If I can't have you

thirteen

I woke up the next day feeling warm with Shawn’s arms wrapped around me, my face in his chest as he breathes calmly against my hair. I look up at his face, smiling at how in peace he looks, then I remember what happened the night before and my smile grows wider as I involuntarily blush. I wasn’t planning for that to happen, specially not in here, but the fact that it felt so natural and not something I thought too much about makes me feel like it was perfect timing. It also makes me think of what might happen next, but I shut that thought out of my mind when I hear a noise outside. It sounds like someone eating something crunchy, which makes my stomach growl, so I gently take Shawn’s arms off me, not wanting to wake him up, and make my way out of our tent. I find Julia sitting outside by herself eating chips and warming up under the sun. I wouldn’t take her as someone who wakes up early when she doesn’t have to, but I guess I was wrong.

 “ Mind to share?” I whisper as I sit down next to her. She turns the chips to me and I take some, eating them and calming the growl in my stomach.

 “ You look happy.” She says with a smirk, like she knows something I don’t.

 “ Yeah, I guess I am.” I say with a smile. “ Why are you looking at me like that?”

 She looks away for a moment, pausing enough for me to think she won’t say anything else, but then she looks at me again with an expression that tells me she’s about to tease me over something. I take the water bottle she’s holding in her other hand and take a sip, spilling all over when I hear what she says next.

 “ You really think I didn’t hear anything last night?” She whispers with a smirk. “ I could tell you were trying not to be loud, but maybe you should have tried harder.” I look at her with panic in my eyes, my face burning from embarrassment from thinking about her hearing my reaction to what Shawn did to me last night. “ Don’t worry, I put my headphones on as soon as I heard it and Alessia was already passed out. I don’t think Brian and Hailee heard anything because their tent was not close to yours as ours, so you’re safe.”

 “ Shit.” I whisper and bury my face in my hands. “ Couldn’t you just pretend nothing happened? Why did you have to tell me?”

 “ Because I wanted to ask for the juicy details.” She says with a laugh, making me groan in frustration.

 “ I’m not telling you anything.” I mumble against my hands.

 “ Well, then at least I got to embarrass you.” She laughs again. “ Should I do the same with Shawn? He’s going to blush so hard.”

 “ Please, just forget about it.” I plead, so she laughs and teases me a bit more before dropping the subject.

 Thank God Alessia wakes up and joins us, so I know Julia won’t mention it again. Soon enough Shawn, Brian and Hailee wake up too and we’re all eating the food we brought while talking and listening to some music. We’re planning on leaving later today, so before that happens, we decide to enjoy the sunny day and go to a waterfall close to where we’re staying. We all put on our bathing suits and pack our things, walking back to Shawn’s and Brian’s cars before driving to our next destination. It’s a place they’re all been before and when we get there I have to admit they’re right. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. The water is crystal clear, forming a large lake under a beautiful waterfall. The place is surrounded by rocks, where we settle some of our things before getting into the water. I feel the cold water on my skin and immediately regret getting in, but Shawn pulls me to the middle with him and makes me dive into the water. In a few seconds I’m already freezing, so he pulls me closer and holds me, trying to warm me up with no success.

 “ How are you guys not freezing right now?” I ask as I have shivers down my body and my bottom lip is trembling. I wrap my arms around Shawn’s shoulder and bury my face on his neck while trying to make the cold go away.