It All Started in Vegas

Chapter 30

Jake POV

I stood in the hallway for a second, trying to process what just happened. I definitely didn't expect that, but it was better than anything I could have ever expected. I walked back into my room, and the smile never left my face. Caleb looked at me a raised a brow, wondering what my deal was.

 "Charlotte just came back and kissed me goodbye." "What's the big deal? You guys have kissed before." "Yeah, but definitely not like that." "Alright, well get to bed lover boy, we have to be at the airport at ten because our flight leaves at noon." I sighed and plopped down on my bed, knowing that there's no way I'm going to be able to sleep after that.

I woke up, sad that we were leaving Vegas, but excited for my plan to unfold. Usually things don't work out for me, but ever since I found out that Charlotte and I go to the same college, I'm starting to think that luck is on my side. The boys and I were all packed and waiting for our shuttle to the airport.

 "So Jake, when does the plan start?" I couldn't help the smile that took over my face. "It'll start at the airport, right before we get on the plane." All the boys hollered in excitement, which only made me even more excited. We got into our shuttle, and made small talk on our way to the airport. 

"Kyle man, have you and Ashley talked about what happens when we get back to school?" "We're just going to see how things go, no pressure," he said with a smile. Immediately after, he turned to Aiden, "What about you? We all saw you and Jenny together at the club." 

"Woah! When was this?" I asked, not remembering at all. "Well, it was after you stormed out Romeo. Honestly, I don't know what'll happen. She's a really cool girl, but it doesn't seem like she's into me," he said with a small shrug, trying to act like he didn't care. When we got to the airport, we all headed towards the entrance, ready to head home. We went through luggage check and security, and were waiting to board. I pulled out my phone, ready to initiate phase one.

First thing I did was request to follow Charlotte on Instagram, which she happily accepted and followed me back right away. I started scrolling through my phone, looking at all of the pictures and videos we took in Vegas. Instagram lets you post multiple pictures on one post, so I just went through picking out some of my favorites. The first picture was one of me and the boys outside of the hotel and the second was the picture with all of us with Charlotte on her birthday. After that, it was all just Charlotte and I. The post included: the picture of just us from her birthday, the picture of us at TopGolf, the one of her completely fixated on the fountain show at the Bellagio, and the video of her rapping Ice Ice Baby. I laughed at the video, thinking about how cute she looked, and how shocked I was at that moment. Next, I went through and tagged everyone in all of the pictures. Finally, I came up with a caption:

@JakeWilliams: They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but not this time. Huge thank you to Vanilla Ice for letting us participate in the birthday celebrations. I'll see you soon, don't miss me too much.

I smiled, proud of myself for thinking of that. Right after I hit send, our plane started to board. Perfect timing.

Charlotte POV

I woke up the next morning smiling about what happened last night. I was so bold, and that was so unlike me, but I am happy that I did it. As I was packing my bag, reality set in that Jake was already at the airport, and my mood immediately changed. We were all packing, planning on grabbing food at the airport before we left. I heard my phone go off and raced over to it, hoping it was a text from Jake.

@JakeWilliams requested to follow you on Instagram!

Well, it wasn't a text, but it was just as good. I smiled as I hit the accept button, and then went and followed him back. After that, I turned my ringtone off and focused on packing so we could get to the airport on time. Sarah was rushing me, so I threw my phone in my bag, and headed out the door. We got to the airport at around 1pm, and by the time we got through luggage check and security it was already 2:15pm. We stopped by the airport Burger King and grabbed some lunch, then headed to the seating area. My stomach growled, letting me know how hungry I was. I started eating my food and fished out my phone to check the time.

@JakeWilliams tagged you in a post!

I smiled from ear to ear, and I think all of my friends noticed because they walked over to me, looking over my shoulder. His post had a bunch of pictures, the first one being him and his friends, which made me smile. Was it weird that I missed them already? 

Then, I kept scrolling, and honestly, I teared up. The rest of the pictures all had me in them. There was the picture of all of the boys and I on my birthday, the picture of just Jake and I from that night, our picture from TopGolf, a picture of me from the Bellagio that I didn't even know he took, and the video of me singing karaoke. As I scrolled through the photos, I heard my friends let out an "Awww," and I looked up at them smiling. Once I was finished looking at the pictures, I looked at the caption:

@Jake_Williams: They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but not this time. Huge thank you to Vanilla Ice for letting us participate in the birthday celebrations. I'll see you soon, don't miss me too much.

A stray tear left my eye as I read it. Although, I did wonder what he meant by "see you soon", I have no idea when I'll see him again. All my friends were looking at me with small smiles on their faces. "Man, you got it bad," Sarah said with a small laugh. "Yeah, I definitely do." I decided to comment on his picture:

@CharlotteParker: You're welcome for the front row seats to my show. Thanks for making this trip one to remember!

After that, I decided to send him a text, hoping he would see it when he landed:

Me: Thank you for everything. Miss you already!

Once I hit send, we boarded our planes: the girls back to Mississippi, and mine to St. Louis. I can't wait to be home.