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It was late when everyone stumbled inside completely exhausted from the day's activities. Taylor followed Steven to his room, Belly headed to hers, and Conrad decided to call it an early night. Kenai had managed to pull Nala aside before she reached Jeremiah's room.
He brought her further towards the guest room. "Can I talk to you real quick?"
"Of course. Everything okay?" She asks.
Kenai quickly nods. He's nervous. Nala can sense it. But she doesn't mention the fact that he's stuffed his hands in his front pockets or is rocking back and forth on his heels.
"Yeah. Yeah, no, everything's fine... I had just wanted to ask you about you and Jeremiah," He says. "You two seem really close nowadays and I guess I was just wondering if there was something going on between the two of you."
Nala was taken aback. "What? Why would I like Jeremiah? We're friends, we've always been friends."
"And I get that, but I'm also not blind. You and Jeremiah have spent a lot of time together, and lately, you two look at each other differently than what friends do."
Her throat burned red and hot. "How does he look at me?"
"Like you're the only other person on the planet."
The doorbell rings downstairs, echoing through the house. Nala gave Kenai one last look before heading down to answer it. Opening the door, she was met with the shy smile of Eli on the other side.
His hands were behind him, it somehow made him look taller. "Hey."
"Hey."
"I was wondering if we could talk?"
It seemed like everyone wanted to talk tonight. First Kenai, and now Eli. Nala couldn't imagine what would be in store for her this time around. Nodding, Nala had Eli follow her around back. They walked quietly down the path and to the dock.
The golden hue from the lights made her look like sun rays to him. Eli couldn't bring himself to look away from her. "You look nice."
She smiled. "We had a beach day... It was actually really fun to feel like one of them for once, you know? Felt like I fit in."
"That's good. I'm happy for you."
She can see the glint in his eye, she notices the way he's looking at her. She doesn't understand what it means, but she's seen it before from someone else. She'd seen it with Jeremiah.
Nala clears her throat. "So, you wanted to talk?"
"Oh, yeah. Um, how's your friend?" Eli finally asks.
"Good, actually. Much better, hasn't thrown up on anyone else." Nala shifts her weight. The tension in the air was so thick she thought she might start suffocating soon.
Eli nods. "That's good..." His hands shake as he tries to work up the courage to turn his thoughts into words. "Actually, I didn't come here to ask about him."
"Kind of figured."
"Yeah...Look, I haven't been able to get you off my mind since that night at the party. Even though we barely talked and I went home with throw-up all over me, I still couldn't stop thinking about you."
Eli takes a step forward. "It feels like being around you is the only thing that stops my mind." He brushes a stray curl behind her ear, resting his palm against her cheek ever so gently. He can hear her breath hitch as he tugs her forward a little.
Nala's heart is beating out of her chest, she can feel the heat rising to her cheeks. Her breaths begin to quicken. She could feel his breath against her lips.
Eli leaned in.
Nala leaned in.
Just the smallest movement and their lips would meet. A million thoughts raced through her head, a fire burned deep in her stomach.
They closed their eyes, ready to close the gap between them when a loud sound caught the girl's attention.
Woosh.
She saw it from the corner of her eye, how fast it was approaching from the top of the hill. A firework, shooting through the air and aiming straight at the two of them.
"Eli, watch out!" She pushes his away from herself and takes several steps back, watching as it flies past the dock and explodes over the water.
Beautiful bright lights of pink and blues erupted in front of them.
Nala's eyes searched the scene around her, they darted across the property until she looked towards the back doors. She caught a glimpse of a shadow walking away, but that honey-blonde hair still burned under the moonlight.
She could make it out in any crowd.
After saying awkward goodbyes to Eli, Nala went back inside on a mission. Anger burned deep within her as she snatched the front door open. The downstairs was quiet as ever, she assumed everyone was already asleep. But she knew there was one person that was still awake.
She kept her footsteps quiet, but she couldn't promise herself she wouldn't explode the moment she reached the bedroom and the door closed behind her. Nala was fuming, her head in shambles.
What did he gain from that? Why would he even put her in danger like that? Nala was confused, her thoughts were going a million miles per hour. She swung the door open. It slammed shut behind her.
Jeremiah was already waiting for her.
"What the hell was that?"
"I saw you two," he admits.
Nala scoffs. "So you shoot a firework at us? What the hell Is wrong with you, Jeremiah?" Her voice only grows louder. His silence builds a frustration she's never felt before.
"I don't like the thought of you two together!"
"Oh my god, for once can I be happy without you constantly being in the picture?" The room falls silent. Her words cut him deeper than any knife ever could. "I just- I don't get it. I do everything right, I am always putting you first. Why do you have to ruin something that could be great?"
Could. That was the keyword. It could be great. Nala knew this, she knew the possibility of everything going wrong with Eli. It would be a summer fling, anyway. Long-distance relationships almost never survive college, especially when you're thousands of miles away.
But it was the fact that Jeremiah wouldn't let her experience it. Anything that involved risk, anything even remotely dangerous, she felt like she wasn't allowed to do whenever he was around. And she understood it for the most part, but this... This was different.
She could see the glossiness in his eyes, the way he seemed so dazed couldn't be ignored. Hesitantly, Jeremiah approaches her. He grabs her hands in his and gives them a soft squeeze. And even though she wants to pull away, she can't bring herself to do it.
"I just need to know the truth," She whispers. "Tell me the truth..."
Note:
I just wanted to say a really big THANK YOU to everyone that's tuning in to read this🩷
A lot of my books have been flops lately, mainly because i haven't put that much effort in. This, I made sure I took my time with (even rewrote the last 7 chapters).
Anyways, lmk how you guys are enjoying it thus far.
