Chapter 55

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Liv POV:

I get ready for the party and I decided to wear something casual-ish for a beach party.

I get ready for the party and I decided to wear something casual-ish for a beach party

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I wore a light orange,yellow and pint of purple swimwear which I designed myself. I mostly design clothes when I'm bored and tensed which I guess helped for this occasion.  Yet I covered myself with a sweater, because I wasn't here to mingle.

I was here for a task. That's it.

I am in the car with Olivia and only Olivia as Mackenzie had "things" planned with this guy she met in a study room.

We pull up to to the house and the sound of laughter and music vibrated the car. With a deep breath, I stepped out of the car.

Olivia steps out too and walks over to me. She sighs and looks at me up and down. "What?"

"It's about 80 degrees right now. I could see sweat drip down your brow" she laughs as she easily pulled down my sweater and put it back in the car.

As we walked inside, I couldn't help but notice the lingering glances from both men and women. They stared at me like they were undressing me with their eyes.

Surprisingly, I found myself strangely drawn to the attention. It was as if their gazes validated my presence, even if it was just for my appearance.

"YO OLLY!" A loud shout interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see Nick, shirtless and dripping with water and sand, making his way towards us. He ran a hand through his hair, casually leaning against the counter as he struck up a conversation with Olivia.

As Olivia continued talking, I noticed Nick's gaze lingering on me. His jaw clenched, a silent reminder of the altercation we had earlier. I couldn't help but remember the punch I landed on him. It wasn't entirely unintentional; part of me felt justified in my actions. After all, he shouldn't have said those things about Torrey.

I see two girls walk up to them and Olivia screamed as she began to hug them. Olivia was popular, not high school popular but the kind that if she posted on social media she'll immediately get hundreds of followers.

She just had that vibe to her. Like a gift. I respected it. She looks at me and walks to me. "Me and the girls are going to the beach to play some football, do you want to come?" She asked and I would say yes but I need to talk to Nick.

Maybe try to become his friend so he can get me some intel. "Yeah I'll see you guys there later"

They walk away and nick looks around. He seemed to try to leave and honestly so did I.

"Wanna drink?" I grab a full bottle from the counter and he looks at me. He hesitated for a moment, his gaze shifting between me and the bottle in my hand.

Eventually he nodded, a faint smirk in the corners of his lip. "Sure, why not" he replied approaching me and he takes the bottle.

"Let me help" he whispered, and he takes two cups out and pours for us. There was something about him that made me feel... something.

"Thanks" I take the glass he offered to me and our fingers brushed briefly. "About... that night in the party-"

"You were protecting your friend, I get it. I should... be apologizing for-"

"Calling me a bitch" I couldn't help but laugh and he let a soft chuckle. I took a sip of my drink, feeling a sense of relief.

It was strange how easily, the conflict between us ended and how he was so easy to communicate with.

"You look... great by the way" he whispered. His compliment caught me off guard and I felt a blush creep my cheeks.

"You... don't look to bad yourself"

"Is it the wet hair?" He smirked as he whipped his hair as it hit my face. A laugh escapes my mouth as he continues doing it.

I try shifting my face from him but I spill some of the drink on me. It spilled on the side of my face and I couldn't help but still laugh.

"Here" he walks across the counter and grabs a napkin. He walks over to me and takes a step closer until there was no more space between us.

As Nick wiped the spilled drink from my face, his touch was gentle yet oddly intimate. I couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement in my chest at the closeness between us.

"Excuse me"

My heart skips a beat as I heard Torrey's voice. I look over to see her standing by the fridge, her expression was unreadable.

"I- I didn't realize you were here" I wipe the remaining drop from my cheek as he takes a step back.

I see her gaze flicker between me and Nick. "Yeah, just got here" she replied, her tone neutral. I started to feel uncomfortable randomly and a bit exposed.

She then looks at nick and motions her head. Nick then clears his throat and looks at me. "I'll see you outside in the match?" He asked

"Yeah, sure" I replied trying to remain calm. "I'll meet you there"

I didn't know they became friends. Must not have been because of common grounding. There's something happening.

As nick turns away, he taps torreys should motioning her to follow him. She walks towards him but presses her hand against the rim of the wall, as her bicep became toned.

She looks over at me and whispers "you missed a spot"

I look down and see the liquid on my chest. "That seems like a problem for nick to solve then" my comment makes her smirk but her eyes softened with a bit of sadness.

She follows nick, without saying a word and I couldn't help but feel a little good of her feeling jealous.

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