Izzy's POV
I fell asleep before everyone else even finished eating, and I could tell because I heard the voices from downstairs as they handed out slices. That's the last thing I heard before I dozed off, but when I came to, Luke was clinging to me like a child. I gently shrugged out of his arms and went to make coffee, since it was only 9. Going to bed early did mean waking earlier than usual.
I tiptoed down the stairs and through the living room, trying my best not to wake Calum and Mike up. I managed to get a pot on without making a sound, but by the time it was done it was already almost 10. The sound of the steam escaping made a hissing noise, and I saw Mike sit up and dart his head toward the kitchen. I knew he'd be coming over to me, so I grabbed a second mug and put it on the counter for him.
"Why'd you go to bed so early?" He asked groggily. I filled both of our mugs with the black coffee, putting it back on the burner after to keep it warm.
"Luke felt some type of way about Harry texting me." I said plainly, not really finding a point in making up excuses anymore.
"Why was Harry texting you?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows at me.
"Just to see how I'm doing after... that." I said, adding two spoonfuls of sugar and stirring away.
"So, what exactly did he have a problem with?" He chuckled. That was literally my point, he shouldn't have had a problem with it. He just made an assumption and rolled with it.
"He read the last text he sent without seeing any of the others. And Harry made a joke about me making it up to him for cutting his week short. And he said not to feel guilty about what happened. He didn't put any context, though, so all Luke saw was me making it up to him and not feeling guilty." I explained, finally taking a sip of my finished coffee.
"Oh, shit. Are you guys good?" Mike was genuinely concerned, and it warmed my heart to see. He didn't support us before, but seeing him actually care that we're doing well made me beyond happy.
"He asked me if I slept with him, so I unlocked my phone and threw it in front of him to shed some light on how far off he was." I said, barely any emotion evident in my voice. I was just sick and tired of this kind of petty bullshit, it really didn't have a place in my life.
"Oh, shit." He said, now realizing how far he took it. "That's quite a leap, don't you think?" He asked, almost amused.
"Yeah, you know what, it is." I said, flailing my arms in the air to show just how much I didn't understand it. "He actually slept with Callie and threw it in my face, but I can't even text someone without him jumping down my throat." I admitted it, but I felt bad about it after. I didn't want to sit here and talk badly about Luke like this, he just really upset me last night. And it brought up a lot of shit that we still never really talked about.
"That's how guys think, Izz. Especially Luke, he's territorial as fuck." He lifted his mug to take another sip, raising his eyebrows at me in seriousness.
"I'd like to see how he'd feel if I dumped him and slept with someone just to make him mad. He'd lose his fucking mind. And I had to sit there and get accused of being the crazy ex." I sighed, thinking back to probably the most challenging two months of my emotional existence. I knew I shouldn't dwell on it, but him accusing me of cheating was just bringing up not good feelings.
"If it makes you feel better, you definitely weren't the crazy ex." He chuckled, trying to bring light into this gloomy conversation. I took another sip of my coffee and rolled my eyes at him.
"I feel like a definitely was." I giggled.
"Hey, you were in pain. He did shit that was meant to break you, and I know you forgave him but if he's not treating you right... I just want you to be happy." He paused for that short moment, trying to word it the best he could.
"He pisses me off more than anyone. But, he makes me happier than anyone." I told him quietly, and he gave me a sympathetic look in exchange. When I looked up to him, though, I saw Luke walking in from the living room.
It didn't seem like he heard anything, but he was rubbing the sleep off of his face. He shot me a small frown before he turned to find the coffee. He used what we already had on the kitchen table to make it, and when he turned to Mike he gave him a discrete nod instead of saying good morning. He walked around to me and put his hand on the back of my shoulder, leaning his head down the slightest bit to look at me.
"Come smoke with me." He said quietly, and I got up without hesitation. I brought my coffee out to the side porch where we set up a couple cheap plastic lawn chairs, just until we got better ones. "I'm an asshole, it's okay. I know." He said, leaning back in his own chair and looking around.
"I'm glad you know it, but I'd rather you just stop being one." I said, swirling my mug around as I watched the coffee roll around in a wave.
"I'll do better." He said quietly, pulling out his pack and handing me a cigarette. I took it between my lips and sparked the end, inhaling the smoke as it relaxed my entire body.
"There's no one I'd rather be with, babe." I told him, and I turned to see him nodding his head as he stared blankly at our cars in the driveway.
"Prove it." He said, his blank expression slowly forming into a smirk as he looked at me. His eyes darted all over my body, and once he started biting on his lip ring I couldn't stay away. I went and plopped on his lap, resting my back against his chest as the back of my head fell on his shoulder. "That's not proving it." He said seductively, placing a few sloppy kisses to my jawline.
I shifted so I could sit sideways on his lap, and I draped my legs over the arm of the chair. My arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to me, and I felt his hand wonder to my thigh. I pushed his waves back out of his face, letting them spring back down while I moved my hand to the back of his neck again. He was stunning, and I admired him as I slowly leaned into his lips.
I connected them softly, just wanting to feel him more than anything. The hand he had on my thigh started to squeeze, while the other found its way to the back of my head to keep us from pulling apart. I felt his arm sneak under my knees, and before I could hop off of him he was already lifting me up bridal style. I laughed into his lips, but he wouldn't let me pull away still. I kept my arms around his neck to support myself, and soon enough we were walking back into the house.
"I got it, I got it." I rushed to tell him, swatting his hand away from the doorknob before he dropped me. I swung the door open to reveal literally the whole house in the kitchen, so Luke took a couple steps in and kicked the door shut, dropping me to my feet moments after.
We sat and ate a late breakfast together, and we finally decided on actual plans for the rest of the summer. Calum said his parents had talked to him about flying back home for a little while, so he was trying to figure that out. Sophie was going on a family vacation at the beginning of July, so she was trying her best to buy time before having to go home herself. The only thing we agreed on unanimously was everyone being back here for Luke's birthday.
We weren't sure what we wanted to do to celebrate, but I had some ideas flowing through my head. I made a mental note to run them by the other guys to see if they were doable, but the most pressing concern for me was a present. Being in the hospital and disappearing for over two weeks made me lose my internship, and that was the only thing I had lined up to make me money. With a month until his birthday, I had time to figure something out.
I started thinking about going to Brett, maybe pushing product for him on the side. I had people back in my home town that still reached out to me to see if I knew where to get shit. Everyone there knew that drugs came hand in hand with me, so I could easily sell off a good amount of stuff in the next month. The only issue was Luke. He wouldn't want me to have anything to do with it.
"Izz, come here!" Luke snapped me out of my thoughts, waving me over into the living room where they all moved to while I zoned out.
I walked over and dropped next to him on the couch, snuggling into his side while my mind still wondered. I'd have to go behind Luke's back and go to Brett directly, but even then, he might not let me sell either. I already knew what I wanted to get for his birthday, and it was a $2,000. After everything he'd done for me, it was the least I could do. He deserved a new guitar, and maybe if it was a new one he'd have an easier time picking it up.
I could make Brett money, so all I had to do was convince him to let me start and the rest would follow. He wouldn't be able to turn it down if he saw the profits right away, so I would just have to make sure I sold efficiently. And making the short drive back to my home town wouldn't be too suspicious, but I'd have to set up sales before I went out there so I only needed to make like one trip a day.
I had it all planned out by the time they all decided on what to do today. I didn't put any input toward that decision, I just went with it. When they said they wanted to go to the beach, though, I regret not butting in. It was one thing to where a bathing suit in front of only close friends in a private area, but it was another to go onto a huge public beach in front of strangers. I hated the beach, I hated sand, and I hated the sun. I hated everything about it, really.
"Why don't we just go to Brett's house? He's got a pool." I whined, not wanting anything to do with this.
"A pool isn't a beach, though." Mike said, as if it weren't completely obvious.
"Why is it a problem, just go get your bathing suit and let's go." Luke said, dismissing my cries for different plans. I gave him an uncomfortable look, but I ran upstairs regardless. I didn't want to be the weak link today, so I did what everyone wanted me to do and put the one bathing suit on that I owned. The only slight issue was how revealing is was, since I got it a couple years ago when I was 'rebelling'.
I threw on jean shorts and a baggy long sleeve tee, even if it was over 80 degrees out with the sun shining brightly. I found my sunglasses and stole one of Luke's baseball caps, but he caught me red handed when he walked in on me.
"So, my clothes aren't good enough anymore. Now you have to steal my hats?" He asked sarcastically, but I just smiled at him as he walked up to me. "You know, I still haven't seen you in a bikini." He said, smirking at me while his arms wrapped around my back.
"And we'll see if you even get to see it when we get there." I joked, but he wasn't a fan.
"Oh, I'm seeing it." He trailed his hands up my body until they cupped my cheeks, and he smiled at me as he moved closer. "One way or another." He said seductively, biting my bottom lip right after. I pulled away so he'd drop it, but I pushed my lips onto his the second he did.
I had to shrug out of his grip in order to keep it from getting more intense, but I still watched him as he changed into his swim shorts. I even slapped his ass while he was pulling them up his legs, it was just too cute not to. He whipped around and yanked them up all the way, grilling me like I had just done him irreversibly dirty. I tried to run away, but he scooped me up and threw me on my stomach on the bed.
"I'm sorry!" I tried to sound sincere, but I was laughing too hard. He pinned my hands behind my back with one hand, and he wound the other one back as I laid there in shorts. I knew it was going to sting, but for some reason when his hand came in contact with my butt cheek I didn't wince. I just laughed even harder as he kept spanking me.
"Stop laughing!" He said, but he was laughing too.
"Okay, please stop!" I begged, feeling his hand clap against me one more time.
"I'm sorry, baby, I just-" He didn't finished his sentence, he just slapped me again. This time it actually hurt, though, so I cried out as he hopped off of me. "Don't slap my ass." He said, smirking because he knew he won.
"Okay." I said quietly, still recovering from the sting on my right butt cheek. When he turned around, though, I couldn't resist. He was just standing there in his swim shorts without a shirt on, looking like a snack I could eat every day. I tapped his butt one last time, but instead of darting out of the room I sat there with an innocent smile on my face.
"Don't." He said, whipping around and bending down to my level. "Don't make me punish you." He whispered into my ear as he slowly started pushing my body down on the bed.
"Maybe I want you to punish me." I whispered back, and I heard him inhale sharply.
The only response he had for that was taking my shirt between his teeth and pulling on it playfully. He looked me in the eyes as he pulled away and stood straight again, leaving me to lay there hot and bothered. I was trying to tease him with that, but he ended up flipping it on me. He threw a tee on and nodded for me to finally get up and follow him, leaving behind the bedroom where I wished we could have stayed and taken care of some things.
We still hadn't slept together since before allthis went down, and it was killing me every passing day. We had so manyproblems to worry about that were so much more pressing, but I just wanted tobe with him again. I wanted to feel like we were okay, especially after thestrain that's been on us as a couple. The hardest part of everything wasdealing with what it did to us in the aftermath, and I just wanted it all to goback to normal.