Him

The Drop

Deran's bar, The Drop, has been open for a few weeks now and has been doing really well, according to Scarlett. The last few weeks since The Drop has been open, Deran seems to be spending a lot more time there tending to the bar than at our apartment. Don't get me wrong, I love not walking in on them making out on our couch; but, I can see how Scar is not loving being able to spend more time with Deran. However, she is making the best of it and being as supportive as possible.

Scarlett has, once again, made it her mission to dress me up like I'm her doll for hanging out with Craig tonight at the Drop. I finally convinced her, after lots of pouting and refusing, to let me wear a red tank top with frayed, light-washed skinny jeans and my trusty black vans. Scarlett figured since I was going, she would drive us that way she could hang out with Deran and keep an eye on me.

As we were about to leave, I got a text from Craig saying that he had just gotten there. I typed a quick reply saying that we would be there in about five minutes.

"Scar, hurry up! Craig is already there."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming, jeez! You really need to get laid soon." I just rolled my eyes at her comment and started out the door and towards the car. A few minutes later, Scarlett finally heads out the door, locking it, looking great as ever. Her medium-length blonde hair in perfect, effortless waves. She decided to go with high-waisted, medium-washed jeans, a light blue, floral, off-shoulder top, and black ankle boots. She got in the driver's seat of the car and we started off towards the bar. As we drove, Scarlett put on her favorite playlist to get her ready to go to the bars and turned up the music loud to sing along to.

We pull up to the bar about five minutes later, and walk in to find the place packed. Apparently the surf competition winners wanted to celebrate at the bar tonight. It wasn't very hard to spot Craig though, with him being so tall thank goodness, so we made our way over to him.

"Hey, I'm glad you both finally made it!" Craig says pulling me into his side.

I shrug and say, "We would've been here sooner, but somebody," I nod my head at Scarlett, "had to look perfect and find the perfect outfit." As Scar walked past me and over to Deran behind the bar, she gave me a wink and nudged my shoulder. Craig got a bartender's attention so I ordered a whiskey sour and we walked over to a table that was positioned near some surfboards. We sat and had a casual conversation about our day and just getting to know each other better.

*****A Couple Hours Later*****

Craig and I had gotten many more drinks over the last couple of hours and the conversation had moved from everyday talk to very flirty. Our chairs had moved closer to each other as the group we were talking to increased. Deran and Scarlett came over and joined us along with some of their surfer friends and friends from their childhood. At one particularly hilarious joke, we were laughing and I leaned on Craig's shoulder. I decided to just stay there because he was very comfortable and very warm. He lifted his right arm up and threw it over my shoulder.

About ten minutes later, Deran and one of their other friends wanted to go out to the patio to smoke. We all moved around the firepit in the middle of the patio and continued talking. After a few minutes passed, I placed my hand on Craig's knee to get his attention to tell him that I was going to go get another drink. He nodded and went back to his conversation. I stood up and started walking inside with Scarlett.

"Layla!" He shouted as I started walking away. I turned around and furrowed my eyebrows. "Can you get me another beer?" He asked with an overexaggerated grin. I rolled my eyes and nodded. He thanked me as I walked toward the bar.

Scarlett and I got our drinks and started making our way back to the firepit. The only ones that were still outside were Deran, Craig, and one of their friends, Jason. Jason and Deran were in a very intense and quiet conversation when we came back. They both finished whispering and seemed to have cut their conversation short.

I handed Craig his drink as I sat down. Craig leaned over to me and whispered, "You know, I didn't tell you earlier, but you look really good tonight." I smiled trying to hide my blush by looking down. "No, I'm serious, Layla. Look at me." He turns my chin so he can make eye contact with me. "You're gorgeous." I bit my lip and he looked back and forth between my eyes and lips. The anticipation is building inside my stomach to the point where I feel like I'm going to explode and then he presses his lips to mine. His hands move to the sides of my face as mine move to fist his black muscle shirt. I pulled him closer, just as I started to hear Deran and Jason cheering us on. I pull away chuckling and hid my face in Craig's chest. Craig flipped them off and mumbled, "Fuck you guys." He rubbed my thighs as I sat up. Scarlett got up saying that it was probably time to go. Deran and Jason followed her to leave Craig and I alone for a minute. "I'm really sorry about them. If I had known they were going to be such dumbasses, I would've taken you back inside or something before kissing you."

"No, it's fine. They're just teasing. I had a really great time tonight. Thank you for inviting me."

"I did too. We'll have to do this again sometime, except maybe without my brother and Jason next time." I nodded in response. He walked me out to our car and saw that Scarlett had already started the car and was bobbing her head to some music, probably much calmer than what we drove here listening to. I turned to say bye to Craig when he grabbed the back of my head with one hand and my hip with the other to give me a long, intense kiss. When we finally pulled away, I was out of breath and I could tell that my cheeks were flushed. Craig had a big smirk on his face as we said our goodbyes. He waved to Scar as I got in the car, she waved back and just looked over at me with a knowing look and I couldn't help but laugh.

We arrived home about five minutes later and both headed inside. I put my bag on the counter as Scarlett grabbed a water bottle, handed me one, and headed to her room for the night. We said our goodnights and I started for my room. I got ready for bed and as soon as I sat down I got a text from Craig:

From Craig:

Goodnight beautiful. Don't dream of me too much. 😉

I chuckled, typed a quick reply,  and lied down my bed and closed my eyes with a smile on my face.

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Jason is going to play a really big role in the next few chapters. Let me know what you all think!

- Alyssa