Die In California

31

Devyn's POV:

The morning of my 22nd birthday, I woke up to JP's calloused fingertips tracing soft random patterns on my bare back. I was curled up to his side, his arm tucked under my shoulders as I rested my head on his chest, whilst his other arm was under his head, as he stared up at the ceiling. He seemed to notice the shift in my breathing, and looked down at me with a bright, but sleepy smile. "Happy birthday, babe." He smiled, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I closed my eyes with a tired, content smile and snuggled closer to him, thanking him.

"Did I wear you out that bad?" He teased me with a laugh, his chest shaking whilst I fought back a laugh, shaking my head in denial. He definitely did, but his ego was big enough as it was. A sense of peacefulness then washed over us as we both laid in bed, staring out of the large window at the beautiful view of LA, framed by clear blue skies. There was no better place to wake up on my birthday than naked in bed with my childhood love in the city of angels.

"Thank you for everything, JP. I really appreciate everything you've done for me." I broke the silence, my voice cracking from not talking for so long. I never once turned to look away from the window, being unable to bring myself to look at him as I admitted something I would've never told him before. But something felt different, and it felt right to open up to him. In fact, I found myself wanting to, to tell him about where I was at mentally. He deserved to know that much.

"You don't need to thank me for anything." JP promised, but I didn't listen. I believed him, but continued anyway, wanting him to know how truthfully grateful I was. He seemed to sense that I had something on my mind that I wanted to say, so decided to shut up and allowed me to spill my every thought, listening to me.

"I know. But still, thank you. I really appreciate everything you've done. And- uh, I honestly don't know what I would've done if I'd have woken up and you guys weren't there in the hospital with me. I- uhm, I'd bet on it that I wouldn't be here." I admitted, my voice breaking like a teenage boy as I traced my finger over the woman on his stomach to keep myself distracted from the building tears. I'd never understood why he went for that tattoo out of all of his options, but he liked it, and that was all that mattered to me.

My confession seemed to make JP hold me tighter, his body turning a little more rigid as he digested what I meant. He probably didn't know how to take it, and on any other day that would have sent me down a spiral of embarrassment as I tried to retract my confession, but I knew I needed to get it off my chest. And what better time than in the privacy of his hotel room, when we both felt most relaxed?

"I'm glad you're here." He whispered, and that was all he needed to say to ease us both. He held me tightly for a little while longer, before rolling me over his body, so that I was closest to the window. He then wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me back to his chest as he rested his chin on my shoulder so that he could also see the view. "I think I'm doing better. Or at least I hope so." JP nodded and pressed a kiss to my cheek in acknowledgement and understanding, promising that he understood as best as he could.

We spent about an hour in bed together before an impatient pounding on the door interrupted our peace, causing JP to groan dramatically as he climbed out of bed to pull his boxers back on. He grabbed some basketball shorts to yank on, before throwing his white Alpha Omega hoodie and my underwear to me, waiting for me to haphazardly tug the clothes on and try to maintain my sex hair before he opened the door. I kept my hair down over my shoulders to try and hide the hickeys, but JP didn't seem to care as he opened the door topless to let Kells in whilst grabbing a black hoodie.

"Dawg, birthday girl ain't in her room. And I might've been pissed last night, but I remember you on the table. So I'm guessin' she's here." I heard Kells before I saw him - the usual - and ran a hand over my face in embarrassment, trying to wake up more. Kells wandered in wearing just some sweatpants, smirking when he saw me in JP's bed. But it didn't stop him from making himself at home in the bed beside me, JP climbing in on the other side. I laughed and shook my head at Kells, before resting my head on his sharply defined shoulder as he pulled me in for a hug.