A/N: Sooo, the next chapter is the last! :( Hope you've enjoyed so far, and thank you so much for reading! :D
Their last full day dawned bright and sunny. Peering out of the windows of the hotel room, April felt a smile stretch over her face unwittingly, despite the fact that she’d had precious little to smile about since last night.
Morgie rolled over in bed, blinking up at her. ‘Alright?’ she asked, sleepily, as the sun burst through the curtains, hitting her full in the face.
April nodded. ‘Guess so.’
‘What happened last night?’ she asked, sitting upright.
Laurel emerged from the shower, hair up in a turban. ‘You fell asleep as soon as you got in,’ she said, with a smile.
For a moment, April forgot her sadness, and looked at Laurel with interest. She seemed much happier, much less serious since her admission. Thinking about it, it wasn’t that surprising. April herself had often found that after admitting something which had been weighing on her mind, she often felt ten times better, even if the problem was unresolved.
‘Did I?’ Morgie rubbed her eyes. ‘Mm. Sorry, April, I should have been there for you,’ she said, sorrowfully. ‘Did you have a rough time with Ezra?’
‘Don’t fret,’ April said kindly, touching her lightly on the shoulder. ‘I think I was asleep when you came in anyway.’ She looked at her nails, the paint on them slightly chipped. ‘It was pretty crap with Ezra, though, yes.’
Morgie winced. ‘Did you kiss?’
‘Unfortunately.’ April sighed, and flopped against the headboard of Laurel’s bed. ‘It was just all so tense and awkward, and then like old times when we kissed. But…’
She couldn’t find the words to describe it. Ezra had tried, definitely, but she just couldn’t seem to let go of the past. And it didn’t help that every single one of his words and actions pissed her off.
‘It’s like all the emotions- all the bad emotions- inside of me just come out whenever he’s around,’ she said, eventually. ‘I don’t know.’
Morgie sat up properly, reaching out and touching her friend’s arm. ‘Aww, April. He really sucks.’
‘He wasn’t being quite so bad,’ April said honestly. ‘He was attempting to talk things through.’ She shook her head. ‘He just riles me. So. Much.’
Laurel frowned, perching on the end of her bed, one leg neatly crossed over the other. ‘Perhaps it’s because you don’t really know what happened; I guess you don’t know why you ended.’
‘Lack of closure, do you mean?’ put in Morgie, thoughtfully.
‘Something like that,’ Laurel said. ‘I don’t think you’re over him, April, or you haven’t forgiven him at least. You’re both still hung up on each other.’
April twisted her lips. ‘God, I don’t know. He’s just pissing me off.’
‘And George?’ put in Morgie, rather slyly.
‘Hasn’t texted in forever,’ April said glumly. ‘I think Ezra dragging me off during our kissing session freaked him out.’
‘I guess that’s fair enough,’ said Morgie. ‘It probably seemed like you had the ex from hell.’
April laughed. ‘Sometimes, Morgs, I think I do.’
Laurel unraveled her hair from her turban, combing through it with her fingers, so the damp strands began to straighten out. ‘Well, don’t let him ruin your last day here,’ she said solemnly. ‘One day. Time has just flown, hasn’t it?’
Morgie stuck out her bottom lip. ‘I want to relocate, seriously,’ she said. ‘I can’t go back to England now, not when this place is so beautiful.’
April smiled. ‘Well, why are we sitting here then?’ she asked. ‘Let’s get out there and make the most of it!’
Grinning, Morgie swung her feet out of bed. She’d forgotten that wonderful feeling which being in a relationship gave you, which made you feel that there was a reason to get up in the morning; not just a vague, general gladness to be alive, but a specific reason to smile, a specific reason to look forward to the day ahead, and hope that it might just be a happy one.
And that reason? Oscar.
Morgie glanced at Laurel, who was now applying a little make up in the mirror, and, suddenly, all of the anxieties of the previous night came rushing back to her. She frowned, mulling it over. Hmm.
In the light of day, she didn’t feel as alarmed as before. Of course Oscar liked her for more than her body, he’d made that clear by asking her on a proper date. Surely if he’d wanted sex, he would have just encouraged her to sleep with him after one of their make outs.
And he hadn’t. Sure, he was lusty, and hormonal, but he was a teenage boy. And hell, she was lusty and hormonal herself, he was no worse than she was.
But she was still a little worried. Memories of the boys before him, the ghosts of her exes, swam around in her mind, and she felt her heart flutter at the thought that Oscar could one day be one of them, one of her regrets, one of the memories she wished she could forget.
However, as Laurel had so wisely said, she wasn’t going to let that ruin her day. It was her last one, for pity’s sake. She smiled at the others, as she went to go and get changed. She fully intended to make the most of her final day of holiday.
*
After a lazy morning and lunch on the beach, soaking up the sun rays, all six of them were suitably sun kissed and dozy as the afternoon approached.
The beach had been slowly filling up ever since they had arrived, a rainbow of beach towels and barely covered bodies now surrounding them. The sound of the waves was now completely drowned out by the loud chatter of people all around them, and, April was rudely awakened from her sunbathing doze by a ginormous inflatable beach ball flying through the air and hitting her hard in the head.
‘Maybe we should go to the pool instead?’ suggested Laurel, brushing sand from April’s hair.
Morgie nodded excitedly. ‘There’s going to be a pool party this afternoon, and on into the night,’ she said. ‘I saw the flyer.’
Oscar wrinkled his nose at her. ‘You’re definitely into your flyers, aren’t you?’ he commented, earning him a gentle nudge in the ribs from his girlfriend.
‘You wouldn’t have nearly so much fun without me and my flyers,’ Morgie informed him. ‘So be grateful.’
‘Mm?’
Morgie pulled a face, as if she was highly disappointed in her significant other. ‘I’m so unappreciated,’ she said dramatically.
Oscar raised his eyebrows at her. ‘Are you challenging me to prove my appreciation?’ he inquired, leaning closer to her. ‘Because that sounds kind of hot.’
She scrunched up her nose, making a dismissive comment, but, as they had done ever since she’d heard them, Laurel’s words haunted her a little. Was it all about sex? Sometimes, she doubted everything.
‘Come on, then,’ April said. ‘Let’s go to this pool party.’
Getting up, the six of them made their way back to the hotel, only stopping to drop off their things at their rooms before heading down to the pool.
It was busy already, but that wasn’t what made them all stop and look. It was decorated in a Hawaaian theme, with an outside bar set up to serve cocktails. Lots of people were wearing flower garlands, and, as he went past, a waiter dropped one over Morgie’s head with a grin. She turned to Oscar, and burst out laughing; her boyfriend had already climbed into a hula skirt himself, and was moving his hips around and waving his arms in a hula style dance.
‘You silly thing,’ she said, and he retorted to this by pulling her into his arms, walking them both over to the deep end of the pool, and kissing her backwards so they both fell into the water together.
The others laughed, even Laurel, April noticed, as they both emerged, Morgie spluttering and with her garland over her eyes, Oscar cool as a cucumber, looking like an innocent kitten or something.
‘Is this your idea of demonstrating your appreciation?’ she inquired, raising an eyebrow at him, once she’d caught her breath again.
Oscar tilted his head to look at her, and then pulled her into the corner of the pool, arms around her waist, supporting her in the water. ‘Not exactly,’ he said, in a quiet voice, slightly husky. He moved closer to her lips.
Morgie gave him a little push. ‘Oscs! We’re in the middle of a load of people!’
Oscar grinned, shrugging. ‘Yes?’
She rolled her eyes at him, and he kissed the tip of her nose instead, and held her. Her warm skin slid against his in the water, and, as he held his hands more tightly against the bare skin of her back, her head rested against his shoulder, so they were cuddling in the corner.
How romantic, thought Oscar, looking out at the many people splashing around in the pool, surrounded by artificial flowers and inflatable pool toys.
Out on the poolside, April and Laurel had already got some cocktails, and Ezra and Will had clambered in the pool, about to set off on a race.
Watching, April doubted Ezra would win. His smoker’s lungs were unlikely to be able to keep up with Will, who was one of the healthiest eaters she knew, and so she watched, smugly anticipating Ezra’s downfall.
It would serve him right to lose for once, she thought, rather vindictively.
Just then, a pool side band began to play, a chilled out group of Spanish guys each with their own instrument. People were dancing, the sun was shining, people were shrieking in the pool…
‘This is much better than I expected,’ said Laurel, taking a long sip of her drink.
‘Mm,’ said April. ‘It’s a nice atmosphere.’ She tore her eyes from Ezra and gazed up at the sky instead. It was bright blue, with only a few fluffy clouds breaking the beauty of it, and she smiled. One of the clouds was almost in a heart shape, and she pointed this out to Laurel, who laughed.
April tilted her head as she surveyed her friend. ‘You seem much happier,’ she said.
Laurel looked back at her. ‘Do I?’
‘Yeah. You’ve not been yourself on this holiday, but I’m starting to see my lovely Laurel again,’ she replied, affectionately.
Laurel smiled. ‘I know, I’ve been a bit of a sulky person, but honestly, it was just weighing me down.’
‘What, your feelings for Oscar?’
Her friend nodded. ‘Yeah. I mean, I still like him, sure, but telling you both about it just made it seem so much… I don’t know, solvable? I suddenly realized that perhaps you were all right, and he’s not right for me.’
‘Has it kind of sunk in that you don’t know him that well, then?’ April clarified.
Laurel nodded again. ‘I guess,’ she said. ‘I think it’s just hit me that I was clinging on to nothing. I was just hoping that something might happen, despite the fact that it was never going to.’
‘I’m glad you’ve realized that. You’ll find someone so much better for you, you know that?’
Laurel gave a half smile, one which seemed to say that she doubted it, but April saw her eyes travel to the pool, where Ezra and Will had now stopped racing, and were resting against the side of the pool. From the look on Will’s face, he’d won; he looked rather smug, and seemed to be mocking his friend.
‘Going to go for a dip?’ inquired April, rolling onto her side on her sun lounger.
Laurel glanced back at her. ‘Maybe I will,’ she said, getting up and pulling off her skirt to reveal her swimming costume beneath. ‘Maybe I will.’
April gave her a little wave as her friend headed to the pool. She closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, down at the pool, Morgie and Oscar were giggling together, riding giant inflatable rubber rings in the corner of the pool and trying to push each other off. Laurel couldn’t help a little smile at just how adorable they were being, and, surprisingly, the automatic twinge of jealousy in her chest didn’t feel as prominent as usual; not as pronounced. Were her feelings fading? Was she finally moving on?
She didn’t want to jinx it by saying that they were, but she suddenly found herself incredibly hopeful about the future. There was the potential that she just might find herself free from Oscar related feelings soon, for good, and, unbelievably, to her, that sounded like the most amazing, incredible thing ever.
She got into the water, navigating her way through the busy crowds of people laughing and chattering together. She spotted Ezra and Will sat by the side, and, setting out to go across to them, she began swimming over.
Ezra spotted her coming, and nudged Will. ‘I’ll leave you to it,’ he said, with a wink at his friend.
Will’s cheeks went pink, and he looked panicked. ‘No, Ez, I’ll make an idiot of myself!’
‘Nah, you won’t!’ protested Ezra. ‘Just relax around her. Be yourself for once, don’t just be the guy you think she wants.’
Will looked taken aback. ‘Oh my god, Ezra, that was actually relatively good advice.’
‘You sound surprised,’ commented Ezra, dourly.
His friend snorted. ‘Sorry, Ez, but you’re not exactly known for your pearls of wisdom, are you?’
Ezra’s reply came in the form of swimming away from him, making sure to kick extra hard with his feet and splash him in the face.
Therefore, when Laurel reached him, he was spluttering unattractively, and wiping the water from his eyes.
Brilliant, he thought.
‘Hi,’ she said, sounding amused.
‘Hey,’ he replied, as if he didn’t have little raindrops of water dripping off of his nose. ‘You alright?’
She nodded. ‘It’s a gorgeous day again.’
He made a sad face. ‘I don’t want to leave,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘I’m going to miss this so much.’
Will couldn’t think of anything to say. He wanted to look cool, but he was still so aware of his soggy state. He shook his head lightly, and accidentally sprayed her.
Laurel laughed.
So much for looking cool, Will thought. He remembered what Ezra had said about just being himself. Well, it couldn’t do any harm. He had nothing to lose.
‘England’s going to be so dull in comparison,’ Laurel was saying, pensively.
Will steeled himself. ‘Especially since you won’t be hanging round with me,’ he said cheekily.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘You think I’m going to miss you, huh?’
Will spread his hands. ‘You said it.’
She laughed. ‘Oh, I’ll be fine, don’t you worry.’
He nudged her teasingly. ‘You sure?’
‘One hundred percent,’ she assured him. ‘Why? Are you going to miss me?’
‘My heart breaks at the thought,’ he replied, over dramatically, and she giggled again.
This is all surprisingly natural, thought Will. He kind of felt like letting down the guard he always had up around Laurel had led her to let down hers a little. This kind of banter was… well, far better than he’d ever anticipated, that much was for sure.
The sun suddenly went in, hiding beneath the clouds, and Laurel gave an involuntary shiver.
‘Alright there?’ Will asked, concern slipping into his voice.
‘Yeah, yeah,’ she said. ‘It’s just colder without the sun.’
‘Nicely spotted,’ Will said teasingly, and, when she pouted at him, carelessly threw an arm around her shoulder, laughing. ‘Just joking,’ he promised her, and, though at first she was stiff and surprised, she giggled, and, joy of joys, relaxed into him. The skin on skin contact was like electric shocks to Will’s mind; he felt like every single centimetre of his body was suddenly on fire, alert to her every move.
‘Better?’ he asked softly.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The close proximity was suddenly too much to handle, and she wasn’t quite sure whether she should be this close to him. But, the crazy thing was, she liked it. She liked the feel of his rather muscular arm around her shoulders, drawing her close; she was enjoying the feel of the side of his chest against hers. Daringly, she let one arm slip around the back of him, under the water, so they were closer.
He smiled at her. She hadn’t noticed it before, but he had a little speckling of freckles across the bridge of his nose, only teeny ones. His eyes met hers, and she realized the irises of them were rimmed with a gold sort of colour that reminded her of summer evening sunlight.
She wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
Oh god, what was wrong with her?! She’d never felt this in tune with a boy before, never been quite so intimately close with one. She was shocked at herself, but, at the same time, it all felt so bizarrely natural that she didn’t want to break the spell by frightening herself. Could he really like her? And was she really growing to like him? It seemed that way.
She looked back, out across the water, not sure what else might happen should she let her gaze rest on him any longer. Her heart had sped up, skipping a few beats as his fingertips brushed her shoulder, but she needed to calm herself down before she did something she’d regret.
They chatted lightly, Will teasing her about something or other, and, as the sun came back out and the smell of the barbecue being cooked by the poolside grew stronger, Laurel let herself relax around him. He was surprisingly easy to talk to; knowing just the right thing to say, never making her feel awkward or uncomfortable. He had a ready supply of conversation topics, and, unbelievably, they seemed to have a lot in common. She hadn’t appreciated before how well they got on.
‘Shall we go and get some food?’ asked Will, after a while, and, nodding, they swam over to the side, Will helping her out of the pool with a big smile. Watching them, Morgie felt an identical smile spread across her face. She’d always seen Will as perfect for her friend; the two of them had a very similar approach to life, and also a matching sense of humour; she’d always thought that had they spent a while together, they’d end up considering each other as more than friends. She was pretty certain Will was already half in love with Laurel, and it seemed Laurel was beginning to see him in a different light too.
‘Are you spying on them?’ inquired Oscar, who had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
She tilted her head to look back at him. ‘Noooo.’
‘You creepy thing,’ he said affectionately, kissing the bare skin of her shoulder.
She shivered; the feel of his lips against her skin was too much to handle. He smiled against her shoulder, moving up to her neck, his mouth grazing across every contour, slightly rough against her smooth skin. His lips found her ear, and nibbled on it lightly.
Morgie struggled for words. ‘H… hungry?’ she eventually managed.
‘Hm?’
‘You must be hungry,’ she said. ‘Fancy eating a burger, rather than my ear?’
Oscar laughed, giving her earlobe one final nip with the tips of his teeth, but nodded. ‘I’m starving.’
Following the others to the barbecue, Morgie felt her stomach still tingling from Oscar’s little kissing session. However, the doubts Laurel had implanted into her mind were still festering away. She couldn’t help it; memories of the past were haunting her. She’d never met a boy who wasn’t hopeless, and just out for one particular thing… she’d thought Oscar might be the exception, that he might genuinely care about her, and not just about removing her underwear, but what if she was wrong? She’d been wrong before.
However, it was hard to concentrate on that when there was the smell of a barbecue filling the room. It smelt incredible, and tasted even better, so, Morgie took an enormous hot dog back to April, and they all congregated around her as they ate.
The evening wore on, the sun eventually sinking beyond the horizon, leaving just candles and fairy lights to shed light over the pool.
Morgie and Oscar seemed to be inhabiting a darker corner of the swimming pool, April noticed, while Will and Laurel were having a giggle over at the side. Ezra had vanished long ago with his cigarettes, and, looking at the time, April winced to think of the early morning start they had to look forward to the next day; they had to be at the airport early before heading back to England, which was bound to be rainy and grey.
That thought made her feel miserable. She sighed, instead getting up and deciding to head for bed. Quickly heading to tell Laurel of her decision, the two said they’d join her, and, seeing them leave, Morgie and Oscar came too.
It had been a beautiful holiday, April thought, as they climbed the stairs to their hotel room. She only wished that she could have sorted things out with Ezra; things had just been awkward between them. She wanted to close that chapter in her life, but she hadn’t been able to.
Reaching her hotel room, she left the lovebirds to say goodbye: well, maybe Laurel and Will didn’t quite count as lovebirds yet, but, judging by their laughing and cuddling in the pool, April didn’t think it would be long before they did. She felt a little alone, all of a sudden, and, going straight to have a hot shower, she ignored her loneliness. What did she want, Ezra to come rushing back and kiss her again? No way. Stretching out, she pulled off her bikini, and switched on the water, letting it all run over her, and letting her worries swirl away like the water down the plughole. For now.