Undaunted

Chapter 19: You've Already Won

Later that night we went back to the hotel and all of us had dinner together in my room, including Katrina and Jenix, since Ace insisted that they stay. He even picked up Katrina and ran with her bridal style to the hotel, much to her dismay. Antheia, Tempest, and Ryder made dinner, Tempest insisting that we couldn't eat Ezra's snacks for dinner too, and I was surprised that Ryder could cook. Then again, Ryder was always expected to be perfect at everything he ever tried. Antheia and Ryder ended up making pizza and there were toppings set out to choose from for us in little bowls. Meanwhile, Tempest made a special type of angel food cake with strawberries and the option of either whip cream or cool whip. Needless to say, the food wasn't very healthy, but none of us seemed to mind too much.

Meanwhile, today is our official first full day of being here, but it's technically our second day here. Today I chose to wear a white, ruffly tank top with thin straps and a pair of tan shorts, along with my necklace. I grin as I stare out the window and look outside at the ongoing cars and the birds that occasionally fly by. A few moments later Ryder, wearing a dark-grey, v-neck, t-shirt with black shorts comes in the room and chuckles when he sees me staring out the window intently.

"What?" I ask and whirl around.

"You," Ryder chuckles again.

"What about me?"

"You really love this place, huh?"

"Well, yeah," I nod and a smile forms on my face, "It's just so beautiful!"

"Come on," He says and motions for me to come over, "Tempest, Ezra, Solstice, Antheia, Flinn, Spade, and me are going to go down to the boardwalk. We want you to come with us."

"The boardwalk?" My eyes widen with excitement, "Sure! What about Ace, though?"

"He somehow managed to score a date with Katrina," Ryder shrugs, "Not my business, though."

"Okay," I nod and walk over to him, "Let's go then."

As I walk past him and out of the room he chuckles once more and I glance over my shoulder at him.

"What?" I ask.

"So, you're finally done dragging me around, huh?" He smirks.

"Why?" I raise a brow at him, "Do you miss me holding onto you?"

"No," He scoffs and glances away.

I laugh and grab ahold of his hand, causing him to look up at me with surprised eyes, and I drag him out of the hotel room. Once we reach the outside of the hotel we find the others waiting for us, and Tempest raises a brow at the two of us.

"What took you so long?" She asks.

"Was it really that long?" Ryder asks, surprised.

"Don't mind Tempest," Solstice says quietly, "She's just teasing you."

"She does have a point though," Ezra adds.

"Oh, just let them be," Antheia sighs as she stands next to Spade and leans against him, their hands intertwined.

"Cute," I chuckle and Antheia blushes while Spade smirks.

"Gross..." Flinn mutters and crosses his arms, "Let's just go to the boardwalk already."

And so, we all head down to the boardwalk, which is just down from the hotel. My eyes fill with excitement as I look around the boardwalk while we walk down the street, which has several street vendors and several rides, as well as hanging lights that are strung all over the place.

"Wow," I gasp.

"Haven't you ever been to a boardwalk before?" Ryder asks and raises a brow at me.