Make My Way

Chapter Twenty-Three

Aria's POV

I woke up in Blake's arms. I wiggled my way out and threw my own clothes from yesterday on. I glanced at the clock on my way up. It was 11:00. I wandered into the living room and found Willow sitting on the couch alone. "Hey. I think everyone else who's awake is out by the pool," she said.

"Okay. You want something to drink?"

"Water'd be great," she replied

I got out two glasses and poured some water into them. I took the glasses to the living room. I handed her one and plopped down next to her, tucking my legs up under me, Indian style. "Soooooooooo...." I said, prodding her for details.

"So what?" she asked, pretending to be clueless.

"So last night," I said.

"What about it?" She was so stubborn sometimes.

"You know what I'm asking. It wasn't exactly silence coming from your room last night."

"I could say the same about yours," she backfired.

"Okay, okay. You first though."

"Fine. We didn't go all the way though," she said, reassuring me.

"Third?" I asked.

"Yeah...."

I high-fived her. "Same." We sat in silence for a few minutes. We were both lost in our thoughts. "So are you two a thing now?"

"I don't know. I guess, I hope so," she said, unsure of herself.

"I can see it. Is he still sleeping?"

"Yeah, and Blake?"

"Mhm," I nodded. "You want to go outside?" I asked her.

"Not really...."

"That's okay. I'll stay here with you."

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We sat and talked for around half an hour before Blake walked up the stairs. "Hey," he said groggily.

"Hey, sleepyhead," I said, teasing him a little. He came over to the couch and sat on top of me. I squealed in surprise and pushed him off.

I heard a tired groan from the bedroom. Liam emerged. He slowly dragged his feet across the floor and collapsed onto he couch across from us. I laughed and teased, "Didn't get much sleep last night, huh?"

"Shut up," he grumbled.

After the four of us were done teasing each other, we decided to go out to the pool. I led the way, dragging Blake with me.

We opened the glass French doors and walked out onto the porch, holding hands. I glanced back and saw Liam and Willow behind us doing the same. The others, who were already out, let out a chorus of oo's and ah's and whistles rose up around the pool below us. We walked down the stairs and sat down on one of the cute little benches surrounding Stella's pool.

"Did you get home?!" Adrian's voice called from in the pool.

Blake and I laughed and I yelled "Nope." Willow and Liam, on the other hand, just stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say when Adrian and Easton turned to them. I decided to speak for them. "They didn't either."

Adrian sighed in disappointment, "Aw."

I shook my head at him. I saw that most of the girls were already wearing swimsuits. "Hey Willow, let's go find some swimsuits."

She nodded and followed me back inside. We went up to Stella's room and I opened her swimsuit drawer. It was mostly bikinis but there were a few old one pieces. Willow tried to make me let her wear a one piece but I refused. After some difficulty, I convinced her to wear a simple black bikini with an extra layer of lace like a crop top. I grabbed a color block bikini of Stella's that I'd worn before and knew it fit. We changed and grabbed towels from the hallway closet.

We went back out to the pool and I saw Blake and Liam off to the side, talking together. As we went down the steps, they turned to look at us. Liam's mouth slipped open slightly and Blake stood up. He walked over to me and picked me up, he's soft hands touching my bare natural waist. I laughed softly as he set me down and kissed my forehead.

We turned back to Liam and Willow who were now sitting next to each other. He whispered something in her ear and she blushed and smiled. She said something back.

Blake and I sat down for a while and talked casually about random things. I saw Aurora get in the pool out of the corner of my eye. The water rippled in front of us. A split second later, a very wet Aura jumped up out of the pool and squished in between us, getting both of us wet. I laughed and pushed her back in. She swam across the pool and stuck her tongue out at me.

Blake looked at me and smiled that sly smile he did whenever he had a plan. I rose my eyebrows in suspicion. He picked me up and swiftly threw me right into the pool. I took a quick breath before I hit the water hard. When I came to the surface, I pushed my hair out of my face and turned around in time to see Blake pulling off his shirt. He took a few steps back and started running. I cringed as he jumped right over me and into the water behind me, causing a huge wave to come over me.

He came up from the water and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. I walked quietly with some effort through the water to him and jumped on his back. Instinctively, he turned his head to see who had attacked him. When he saw my face, he smiled and yelled, "Hang on!"

He grabbed my legs and dove underwater. He let go and I used my legs to hold on as he pulled us through the water. He came up for air and I jumped off. Both laughing, we clambered out of the pool. Most of the others were looking at us and laughing, a few were making heart shaped with their hands. I squinted my eyes and stuck my tongue at them before turning to Blake and pressing my lips to his, as if to prove a point.

Everyone seemed to have the same idea at the same time. We all turned to Willow and Liam, expectantly. They stared back with confused, blank looks on their faces, but we all knew they wouldn't have a problem kissing.