Second Chances

Chapter 6

"Jasper!"

I knock on his bedroom door. No response.

"Jasper!" I knock again. Silence.

"Okay if you won't answer me, that's fine, but I want to talk." I say. "Look, I'm sorry that we argued, it got a bit out of hand. There are clearly still issues going on but can we at least try to not kill each other? We've only been here a day, not even, and this has happened already. Let's just talk about this."

There's a moment of silence, then Jasper opens his door. It keeps taking me by surprise, how much taller than me he is.

He gestures for me to enter the room, not saying anything. I step inside.

This room must be the room he always takes when he comes here with his family, because it looks lived in. But it also looks like a boy's room. Clothes on the floor, bed sheets all over the place. Maybe it's just because he was unpacking, but I get the feeling that his room always looks like this. I don't really remember details like that about him.

"Sit down, if you want." He says, indicating towards his bed. I sit down and he sits next to me.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted." He says. "I'm sorry if I offended you or upset you in any way, that's not what I wanted to do at all."

"That's fine." I tell him quickly. "And I'm also sorry. I haven't really been thinking about how my presence might affect you and your trip, I've more been focussing on myself."

"Don't worry about it, we've both been a bit self-centered in the past when we're around each other."

"I guess." I say carefully. Don't bring up the past. Don't bring up the past. Shit, I don't want to talk about anything from the past.

And he doesn't. I think he can see the expression on my face and he knows that he probably shouldn't say anything else. He changes the subject.

"Well, do you wanna go in the pool then?"

I smile. "Yeah sure."

"Okay, get changed, I'll meet you down there in a few minutes."

I stand up and walk towards the door. "Thanks."

"Oh, and Katie?" He calls as I walk out.

"Yep?" I turn back around to face him.

"Worse people could have come on this trip with me; you're not that bad."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I turn away and walk to the opposite side of the corridor to my room, not replying. I close the door behind me to get changed.

I go to my cupboard and take out my bikini, because I don't really have any one pieces. My bikini is dark blue with white spots. I put it on and tie up my hair in a loose bun.

I duck into the bathroom at the end of the corridor and grab a towel. As I leave the bathroom Jasper walks out of his room, wearing swimming shorts and no shirt.

"Shit." He says, looking at me.

"What?" I say, slightly defensively.

"Haven't seen you in a bikini in ages. Forgot what it's like."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He walks past me and into the bathroom. He comes out a few seconds later with a towel over his shoulder. He speaks quietly in my ear as he walks past me.

"You're hot in a bikini."

He grins at me as he walks away and downstairs. Cocky asshole. But as I follow him down to the pool, I can't help but smile a little.