Isabelle was a small town's pride and joy, living a life sheltered by popularity. She never knew what it was like to face the wrath that came with small town rumours. That was until someone walked into her life and turned it upside down.
I was ready in no time, with my hair slightly curled and wearing my skin-tight palm tree jumpsuit that stuck to me like a second skin. I tied up my red sandal heels that I knew I was bound to regret later, and was about to finish my makeup when Mum knocked on my door.
"Come in." I yelled, knowing that by the time she entered I would have finished my makeup.
I exited the bathroom to pack my small purse, making sure to put the room key card in there.
"Wow, you look breath-taking sweetie!"
"Aww thanks Mum!" I replied, slightly blushing.
She demanded that had to take a few photos of me before allowing us to leave for dinner. I was surprised to find that everyone was waiting outside the door for me as soon as Mum decided that she had fianlly captured enough photos.
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Dinner was filled with everyone catching up on what they had done throughout the day. Mum and Will had spent the day exploring the hotel and finding things to do while we were here, obviously trying to pack as much in as possible. Alec and James had met a bunch of Americans, obviously one including Kate, and had pretty much spent the entire day with them.
"We were actually thinking of hanging out with them this evening, if that's okay?" James asked, after telling Mum and Will that they were throwing a party.
"Of course!" Mum replied instantly, turning to me she added, "Why don't you go with the boys as well and make some friends?"
"Oh, it's okay, I'm still tired from the jet lag so I'm thinking of getting an early night." I lied, desperately wanting to avoid running into Kate again.
James and Alec left soon after, followed by Mum and Will who went to the bar to get a few drinks. I decided to make my way back to the beach, not wanting to spend my night locked in a hotel room.
I was sat with my legs slightly bent on the sand due to my jumpsuit making it pretty difficult to sit comfortably. It felt like I had been sat outside for hours, and I'm pretty sure my once curly hair was now flat from the wind constantly blowing it off my face.
"Is this seat taking?" A gentle voice woke me up from my daze.
I looked up to see a very tall blonde guy blocking my view. He was pointing to the sand next to me, before siting down without waiting for a reply.
"So, I was told there was a beautiful woman alone at the beach..." He roamed his hand through his sandy hair that somehow remained slightly styled.
Assuming he was talking about Kate I answered, "She's probably at that party that's happening, I haven't seen her around here yet."
The stranger let out a deep chuckle, "I was talking about you."
I could feel my cheeks slightly heat up, "Oh."
"The name is Shawn if you were interested." He smiled, obviously trying to save my awkward moment.
"Isabelle."
Turns out Shawn and I had a lot in common, we talked for what felt like hours at the beach getting to know each other. I had laughed non-stop after our slightly awkward introduction, and before I knew it we were arguing on what was the best type of pizza as if we had known each other for ages.
A large group of people who were giggling and shouting as they walked across the beach towards us, managed to disturb our conversation. As they neared I could make out James and Alec in the centre of the group.
I heard Shawn mutter, "For god-sake!" before he turned to face me and attempted to continue the conversation.
"SHAWN!" A guy shouted.
"SHAWWWWN MY MAN." The guy was evidently drunk as slurred over his words.
"Come join the party man!" Another guy added.
Shawn smiled at me before replying, "I'm good man, you guys go on ahead."
James and Alec looked over at the commotion that had seemed to grab nearly the entire group's attention, and noticed me sat next to Shawn.
"Isabelle, what are you doing?" Alec was the one to ask me.
"Just hanging out with Shawn, go enjoy your party." I shrugged brushing them both off before standing up, offering my hand to Shawn and asked, "Fancy going for a walk?"
Shawn was quick to slip his hand into mine, turning his head slightly and shouted, "See you later guys."
As soon as we were far enough away from the group I stopped walking, slipping off my heels that were making it next to impossible to walk on the sand.
"So, I guess you came with that group?" I asked Shawn who had been surprisingly quiet since we left.
"No, I met them here. I have hung out with them a few times though."
He shrugged before adding, "Plus, do I sound American to you?" in a fake American accent.
I laughed at how much he actually sounded like them, "That's a very good point!"
"So how come you didn't go with them?"
He looked down at me, seeing as I was so much shorter than him, "And miss out on an opportunity to go for a walk with the most beautiful person here? I'd have to be an idiot to pass up on that for a party!"
"You must not have met Kate then." I murmured.
"She is pretty, but you're something else Belle." He replied, even though I was sure I spoke so quietly that he shouldn't have been able to hear me.
After our evening spent together I practically spent the first entire week with Shawn. I had hardly spent any time with the others, especially James and Alec. Shawn had made it his mission to teach me how to surf, which I can categorically say I was abysmal at. Every evening we would go down to the beach and watch the sunset together. Spending time with Shawn had slowly stopped me thinking about James and wondering what was happening between him and Kate.
We were sat next to each other gazing out at sea, the sky turning a tinge of pink as the sun attempted to peak between the clouds as it neared the horizon.
"It's so beautiful." I smiled, capturing the moment in front of me.
I turned to Shawn, who was already looking down at me.
"Beautiful." He agreed.
He began to lean in towards me, placing his hand on my cheek. My stomach began to turn in nervousness. I leaned forward anticipating what was about to happen. His lips gently pressed against mine. As I closed my eyes I couldn't help but picture someone else. I pulled back a lot quicker than I think Shawn wanted, having a guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Shawn was smiling down at me, but I struggled to look into his eyes after what just happened.
