Lovin' The Benefits

(2) Victoria

Jeremiah reaches out, grabbing my hand and entwining our fingers. "It's just for an hour or two," he tells me, squeezing gently.

I sigh, looking down at the sidewalk as we walk through small crowds of people, making our way towards Starbucks which was a couple of stores down. That's where we were meeting them.

Pier Park is, as expected, crowded tonight. It's Saturday and most people, especially teenagers, come here and hang out. Pier Park is basically an outdoor mall. Any store you can think of, ranging from Dillard's to Forever 21; Subway to Olive Garden; Old Navy to American Eagle; it's all here in this very place.

"I'll buy you something from Victoria's Secret," he says suggestively as we walk pass it, causing a laugh to erupt from my lips.

"Yeah, sure," I tell him sarcastically.

We stop at the curb, preparing to cross the street. We wait for a few cars to go by and when there's a break in traffic, we cross.

I spot them before we even reach the Starbucks. They were sitting at one of the tables outside, visibly having a good time.

I stop, causing Jeremiah to stop as well. "Look at them," I say, using my free hand to gesture towards them. "They're having fun by themselves, let's go," I try, giving his hand a gentle tug in the other direction.

"Babe, they're waiting on us," he tells me, holding my gaze and silently saying that it's too late to leave.

I heave a sigh, letting go of his hand and walking the remainder of the way with my arms folded. He keeps my pace, not saying a word.

I see her hazel eyes peek over Gabe's shoulder as we approach the table. They immediately light up and I sigh absently, wanting more than anything to get this over with. She stands, motioning us towards them vigorously.

"Play nice," Jeremiah mumbles, slinging his arm loosely around my shoulders and guiding me closer to him.

"Don't I always?" I ask, looking up at him with a half smile.

"Nope," he says shaking his head and winking playfully.

"I'm so glad you could make it," Victoria Hughes exclaims cheerfully when we make it to the table, her accent immediately causing a groan to surface.

I press my lips together, forming a line. She's Australian, and we all know what guys here think of girls with accents.

I run my eyes over her, biting my tongue. Her being gorgeous doesn't really help her case in the slightest. Her long, curly brunette hair reaches just below her bust (though I must say, is definitely bigger than mine) with light, almost caramel shaded highlights.

I continue to study her features, something I succumb to do every time I set eyes on her. She has sparkling hazel eyes with long eyelashes that flicker as she blinks from excitement. Her lips are even perfectly shaped and soft looking, seeming to match her high cheekbones immensely. Her olive colored complexion is smooth and flawless, not even a blemish or speck can be seen.

"We've been waiting here for ages, it seems," she says laughing lightly, that accent now fully annoying me.

"Sorry," Jeremiah starts to explain, rubbing the back of his neck. "We couldn't find a place to park."

"It's cool," Gabe finally speaks, standing up. He nudges Victoria. "We weren't waiting that long." His eyes fall to me and he smiles briefly before casting his gaze to the ground.

"How's it going, bro?" Jeremiah asks, punching Gabe lightly in the arm.

Victoria grabs my hand, pulling me towards her before I have the chance to listen in on their conversation. "You look so pretty," she says, reaching out to run her fingers through my straightened hair.