In Another Life

45

 I glanced at Denise, seeing her smirk at me before she waggled her fingers at me. Bitch! I glared back at her, for a second but didn't want to draw attention so I looked back to Colby and gave him a small smile. He grinned back. "It's okay Princess, I don't bite." Those words put images into my head at that moment that I could NOT think about. Asshole knew what he was doing to me. Well, fuck this shy girl shit. I was tired of it. If he was going to play, then so was I. My mind drifted back to all of the posts that he made on Instagram, the model shots, shirtless, sticking his tongue out, flicking it in videos. He wasn't dumb. He knew what he did to the fandom. I remembered jokingly calling him an asshole with my friends, saying that he did it on purpose, then would sit back and read all the thirst tweets and watch the fandom go stupid over him. He enjoyed it. I wasn't that brave, and I didn't have a lot of confidence for sure, but I had seen the way he looked at me. Several times. So I knew that I had some kind of affect on him. I held his gaze as I waded through the short patch of water to sit next to him. "I would't be so sure about him not biting T! That's not what I've heard!" Brennen yelled out over the music, just as I turned to sit. "Shut it Bren," Colby said harshly, glaring at his friend. What the fuck was that about?" Brennen shrugged and went back to making out with Sarah. Yep, her in his lap, facing him, just making out. Okay, not like I didn't expect her to get her way with him, but still. Right out here in front of everyone. I guess they weren't really doing anything but kissing but watching them be so heavy with it made me uncomfortable. The hot water splashed around me a little as I shifted, accidentally brushing up against Colby as I did. His had caught my arm, steadying me. I automatically looked up, catching his gaze. "You good? I'm sorry I teased you. I wish you weren't so nervous around me is all," he said quietly, watching me with those intense ass eyes. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry, making it feel like my throat was made of sand paper. "I'm not," I squeaked. He didn't reply but the look he gave me let me know that he knew I was full of shit. "Just relax okay. I'm not as intimidating as you think I am. Just have fun. You relaxed in the hotel room with everyone, so do it here. Think you can?" His voice was gently, caressing me, his warm breath near my face. I nodded slightly, and took a deep breath to settle myself. I could do this. He was just a guy. They were just people. "Yeah, I'm okay. This just weirds me out. Doesn't really seem real, ya know?" He nodded his head. "It still seems unreal to me too, at times and this is my life. Wouldn't be able to live it without you guys though, the fans, so thank you." There he goes again with the fan thing. I smiled, not really feeling it, and nodded. "Of course. I'll always support you guys." he grinned back then nodded towards Sarah and Brennen, who had finally stopped, even tho she was still on his lap, just sitting front ways now. "Looks like they hit it off well," he said. I giggled a little, watching Sarah ruffle Brennen's hair like she had known him forever. "Yeah, they did. She's always had a thing for Brennen so this is probably her dream come true," I replied. "Yeah?" he asked, looking back at me, his eyes soft in the pale fairy lights above our heads. There was no sun now, just the lights above us illuminating the water around us, leaving us in a light wash of blue tint. "And what's your dream come true Terra?" he asked softly, leaning just a touch closer to me, so that his arm stayed against mine. "Well, I could tell you but it might scare you off," I joked nervously, trying to stop myself from saying it at the same time it was coming out of my mouth. "Is that right? I'm not scared of much though." I cocked my eyebrow at him and let out a short laugh. "You know I watch your videos right? You're scared of plenty. OH, there's a bee!" I shrieked, pointing in between him and Sam. "Eih eih where?!" Colby yelped, swatting at the air, as Sam dunked himself under the water, flailing his hands like the bee was right next to him. "Oh nowhere, just making a point," I said smugly, smirking at him. He looked at me in disbelief as Sam came up from the water, choking a little. "Is it gone? Is the bee gone?" he asked, wiping water from his eyes. "There was no bee brother. Terra pranked us." My eyes went wide. "NO! No, I didn't. Wasn't a prank. I was proving a point! Colby said he wasn't scared of anything, and I proved that he was. It was NOT a prank. DO you hear me?" They both grinned at me mischievously. "Yeah, we hear you," Sam replied. "But I still just swallowed a lung full of nasty Brennen make out water. So, ya know." He swiveled his hand in the air, and grinned. "Hey my make out water is worth thousands. Count yourself lucky!" Brennen chimed in, laughing. "You wish," Colby retorted, grinning at his friend. "I'm booking a flight home tonight," I groaned, laying my head back against the concrete. "Why? Scared of a little prank Princess?" I raised my head and looked at him, grinning down at me. "Why do you call me that?" I asked, letting my first thoughts tumble out of my mouth. His face creased in thought for a moment, and he shrugged. "Because you remind me of a princess, locked in a tower, aching to get out and experience the real world." I could feel the shock on my face, and knew that it probably mirrored his. I don't think that he meant to say that and I certainly didn't expect to hear it. But I did.