Letterman Jacket

37.4 / six days before

in the characters page of my blog, nico's picture there is exactly what he looks like here while playing volleyball :)

*

"Okay, room keys!" Sutton yelled, and the rest of the seniors huddled in the lounge of the beach house. I settled on the couch next to my friends with my suitcase planted between my knees. The sun was already scorching hot, so I took off the jacket and laid it on my lap. Faust had smiled at me earlier as we were getting off the bus.

Using Nico's chest as my pillow, I had been able to catch up on sleep during the three-hour drive. JJ had teased Nico all the way during the walk towards the house with pictures of us: the rim of Nico's cap had covered his face as he slept, and his arms had been loosely wrapped around my body. One earphone had been plugged in his ear, and the other in mine. Nico had smacked him behind the head before asking for a copy.

The student council president read the room assignments from her clipboard while handing out the keys. Some groaned in distaste, and some let out loud cheers as they hurried up the staircase. Sutton gave the second to the last key to Faust, and she held up ours in her hand.

Paula shot me a wink with an excited grin, and we stood up to follow the guys. Our shoes created squeaky sounds against the stairs as we climbed towards the second floor whilst carrying our bags with us.

The ceiling fan was the only source of air in the living room, so I almost sighed in relief when we turned to the right hallway—for the girls—and found an air conditioning unit inside our room at the very end of the hall.

Inside, Paula called dibs on the bottom bunk of the double deck bed that was pushed on one side of the small room. I placed my suitcase down near the foot of the double bed that laid flat against the other wall and sat on the covers. There were no curtains at the dormer windows, but they were raised in an attempt to let non-existent air in and bright sunshine to pass through the screens. A big, old pine dresser stood next to a full-length mirror near another narrow door. I pointed at the door, arching my eyebrow at Sutton as she struggled to climb the wooden ladder to the top bunk.

"Private bathroom," she answered in explanation, and I cheered internally. "Another perk. There is no way I'm going to be fighting for the showers in the communal one."

"Good call." Paula took off her jacket and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's hot in here."

Sutton bounced on the mattress of her bed. "We'll turn on the air conditioning later, but we're going to the beach after lunch. And good news, Thea. The room at the very end of the left hallway is Nico's, which means if you go left outside, they'll be right next to us. They have a private bathroom, too."

At that exact moment, Nico opened the door and crashed right next to me on his stomach. He groaned. "I'm going to bed with your brother."

I laughed. "What?"

"I forgot to mention the disadvantage," Sutton continued, twirling a lock of her blonde hair around her finger as she looked down at us. "Their room's the same as ours. Identically the same. So two of them have to share the double bed."

Paula snickered. Nico gave me a flat look with one side of his face pressed against the pillow, and I concealed my smile with a bite of my lip and leaned over to pinch his cheek. "Aw, you big baby. It's only three nights. I have to warn you though, Theo likes to cuddle."

Nico pounced on me while I clutched my stomach in hysterical laughter. "You're evil."

"And you're cute when you're trying to be angry."

He wrinkled his nose as he hovered above me. "Cute? I'm not cute."

"You are. Now get out. I'm gonna change."