Are you mine?

Chapter 46

"You know, I've heard that if you put a base sunscreen of spf 30 on, and then spf 90 on all the high points of your face, the sun will naturally contour your face as you tan," Syd says.

We're currently on a boat headed towards the coral reef, sitting beside each other and soaking up the rays of the early morning sun. The deck is spacious enough to fit two groups, so students from WestPoint and Oak Hills are taking the opportunity of being paired up on this ride to mingle and get to know each other a little bit more. The people who still have energy left from last night, are playing music on a loudspeaker and dancing to the rhythm. The rest of us just lay in the sun, recharging our batteries.

"I find that very hard to believe," I tell Syd, propping myself up on my elbows.

"It's true! I saw it on cosmo," she states.

"Oh then I'm convinced for sure. We all know magazines are where the facts are at." I roll my eyes.

"Well I don't care. Either way I'm trying it out and you'll be eating your words in a week, when I look like a bronzed goddess," she boasts.

"Or, you'll be eating yours when those tan lines show up and make you look like you went to the lowest rated tanning salon in town." I say, stretching my arms over my head and sitting up straight.

"We'll see," Syd ads and joins me, straightening her back. I shake my head laughing, catching a glimpse of Mason staring at me from across the boat. I lower my sunglasses, making eye contact and raising an eyebrow at him, which quickly prompts him to look away.

"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Syd says when Mason averts his eyes.

"I think he got it," I laugh, placing my hand on her shoulder to hold her back, "No need to bark, Sparky."

"You should be the one barking at that," Syd rests back on her elbows as she nods in Noah's direction, referring to the fact that he seems deeply engaged in conversation with Quinn, "I'm telling you, that girl is trying to steal your man."

"No she's not," I say, thinking that speaking the words aloud will make them true, as I see Quinn in my peripheral, laughing at something Noah said, "She's way older than him, it's barely legal." I point out.

"Still not illegal," Syd remarks.

"Either way, it doesn't matter. I can't be controlling who he talks to all the time. He's attractive, girls are drawn to him, it's a thing. And I've accepted it. What would it say about our relationship if I didn't trust him enough to just have a conversation with other girls?"

"You have a point, and I commend your confidence in your relationship. But I will say, if I were you I'd be chewing that girl's head off right about now." Syd says and I look back to the pair. Quinn digs in her bag and pulls out a bottle of sunscreen, handing it to Noah and noticeably holding onto his hand for a moment too long, he smiles at her. "Still not going to do anything about it?" Syd asks.

"Nope," I reply, pushing my sunglasses back up the bridge of my nose. Reclining, I close my eyes, trying to not think about my boyfriend putting his hands on another girl to rub sunscreen on her golden skin, going back to tanning instead. My attempt is futile though, as only a few seconds after I lay down, the sun is suddenly blocked and I shiver in the shade.

I open my eyes to find Noah standing over me, the bottle Quinn gave him in hand. "Your shoulders are looking a bit red," he says, crouching down to apply sunscreen on my burning skin. I glance over at Syd smugly, tilting my head and giving her a look that says «Told you». She raises her hands in surrender biting back a smile.

"I love you," I say to Noah, feeling like I haven't reminded him in a while.

He smiles at me sweetly and pecks me on the lips "Love you too."