Before Us (GirlXGirl)

Chapter 5

The smell and sound of a crackling fire woke Lainey from her sleep. She felt somewhat dizzy and her head also hurt. She dressed and unzipped her tent, the cold morning dew hitting her as if her tent was warmer somehow.

Lainey took a seat by the fire and warmed her hands. Jess came out of her tent next. She rubbed her head in pain and threw back a couple pills. She walked around the fire and sat close beside Lainey.

Lainey was confused, did she not remember Lainey kissing her, was she not upset with her?

"Here." Jess smiled and held her hand out with a few pills in her hand.

"What are they?" Lainey asked, she thought maybe they had been some pain killer for the hangover, but they were nothing she had ever seen before.

"Do you trust me? Just take them." Jess moved her hand closer and Lainey took them and washed them down with water.

The morning got warmer as the sun rose above the trees, beaming down on the camp. The fire went dead and the girls turned into their tents to change into their baiting suits and Lainey could vividly remember the morning and the night before, but after taking the pills Jess handed her, she felt the rest of the day was just a blur. She could barely remember the rest of the morning. She got her bikini top on and her swim trunks. And went out to the sun to lay in it. Reading her book, the others took turns jumping off the cliff, and Lainey sat back. She looked up from time to time noticing the only person not wet was Lexi. She stood off to the side biting her nails watching as Chase intimidatingly flipped off the ledge for the 3rd time after giving her shit for not wanting to go off the edge.

"You don't have to jump if you don't want to, don't let him talk you into it." Lainey smiled softly and Lexi returned the favor. Lainey went back to her book, but it only took a second before Lexi sat next to her. She looked up from her book at Lexi who was still staring at the ledge, but more calmly. "What is it about it that you don't like?"

"I've never jumped off of it, but I have been off of it..." she said still staring at the ledge where the edge looks like it's crumbled away bit by bit. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Chase has pretended like he was going to push me off before and I've lost my footing and the dirt crumbled beneath me and I fell."

"I'm sorry... he seems like an asshole." Lainey smiled sadly at her. She placed her book facing down on the ground watching Jess pull herself up over the side of the cliff from the stairs and watched as Lexi and Lainey smiled at each other while they talked.

"Hey, are you two jumping or not?" Jess laughed.

Lainey looked up at her completely, she looked angelic almost in her white bikini and tanned skin, she reminded Lainey of a popular girl instead of the girl she met at the bar.

"I'll do it when I'm ready, don't rush me." Lainey smiled softly at her and Jess rolled her eyes and prepared for the next jump.

She watched as Jess jumped, hearing her scream and then the splash 10 seconds later. "Yeah... he's an asshole, but Jess likes him, so we keep him around." Lexi looked back at her and laughed softly.

"Well, I tell you what, if you jump, I jump." Lainey smiled and Lexi matched the same smile before laughing and shaking her head looking back at the ledge. "No pressure, we could jump together?" She added in the offer, but she didn't expect her to take it.

"Okay..." Lexi smiled, she must've known Lainey wouldn't think she would take it. Lainey stared back at her in awe. She raised her eyebrows and sighed.

"Jesus, so now I have to do it." Lainey looked disappointed but still smiled through it. She would always keep her word. The jump couldn't be that bad, and it would be helping Lexi more than it would herself, so she was stuck. She had to jump.