The plan

Chapter 23- Pool Party

I grab the phone out of her hands, and gasp at the sighting.
"What the hell?!" I yell.
I look at the picture of Claire and my ex boyfriend, Ryder. In the picture, they're kissing each other.
I look at the caption and read it out loud,
"I love him so much."

"Are you okay?" Anna asks.
"I don't know." I say.
Chase and Ryan pat my back, and Anna looks at me with sad eyes.
"Maybe he's changed?" Chase says.
"People like him don't change." I say quietly.
"Don't worry, you probably won't even see him." Ryan says.
"Yeah. I mean you guys haven't seen Claire in forever, so why would you all of a sudden see her and Ryder?" Anna asks.
I nod, "You're right."
"Do you want us to stay here tonight?" Chase asks.
I nod, and they all say 'okay' in a hushed tone.

Later in the night, Chase orders us Chinese food and we all sit together at the table and wait for the food to get here.
"So, how are you and Justin?" I ask Ryan.
He nods, "We're good. I feel like I can be myself around him." He says while smiling.
"That's good." Anna says.
"So, how are you and Jace?" Ryan asks me.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"How do you feel about him?"
"We're fake dating, I don't feel anything." I say.
"Oh please, I see the way you look at him. You like him." Ryan says.
I feel my face burning up, and my phone starts ringing.
"Be right back." I say.
I get up and go in the other room.
I look at who's calling, and it's Jace.

"Hello?" I say.
"Hey." A voice says.
A voice that doesn't belong to Jace.
"Um, hey Ashley. Why are you calling me from Jace's phone?" I ask.
"He wanted me to tell you that you don't need to come to work tomorrow." She says.
"And why couldn't he tell me that himself?" I ask.
"He's laying in bed right now, he's sick. I'm taking care of him."
"Okay." I say before hanging up.

I don't like Jace.
I don't like Jace.
I Do Not like Jace.
I keep repeating that to myself, and go back to my friends.
They're all sitting on the couch with the Chinese food, and I join them.
"Who called?" Ryan asks.
"Ashley." I say.
They all stop eating, and look at me.
"Why?" Anna asks.
"To tell me that Jace is sick, and I don't need to show up to work." I say.
They all keep looking at me, and I sigh.
"Guys, it's okay. Ashley and Jace can hang out all they want. I don't like Jace, and we're only fake dating for the public. It's all fake." I say.
They all nod, and slowly look away.
We watch tv and eat in silence.
____________________________________
A few days have passed, and Jace is no longer sick.
Tomorrow is Jace's party, and my friends are all excited about going.

"Do you like this one?" Anna ask while holding up a swimsuit.
"Yeah." I say.
"Have you found one you like yet?" She asks.
"I found a couple."
"Okay, lets go try them on." She says.
"I'll meet you there in a second, I wanna find some more." I say while looking through the racks of swimsuits.
She nods, and goes to the changing room.

I grab more swimsuits, and walk to the changing rooms. I glance out the store window, and see someone staring at me.
I look closer and see Ryder and Claire.
Ryder smirks at me, and does that nod all boys do.
My eyes widen, and I quickly hurry to meet up with Anna.

I knock on all of the dressing room doors, until I hear Anna's voice.
She opens the door and lets me in.
"You okay?" She asks.
"Ryder is here, and he's with Claire." I say.
"Did he see you?"
"Yes."
She sighs, "Don't worry. He wouldn't do anything to you in public."
"Yeah. Yeah you're right." I say while nodding.
I walk out and go try on the swimsuits.
I end up buying a black bikini with cutouts on the side.
____________________________________

"Should I wear makeup?" Anna asks while we get ready.
"Are you going to swim?"
"I might...I'll just wear waterproof mascara." She says.
I put on my coverup over my bikini, and put my hair in a messy bun.
I hear the front door open, and I poke my head out and see Chase and Ryan.
"Are you guys ready?" Chase asks.
"Yeah." We both say at the same time.

We all get into Chase's car, and drive to Jace's house.

"I can already hear the music." Anna says while we drive towards Jace's house.
"Dang, it's crowded." Ryan says.
We get out of the car, and walk in.
Everyone is either drinking, dancing or swimming in the pool.
"I see Justin." Ryan says while walking towards him.
"Bye!" We yell to him.
"So-" I start saying, but I stop.
"Where did Chase go?" I ask.
Anna points to Chase dancing with some girl.
"Is Matt here?" I ask Anna.
"He won't be coming till later; he has to work." She says.
I nod, "Let's go get some drinks."

Later that night, Me, Chase, Anna, Ryan and Justin are all dancing together.
"I see Matt!" I yell to Anna.
She looks at where I'm pointing, and she waves to him.
He smiles at her, and walks over to us.
"Hey guys." He says while smiling at Anna.

We're all dancing, when I feel a pair of arms grab my waist. The person spins me around, and I smile.

"Hi Jace!" I yell over the music.
"Hey. I've been looking for you." He says.
"I haven't been looking for you." I tease.
"Feisty." He says while laughing.
I smile at him, and in the corner of my eye I see cameras flashing.
"The paparazzi is here?" I ask.
"Yeah, they come to my parties for pictures."

Jace smiles at me, and I smile back.
I look behind Jace, and see Ryan giving me a thumbs up.
I laugh and roll my eyes.
Jace and I start talking and dancing together.
This is the first night we've actually talked to each other without getting interrupted by Ashley.

Speaking of Ashley, where is she?
Shouldn't she have taken Jace from me by now?

I stop thinking about that, and focus on Jace.
"Are you wearing makeup?" He asks me.
"No, why?" I ask.
"You look beautiful." He says.
I can feel my cheeks burning up, and I look away.
"Seriously, we're dancing and sweating and you still manage to look perfect." He says.

He starts leaning in, and I also start leaning in.
I look behind Jace and see Ashley walking up to us.

There is no way I'm letting her ruin this,
I think to myself.

I get Ryan's attention, and gesture to Ashley.
He looks at her and yells to me, "I got you girl!"

Ashley is about to approach Jace and I, but Ryan shoves her in the pool.

Our lips finally touch, and I put my arms around his neck and he puts his hands on my waist.
The paparazzi is going crazy and taking pictures of us.

We pull away from each other, and I look at Ryan and give him a thumbs up.

A/N: I want a friend like Ryan😂💓

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