The next morning...
"Stacy's mom has got it going on," I softly sang along to my phone playing music while I showered. We had already gotten breakfast and I was just shaving my legs before we headed to the beach. I had done my hair in two dutch braids and was trying my best to be confident without any makeup on. I had chosen one of my new swimsuits that Mom had helped me pick out when we went birthday shopping. It was white, grey, and pale pink color-block striped bandeau top with matching bottoms. I finished shaving, brushed my teeth, pulled out some face-framing pieces of hair, and grabbed my towel.
"Ready to go?" I asked Jay as I pulled on some levi shorts. He was laying on his bed on his phone.
"Yeah," he glanced over at me, his gaze jumping down to my legs before meeting my eyes again. "I just need my towel." He got up and went to walk to his suitcase and tripped on the corner of the bed nearly toppling over onto me but luckily caught himself before.
"Did you spike your orange juice or something this morning?" I laughed as he grabbed his towel.
"Shut up, you trip all the time." He was blushing and wouldn't make eye contact with me when he said it.
"Mines because I'm clumsy, not because I'm too busy checking out my roommate," I teased. Jay's turned to look at me quickly, his mouth slightly open in shock, but I had already opened the door to my parents' room.
"How close are you guys to going?" My mom asked.
"I'm good to go whenever. Jay, are you ready?" I turned back to him and he was still standing and watching me.
"I'm good to go," he spoke, looking like he was trying to figure me out.
"Sweet! Your mom's got the sunblock," my dad spoke.
"And the tanning oil," she said to me.
"And some snacks but we'll probably eat whatever we find nearby for lunch and dinner depending on how long we stay."
Jay came and stood in the door frame behind me, his chest barely touching the back of my left shoulder.
"Alright, crew, lets go!" My dad clapped his hands and we headed out. We all squeezed into a cab, my dad taking passenger seat and Jay and my mom sitting on my sides while I tried to take up as little space as possible in the middle. The beach was a short ride away and I found myself focusing on Jay pressed up against me, leaning into me since he was too tall for the way the cab curved down on the sides.
Once we got to the beach we all unloaded and headed to find a spot to layout. It wasn't super crowded since the temperature was starting to cool down in Barcelona but we were used to cooler beach days from home so it was perfect. We all put on sunscreen (or tanning oil, for mom and I) and as soon as I thought it was dry I headed to the water.
I walked in until the water was at my hips and admired the view in front of me. Most of my beach days were spent at a lake so being at the ocean was a surreal experience for me. Staring into a horizon of water with no end in sight always made me feel so small.
Jay walked up next to me and flicked a bit of water at me, barely getting some drops on my arm.
"Watch it, buddy. I'm taking in the view." I pushed a small wave of water back at him. He laughed but stood there for a second with me, watching a sailboat in the distance and listening to the waves.
"Hey, about what you said at the hotel-"
"About you checking me out?" I interrupted, loving how uncomfortable he clearly felt. I stepped so I was facing him.
"Uh, right. I just, well," he hesitated and I cut in again.
"It's fine, I understand, what with all my natural beauty. It's a burden I've been cursed to carry my whole life," I sighed dramatically.
Jay was smiling at me when I looked back at him.
"Are you ever serious?" he joked.
"Only at funerals!" I shrugged and Jay laughed. "I'm sorry, I'll be serious if you want me to. What were you wanting to say?"
"I guess I wanted to say you were right. You caught me red-handed at the hotel." I froze for a second not knowing how to respond unless I made a joke.
"I just really like your swimsuit and wanted to know if you think it came in my size?" Jay said.
My smile came back full-force and I laughed so loud I probably scared a fish.
"You are such a dork!" I laughed, pushing his shoulder and walking backwards further into the water.
"Maddy, no! You must tell me your shopping secrets!" He started swimming after me and I laughed, pushing myself further away until I couldn't touch anymore and he caught up to me. We splashed each other for a while until he finally got a hold of me, wrapping his arms around me so mine were pinned to my sides. I squirmed, trying my hardest to free myself but failed.
"I'll let you go if you admit that you check me out too." He smiled smugly down at me. My face was way too close to his to come up with a clever response so I found myself just staring into his eyes. His eyes dropped to my lips and mine did the same. I looked back up and we made eye contact again. Jay cleared his throat and loosened his grip from around me so there was some space between us.
"Sorry," his voice was way softer than before when we were splashing around.
Now that I wasn't inches away from him, I could think a bit more clearly.
"You should be. I shouldn't be held accountable for checking you out when it's your fault for having such unnaturally perfect back muscles," I pretended to reprimand him, flicking some water at his face, getting him to smile and loosen up again.
"You really think I have nice back muscles?" He asked, turning and pretending to look at himself over his shoulder while he flexed. My eyes were fixated on his back as soon as he had turned but I quickly realized that was the wrong move when I heard him chuckling to himself. I looked back at his face to see he was laughing at my reaction.
"Once again, not my fault," I shrugged, winking at him before wading back to shore. Jay followed behind me and we hung out on the sand with my parents for a while. We played cards and mom and I laid out for a while. I read a few chapters of a book on my phone, wishing I had a romantic life like one of those characters but was distracted when Jay asked if I wanted to go on a walk to find some food. I stood up and grabbed my flip flops, not planning on putting them on unless we left the sand.
"I'll text you guys if we find something so we can bring it back for you," I told my mom.
"Sounds good, sweetie," my mom waved us off, caught up with her own book.
Jay and I headed up the beach towards a spot Jay had claimed he'd seen some snack shacks, casual silence between us.
"That looks promising," he spoke as we got closer to the roads that ran alongside the beach. We walked around and looked at some stores while trying to decide where we wanted to get food. Eventually we decided on a place called Sal Cafe. I had Jay talk on the phone with my parents since I couldn't read the menu super well other than 'hamburguesa' and 'pollo'. Once we knew what they wanted, Jay helped me pick what to eat and then put in our order.
"I'm so glad you know Spanish. I knew there was a reason we brought you." He laughed.
"Right. You just brought me because I speak Spanish." I nodded. "Y eres inútil."
"I'm not sure what you said but I'm sure it was about how lovely I am," I joked and Jay laughed, nodding.
"Something like that," he chuckled.
Our order was ready so we took our bags and headed back to the beach, talking about how talented some of the people roller-skating along the street were.
By the time we got back to the towels, my parents were out in the water, probably cooling off and admiring the view while they waited for us to get back with the food. Jay and I sat on our towels and started eating.
"Can I ask you something?" Jay spoke right as I took a huge bite of my burger. I looked at him, my mouth full, a bit nervous since he seemed serious, and nodded.
"Would you want to maybe get dinner, just us tonight?" I swallowed my food, wincing since I probably should have chewed a bit more before forcing it down.
"If you don't want to that's totally fine and I understand and we can just pretend I didn't ask-"
I put my hand on his knee and said, "Hey, let me talk, yeah?" He nodded. "Just to clarify, are you asking me on a date?" He hesitated, but nodded again. "I would love to go out to dinner with you, Jay." He smiled and I set my burger down on the paper in front of me.
"On one condition." He looked at me, nervous again. "You have to let me try your burger." I held my hands out and he laughed, passing it to me and letting me have a bite. I pointed at mine and he picked it up to try it.
"You have excellent taste other than liking pickles." I stuck my tongue out at him and took a large drink of water. We traded back and finished off our food, the realization that Jay had just asked me on an actual date, in Spain no less, making me glad I had the excuse of eating for being quiet.
My parents eventually came back to shore and ate while Jay and I laid back on our towels, giving our food time to settle. I was dying to tell my mom what had just happened but had no way to do it with Jay right there. I needed to tell her soon since first of all, she had been wanting us to date since he first started working with my dad. Second, she was going to have to devise a way to make sure my dad didn't try to sabotage and make it a double date. Third, she had to help me figure out what to wear especially since Jay and I would technically be getting ready in the same room so I couldn't change 37 times like I usually do before a date.
"I wanna swim some more. Kristen?" My dad asked my mom.
"No, I think I'm going to lay out a bit longer," she responded.
"I'll go with you, Matt," Jay spoke, standing up and brushing the sand off his trunks. My dad looked at me, silently asking if I wanted to head in with them.
"I'm gonna sit with mom for a bit. Maybe later, though?" He nodded and they walked off to the water.
"Mom," I started as soon as they were out of ear shot. "Jay asked me out!" She smiled and quickly put her bookmark back into her book that she had just got out.
"What? When did that happen? What are you two going to do?" I filled her in and she quickly understood that she'd have to come up with something else for her and dad to do for dinner. She told me she was so excited for me and was glad Jay had finally asked me out, claiming she knew he was interested in me from day one. I rolled my eyes, sure that this was simply because we had spent a lot more time together due to this trip. My dad and Jay had just come out of the water and were heading towards us when we had finally decided on what I should wear.
"Did my dad tire you out or do you want to go back in the water with me?" I asked Jay as he and my dad reached us. My dad laid face-down on his towel, letting out a huge sigh and pretending to fall asleep.
"I can go out for a little bit more. Your dad is very energetic though. I don't know how I kept up with him." Jay kicked the bottom of my dad's foot and my dad rolled over, hitting his forearms together like Ross and Monica do from the show Friends to signify flipping him off. We all laughed and I pulled on Jay's arm and we turned and headed for the water.
"You know I really meant what I said at the cafe, right?" I asked him once we had waded out a bit further.
"What do you mean?" he asked, glancing at me.
"Just that I really am glad that you're here. On this trip, I mean."
"Oh right, as your translator," he laughed.
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Yes, but I'm also just really glad you're here. I enjoy spending time with you, especially when you're not trying to drown or antagonize me." We had reached where the water was at my collarbones. The water level barely reached his pecs and I bent my knees and sunk a bit lower into the water as he stood and smiled down at me.
"Stop gloating or I'll take it back," I threatened, not liking him just watching me and not responding. I wasn't the best at being vulnerable which is why I often made jokes to ease tension in conversations. For me, being serious was like cleaning my room: I did it when necessary or in a spur of the moment but I almost always didn't enjoy it and it never lasted long.
"I enjoy spending time with you, too." He smiled down at me. "I also like seeing you so squirmy. You normally just exude confidence, I don't think I've ever seen you this shy."
"I don't know what you're talking about." My arms gently pushed the water around me, as we stood there and I avoided making eye contact.
"So, about tonight," he spoke. I looked back up at him right as his hand came out of the water and scratched the back of his head. My eyes were instantly on his bicep but I made myself tear my gaze away to look back at his eyes.
"I was thinking-" he paused. "What?"
"Hm?" I tilted my head and tried to look casual.
"You look like a deer in headlights, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, I promise. I'm sorry, what were you saying about tonight?" I gave him a reassuring smile and pinched my arm under the water to remind myself to focus.
"I was thinking we go to this restaurant called the Buenos Aires Grill?"
"As long as I don't have to wear a cocktail dress then I am good." I let my arms float around my sides, pushing the water around me as I cooled off.
Jay smiled, his hand brushing against mine in the water.
"You could wear your pajamas for all I care," he shrugged, intertwining our fingers. "I haven't seen you not pull off an outfit yet." I stepped closer to him in the water.
"Good because I was planning on wearing a hippo onesie and it helps that you'd support me in that." Jay smiled wider, his hand that wasn't holding mine brushing against my waist.
"Wow, I bet you'll just look absolutely stunning in that," he scoffed, pinching my side a bit and making me jump. I pushed away from him, fake reprimanding him for pinching my side. We splashed and hung out in the water for a while more before trekking back to shore. We laid in the sun and dried out a bit before all four of us packed up and headed back to the hotel. Jay put his arm behind me on the cab ride home, this one's cabin also being too short for him.
When we got back, Jay let me shower first so I hurried and scrubbed the sand and salt water off. While Jay showered, I changed into some blue skinny jeans with rips on the legs and a loose-knit, white sweater. I put on some mascara and eyeshadow and took my hair out of my braids, praying that the salt water in my hair helped it look more crimped and like it had beach waves rather than a rat's nest. I sprayed it with some hairspray and fluffed it in the mirror, honestly liking how it looked and not daring to brush it on the chance of ruining it. I rolled on some perfume and chapstick and was tugging on my tan boots when Jay came out of the bathroom. My eyes took in his dark blue jeans and tan, long sleeved, t-shirt. He put on some brown timberland tennis shoes and I took the opportunity to appreciate how his shirt hugged his arms. When he stood up, I realized I had been staring a bit too obviously and quickly stood up too. I subconsciously brushed my hands over the tops of my pants and then looked up to see Jay smiling smugly at me.
"What?" I asked, nervous he was going to say my hair looked like a frizzy pompom.
"Nothing, you look amazing." My stomach fluttered and I felt my face heat up with a blush.
"You don't look too bad, yourself."
"I would hope you like it, your mother picked it out," he laughed. "This shirt was one of my Christmas presents from her and your dad." I smiled, mentally noting that I would have to let her know that he was wearing the shirt she bought him.
"Should we let your parents know we're heading out?"
"Nah, I'll text my mom. Are you ready to go?"
"Yep. You have your key?"
"Always." I held up my phone and I followed him to the door. He held it open for me and we headed towards the elevator.
To be continued...
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