ᴋʟᴜᴛᴢ | ʟʀʜ

𝟐𝟐. 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐲

^^ um...hot damn

~ ~ ~ 

"Everyone be on their best behavior. Ariana is coming soon," Alina said as she put her phone away after texting the blonde girl their location. From her beach bag, she pulled her sunglasses out, already having a hard time looking around without squinting due to the sun's harsh rays.

"Yeah we don't want her to think we are crazy now, do we?" Ashton warned, raising an eyebrow at Nina who immediately put her hands up.

"Hey! I wasn't the one who got shit-faced and kissed someone on the cheek," Nina protested, directing her comment towards Alina. What she didn't know is that Alina hardly remembered anything from two nights ago, especially not that she pecked Luke on the cheek.

So when Alina's face drained of color and her eyes snapped over to Luke who immediately busied himself with tracing his fingers in the warm sand, Nina knew that she revealed something significant.

In most cases, the dirty blonde would have cockily reminded and teased Alina about her behavior that night, but for some reason, he didn't want to screw up again. Luke liked how she had acted around him: no inhibitions or hesitation.

So, he had kept quiet in order to spare Alina and himself from the barriers the two often put up between each other.

But it was out now and the look on Alina's face said enough; just as he thought, she had not remembered that. It probably was not anything anyway. She had been drunk, Luke. And why do I care? Fuck, I must miss Macy-

"You guys act like our fucking mom and dad," Calum guffawed at Alina and Ashton, completely unaware of the awkward tension surrounding their camp on the sand.

"Daddy," Jada corrected with a laugh.

"Who's daddy?" A voice spoke from behind them all.

"Ariana!" Alina whipped around in her beach chair to greet the girl. What an awkward turn of events. Clearing her throat, she answered, "And um- Ashton."

"Oh. Makes sense. He's daddy material," Ariana joked but didn't realize the effect her words had on Ashton who squirmed in his seat.

Ariana set her green towel down between Ashton and Alina, the two people that she had talked to the most at the karaoke bar. There was something about the curly-haired boy that convinced her to confide in him that night.

"How are you feeling today, love?" Ashton leaned down to whisper to her, hoping that she wasn't as upset about her recent breakup.

"Much better. I'm better without him," The blonde girl admitted, feeling a great sense of freedom after her cathartic rant with Ashton.

She let her long legs rest out on her towel, her feet in the sand as the green fabric was too short for her. The green from the towel only highlighted her eyes more, drawing Ashton's eyes to hers. "That's for sure. He did not deserve you," he asserted, nodding his head.

"Who does?" Ariana flipped her long golden hair over her shoulder. "I'm a bad bitch." Her confidence was always temporary as she thought back on the man who she gave two years to.

A man who constantly let her down and told her that he was the best she could manage. Despite this mental abuse, Ariana always stuck by him. Ironically, he was the one who broke up with her; it was probably for the best.

She should be happy to be free of him, and she was, but Ariana couldn't help thinking back on him and wondering if she was the one who messed up. Maybe I didn't give him enough.