The Summer I Fell

when a crush dies out

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Jewel had chosen to join Belly and Taylor when they had gone to hang out on Nicole's boat, not ready to deal with seeing Jeremiah yet. She had arrived later on in the night than the two, Belly smiling as she walked up to them.
"Jewel, you're here!" She exclaimed, pulling Jewel in for a hug before sitting back down. Jewel sat on the seat beside Belly, attempting to hide her emotions of the day. Belly always had the gift of practically reading her mind, something Jewel hated but somehow also loved about the girl.
"We're playing put a finger down." Taylor told her, watching as Jewel put both of her hands up.
"Put a finger down if you've ever made out with two people within 24 hours of each other." Taylor spoke, Jewel watching as both Nicole and Gigi put their fingers down. The girls laughed quietly, Jewel's fingers still up.
"Okay, put a finger down if you've ever used a stuffed animal to... you know." Gigi said playfully, Jewel's cheeks blushing as she put a finger down. Her embarrassment diminished however, seeing that most of the other girls had as well.
"His name was Harry Bear Styles. Like..." Taylor laughed, pulling giggles out of the rest of the girls.
"You had a name for yours?" GiGi laughed, Taylor nodding as she covered her mouth to prevent more laughter.
"Okay, put a finger down if you've ever had sеx." Dara smirked, wanting to get more into the deeper stuff. Jewel put her finger down, taking not of the look Belly had sent her way.
"If you've ever been to third?" Dara questioned again, looking at Belly as she left her fingers up.
"Put a finger down if you've ever gone to second." Dara questioned again, hoping to get something out of the girl. Belly's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink seeing everybody putting their finger down except her.
"Put a finger down if you've ever made out with Jeremiah Fisher." Taylor laughed, Jewel's eyebrows furrowing as she watching Belly's finger fold down. Her hands dropped absentmindedly, her eyes locked onto the girl.
"Shut the fսck up! Wow." Dara laughed, surprised she had done anything with one of the Fisher brothers.
"Wait. Belly, we want all the tea." Nicole smiled, Belly's eyes shifting over to Gigi for a moment.
"Um, sorry, Gigi." She apologized, Gigi excusing her apology.
"Um, I mean, there's not much to tell. He's-he's, like, my best friend." She explained, Jewel's throat feeling tighter than normal.
"And when did it start?" Nicole asked, watching as Belly shrugged her shoulders.
"We kissed in the pool at our house last night." Belly confessed, unaware that her words were ripping Jewel's heart in two.
"I always had this weird feeling there was something going on between you and Conrad. But I guess I just had the wrong brother." Nicole shrugged, Jewel's head still in a separate place than the rest of the girl's. It felt as if walls had collapsed around her, her chest tightening as she tried to prevent her eyes from watering. She had always had small crushes on boys who she had never spoken to, but never anything like what Jeremiah and her shared. She couldn't help but wonder if air being caught in her throat was a normal thing to feel when a crush dies out.
"Uh, yeah, no. It's...I don't know." Belly brushed off, Taylor quickly rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever. Enough about Jeremiah. Uh, put a finger down if you've ever been skinny-dipping." Taylor asked, some of the girl's fingers going down as Jewel's hands remained in her lap.
"Put a finger down if you've ever gone skinny-dipping at Hopper's Cove." Nicole smirked mischievously, Taylor eyebrows raising at her hinting words.
"Is that a dare?" She laughed, watching as Nicole stood from her seat.
"Absolutely." She smiled, waving the girls to follow after as they headed off the boat and to her car.