Falling Again

Chapter 17

Laura sits at the island, sipping on a mug of coffee. and scrolling through her phone, When I walk in, she looks up, smiling at me. "Hey!" She says, turning her phone off and placing it on the counter.

"Hey." I grodgily say, rubbing the tiredness out of my arms. Me and Jacob took a shower before going to sleep in different beds. Jacob said that I needed sleep and if we went to bed together, neither of us would actually sleep. "How'd you sleep?" I ask her.

"Good." She says, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "What about you? Did you get any sleep?"

I glare at her, showing her my middle finger. "Yes, I did, actually. A great night of glorious sleep."

"Hmm." She says, narrowing her eyes at me. "So...?"

I sit opposite her. "We... we're taking it slow." I say, placing my elbows on the counter.

"So, what we heard last night was you taking it slow?" She asks, raising her eyebrow at me. I groan, dropping my face into my hands.

"Oh my God, Laura." I feel the heat travel to my cheeks and warm embarrassment fills my whole body. "Everyone heard us?" I look up to see Laura nodding her head slowly, sucking through her lips. I groan.

"But, it's fine." Laura says. "We all knew it was bound to happen."

Our heads turn as Rose walks into the kitchen. She wraps her arms around Laura's waist and gives her a quick peck in the lips. "Hey, babe." She says in greeting before moving to make herself a coffee.

"Hey, my love." Laura replies. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great." Rose answers. She looks at me and a small smirk is on her face. I hide my face in embarrassment. "Don't worry, girl." She laughs, patting my back. "It's happened to the best of us. Me and Laura got caught having sex so many times, we had to be moved to separate dorm buildings."

In shock, I look over to Laura who has red cheeks and a small smile on her face. She slowly sips in her coffee, her eyes focused on Rose.

"Is that you, yeah, Laura? Having sexy time with your girlfriend, when you're supposed to getting an education?" I joke, trying to get her back for my embarrassing moment. "How naughty of you."

"Is that discrimination I hear, Aria?" She counter-attacks, raising her eyebrow at me. "Is it because I'm a lesbian?" Laura asks. Rose laughs from behind me and I decide to shut up so that I don't embarrass myself further.

***

Jacob is still sleeping when I walk into his room and to wake him up, I decide to be immature and jump on top of him. "Jacob!" I say when my body lands on him, but he only stirs in his sleep. "sleepy-head." I whisper, shaking him slightly.

"Mmm." He mumbles, trying to turn with my weight on him. "I'm too high for this, right now." I slowly climb off of him, sitting next to him on the bed.

"You got high last night?" I ask him, stoking his hair away from his forehead. Jacob slowly nods his head, his eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles. "I know how much you don't like it when I get high."

I frown, leaning down and kissing the tip of his nose. "I know it's not easy." I tell him, resting my head on his chest. "But, I would like it if you tried to quit. Or, at least smoke and drink less."

"It's not that simple, Aria." He says calmly, running his fingers through my hair. "Getting over an addiction isn't easy."

"I understand." I say. Getting over a mental health condition isn't easy, either. Wanting to kill yourself isn't something you can easily get over. "I just want what's best for you."

"I know." He whispers. "Hey..." He sits up, looking back at me. "Wanna go to the beach? Just the two of us. I'll make up for my shitty behaviour the last time."

I smile at the lovely, selfless man next to me. "Of course." I say, leaning up and kidding his bare bicep. "But, you have to sober up first."

Jacob chuckles and nods his head multiple times, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. "Okay. Go and get ready. Put on a bikini. I'll be down in a few."

Slipping out of bed, I plant a quick kiss on Jacob's cheek before skipping out of his room and into my own. Closing the door behind me, I rush over to my drawer. I had specifically packed this bikini in the hopes that Jacob hadn't moved on and was willing to forgive me. This feels like the best time to wear it.

I pull out a halter, triangle bikini, the colour of coral pink and orange. Smiling to myself, I pull off the sweater that I'm still wearing from last night and get ready to spend the day with Jacob.

Finally, everything was going well with me and Jacob. I think we're both extremely happy. I kind of want this feeling to last forever. I hope it lasts forever.

There's a knock on my door. "Come in." I say, just as I slip on a thin flannel.

"Hey, do you have my phone charger-" Daniela asks, peeking her head through the gap between the door and the frame. "Oh, are you going to the beach?" She asks, her eyes travelling down my attire.

"Yeah, I am. Me and Jacob are going." I tell her, smiling at her. Daniela grins, leaning her head on the doorframe.

"You know, Charlie told me about what happened between you two."

"Oh. He did?"

"Yeah. I just want to tell you that... I'm glad you're working things out between each other. Charlie hates not talking to his friends. And, for the past year I've known him, I've never seen him as happy as he is when Jacob's around." She says, her eyes filling with happiness and love. "All I hope is that you and Jacob live long, happy lives together."

I smile at her, my heart swelling at her words. "Thank you, Daniela. That means a lot. I'm glad you and Charlie have each other. Erm..." I grab my purse and my phone and turn back towards Daniela. "I have to go. Talk tonight?"

"Sure." She nods her head, waves and turns away from me. I hear her walk over to her room and the sound of the door clicking closed is followed. I leave my room and make my way downstairs.