Harper Jonas has always been close with her cousins the Jonas Brothers. However, she's always gotten along with Nick the best, because they are closest in age, not counting Frankie because Harper and Frankie rarely spend time together. Now, Harper i...
Laine and Luke sing Flame beautifully, and throughout the whole song Laine looks at me like I'm the only person in the world that he's singing to. I can't help but blush, and when Nick sees this, he starts laughing.
"Don't mock," I tell him.
"I'm not," he says, laughing some more.
"Yes, you are," I tell him, smacking his shoulder as I head over to Laine again.
"Hey. What'd you think?" he asks, stepping off the platform as we walk over to the poolside.
"You were incredible! Which isn't surprising," I tell him, and his cheeks go a little pink.
It's at this moment that I catch Nick staring at us from on top of a floatie in the pool, and I roll my eyes at him as he tries to look away. Too late, he's caught.
"You know what we have to do, right?" asks Laine quietly, realizing what's going on.
"Oh, for sure," I say, and we slide into the pool, sneaking up on Nick.
All hell breaks loose as we flip him, and when he resurfaces he sends a wave of water in our direction.
"You guys, I swear!" Nick yells playfully, pelting me with another wave of water that Laine immediately sends back at him.
Joe takes Nick's side this time, squirting us with a Super Soaker; who knows where he found that. Kevin cannonballs in, joining Laine and I, as Danielle films on her cellphone. Priyanka swims over to help Nick out, and the teams are even again.
Pretty soon everyone at the party is involved, pool water flying all over the backyard. Everyone is soaking wet, even those who were participating only from the poolside, but no one is mad about it. We're having too much fun to care.
"Okay, okay. We surrender!" Nick finally yells, and Kevin, Laine and I celebrate. That's a win for us.
Joe dunks Nick under for calling the war. He doesn't like to give up easily, he likes to win, but the water fight is officially over. People begin to get out and dry off, and Nick, Joe, Kevin, and Priyanka exit the pool as well to say goodbye and thanks for coming to those who are leaving. I grab the two person floatie and hop on, motioning for Laine to sit next to me. He smiles and complies, settling on his back as we stare up at the summer sky.
"So, how old are you?" he asks.
"Seventeen, but I'll be eighteen next month," I say, and he nods. "I'm nineteen. I turn twenty in September," he says.
"Old man," I joke, and he splashes me.
We sit in silence for a few seconds, just enjoying each other's company as we watch party guests leave.
"You know something?" he asks.
"What?"
"You're gorgeous," he says, and I kink my neck with how fast I look over at him. "What? It's true," he assures me.
"I don't know. And I didn't think such a handsome guy would ever say that to me," I tell him, feeling my cheeks warm as he beams.
Cautiously, he lays his hand over mine, and when I don't pull away, he intertwines our fingers. "Good thing Luke brought me to this party today," he says, and I nod in agreement.
"I'm glad you could come."
We sit on the raft for forty-five minutes longer, talking and laughing like we've known each other forever and not just a few hours. Everyone else has left the party except for Luke, Kevin, Danielle, Joe, and Sophie, but they are all in the kitchen with Nick and Priyanka, so we've got the whole pool to ourselves. We just float around in circles, until Luke walks out of the house and back into the yard.
"Hey, Laine, we gotta get going, buddy," he says, and Laine nods.
We paddle the raft over to the side and get out of the pool slowly, neither one of us wanting to leave the other's company. Once we're dry, Laine grabs his phone.
"Can I have your number?" he asks, and I take his phone and create a new contact for myself.
"Thanks. I'll text you," he beams at me, and I wave goodbye to him and Luke as they leave.
I head inside, into the kitchen where my family sits around the breakfast bar. As soon as Joe sees me, he wiggles his eyebrows at me.
"Joseph," I say warningly, and he giggles like a kid as Sophie swats him jokingly.
"Someone's got a case of the lovebug," Nick teases.
"Shhh," I say, as my phone buzzes in my hand. I look down at it quickly, already knowing who it is. I quickly fire a text back, sticking my tongue out at Joe in the process as he makes kissing noises.
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"He seems sweet," Danielle comments, coming around to stand by me.
"He is," I blush, and Dani smiles.
"Aww, I'm happy for you, Harper," Sophie says, and Joe continues to make kissing noises.
"Shut up, Joe," I say, and he just grins cheekily at me.
Soon enough they leave, and it's just Nick, Pri, and I left at the house. As I head up the stairs to go to bed, Nick calls my name.
"Harper?"
"Yeah?" I ask, turning around to face him.
"I hope you had fun today. And I'm glad you met Laine, he's a nice dude," he says.
"I had so much fun today. With you guys, of course, and with Laine."
