"Oh my god, it smells so good in here!" Taylor exclaims as she walks into the kitchen, looking amazing in a pink and silver dress with long sleeves and a pair of cute boots.
"Forget the food," I tell her, looking her up and down. "Look at you! Oh my god, Tay, you look so hot."
"Thanks, Ave! And happy birthday!"
I thank her, giving her a side hug as I flip my last pancake.
"I figured since it was our only full day here, and your birthday, we should take lots of pictures. I'll be damned if I'm not the hottest one in all of them." She blushes, but does a spin. Then she flips her hair to be even more dramatic.
I laugh, pointing at her with a spatula. "Well, once I'm done here, I'm going to get ready, and you better expect some competition!" I'm still in my pajamas, with my bedhead tied up out of my face.
She laughs and looks over the counter, covered with food.
"What are you making?"
"Cinnamon rolls, pancakes, and scrambled eggs," I reply. "But I thought we might eat outside on the patio, you know, so we could enjoy the view. What do you think?"
"That sounds perfect. Can I help?" she asks.
I smile, and shake my head. "No, I'm pretty much done. I'm going upstairs to get ready, but you can go ahead and set it up outside if you want. I figured I'd wait until everyone was awake and hungry."
"Did someone say hungry?" Peyton bellows, coming into the kitchen in just a pair of penguin-themed pajama pants.
Taylor and I laugh at his morning attire. "Are those penguins? Why do you have penguins on your pants?" I ask, looking at his pants and laughing.
"They're flattering!! Don't you dare disrespect Happy Feet like that, Haven," Peyton defends, glaring at me.
I laugh and eye his bare chest. "Sorry I forgot to hang up my 'no shoes, no shirt, no service' sign, but this breakfast is for fully-clothed people only. Spread the word."
Peyton scoffs, looking offended, and looks at my bare legs. "Are you kidding? You've got six miles of leg showing over here! Just because Taylor's looking like she's ready to star in a Britney Spears video, doesn't mean I need a shirt, does it?
I roll my eyes and chuckle. "Taylor looks hot, and I'm going to change right now, then we'll have breakfast. What are you complaining about? It takes men like ten seconds to get ready. Girls have to do way more work."
He huffs a "whatever" over his shoulder and goes back upstairs to put clothes on.
I follow shortly after, and grab some cute clothes to change into and my hair/makeup bag. I head to the bathroom, opening the door and walking inside.
"OH MY GOD!"
I look up to see Sin, standing in the bathroom, naked.
Completely naked.
He has a towel in his hand, coincidentally placed right in front of the one part of him I don't think I could ever unsee.
"What are you doing in here?" I ask him. "And why are you naked?"
I avert my eyes for a second, looking anywhere except his body. Not that there's anything wrong with it. It's absurdly gorgeous, toned, tan, smells amazing...
Pull it together Haven.
He wraps the towel in his hand around his waist, tucking it in to stay on.
"I took a shower," he says obviously, with humor laced through his voice. Is he laughing at me? Does he think this is funny?
"In my bathroom?"
"It's actually our bathroom. Jack and Jill style," he clarifies, still sounding amused. I finally meet his eyes, and I blush, heat rushing to my cheeks like crazy.
"Oh," I say stupidly.
I suddenly get flustered, looking over his bare chest, wet from the water dripping off his hair. God, why does he have to be so attractive? It's so unfair.
I realize I'm staring at him, and I yank my eyes back up to his, probably looking like a psycho.
"Oh! Yeah, I'll let you, um, get dressed," I say, turning around and leaving, shutting the door to my room behind me.
I take a deep breath, pacing around my room for a moment before calming myself down.
Chill out, Haven. It's not that big of a deal. You just saw him naked. It's not like you saw him kill someone.
I just decide to change in my room, and pick out a super hot outfit to rival Taylor's. I put on a sexy black top, with a halter top and no back, just covering my front. It also has a dangerously low neckline. I balance it out with a pair of jeans, which are white just like the ones I wore last night. I start to brush my curls out, adding some hair oil to it to help with the frizz, and start on my makeup.
After I'm satisfied with how I look, I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I hear Sin in his room through the door I now realize is his, and I blush at the memory of seeing him naked. I just had to act like an idiot, didn't I?
I put my stuff away, but before going downstairs, I decide to venture out onto my balcony. The view is incredible, and I take moment to take it all in.
Life has been so crazy this month, and honestly all year, and it's moments like these that remind me why I keep going.
I stare out at the water, so serene and calm, with no boats or swimmers to be seen yet, and I envy it. My life is anything but calm, but I know I have a lot of good in my life as well.
I sigh, figuring I should probably go downstairs soon. I don't want to leave this peaceful balcony just yet, though.
"You seem deep in thought."
I turn around to see Sin stepping onto the balcony behind me. I smile, the cold air helping with the heat in my cheeks from seeing him again.
I shrug. "I suppose I am."
"Anything I should be worrying about?" he asks, standing next to me and placing a hand on my lower back, which is bare from the backless shirt I'm wearing.
I chuckle. "No, I think you worry about me enough as it is. Besides, I was just reflecting. Life can be pretty crazy sometimes, huh?"
Sin returns the smile, the glow of the morning making him look better than ever.
"Yeah, it definitely can be," he agrees. "It's nice to get away from it all like this, though."
I nod, looking out at the view again. I turn to face him directly, feeling very close to him.
"Sorry about barging in on you earlier," I apologize. "I didn't realize..."
He laughs again, a lovely sound wrapping around us like silk.
"Believe me, it's okay."
"And I also wanted to say I'm sorry for blaming you for Ethan's situation," I add while I'm apologizing. "I should have trusted you. I know how great of a person you are, and I never should have doubted that. You really have been there for me, ever since I met you. Getting revenge after Archer attacked me, paying off my brother's debt... I really owe you."
"I told you, I wasn't completely faultless. You were right to assume something was up," he says, putting his hands on either side of my waist. "I should have been honest with you from the beginning and told you everything. I will next time."
"But really, you've done so much for me, and you trust me so completely," I point out, remembering our conversations about his parents, his past, and all the shit he went through after his mom died. "I want you to know how much I appreciate that, and that I never want to screw that up."
He smiles, warming my heart with the sight. With his hands on my waist, and being in such close proximity with him, my heart is racing, and I start to feel butterflies in my stomach.
With my heart racing and adrenaline pumping through me, I reach up put one hand on this side of Sin's face, the other on his chest, and I bring my lips up to his.
My heart beats even faster, and I feel Sin's hands push me closer to him as he kisses me back.
As he pulls me closer, I stand on my tip toes to get closer to his height, and he wraps an arm around me, one hand on my bare back and one on the side of my hip.
One of my hands goes to the crook of his neck, letting him pull me close as we deepen the kiss.
Oh my god.
This is actually happening. I'm kissing Sin.
The butterflies in my stomach multiply, fluttering like crazy, and my mind goes into a complete haze, as if nothing else matters but this kiss, this moment right here with Sin.
After a long moment, though, we reluctantly pull away. Sin keeps his arms around me, keeping me close, and I smile up at him, my hands sliding down to his chest.
He leans down to say lowly in my ear, "Happy Birthday, Sunshine."
My heart is still pounding in my chest, but I swoon as Sin tilts his head down to press another quick kiss on my lips, pulling back too soon.
"Thank you," I say softly, grinning so widely my face almost hurts.
We go back downstairs, hand in hand, both grinning ridiculously, and when we reach the kitchen, I see it's completely empty.
Taylor and everyone else have already moved it out to the patio, so we walk over and pull the sliding door open.
"Happy Birthday!" all my friends shout in unison as soon as we step outside.
Sin drops my hand, and I "aww" at them, covering my face.
"Thanks, you guys!" I exclaim, sitting down beside Skylar, Sin placing himself on the other side of me. "I told you there was no need for celebration, though."
"Are you kidding?" Taylor argues. "The day that this world went from being Haven-less to Haven-ful is absolutely a day worth celebrating. Now eat something."
"I agree," Skylar says. "You might be the New Girl, but it honestly feels like you've been a part of this group as long as any of us. There's no way we wouldn't have done anything for your eighteenth birthday!"
"Did you hear that, ladies and gentlemen?" Peyton says loudly, then bellows into the wind, "SHE'S LEGAL!"
I laugh, and we all start piling up our plates.
"So what is everyone doing today?"
"Well, I have compiled a list of options," Aubrey says, pulling out a piece of paper. She's clearly taken the role of trip coordinator very seriously, which I think is adorable. "The restaurant with the live music is dinner-only, so it opens at 5 PM. Also, the downtown area is having some sort of free yoga class. The marina is open to rent boats and kayaks and stuff until 4:30. And finally, the town over is having a fall festival."
Skylar immediately gets excited about the yoga class, and Taylor still wants to go canoeing.
"Do you want to go to the festival?" Sin asks lowly, just so I can hear. I look over at him and smile.
"If you want to," I reply with a nod. He shakes his head.
"Not what I asked."
A fall festival does sound fun. It reminds me of when I would go to the fair as a kid and ride roller coasters and eat fried oreos and have a great time.
"Haven, do you want to go canoeing?" Taylor asks, pulling me from my thoughts and turning me away from Sin.
"Um," I waver, unsure of what to do. I know Taylor wants to go canoeing, I don't want to bum her out.
"I think we're going to the festival," Sin answers for me. Then he looks at me, putting me on the spot. "If that's what you want."
I turn to Taylor. "You won't mind?"
"No! Of course not. It's your birthday, Haven. Do what you want," she assures me.
I smile and say, "Okay, then I think the festival sounds fun."
"You want me to come with?" Taylor offers.
"No, no, you guys go canoeing," I assure her. "Have fun on the water and we can all do something together tonight, maybe."
Aubrey and Beckett decide to come with us, leaving Peyton and Skylar to go downtown and Taylor and Kace to go canoeing.
After breakfast, in a lovely show of feminism, the guys all clean up the dishes.
Beckett mentioned his uncle's maid would be stopping by to clean, but I think she's just coming after we leave to clean up after us.
The other girls and I convene in the living room to catch up, and I get more than enough inquisitions about how Sin and I managed to make up.
I explain quite briefly, since a large part of it included info on Sin's mom's death and his past, which I don't want to spread around to everyone else. It took a lot for Sin to even trust me to know that, and I'm not going to betray that.
After the dishes are done and I manage to avoid the girls' burning questions about Sin and I, claiming a no questions on my birthday rule, we all start to get ready to leave for the day.
I go back upstairs to get my purse and find Sin already in my room.
"Did you forget you chose the other room, Sinclair?" I ask him, taunting him with his full name.
"Are you complaining?" he asks as he leans back on my bed. I walk over to my mirror and check how I look before grabbing my purse.
"I mean, you are on my bed," I point out. "How you would you like it if I went over to your room and got in your bed?"
He looks at me blankly. "What you are describing is the opposite of a problem, Sunshine. Please feel free to do that at any moment."
I laugh, shaking my head, but walk over to the bed where he's sitting.
"Duly noted."
He immediately pulls me to him and kisses me, and I feel the same butterflies I felt this morning, my skin practically burning from Sin's touch. I stand in front of him, between his legs, as he sits on the bed, evening our height out a bit.
A moment later, there's a knock on the door, and Sin and I sadly pull apart again. I laugh, but don't move from my position between his legs.
"Who is it?" I call.
"Aubrey," she calls back. "Are you and Sin in there?"
I roll my eyes. "No, we're already downstairs."
"Okay, I know you're in there, Smart Ass," Aubrey retorts. "But Beck and I are downstairs and ready to leave when you are."
"Okay, be down in a sec," I tell her through the door as I turn back to Sin.
"Guess we should go," I say to Sin, moving away from him. He stands up, getting off my bed, and starts to follow me toward the door, but grabs me lightly by the wrist and pulls me toward him, kissing me one more time before letting me open the door.
I'm almost giddy as we walk downstairs, my face flushed and my heart still beating at the memory of Sin's lips on mine.
I think I'm really gonna like this trip.