When I wake up the next morning, I pull on the red swimsuit under a yellow sundress, knowing we'd be spending the day at the pool, enjoying our last day in the heat.
The others are already up and about, some eating breakfast while others already sunbathing. I pour myself a cup of coffee and slid into a stool next to Landon, whose eyes warm up the instant he sees me. I hide my smile behind my cup and take a sip.
Stella, who's munching on a slice of watermelon across the table from me, is eyeing us knowingly. I ignore her, but know she can detect the small smile playing on my lips. She wipes her fingers on a napkin and heads outside, leaving us alone.
"Morning," his low voice fills my ears.
"Morning," I turn to look at him, and he places a small kiss on my lips. I can't help but smile, my stomach doing crazy flips. When did he start having such an effect on me?
We join the others by the pool soon after, and I don't miss the hungry glance Landon sends my way when I reveal the red swimsuit. Satisfied, I plop down on my stomach on a lounge chair next to Miranda. She's sitting under an umbrella, wearing a white cover up over her one-piece. Her pale skin is quite sensitive to the sun, and I know she almost burned yesterday.
"So, gathering from the googly eyes you two keep sending each other, I take it the date went well?"
I nod, biting my lip. "Better than well."
She lowers her sunglasses and looks me over. "You're really giving him a chance? A real chance?"
"I am," I smile.
"Well, color me surprised," she grins and I thrust out my tongue in response. "You're so childish," she laughs, shaking her head.
"I know," I grin. "You're not the first to say that."
"Nor the last, I'm sure."
I shrug, closing my eyes and enjoying the sun warming my back.
Our flight leaves at eleven in the evening, so we're all packed and ready to leave the villa by eight. We drive to the airport and return the rentals, then go check our luggage. The time in the airport goes by quickly and soon we're sitting in a plane, heading to Fort Lauderdale for our layover.
Our second flight leaves two hours after we've landed on the airport and we all sleep on the plane, as it's the middle of the night. It's morning when we finally land on the Philadelphia International Airport. We get our luggage and Stella, Riley, and Mike share a cab while the rest of us divide into two, heading to the same neighborhood but not fitting in a single cab.
The drive takes twenty minutes and then we're home. I drag my luggage to the laundry room and dump all the clothes in it to a washing machine, turning it on. I return the rest of my belonging to their rightful places and then head to the kitchen for a large cup of coffee. I didn't sleep particularly well on the plane, so I'm quite tired but don't want to take a nap and mess up my rhythm. Thankfully it's only one hour earlier here than it was in Barbados, so we don't have to deal with jet lag.
"So," Nate pulls Landon behind him and makes him sit next to me, "now that you're dating, let's set some ground rules."
Landon and I exchange a look.
YOU ARE READING
Hooked Up
RomanceAvery Alderidge has it all: a sweet boyfriend, tons of great friends, a loving family. She's fierce and popular, and has just started at her first-choice college near home. But then tragedy strikes and her world falls apart. A year later and still...
