An hour later, Zay and Vanessa were still at the beach. Zay was sitting in the sand, Vanessa was lying down, her head resting on the boy's lap. As they looked out at the ocean, Vanessa softly asked, 'What are we?' Zay caressed her cheek with his thumb. 'I know what I want', he told her. 'But if you want to take it a little more slow, see where things are heading, I understand. I made a mistake, and if you need time, I will give you just that.' Vanessa looked at him with her big, chocolate brown eyes. 'What do you want?' she asked. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear the words come out of his mouth. Zay returned her gaze. 'I want to be happy... with you', he replied, almost whispering the last part. 'Then why don't we try?' Vanessa said. 'D- do you really want to?' Zay asked, almost not believing what he was hearing. Vanessa nodded. 'But if we want this to work, we need to communicate more', she said. 'That's right', Zay agreed. 'And I want us to start over again, all from the beginning. No more thinking of how I hurt you at that party that one night, and no more discussing past arguments. They're in the past. We're here now, and that's all that matters, okay?' Zay nodded. 'I'd like that', he said. 'I'm so sorry for everything-' he began to add, but he was cut off by Vanessa shushing him by pressing her finger against his lips. 'It's in the past', she told him. Zay gave her a small smile before leaning down to give her a kiss on her nose.
After having decided not to go search for Zay and Vanessa, Maya and Josh had chosen to go for a stroll, just the two of us. 'I like this', Maya said, looking at her fingers that were laced through Josh's. 'Just walking, and talking to you. Have I ever told you there's nothing I love hearing more than the sound of your voice?' she blurted out, quickly covering her mouth with her free hand, not believing she had just let those words slip out of her mouth. 'I didn't-' she tried, but it didn't stop the grin forming on Josh's face. His eyes sparkled as he turned to Maya. He leaned down and pressed their lips together, trapping Maya's bottom lip between his. Josh brought his hand to her cheek as their lips moved together. The older boy pulled away just a little, his face not more than a few inches from Maya's, and whispered, 'Every kiss with you feels like the first', before closing the distance once more and pressing their lips together again. They remained that way, hands and lips connected, for a little while longer, before silently walking on.
After half an hour or so, they ran into Evan and a boy they didn't know. They assumed it was one of Evan's Hawaiian friends. 'Hey, guys! Enjoying the weather?' Evan asked cheerfully. 'Yeah, just going for a walk', Maya answered. 'You?' 'Just on our way', Evan replied. 'We're in quite a hurry, so we should...' He trailed off when he noticed how his friend was staring at the blonde girl. 'Hi', the boy said, 'I'm Eli. Has anyone ever told you that you're extremely beautiful?' he said. Josh pulled Maya close to him. 'Yes. I have. Plenty of times, actually', he told Eli. 'And you are?' Eli asked, clearly unimpressed, and not taking his eyes off Maya. 'Her boyfriend', Josh practically spat. 'And I would appreciate it if you would back off, dude', he said, squeezing Maya's hand protectively. 'Jeez, boy, no need to get all angry with me. I'm just admiring beauty, that's all', Eli replied. 'Well, can you maybe admire beauty elsewhere? And if that beauty has to be in the form of a person, preferably someone's who's not taken', Josh shot back. Evan was watching everything going down with a nervous look on his face. 'C'mon, Eli. We have to go. Leave Maya alone. Besides, weren't you all over Vanessa just a while ago?' Josh and Maya's eyes widened. 'Vanessa? Our Vanessa?' Evan nodded. 'She's not available', Maya told Eli. 'Not according to her', the boy answered. 'I can text her and maybe the three of us can ditch this prick', he said, pointing at Josh, 'and go somewhere.' 'Get. Out. Of my face', Maya said, breathing heavily. 'Don't really feel like it', Eli replied, shrugging. 'Come on, mate, no need to be a jerk', Evan told his friend. 'I will hurt you in so many ways', Maya threatened Eli. Before she could do anything, Evan had pulled Eli away and the two were now walking off. Evan mouthed the words, ''I'm sorry'' to Maya and Josh before turning away again.
'What a douche', Maya said angrily, referring to Eli. 'It's okay', Josh said softly. 'As long as he doesn't bother you again. If he does, you need to let me know.' 'I will', Maya said, nodding. She let Josh pull her in for a hug. 'You're mine', he told her.
Hi everyone :) This is a rather short chapter, but I will try to update again in the next few days. Thank you all so much for reading. And a special thanks to those who voted on previous chapters and to those who added this story to their reading list :) I wish you all a truly amazing day!
Love,
♥