I love Trey? I knew he was just saying that in passing, but it got me thinking.
How would I know if I was in love with Trey? I had never loved anyone before--besides my mother--let alone be in a relationship. But love? How did anyone know if they were in love with someone? Were the strong feelings that welled up inside of me when Trey kissed me any indication? Were the frequent thoughts that flooded my mind about Trey a sign? Was my need to be near Trey all the time evidence that I was in love with him?
I had no idea how to answer any of those questions and I cursed my life again. It would have been helpful to have had a mother at this point. My mother would know exactly how to answer all of those questions. She would be able to give me advice and guidance about this crisis. But she wasn't here. She was dead. And it was all because of my father.
I felt a flash of anger and frustration run through my mind.
"Caley?" Trey prodded, poking me in the cheek.
"What?" I asked, blinking.
"You sort of spaced out for a bit..." he said.
"I was just thinking," I told him, looking down at my hands.
"About what?" he asked. I looked up at him and smiled sadly.
"I don't want to talk about it," I said, my voice low. His expression softened and he pulled me into an embrace.
"You can talk to me about anything," he whispered in my ear.
"I know. I'm not ready to, though," I replied. He pulled away a little and brushed my hair down. I saw hurt in his eyes that he was struggling to mask and I felt bad immediately. Trey trusted me with everything and here I was, unable to tell him that I was afraid and uncertain of the feelings that I felt towards him. Why did I have such an issue with trust?
I sighed.
"I should go get ready. We have to leave soon," I said. He nodded and I clambered out of the bed. I glanced at him before walking out of his room. As I stripped in my bathroom and hopped in the shower, feeling the warm water hit my skin, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. The water's usual calming effects weren't working, which only meant that this situation with Trey was a little more complicated than I thought.
Two hours later, we were all dressed and the car was packed. Trey kept grumbling about how we actually had to fly to Georgia, but was silenced each time by a look from Natalia.
It was annoying how we couldn't just transport there, all because Cole hadn't been exposed to magic yet. It simply backed up my reasoning for taking Elijah's side. If magic wasn't so hidden, we would have been able to travel wherever we wanted easily by transporting. But because of the current law, we had to travel by way of the Magii Non.
Trey sat by me on the airplane. I held his hand as the place took off and ascended in the air, feeling light-headed at once. I had always hated flying. It made me sick.
"Ughh," I grumbled, holding my head.
"Are you all right?" Trey asked.
"I hate airplanes," I muttered.
"It'll be all right. It's not a very long flight," Trey assured me. He put his arm around me and I rested my head in the crook of his arm. In no time, I drifted off to sleep.
After a few hours, I felt someone poking my face.
"Wake up, sleepy head. We're here," Trey whispered to me. I yawned and sat up, looking at Trey through bleary eyes.
"How long was I out for?" I asked.
"The whole flight," he replied.
"Thank God," I muttered and he chuckled. I unbuckled my seatbelt and we got off the plane. After retrieving our luggage from baggage claim, we got into the rental car that Christopher ordered, and drove off to the beach house.
"You are going to love the beach house, Caley. It's absolutely beautiful," Natalia told me.
And she was right. It was beautiful.
The house was made entirely of glass, with white paneling to hold the thick sheets of glass together. There were tall palm trees beside the house and brightly colored flowers that were in full bloom. They stood in a stark contrast to the green of the grass and hedges. Behind the house was a clearing and a spectacular view of the beach.
"Wow," I whispered.
"I told you," Natalia said with a smile.
We went inside the house and deposited our things. Trey showed me where my room was, which was right next to his. Natalia and Christopher's room was on the other side of the house and so was Cole's. The room that I had was supposed to be Cole's, but Natalia decided to let Trey and I have our time together, which is why Cole was going to stay at the other end of the house.
I loved my room. It was facing the backside, so I had the perfect view of the beach from my window. I stood gazing at the bright blue water. I felt as if it were beckoning me, calling me to it, and I immediately wanted to change into my bathing suit and jump in.
"Can we go to the beach?" I asked, walking into Trey's room. He was already pulling things out of his suitcase. I saw a pile of clothes on the bed. He tossed a pair of flip flops onto the floor.
"Well, that's why we're here," he said, smirking. I laughed.
"Great!" I exclaimed, running back into my room. I unzipped my bag and rummaged around, looking for the aqua colored bikini Gerrard had gotten for me. I found it and tossed it to the side and then looked for a cover-up. I realized that three bathing suits wasn't going to be enough for two weeks, so I had to actually go shopping for more. I bought three more: a purple one, a black one, and a blue and black one. I found a plain white cover up dress and pulled that out, too. Then I jumped into the bathroom and changed into the bikini.
I felt extremely exposed and knew I wasn't going to take the cover-up off. I was showing off entirely too much skin for my liking. I half-wondered if I should just ditch the skimpy bikinis I had brought with me and go to the swim store we had passed earlier to buy a whole new set of bathing suits. I decided this would be too expensive and figured I would have to deal with my discomfort.
I slipped the dress on over my suit, put my flip flops on, and grabbed my Ray Bans, which Gerrard had bought for me. Then I bounded out the door to meet Trey, who was wearing black swim trunks and a loose white V-neck.
"Ready to go?" he asked, holding his hand out.
"You have no idea," I replied, taking it and grinning widely. As we approached the beach, I felt my stomach burst in excitement.
From up close, the water was even more breath-takingly beautiful. It was the purest blue I had ever seen, one that matched my eyes perfectly. With the sun beating down on it, the water looked like it was full of sparkling diamonds.
"This place is so beautiful," I said.
"Can I say something cheesy?" Trey asked, his hand still in mine.
"What?" I asked.
"It's not as beautiful as you," he said, smirking. I laughed and hit him in the stomach.
"What do you want to do?" he asked me, pulling his hand away. He reached up and pulled his shirt off, revealing highly sculpted abs. I blinked and felt myself blushing like my face was on fire.
"Umm..." I said, feeling distracted. Trey chuckled, his eyes sparkling like the water in front of us.
I looked around me so that I wouldn't stare at Trey's incredible body.
There were a lot of people at the beach. It made sense, since it was about 4 in the afternoon and right before dinner. Everyone was out swimming and tanning. All around I could see bikini clad girls on their stomachs or backs tanning. There was a volleyball net a few ways down from where we were standing and there was quite a crowd of people there. There was also a group of shirtless guys running around, kicking a soccer ball.
"There are a lot of people here..." I mumbled.
"Well, it's a public beach. What did you expect?" Trey asked. I shifted a little uncomfortably on my feet. "Are you nervous about taking off your cover-up?" Trey teased.
"No!" I exclaimed, but my burning cheeks gave me away. Trey began laughing and I scowled at him.
"Why are you being so shy?" he asked me.
"Because I am," I replied, looking down at my feet. I was glad I had the sunglasses on so he couldn't look me directly in the eyes.
"I'm not going to judge you," Trey said.
"Who says you're the one I'm worried about?" I shot back.
"Who else are you trying to impress?" Trey asked, folding his arms over his chest. I looked around at the people on the beach.
"Guy in the lime green shorts is pretty cute," I said, pointing at a very muscular guy, probably in his twenties, that was both tall and tan.
"Oh really?" Trey asked, frowning in the guy's direction.
"Really," I replied, smirking.
"Well in that case, I think that girl in that red bikini is pretty hot," he said, nodding at a very tall and very blonde girl whose breasts were practically falling out of her bikini top. I grimaced.
"You have bad taste in girls," I said.
"No I don't," Trey said. I raised my eyebrows at him and he leaned in to kiss my lips gently. "I'm dating you," he whispered. I couldn't help but smile. I pushed him away.
"Now are we going to go in the water or what?" Trey asked.
"Yes. Just give me a second," I said. He rolled his eyes impatiently. I took my glasses off and tossed them onto the shirt Trey had deposited on the ground. Then I kicked off my shoes and set them next to the shirt, too.
"Any day now, Caley," Trey said.
"Will you stop?!" I exclaimed. "Look away," I said. He gave me an annoyed look. "Trey!" I urged. He sighed and looked in the opposite direction.
My hands shook as I lifted the hem of the dress. I had to do it. I had to take the cover-up off. I couldn't go into the water with it on. Why was I being so damn shy about it? I felt frustration with myself well up inside of me. Out of anger, I pulled the dress off over my head.
"Ok. Let's go," I said.
Trey turned to look at me. As I felt his eyes scan over my exposed body, I felt extremely self-conscious. Was I fat? No, the skin on my stomach was flat. Was I too pale? Yes. I was ghostly white compared to all the other girls here.
Trey reached out and stroked my cheek with his thumb. He stepped closer to me, resting his forehead against mine.
"You had nothing to be afraid of," he whispered. "You're easily the most beautiful girl here," he said, gazing intently into my eyes. I forced a smile, but I knew I was still blushing. He took my hand in his and smiled at me.
"Let's go," he said softly, pulling me to the water. But I almost didn't want to go in now.
Trey and I spent about three hours on the beach. We swam in the water, took part in a volleyball game, talked to random people, and just laid around in the sun. Around 7, the sun began to go down and we decided we were famished. I gathered my things, pulling my cover-up on and holding my shoes in my hands, and we walked back to the beach house in a comfortable silence.
"We're back!" Trey announced when we got inside.
"Ok, good! Get dressed! We're going out to eat!" Natalia called back from what I assumed was her bedroom.
"Fancy?" Trey asked.
"Semi!" she replied.
"Damnit," I muttered. Trey chuckled.
"Did you bring anything that fits that description?" he asked as we made our way to our rooms.
"Maybe. We'll see," I replied.
I started to go into my room, but he grabbed onto my arm. He pushed me against the doorframe and his lips came down on mine hungrily. I dropped whatever I was holding and wrapped my arms around his neck, drawing myself closer to him. He hadn't put his shirt back on and I could feel his warm abs through the thin cotton of the dress I was wearing.
"I've been meaning to do that for the past few hours," he told me once we broke away.
"Why didn't you?" I asked.
"I knew you'd get uncomfortable if I kissed you while we were both half naked," he replied with a small smile. I blushed and looked down at my feet. He kissed my forehead. "We better hurry," he said. With a final lingering kiss, he disappeared into his room. The smile on my lips never left my face all night.
The rest of the two weeks I spent with Trey at his beach house went by as amazingly as the first day. We spent almost all of our time at the beach, but not always the same one. Trey would drive us out to different beaches along the coast, but we always did the same things at each one. We would swim, eat ice cream, play sports with other people our age, and just sit in the sun. I was starting to get an amazing tan, which was great, as my skin was naturally a pale creme color.
Trey's beach house had a jacuzzi outside of it. One night, after Natalia, Christopher and Cole had fallen asleep, Trey snuck into my room and suggested we try it out. This happened towards the end of our two weeks together and I was feeling adventurous. I slipped into the black and red lacey bikini Gerrard had gotten me. I had said that I would never wear it, but I did.
Trey was speechless when I met him outside.
"Stop gawking," I hissed.
"Stop giving me something to gawk at," he replied. I rolled my eyes and looked at the bubbling jacuzzi.
"I've never been in a jacuzzi before," I told him.
"Well, there's a first for everything," Trey said, holding his arms out to it. I climbed the stairs and gingerly sat in the bubbling water. I giggled as I felt the water tickle my exposed skin. Trey got in next to me and smirked.
I moved over so that I was closer to him. I felt him snake his arm around my waist and I rested my head on his shoulder. We sat in silence for a moment, letting the water bubble around us.
"When I was a little girl, my mother would draw up bubble baths for me," I said, not knowing where the memory came from. Trey didn't say anything. "She would use colorful bubble bath shampoo so that the bubbles would be different colors," I said, feeling a sadness fall over me as I remembered the smile on my mother's face as she watched the three year old me play in the bubbly water.
"She died in my arms last summer. In a few weeks, it will have been a whole year," I said quietly, feeling my voice catch in my throat.
Trey's grip around my waist tightened and he pulled me closer to him. He looked down at me and I gazed back, feeling my heart clenching from the sudden pain I was feeling.
It was the worst time to bring this up. I had never spoken to Trey about my mother. For all he knew, my parents were divorced. He knew absolutely nothing about why I was living with my father. I had never told him. The only person I had ever spoken to about my mother was Abbey, and I had made her swear not to tell anyone.
"I miss her so much sometimes," I whispered, my eyes glazing over with tears.
"Caley..." he said, his voice tender and soft. He pulled me onto his lap and I buried my face in the nape of his neck. Before I knew it, emotion took over me and my body was shuddering as I was overcome with tears. Trey stroked my bare back with his hand, whispering that everything would be all right, that he was here, that it was going to be ok...
I don't know when I stopped crying. But the next thing I knew, I was in Trey's bed, changed from my bathing suit into a pair of comfy pajamas. I snuggled up against Trey's body and he brushed back my hair, which was soft from conditioning it so much due to the chlorine water.
"I'm glad you told me, Caley," Trey said in a gentle voice.
"Me, too," I replied. He planted a kiss on the top of my head and I closed my eyes.
That night, I slept restlessly, despite Trey's presence. Memories of my mother swirled in and out of my dreams and they mixed with terrifying nightmares of bloody battles and people dying.
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A/N: Woo! Long chapter! I think I made up for the lack of Caley/Trey scenes in the past few chapters in these two chapters (11 and 12). Trey will disappear again in the next few and then reappear once school starts.
One of my favorite chapters is about to come up. The scene that I'm going to write is absolutely fantastic and I can definitely see it playing out in my mind. It won't be the next chapter, but maybe the one after that, depending on how my brain works things out.
Anyway, you know the drill. Comment and VOTE!!
XOXO