Faking Love {t.h}

Nine: Lets Snorkel, Taylors

I woke up the next morning stiff as a board. Although I put a heaping amount of sunscreen on, Hawaii's sun was no joke. I was burnt to a crisp. Luckily, Curtis came prepared with Aloe Vera and it was currently my best friend on this early morning.

The shower was excruciatingly painful, as stings and burning sensations penetrate my arms, shoulders, and back. Each movement under the chilling water, was followed by my pain filled groans.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I mumble harshly as the water hits my back. I suddenly hear a knock on the bathroom door. "Yes?" I ask while poking my head out from behind the curtain to hear better.

"Are you okay?" I hear a familiar British voice from the other side of the wooden door.

I chuckle at myself, embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just sunburnt. It hurts."

I hear a soft chuckle come from the brown hair boy. "Okay."

A few minutes later, I turn the shower off and carefully exit, pat drying myself and gently sliding my all black bathing suit on. I pull on jean shorts and a black and white striped tank top to cover up the rest of my body.

I leave the bathroom and enter the main space of the hotel room. I'm instantly greeted with the smell of breakfast again. I smile at the wonderful aroma of bacon, pancakes, and eggs. Curtis is no where in sight but Tom sits silently on the couch with a plate full of pancakes, watching a random channel on the TV screen. His dark gray swim trunks are noticeable as he take a sip of his milk.

"What are we doing today?" I asked while sliding a pancake onto my plate, along with a few pieces of bacon.

I sit down across from Tom on my personal favorite chair in the room. He take another bite of his pancakes with a shrug. I sigh and indulge in my pancakes and bacon.

It was a quiet morning, with the only sound of the TV playing softly. There was still no sign of where Curtis had went, although Tom had mentioned he was out running errands.

I was currently scrolling through Instagram and reading comments from my most recent post. They were all from people I hadn't heard of before, asking questions about Tom and I's relationship.

Ever sense Tom announced our 'relationship' on the Ellen Show, my Instagram followers grown tremendously. People I haven't heard of following me, tagging me, and commenting on pictures of me and Tom. It was a recognition I never had before. Some comments were very sweet and uplifting. Most of those including praise of appearance, 'You look so pretty!' or 'Tom is so lucky to have you!' Others not so nice. They were phrases I was never used to. I was never bullied in my life. I had lots of friends at school and back when I was in high school. So, to say receiving comments like 'You're ugly." or 'You aren't worthy enough to date someone like Tom." was easy would be lying. It was very hard but something Mabel told me I needed to ignore.

As I was messing with my phone, my shoulders started to burn again. I groan and get up, receiving a confused look from Tom on the couch. I grab the green bottle of Aloe Vera Gel from the counter and brought it back to the chair.

Tom watched me intently as I applied the gel onto my shoulders and arms. He chuckles. "How did you manage to burn already?" His British accent radiating with amusement.

I roll my eyes as I attempt to reach the lower part of shoulders. "Ugh, I don't know." I mumble in frustration.

"Do you need help?" He asks with a hint of annoyance.

"Not if you gonna be rude about it."

He rolls his eyes and grabs the gel from my hands. He slips his gel covered hand inside the tank top I was wearing to rub the burnt skin underneath.