Be Your Everything

f i f t y

"What's on the agenda for today?" Jaclyn asks Jo, who smiles and shrugs.

"Nothing really, I think we're just going to take today to chill and catch up on sleep." Jo looks over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, which says that it's eight in the morning here. "Just make sure you're ready to head to dinner around six. Other than that, y'all have my number if you need me."

She walks outside, leaving everyone else to figure out how to pass the time. I follow her out on the porch and stand at the stairs to take in the rhythmic way that the waves crash along the shore.

"You looks stressed," Jo mutters, her own features consumed with worry.

"You would know," I half-smile at her. If she thinks I look stressed, she should look in a mirror. "Is it having to be responsible for everyone?"

"The guys are a handful, but they're the least of my worries." She looks inside at everyone and then back at me. "I've had a lot on my mind these days. Don't worry, it's not Luke either. I'm just... I might get a promotion."

"That's great though!" I tell her excitedly. "What would you be doing?"

"I'd be taking over Little Mix's team," she tells me. She doesn't look nearly as excited as I thought she'd be about this.

"Jo, that's epic! Why is that stressing you out?"

"Well for one thing, I'd be moving to London." Her face drops a little, even though I know that's not the real reason she's hesitant about the promotion.

"You love London though," I argue, and she shrugs, her mind clearly somewhere else.

"I'll miss you and Jaclyn and everyone else," she admits with her eyes in the water. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk and try and clear my head."

"Lennie?" Luke pokes his head out the door and looks at me uncertainly. "Do you want to go out in the water for a bit?"

"Okay," I say for lack of another answer. I turn back to Jo and tell her to enjoy her walk before heading back inside with Luke to change.

"You guys want to come knock the ball around?" Brian asks with a soccer ball in his hands. He looks so much like Luke that he could easily be mistaken for his older brother.

"We'll be out in a few," Luke tells him just as Calum and Derek come from the kitchen area. Derek smiles at his friends with his arm hooked around Calum's neck, but Calum just looks annoyed the moment he sees me.

I don't understand him. A couple hours ago, he was telling me that he misses me and now he acts like he has no interest in being around me.

Luke takes my hand and leads me back into the room before shutting the door behind us. He grabs a beer bottle from inside the fridge that I guess I didn't notice was there when we first arrived.

"Want one?" He asks, gesturing with the glass bottle in his hand. My first instinct is to point out that it's not even noon yet, so it's a little early to be drinking. On the other hand, I could really use a drink now that I know Heather is here.

"Please," I nod and Luke smiles as he pulls another bottle of beer out of bedside table, which turns out to be a cooler inside. He pops the top off and hands the beer to me with that same pleased smile on his face as he watches me drink half the bottle in one sitting.

"You're already in vacation mode," he says with a chuckle. "But you still aren't relaxing."

"I'm relaxed," I say unconvincingly.