Sunsets and Vegas Bombs

☼ Chapter 4

"Come on, lets see the inside of this house." Miller whoops, unlocking the door and pushing it open with a creak.
"Keep it down man, we've got neighbors and it's like, past midnight." Danny calls, following Miller.

We all file in, lights being turned on as we go, illuminating the spacious interior. The entryway opens right into a huge, mirror lined foyer and a set of stairs. Beyond that, a kitchen with a table that could seat twice as many people as we brought with us. Off of that, a slightly smaller sitting area with a couple huge couches and some comfy looking chairs.

As if the inside wasn't pretty enough, we're quickly drawn outside by Devon who announces that the pool is prettier than all the girls at the college back home. Laughing, we make our way out there as a group and collectively gasp at the sight.

A bright blue pool is glinting up at us, as well as an attached hot tub. Beside that, another sitting area with two huge outdoor couches and a line of chairs. As if all of this isn't enough, I think I can see a dock extending off into the marshy sound behind the house. Seemingly a collective thought is in everyone's head, as we take off towards the stairs, a mad scramble to get down to the pool.

I think Miller makes the first decision, or maybe we all knew what we were gonna do, but as we make the dash down the stairs, shirts come off for the guys, shoes fly over the railing, which is quite a feat considering how quickly we're going down the stairs.

As soon as we're on the first floor, we're pushing for the pool. Miller makes the first leap, followed by my brothers, Jax, and Nathan. Teagan grabs my hand and we cannonball into the cool water with Noah and Jordan following closely behind.

Laughing and splashing one another, we whoop it up before migrating to the hot tub to test it out.
"I think I might have thrown my phone into a bush." Devon comments, a mildly thoughtful look crossing his face before he shrugs and runs his hand under the water, splashing an unsuspecting Nathan, who ducks back to avoid the water only to slam into me. I gasp before losing my balance and falling back into the pool area. Popping back up, I clamber back to the warm hot tub. "Colder than I remember." I comment, crossing my arms to ward off the chill as I warm back up.

We play around a bit more before reluctantly climbing out and wrapping ourselves in the towels from a cubby-like thing under the cover of the second story balcony. The air is thankfully warm, a light breeze helping to dry out our soaked clothes.

As we all find the clothing and shoes we hastily discarded, I find myself with Jordan.
"How was your drive up?" I ask, sliding a sandal back on my foot as I search for the other.
"It was good. Noah and I talked about how weird it was to be coming to the beach together this year. It seems like forever ago that I threw my drink on him in the bar." She says with a laugh.
"Last year was eventful to say the least. I figured it was goodbye for y'all when we left, but little did we know the universe had other plans."
"Funny how that works. I'm just glad I was able to see past the guy doing body shots and find the guy worth spending the rest of my life with."

I spin around and stare at her, "The rest of your life?"
She gives me a sheepish grin and holds her hand out for me to see the little sparkly ring on her finger.
"When did that happen?" I sputter.
"On the ride down. He said he knew I didn't want any of the fancy stuff, or even a ring, but he couldn't help it." She says with a smile that seems to be etched onto her face.
"Well, this calls for a celebration! I'm also gonna kill him for not telling us." I muse.
"Don't be too hard on him, he didn't even know he was going to. Apparently he bought the ring two days ago and planned on proposing on the beach. But, you know how excited he gets about things. I think he was as surprised as I was when he said it."
"Well, I'm happy for y'all. You compliment each other and it looks good on both of you."

By the time we're done with our conversation, everything has been found, including Devon's phone which was indeed sharing space with some discarded cigarette butts under a bush. We take a detour through the basement to get back to the first floor, and it's just as pretty as the upstairs. Spacious with another huge couch, a futon, and bathroom off to the side. It's decided that this will be Jordan and Noah's space.

They try to insist that they don't need it all to themselves, but the rest of us agree that a bed without a headboard, and a floor of space between us and them is a great idea for this vacation. Once it's decided, we troop upstairs and back out the front door to the vehicles. Since Jax packed most everything, he directs us to where our things are, making the process much easier.

It takes a few trips, but we manage to get everything inside the house in under half an hour. Jordan and Noah bid everyone goodnight before they head down to their "room" with all their things. Devon and Miller both head upstairs to scope it out and change clothes, along with Teagan who claims to be tired but also eyed the grocery bags with contempt.

Suddenly it's just myself and Jax in the kitchen, seeing as Danny is nowhere to be found. Probably avoiding putting food away as well. I begin transferring the few cold things from the cooler to the fridge along with the drinks we brought. As I turn to put the cooler on the kitchen table so we will have it in the morning, I smack straight into Jax's chest. And, to further convolute the situation, he's yet to put his shirt back on from our pool rush.

"Sorry," He says, placing a hand on my back to steady me, "didn't realize you were coming at me with a spin maneuver."
I chuckle and try to ignore the flutters I feel at his touch, "I was trying to tackle you, but I guess I underestimated you."
"Oh shawty got jokes tonight." He jokes back, before sweeping me right off the floor and throwing me over his shoulder.

I laugh and smack him on the butt with the soft side cooler in my hands. He reaches back, laughing as well, trying to grab the cooler out of my hands as I continue my assault on his backside. Eventually, he snatches the cooler and tosses it on the table, then flips the light off and walks towards the stairs.

"What are you doing? There's still things that need to be put up." I complain, poking his back with my nail.
"Ouch, wolverine. Watch it with those nails. We're going upstairs to get ready for bed." He answers, climbing up the stairs.
I chuckle at his comment and swing myself out of his grasp when we reach the top.

We wander around the railing and into the first room we get to. Inside we find Danny and Miller, crashed out on two of the five beds the room holds. Devon's bags are on another closer to the windows, and across from his are Nathan's things. There's light coming from what I imagine is the bathroom, and that's confirmed when Devon walks out, his toothbrush hanging halfway out of his mouth.

"Harl's, I put your stuff in the room down the hall, but I figured you'd sleep in here, so your pillow is on Nathan's bed." He says around the toothbrush before wandering back into the bathroom.
"Get ready for bed, I'll be back here in a minute." I say, giving Jax a light shove towards his bed.
"Good, cause I'm stealing you from Nathan tonight. I'll move your things to my bed." He says over his shoulder.
"Fine by me." I answer in a voice calmer than I feel.