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The Tides Have Turned-Part 20 (Finale)

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Twenty

Y/n’s POV

I took Nate by the hand and led him through the sliding glass doors, the others giving me a look of hope muddled with fear. We took the steps down to the path that leads to the beach, as we have done so many times before.

We walk in silence, arms swinging by our sides. A sea breeze had kicked up and was blowing our hair around, the smell of salt permeating the air. We trudged through the sand until we came to the where the water was lapping at the shore.

I stared out at the sea for a moment, formulating the words I wanted to say in my head. Nate remained in silence, clearly as uncomfortable as I was.

“Nate…” I begin, but trail off, bracing myself for the loaded conversation to ensue.

“What happened back there?” I say completely exasperated. Nate finally removed his eyes from the ocean to look at me.

“I just had a slip up, that’s all” he said, returning his attention elsewhere. I shook my head at his response. Really? He’s going to be the strong, silent type right now?

“A slip up? Nate you almost died!” I start to raise my voice.

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?!” he whipped around, yelling at me. I was physically taken aback, I have never heard Nate yell like that, and certainly never towards me. He pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing.

“That was the scariest situation I have ever been in, and I’m pissed at myself that I let it get that bad” he yells, becoming worked up.

“Why did you start messing with that shit in the first place? You know you could have come to any of us. And me! You know you can come to me with anything Nate, and yet you didn’t. You took it upon yourself to mess with some fucked up shit. It hurts to know that you didn’t talk to me” I accuse, feeling myself get angry and upset.

“You really believe that I could talk to you, don’t you?” he said coming a little closer. He was steaming.

I crossed my arms and gave him a look.

“I couldn’t fucking talk to you about this stuff, because you’re the reason it happened in the first place!” he yelled. He was becoming so heated I was convinced the whole beach could hear us now. I felt like I had been shot in the chest. His words stung, and I was no longer looking at the Nathan I once knew.

“You don’t get to say that shit to me,” I say in shock. I was doing everything in my power to not cry.

He ran his hands through his hair feverishly, before rubbing his jaw, the stubble from yesterday still evident.

“If anything, it’s that bitch Jessica that messed you up!” I yell shoving his chest. There was no way he was going to blame me for his poor decisions. Anger flickered in his eyes. He began to pace, and was storming away trying to get out of this fight. His temper got the better of him though, because he stopped to turn around and yell some more.

“It’s not about Jessica! Don’t you get it?! It’s YOU! It’s always been you!” he screams, his face was red and flushed.

“You can’t fucking accuse me of being the reason you got hooked on drugs Nate! That’s you, all you” I yell back, a tear slipping from the corner of my eye. I wiped it away harshly, I was not going to let him see me cry.

“It’s not like that,” he said a little quieter, but still angry.

“Then what is it like Nate? Get it all out in the open. Destroy me, I’m an easy target” I say bracing myself for the threatening blow to our friendship.

“I’m in love with you!” he shouts before pacing a few steps away, and then back again. My heart was thumping in my chest, I was trying desperately to register what he had said.

“Fuck, I’m in love with you,” he says again fidgeting with his hair, refusing to look at me.

“It’s always been you. Not Jessica, not the other girls, you” he spoke quickly.

“Then you let me in, let me get close to you. I fucking relished our time, knowing I would never have you. The idea of you and Gilinsky, or you and Sam, kills me. But I need you to be happy, I need to know that.”

I stood completely still, I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. I just let him speak.

“Then you ended things between us, and it fucking broke me” his voice hitched in his throat.

“I tried to replace you with other things, sex, drugs, you name it. But nothing was working, I couldn’t feel anything. I took it too far, I had to drown out this feeling. I couldn’t have you leave me.”

“Don’t leave me,” he sobbed, finally breaking. He sunk to his knees in the sand, his hands covering his face.

Nate was broken, and I was the reason. It sat with me like a bad taste, I had to fix this. I couldn’t bear to see a man break down and cry, let alone someone I loved so deeply. I dropped to me knees beside him, and pulled him into my chest.

He didn’t even resist, just rested his dark head against me and sobbed into his hands. I could feel him quiver with each breath he took, the deep groans escaping his lips. His warm tears rolled down my bare skin, and I held him tighter.

I wrapped my arm around his face, holding his hair tightly. My other hand laid flat against his back, and I just soothed him until I could feel his breathing return to normal.

He lifted his head slightly to look at me, his eyes glassy with tears in them. His pink lips parted slightly, but I wouldn’t let him speak. I kissed his lips with such neediness. I needed him to know that I felt the same, that everything will be okay. I rested my forehead against his as he breathed deeply. He grabbed the back of my head tightly and kissed me again with more passion than I have ever experienced in my life.

Sam’s POV

The Jacks and I stood at the windows, watching the scene unfold before us on the beach. It was like watching a silent movie, and trying to piece together the emotions that went with the action. They had been arguing quite animatedly, but now I was forced to watch them embrace in the most passionate kiss I’ve ever seen. I can’t lie, it hurt.

“What do you think they’re saying?” G said trying to get closer to the glass.

“I don’t know, but it just got more intense” J said referring to the kiss.

I couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so I pulled away from the glass and went upstairs to my room.

Y/n’s POV

“Come on, babe. It’s okay, no more tears” I say helping Nate to stand. I wiped his eyes with my thumb, before cupping his face and kissing him once more.

“I love you” he breathed.

“And I love you,” I return intertwining our fingers together. He pulled me into his side, holding me tightly, as we walked back towards the house. He nuzzled my neck once, before we slid open the doors and lost our moment of intimacy.

“Hey, look who it is” J said rounding the corner from the kitchen.

“Hey J” I smile sweetly.

“You two look happy” G said coming in to join us.

“Yeah, we will be. Together” I smile up at Nate who squeezed me tighter.

“Congrats, man” J said to Nate pulling him in for a tight hug. We all hugged, relieved that the anger and sadness was absolved from our group. Or so we thought.

“You might want to tie up one more loose end,” J said with worry on his face, motioning upstairs to the one person that was missing. Sammy.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and sighed.

“Oh, Sammy” I breathed, my heart twisting in pain for an entirely different set of reasons. I loved Sammy, but it was not the same love I had for Nate.

“We should go talk to him” I look up at Nate.

“Yeah, together” he said before leading me up the stairs.

“Sammy, I-” I said opening the door to his room. I looked around to find it barren.

“All of his things are gone” Nate said furrowing his brows. We rifled through his drawers, nothing. No clothing, no phone charger, or shoes.

I looked at Nate in confusion. Something caught my eye on the vanity, a white piece of paper, haphazardly torn from a notebook. I walked closer and recognized the handwriting immediately.

You guys truly look happy together, and I’m so glad that two of the most important people in my life are happy together. Y/n, I’m just sorry that couldn’t be me. I don’t think I can be around that for a while, so I booked myself a ticket back home.

Have a good time with the guys, before you know it, it’ll be like I was never there.

All my love,

Sammy

Tears welled in my eyes as I read the note, Nate reading over my shoulder. I crumpled the paper to my chest before looking at him.

“We have to go after him” I say before running downstairs. Nate grabbed the keys, his wallet, and anything else he would need.

“What’s going on?” J asked eating an apple.

“Sammy went MIA” I said gathering my things. They looked at us in shock.

“We have to get him back!” I shout before running out the front door. Nate drove us to th airport as fast as he humanly could.

We arrived shortly after that, and Nate parked in a temporary spot with fifteen minutes allowance. We didn’t even care about a fine at this point, we had to find our friend. We stormed through the vast airport, desperately searching

“Do you see him?” Nate asked, standing on a chair to get a better look. I spun around in circles, until I saw the tall, slender frame I would recognize anywhere.

“There Nate” I point. He moved to walk towards him but I stopped him with a hand to his chest.

“Let me,” I say and he just nods.

“I’ll be at the car,” he said placing a kiss to my head.

I walked closer to one of my best friends.

“Sammy,” I say and his head snapped up in surprise to see me.

“What are you-” he began to question.

“Don’t leave” I beg, my eyes pleading with him. He shut his eyes tightly.

“I can’t, I don’t think I-” he stuttered.

“Sam, I love you, I do, but leaving is not the answer” I say holding his forearms. He breathed heavily, but let me continue.

“I’m sorry for all the shit I’ve put you through, but our family is nothing without you. Don’t leave us” I say again. “I shouldn’t have started that whole thing with you, it’s not right,” I start to stammer, desperate for the words. He put his hand up to stop me.

“It’s not your fault. I suppose I was quick to jump into something too. I think I was just lonely, and seeing how much you and Nate were in love with each other just got to me” he says.

“Sammy, you know you have a very special place in my heart” I say standing on tiptoes to engulf him in a hug. He squeezed me tightly, and breathed me in.

“The same goes for you baby girl” he said. “Now let’s get out of here, and get this vacation back on the road” he smiles that beautiful Sammy smile that I love. I wrap my hand around his waist and walk him back to the car where Nate was waiting.

Without speaking any words, Nate and Sam bro-hugged it out. Weeks of emotions pouring out. We climbed back in the car and ventured back to the beach house.

“Hello?” I call out. No answer. The guys looked at me in just as much confusion.

“Wait, there,” Nate said pointing through the glass. The figures of seven boys evident on the beach.

We journeyed outside where they were all sitting in the sand, a perfect row. We sat down beside them, Nate and Sammy on either side of me, and they all leaned forward shooting us genuine smiles. It was beginning to become dusk, and we sat furrowed in the sand staring at the watercolor that was the sky.

Colors of all magnitude were vividly swirled through the sky. I breathed in a deep sigh of contentment, resting my head on Nate’s shoulder.

Here we were, back to day one, all of us together on the beach. I was surrounded by my closest friends, and in one of my favorite places on Earth. Only this time, a promising relationship formed as well.

Regarding friendship, the tides have turned.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 19

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Nineteen

City lights flashed past the car windows as Sam sped through the quiet Hampton’s town. We all sat awaiting the arrival to the destination the mysterious stranger gave us. After about another twenty minutes, Sam slowed as we saw a large neon sign designating the bar was just up the road. Sure enough the fluorescent sign shone in a bright green light as Sam pulled into the first parking spot he saw.

“Come on! He’s gotta be around here somewhere!” I shout exiting the car. I scrambled around the dark parking lot, the sounds of a packed bar muffled in the night air. I walked past rows and rows of cars scouring every small crevice that Nate could be hiding in. Still nothing.

“Do you see anything G?” I yell to where Gilinsky was walking around bushes.

“Not yet!” he shouted back.

“Guys over here! The pavement backs into an alley!” Johnson said waving at us manically.

Sam and I broke into a full on sprint to the direction where Johnson was heading. I saw two shadowy figures in the distance, and to my relief made out the familiar dark curly hair. I stepped in front of Sam to get a better look at the two men, and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as I finally came face to face with the boy I desperately searched for.

Nate looked terrible, beyond terrible actually. He was lying in the alleyway, his clothes tattered and worn. His dark hair was wild, and he had large bags under his eyes. He was barely conscious, and wasn’t responsive when Johnson kneeled to his level trying to speak to him. His belongings surrounded him on the pavement, his wallet and keys scattered everywhere. I bent down and cupped his face in my hands.

“Nate, baby, open your eyes. Look at me please” I plead. His head just rolled between my touch, his eyes glued shut.

“Holy shit, how far gone is he?” G asked worriedly, crouching down beside me.

“I don’t know man, I came out of the bar twenty minutes ago and found him being robbed” the older man said standing there uncomfortable. “Dude was so out of it, they took him for all he had, starting to lay a beatin’ on him before I came and threatened them with the cops” he said again, sorrow on his face.

The more I examined Nate’s face the more I could see bruising begin to form. He really looked like he had the shit kicked out of him. My stomach twisted at the thought of a helpless Nate.

“Man, we owe you big time for this” Johnson said in awe of the sheer luck we had.

“Hey man it’s nothing, I couldn’t leave him to be killed like that” the guy shook his head.

“How did you know to get in contact with us?” I ask looking up at him.

“Well I bent down to try and get him to talk to me. His name, anything. He is so out of it, but he kept mumbling the name y/n over and over again. I figured that was someone important to him, so I went through his phone and found a contact by the same name” he elaborated.

“We better get him to a hospital” G said swinging Nate’s lifeless arms around his shoulders. Sammy quickly scrambled to get Nate’s other side and they dragged his limp body to the car. I gathered the few things he had left from the concrete, and tucked them safely in my purse. I could see drug paraphernalia scattered on the dirty ground.

“Sir, I cannot thank you enough” I said pleading with the guy. He held up his hands as if to say no apology necessary. I ran and gave him a tight hug, a small show of gratitude before I ran back to the car. Sam resumed his spot in the driver’s seat and sped off to the hospital. I stared at Nate’s gaunt face as the street lights washed over him every few seconds.

I stroked his skin, which used to be soft, feeling stubble and grime. His arms were bruised, and his clothes smelled of smoke. Seeing Nate in this state damn near broke me in two. Sam got us to the hospital within ten minutes, record speed.

We rushed in through the emergency room and were swiftly greeted by a team of nurses and medics. They whisked Nate off on a stretcher to a wing of the hospital that was shut off to us.

“The waiting room is down the hall, we’ll find you when we have any information” a nurse said. We just nodded and padded down the hallway.

I sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs, 3/5 of the squad surrounding me. The boys looked exhausted, like they hadn’t slept in days. It was startling how stress can do that to a person. Sammy couldn’t really sit still for long, he would get up and pace every few minutes, running his hands through his hair. It was a nervous habit he had.

Sam came and sat next to me, wrapping his arm around me and extending his hand to rest on Johnson’s back. J grabbed my hand, and G grabbed the other. We bowed our heads and sat in a semi-comfortable silence. No words were spoken. We just held each other and waited.

3 hours later…

We sat slumped in the chairs, trying desperately to stay awake. It was around 2 in the morning by now, but everybody refused to leave.

“Is there a family for a Nate Maloley?” a doctor with a clipboard asked openly to the room. We immediately scrambled to our feet and rushed over.

“Yes, yes. That’s us” I say. The doctor furrowed his brows slightly at the fact that a group of young people were waiting for Nate and not his parents. Our eyes pleaded with him to tell us the story.

“Well, your friend is stable” he said. I let out an audible sigh, while Sam rubbed his face in relief.

“He’s lucky he got here when he did. Another twenty minutes and he would have been dead from a drug overdose” he said solemnly. My heart stopped at his words. A drug overdose? My sweet Nate dead from a drug overdose? How could this ever happen.

“He’s resting right now, but will be discharged in the morning. I advise that you keep a close eye on him so he doesn’t relapse” the doctor said before walking off.

We pulled each other in for individual and group hugs. We did it. We saved his life.

“Listen, you guys can go get some rest. I’ll stay with him,” I say wiping a tear from my eyes.

“No way. The squad has to stick together, we’re family” G said shaking his head with determination. With that, we proceeded to Nate’s room. He laid there asleep, multiple IV’s in his arms. His chest was rising and falling ever so slightly.

Gilinsky and I shared the giant armchair that was right next to his bed, while Sammy and Johnson sat on the floor and in the other chair. I grabbed Nate’s hand and just held it in mine tightly, hoping some of my body heat would somehow transfer to his cold body.

The next morning…

Nate’s POV

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room. I had no idea where I was, but I felt like I had been hit by a train. My entire body ached, this was worse than any hangover I have ever experienced. I blinked multiple times trying to focus on my surroundings, and to figure out what happened. I felt a twitch on my right hand and averted my attention to the feeling. The first feeling I’ve had in days.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the familiar head of hair that I adored more than anything. She was grabbing my hand and had her head resting on top of it, asleep. I continued to look around, noticing a sleeping Gilinsky resting on the back of the same armchair she preoccupied. Sam and Johnson were here too, knocked out against the back wall.

“Hey,” I said in a soft tone, but loud enough to stir them awake. She lifted her head in a daze, before her eyes flew open at the sight of me awake.

“Nate! You’re awake!” she said before smoothing her hair.

“Where am I?” I asked, still fuzzy on the details.

“The hospital man. You were in pretty bad shape” Johnson said coming over to my bedside.

“How?” I ask again, still confused.

“Drugs man. You overdosed,” Sam said with extreme regret. I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t remember the events of the last few days so well, I remember drowning myself in alcohol and smoking a few things more than I normally would.

“Mr. Maloley?” a nurse knocked at the door, and we turned to face her.

“Yes” I say, removing my hand from y/n’s grip.

“How are you feeling today?” she asked coming to check my IV’s.

“Extremely hungover” I answer, rubbing my eyes. She chuckled at my response.

“Yes, well, your doctor has cleared you to go home” she said before issuing me my discharge paperwork.

The squad surrounded me as we made our way to the car. They walked around me so cautiously like I was a child taking his first steps.

“I can do this you know” I say.

“Yeah, we know man” J answered, yet still remained tentative around me.

We piled into the car and rode in silence back to the house. Was I grateful to them for saving my life? Of course I was, I’ve never had anybody do anything of this magnitude for me. No matter what happens in this life, my love for these four people will never falter. Regardless, I still had some shit to work through.

We arrived back at the house and I walked slowly through the front door, where I was greeted by Swazz and the others. They looked like they hadn’t slept either.

“Nate, shit man there you are” Swazz said pulling me in for a hug. I gave him a quick pat on the back to let him know I’m okay before I sat on the couch.

“Here man, drink some water” Cam said handing me a bottle.

“Thanks Cam” I say before unscrewing the lid and taking a large gulp.

It was a beautiful day outside, the sun shining and the waters blue. It was like the events of the past 24 hours hadn’t happened. Life moves on, regardless of if you’re ready for it or not.

The squad surrounded me on the couch, y/n sitting on the ottoman directly across from me. She rested her forearms on her knees as she watched me intently.

“What now?” Sam asked, nervous and without direction.

“I think we have a talk” y/n said to me. I nodded my head before looking down at my lap.

This is it. It is time to finally come clean.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 18

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Eighteen

I hopped into my parent’s car with Sam, and the Jacks. We figured keeping our squad together was the right thing to do in a time like this.

“You guys go, we’ll take the bus and split up. We’ll cover more ground that way” Cam said before hopping in the driver’s seat.

“Okay, sounds like a plan” J said hopping in the passenger seat of our car. Sammy was driving, while he navigated. G and I jumped in the backseat.

“Hey! You guys hear anything you keep us updated, group text!” G yelled before we sped off down the driveway.

It was pretty dark out now, the only visibility due to our headlights.

“Where should we check first?” J asked pulling out his phone.

“Let’s try that bar downtown” Sam said switching lanes.

“Hey,” G whispered grabbing my hand, “it’ll be okay” he smiled. I just gave him a weak smile, not sure if he was trying to convince me or himself.

The car fell silent as we drove for another ten minutes. My gut was wrenching. I knew the more time that passed, the more grave the situation could be. Maybe I watched too many cop shows on TV, I was psyching myself out.

“Alright it’s up ahead” Sam said pointing straight. He pulled off to the curb and we hopped out before bursting through the heavy wooden doors to the bar.

It was dark and smoky inside, a football game blaring on the TV’s hanging on the wall. Some grown men were playing pool in the back, and we had to shout over the sound of chatter.

“Do you see him?” I yell.

“Not yet! I’m gonna ask the bartender” Gilinsky said disappearing between the crowd of burly men.

“Shit,” I utter.

“Don’t jump to conclusions, we’ll find him” Johnson said rubbing my back.

“What if we don’t?” I question, my voice wavering slightly at the thought.

“Hey, you can’t think like that” Sam said grabbing my hand and giving it a tight squeeze.

“Alright, well he said he didn’t recognize Nate and nobody of his description has been through here tonight” G said coming back, running his hands through his hair.

“Okay, on to the next stop” Johnson said before rushing out the front doors.

We climbed back inside the car, as Sam asked for the next destination.

“Try the beach, you know he likes to take walks when he’s stressed” I say quietly, remembering the walk I had taken with him.

“You heard the lady” J said. We cruised along the coastline for a few hours, trying different beaches that he could possibly be at. We finally pulled over to a stretch unfamiliar to us.

“Maybe he would come here because none of us would know where it is” Sam questioned aloud while climbing out of the car. We speed walked down to the sand, my eyes desperately trying to focus in the dark.

“There’s a shadowy figure over there!” I point. We made our way over only to find a couple getting it on.

“Oh shit, sorry” Sam said covering his eyes.

“Get lost” the girl barked before returning to her man. We got out of there as fast as we could, I didn’t think I would be able to get that vision out of my head.

“Damn, I didn’t know these were those type of beaches” G said shaking his head. We all let out a small laugh, the first lighthearted instance of the evening.

“Wait, my phone is vibrating! It might be Nate” I say shaking as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My face fell when I saw it was only a group text from the other boys. Sam and the Jacks leaned in closer to huddle around my screen.

Cam: We tried a few local clubs, nothing so far.

Nash: Any luck on your end???

Me: None. We checked the bar and the beach, nothing yet. Be in touch xx

I let out a heavy sigh as I put my phone back in my pocket.

“Now what?” I ask, growing anxious at our lack of luck.

“We go to the belly of the beast” J said. “Jessica’s house.”

Sam’s POV

“What?!” Y/n yelled from the backseat, craning her neck to make sure she heard J correctly.

“She might know where Nate is, I know you don’t like her, trust me I don’t either, but it’s a shot in the dark” Johnson said.

“I think he’s right” I chime in starting the car.

I could hear her sigh in the back and saw her cross her arms in a huff. I knew she didn’t like it, but she knew it was the right thing to do, for Nate’s sake.

I drove us along the stretch of road that led to the multiple beach houses that dotted the shore. We passed on after another until we recognized her car parked out front of one.

“This has to be it” I say pulling off to the side.

We got out and walked up the huge steps to ring the front doorbell.

“You guys better be right about this” y/n whispered.

“It’s all we’ve got right now” G said as the large front door suddenly swung open.

“What the hell do you guys want?” she looked repulsed to see us. And hence y/n’s eyeroll.

“Where’s Nate?” I ask, getting straight to the point. She furrowed her eyebrows.

“How the hell would I know? I haven’t talked to him since that shit show of a dinner” she said growing angry.

“He didn’t come by here?” J asked again.

“Or text you?” G added.

“No, nothing. He dropped me off after dinner and sped off when I asked if he wanted to come up” she said scrunching her nose.

“Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’m busy. I’ve got better things to do than talk to you four” she said and I could see a half-naked man walking through the house behind her. I shuddered at the thought that it could have been Nate. I don’t know what he ever saw in this girl.

“Shit! Now what do we do?” Y/n squealed, growing more desperate for answers. “Nothing is working guys, and I’m starting to get really worried” she said her head dropping as her voice cracked.

I pulled her into my chest and held her tight, it was all I could do in this moment. I was really worried about Nate too, but I didn’t want to say that and make everyone feel worse.

“Come on, we have to keep moving” I say walking her to the car. Even the Jacks fell silent.

“What’s the plan Sammy?” J asked.

“We drive around and pray we find something” I say, my face etched with worry.

Y/n’s POV

We drove for an hour in complete silence. We didn’t even have the radio on, nobody was bothered. Sam kept his eyes straight on the road as we looked out our windows.

“Guys…” G said sitting straight up.

“What?” J asked yawning and turning to face the backseat.

“Isn’t that Nate’s car?” he asked pointing out his window. I scrambled over to his side of the car, practically leaning into his lap to get a better view.

“Yeah, it’s a black Nissan!” I yell, hopeful.

“Sammy follow it!” J yelled as Sam cut the wheel tight throwing us around in our seats.

Sam hit the gas and I swear we were doing at least 100 mph as the black car sped off into the distance.

“They’re taking a left!” G yelled, making sure Sam didn’t miss the turn.

“Keep on him Sam!” J added.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” he yelled back in a stressed tone.

The Nissan finally slowed and pulled into a long private driveway. Our faces twisted in confusion as Sam followed up the lengthy drive.

“Why would Nate be at a private mansion?” Johnson vocalized what we had all been thinking. I didn’t think it was right either, but at this point I was grasping at straws.

I threw open my car door and ran into the night air.

“Nate! Nate! Stop!” I yell making my way towards the shadows. The body stopped moving and turned to face my calls, and I heard the car doors opening behind me as the boys got out to join me.

“Excuse me?” an unfamiliar voice asked. I approached closer until a porch light illuminated the stranger’s face. He was an older gentleman, probably no more than 40 years old. My face fell at the realization that we hadn’t been chasing Nate at all.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry, I thought-” I barely croaked out.

“We’re sorry to bother you, we were just looking for our friend and it seems this was just a misunderstanding” Johnson cut in, smoothing out the conversation.

“Oh, not a bother. Good luck finding your friend” the guy said before retreating into the house. Of all the shitty luck in the world, a guy with a black Nissan had to be driving around tonight.

I walked in silence back to the car and climbed into the backseat, shutting my eyes before my tears betrayed me. I looked out at the starry night sky. Come on Nate, give me something. Where are you?

“I say we go back to the house, regroup with the others” G said, defeated.

“We’re not having any luck driving around blindly in the dark” J added.

As we were enroute back to the beach house, the piercing sound of my ringtone filled the small space. G’s eyes met mine and I saw the city lights flash across his dark pupils. I retrieved my phone from my front pocket and frowned at the bright screen.

1-717-630-5199 read across the display. An unknown number, what are the odds. Normally I wouldn’t answer, but something in my gut told me to.

“Hello?” I ask, void of interest and emotion.

“Yeah, uh, is this an y/n?” the voice was deep, a thick New York accent evident.

“Uhm, yes?” I say again in confusion. Before he could speak further the guys gestured for me to put the phone on speaker so they could hear as well. I set my phone on the center console as we gathered around it.

“You might want to get down here, your friend is in pretty bad shape” he said. Our eyes grew wide. Nate.

“Wh-what? You’re with my friend? Is he okay?” I choke out, not sure what to make of this.

“I don’t know. I just found him, he doesn’t look good though. He’s in the alleyway behind Finnegan’s Bar in North Shore” he said and I could see Johnson typing away into his GPS, giving me a thumbs up when it popped up.

“We’re on our way” I say promptly before ending the call. I looked at Sam who just nodded at me. He turned back in his seat and peeled off in the direction of the bar. It would take us an hour to get there considering how far out we were from the car chase.

I sat in my seat, antsy. This was at least a step in the right direction, we knew where he was. But as with anything, one step forward and two steps back.

How bad was “bad?” I didn’t know what kind of mess we were about to walk into.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 17

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Seventeen

Y/n’s POV

We pulled up to the beach house, individually filing out of the bus. I pushed the front doors open, so glad to be home. I was exhausted by now, and had a headache from all the yelling. The red wine didn’t help either.

“Damn, you were stone cold back there” Dillon said patting me on the back.

“Thanks I guess?” I giggle.

“Shit, baby girl you dragged her ass!” Gilinsky called out with a laugh. He threw himself down on the couch and adjusted his snapback.

“I just can’t believe how rude Jessica was back there” Johnson said plopping on the couch beside G. He was always trying to see the good in other people, so I knew it really confounded him when people were so insulting.

“Sometimes there’s no explaining other people’s actions” Sammy said in a huff.

“All I know is there’s no way I couldn’t have stuck up for the squad” I said nestling in between Johnson and Gilinsky. They each put an arm around me and gave me a squeeze.

“Thanks for that baby” G said kissing the top of my head.

“No thanks necessary, you know you guys are family” I say crossing my arms.

“You’re so cute” Sam chuckled before squeezing my knee.

“Hey, you guys heard from Skate?” Swazz said standing on the stairs. He had his phone in his hand, and had a serious expression.

“No, why?” J asked, turning in his seat.

“I tried calling him over and over, but he’s not answering” he said before looking at his phone again.

“I’m sure he’s fine” I roll my eyes before returning to our previous conversation.

“I think fine isn’t the word for this situation” Johnson.

“Oh come on J, you know Nate. He’s probably out smoking to get his mind off of shit. Or fucking Jessica” I said flinching at the thought. I didn’t really want to accept that as the truth.

“I don’t think you realize how bad he’s hurting right now” he said sitting cross-legged on the couch. This caught me off guard, did he see the same Nate I was seeing?

“Yeah, I haven’t ever really seen Nate like this” Gilinsky said rubbing the back of his neck.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, confused.

“He’s been fucking with drugs y/n” J said looking directly at me. “And if you weren’t so far up Sam’s ass all the time you would have noticed him spiraling out of control” he said honestly.

I glanced at Sam who had an equally guilty look on his face. He widened his eyes at me in disbelief. I guess I was spending a lot of time with Sammy lately, but that was because Nate was shutting me out of his life. I never said that he and I couldn’t be friends, he was the one that cut me out.

“We all tried to take turns to talk to him about it, convince him to lay off of that junk” G said. “He wasn’t having it, he would become hostile and we couldn’t afford to have him go on a bender.”

I rubbed my face, soaking in their words. Fuck Nate. I’m mad at him, but I still fucking care.

“How did this even happen? He was never like this before her” I say referring to Jessica.

“You know how Nate is, when he loves, he loves hard” Sam said quietly.

“You guys remember that summer before he got with her? How it was just the five of us against the world?” J asked aloud. I smiled to myself at the memory of us a few years ago.

“How could I forget?”

2 years ago…

“We’re gonna need more popcorn baby girl!” Sam hollered from the living room.

“Coming up!” I yell back, chuckling to myself. It was our weekly movie night, which we held every Friday without fail. The guys would come over after school and we would make popcorn, build a sea of blankets on my living room floor, and watch movies until the wee hours of the morning. It was my favorite thing to do, and it strengthened our friendship greatly.

I put the popcorn bag into the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. I sat and waited, as I watched the bag spin around and around, the room beginning to smell like butter.

“Hey do you have any more Gatorade?” G asked, sauntering into my kitchen.

“Yeah check the bottom of the fridge” I say.

“You always have the goods, babe” he smirks giving my ass a little smack. I playfully flip him off before returning to the popcorn which was now done. I grabbed the bag and ran back into the living room, I practically threw it at Nate, who caught it on his chest.

“Oww, oww, oww” I yell from the burns.

“Problem?” Sam asked laughing at my reaction.

“No. Thanks for your help” I glare at him, which only made him laugh harder.

“So you fling a thousand degree bag of popcorn at me?!” Nate asked accusingly.

“Hush, just eat it” I say wiggling in between Nate and Sammy.

“So, what are we watching tonight?” I ask looking around at the boys. A smirk formed on all of their faces as they glanced around at one another. Oh god, this isn’t gonna be good.

“Brace yourself baby,” Sam said in a spooky voice.

“We’re watching Insidious” Nate finished. I let out a groan.

“Are you kidding me?” I shriek. “You guys always do this, I’m beginning to think it’s a part of your master plan to fuck with my mind” I say getting under the blankets.

“You got us pegged” J said grabbing his chest and laughing.

“Just play the movie before I change my mind” I say already hiding my eyes.

About halfway through the movie we were all getting bored, it was nowhere near as scary as we had anticipated.

“Let’s do something else” Sam whined propping himself up on one elbow.

“Like what?” I roll over to face him.

“Truth or dare” he said wiggling his eyebrows at me. The other boys groaned, but I thought it could be fun. I sat up quickly and we all formed a circle.

“Alright Samuel, since this was your idea you have to go first” I say. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare” he said with a grin.

“I dare you to streak through my neighborhood” I say. Nate bust out laughing, as Johnson just stared at him in disbelief.

“You’ve got to be kidding” Sam said.

“Nope. You asked for it, you gotta own up to it” I smile wickedly.

“I’ll get you back for this one” he said before peeling his shirt off over his head. He ran outside, luckily it was dimly lit by the street lights, and began running down the neighborhood. G filmed it, and I don’t think we’ve ever laughed this hard in our lives.

“Here Wilkinson, you’re gonna need these before you come back up!” I shout throwing his boxers down at him. He covered himself and came back in, shivering from the night air.

“I hate you” he said. I covered him in blankets to warm him up.

“You love me” I smile, and he just nudged me.

“Alright, who’s next?” J asked. Now they were interested in playing.

“Y/n” Sam said without hesitation.

“Okay. Truth or dare?” Johnson asked.

“Truth.”

“Are you crushing on someone?” he asked.

“Oh come on! You’re giving her an easy one!” Sam yelled, exasperated. J held up his hand to shut him up, about to extract information. Nate looked around the group uneasy as I braced myself to speak.

“Uhm, yes, I-I am” I spit out. G clapped his hands together and laughed.

“No way! Who?!” he asked leaning closer.

“I’m not telling!” I defend myself.

“Oh come on, it’s us” he whined. I just pushed him back, he was not getting this information out of me. I caught Johnson giving Nate a slight glance before we turned back. The game dissolved and became into one of our all night conversations.

“Who are you taking to prom?” Sam asked the Jacks.

“I don’t know man, I’m thinking of asking this girl but I don’t know if I’m really feeling it” Johnson shrugged.

“Yeah, well at least you’re not stuck taking your mom’s friend’s daughter” Sam scoffed.

“Poor Sammy” I giggle.

“What about you, babe? You going?” Sam asked, before shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“Yeah, I guess so. Depends on if I get asked I guess” I shrug reaching for the bowl.

Later that evening…

“Well I guess we better be getting back before our parents think we died” J laughed gathering his things. The others followed suit and I stood to walk them to the door. I hugged them each individually, telling them that I would talk to them later.

Before they left, they paused in the foyer.

“Hey, can I, uh, ask you something?” Nate said,

“Y/n-” G asked at the same time. I looked between the two boys and they chuckled at their timing. Nate rubbed the back of his neck.

“You go first man” he said to G. Gilinsky just broke into his million dollar smile shifting his dark eyes towards me.

“Hey babe, wanna go to prom with me?” he asked leaning on the door frame, all of his charm poured into one sentence. I felt put on the spot as the boys looked around awaiting my answer. Nate’s head snapped up at G’s question, and I could see disappointment flicker in his eyes.

“Oh, uhm, sure G” I stutter, caught off guard. I was secretly hoping that Nate would have asked me, but a girl’s gotta take what she can get.

“Great! See you later babe” G said kissing my cheek. I gave them a meek smile and a wave. I just shot Nate a look of sincere sorrow.

PRESENT TIME

“You remember what happened after that night right?” Johnson asked, pulling me out of the hazy memory.

“I guess, we went to prom right?” I ask. Gilinsky had his hand on his face, deep in thought.

“Yeah. You with Gilinsky, and Nate with Jessica” he said, speaking as though everything made sense now.

It dawned on me that Nate got involved with Jessica right after I committed to G for the prom. I don’t remember thinking much of it at the time, he seemed happy.

“That’s when she single-handedly destroyed him” Sam spoke up. We shifted our focus to where Sam was sitting on the loveseat. He continued to speak.

“She cheated on him repeatedly, even after he told her he loved her, which at the time he thought he did. It was hard to see my best friend ripped to shreds like that. It killed him that she ran to other guys” he spoke slowly, the memories flooding back.

“She even came back one night, declaring that he got her pregnant. God Nate was such a mess that night, calling me up freaking out. He ultimately decided to step up and do the right thing, and you know what happened? She was knocked up by another dude. Nate still had the dignity to step up and support her” Sam said becoming angry.

“As soon as the baby’s father came back into the picture, she dropped Nate like he wasn’t shit” Gilinsky added.

“Nate was fucked up for weeks after that” Johnson recalled. “Took a while for the dude to get back to normal.”

“Why didn’t anybody tell me this?” I spoke quietly.

“He didn’t want to affect you with that. He did his best to hide it from you, didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for him” Sam said shrugging his shoulders.

Everything was becoming clearer now. Things could have been much different, had that night at my house had a different outcome and I went with Nate and not G. Jessica wouldn’t have entered his life and fucked him up so badly. My heart ached for him, and all previous petty anger I had towards him started to melt away. All I wanted now was to take care of him.

“Guys, he’s not picking up his phone, I’m starting to get really worried” Swazz came bounding down the stairs, shaking us out of our heavy conversation.

“Wh-what?” I cry out.

“Shit, we gotta find him” Johnson said jumping up from his spot on the couch.

Everything was happening in a blur, the guys whizzing around me and out to the cars. I followed, in a complete daze.

“Where are you Nate” I whisper.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 16

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Sixteen

Y/n’s POV

We all filed into this fancy restaurant that was dimly lit, and teeming with people. It was one of those joints that had ambiance, and every diner was dressed to the nines. This was a really nice change from us sitting around like beach bums eating fast food.

“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” the server at the front podium asked us. She spoke fast, and in between barking out orders into her headset.

“Yeah it’s under Wilkinson” Sam spoke up, still holding my hand.

“Ah, yes. Wilkinson. Party of nine?” she clarified, typing away into the computer system.

“That’s right.”

“Right this way” she spoke before briskly walking through the crowded floor. We all had to take on a speed walk to keep up with her as she wove in and out of tables and around servers balancing food over their head. Sam dropped behind me, placing his hand on the small of my back as we made our way to the table.

“Here we are, your server will be with you shortly” she smiled before sauntering off.

“Damn, this place is fancy” Dillon said removing his blazer and placing it on the back of his chair.

“I heard they have the best steaks on Long Island” Kenny spoke up grabbing the menu.

“Nothing but the best guys” Sam said, making me giggle because I knew this was supposed to be for the two of us.

We all began to peruse the menu when our waiter came over.

“Good evening, my name is Zack and I’ll be your waiter for the evening. What can I get you all to drink?” he said flipping a notepad and pulling a pen from behind his ear. He was attractive, but rather quirky. He went around the table taking our drink orders, and most of us just asked for waters to start.

“You guys from around here?” he asked as he scribbled away.

“No, we’re on vacation” Johnson spoke up.

“That’s rad man. You having a good time?” he asked. This guy was overly friendly, but it added to his charm. He was really laid back.

“The best time,” I said smiling widely and glancing at the guys.

“Tell you what, let me see if I can sneak you guys a bottle of red. They’re always laying around anyways” he smiled before walking off.

“Hell yes” Dillon said clapping his hands together. I just laughed.

“This is a fancy establishment Rupp, not one of your strip joints that you get smashed at” I chuckle turning back to the menu.

“Better listen to the lady man” Gilinsky laughed.

We all made small talk about what we decided we were going to order. Most of us settled on steaks, or seafood.

Zack returned with our waters, and a bottle of red-as promised. We placed our orders and settled in for a relaxed evening. I settled back in my chair, semi-leaning on Sam, as we listened to Johnson tell us about the wild time they had on the set for a music video.

“I’m telling you guys, the power went out for like thirty minutes, nobody could see what they were doing” he starts speaking fast and talked with his hands, something he does when he’s excited.

“So we got the brilliant idea of splattering everyone with the glow in the dark paint” Gilinsky cut in, laughing so hard he could barely get the words out.

“But nobody realized that shit can be flammable, so here I am running around like an idiot past these tiki torches, when all of a sudden I feel the room become a thousand degrees” J said.

“This bitch caught himself on fucking fire” G was screaming laughing at this point. “I had to tackle him to the ground, and an extra poured all of the waters from the table all over him.”

“There’s no way” I say busting out laughing.

“Why haven’t I heard that one before?” Swazz asked.

“Can’t be worse than the time I almost set my hand on fire” Sam laughs.

“Oh my god, I was there for that one! Dude made a blowtorch out of a lighter and hairspray” Kenny said shaking his head at the memory.

This is generally how the night was carrying on, we were laughing and telling stories, reminiscing on the good times we have had together.

“How is everyone doing over here? Need any top ups on drinks, or are you good?” Zack asked.

“Actually, we’ll need two more places set” a voice boomed from behind the table. I furrowed my brow, turning from the conversation. The entire table fell silent to see Nate escorting that bimbo Jessica to her place. What in the actual fuck. I could feel Sam tense beside me, and everyone sat with wide eyes.

“It’s rude to stare, you know” she said sitting down, a smug smile playing on her lips. Nate sat directly across from me, and stared intently into my eyes.

“I could say the same” I said taking a sip of my wine.

“Glad you decided to join us after all” Johnson nervously laughed.

“Yeah, well I figured since tonight’s all about debuting dysfunctional relationships why not join the party” Nate said harshly, barely hiding that his snide comment was directed to Sam and I.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but I squeezed his thigh gently under the table as a warning.

“It’s not worth it,” I whisper into his ear as his jaw clenched.

“So…” Kenny struggled to redirect this train-wreck back to normal conversation.

“Jessica, how did you two meet?” he asked before burying his face in his glass.

“Oh Nathan and I go way back” she flipped her hair before delving into the story. She had a fake spray tan, bright blonde hair and wore too much makeup. Her dress was quite revealing, and definitely not appropriate for the setting.

“We met back home in Omaha, and dated for a while. We were the loves of each other’s life” she said grasping Nate’s bicep tightly under her nails. He sat in silence, not corroborating her story one way or the other, just watching it unfold. Waiting for my reaction. I rolled my eyes, knowing damn well it wasn’t the truth.

“Don’t roll your eyes, sweetheart. Just because he chose me and not you” she smiled falsely. I could feel my blood begin to boil, but this night was not about this bitch, it was about friendship.

“There wasn’t a choice to make,” I smile just as falsely as she did, “I opted to fuck a real man” I say before placing a sloppy kiss to Sam’s neck. He looked down, trying desperately to hide his smirk. He knew I was a spitfire, and would hardly shy away from speaking my own. I heard an audible “holy shit” escape Gilinsky’s lips.

I slowly shifted my gaze to Nate to let him know that whatever little plan he had concocted, wasn’t going to work. He clenched his jaw tightly, anger flickering in his eyes.

“Okay, so Kenny how has the music scene coming along with Wes?” Cam asked, desperate to escape this awkward situation. They always seemed to follow us.

“Uh, really great actually” Kenny stuttered, trying to find his groove. “We’re starting up our own band, called The Balcony,”

“Oh my god, like the balcony of a house?” Jessica asked leaning forward, her boob nearly knocking over her wine glass.

“Uh, yeah,” Kenny slightly cringed at her comment, “anyways we just got it going and we’re releasing our first song in July” he finished. I laughed into my glass at her dumbass comment, and Kenny’s reaction was priceless and didn’t exactly help.

“You okay?” Sam leaned in to ask me, noticing my giggling.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just now realizing that balconies are a part of houses, AND the name of Kenny’s band!” I say playing dumb, which caused Sam to let out a giggle.

“Why you gotta say some shit like that” Nate growled out. This is the first time he contributed to the conversation. I wiped a tear that was escaping my eye, before shifting them to Nate’s face. He was fuming that I was finding this humorous.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I say innocently.

“You have no right to be rude to her, y/n. You’re acting like a bitch right now” he said with malice.

“You’re way out of line bro” Sam warned, anger lacing his voice.

“What has gotten into you?” Johnson leaned in to Nate. All humor has left me, and now I felt pure anger.

“I’m not gonna sit here and let her talk about Jessica like that” he raised his voice.

“Oh now you’re trying to act like a man” Sam spat, standing up to confront Nate, who jumped to his feet also. They were about to get into each other’s faces before the waiter interrupted with our food, causing them to sit back down. Zack was oblivious to the hell hole that he walked into.

“Thanks Zach” Jessica said touching his hand and shooting him a flirty smile. The girl was on a date with Nate and she couldn’t even keep her hands to herself. Typical.

We all began eating, and the conversation shifted yet again.

“So speaking of music, you two are working on some new singles right?” Nash asked towards the Jacks before cutting into his steak. J’s eyes lit up, finally able to talk about something else.

“Yeah we are. We’re actually coming up with a new concept-” he began before he was rudely cut off.

“Wait. You two make music?” Jessica said gesturing between the two Jacks, a look of distaste on her face.

“Uh, yeah. Why?” Gilinsky asked, purely confused.

“Well now I’ve heard it all” she threw her head back and scoffed. Now I really felt my blood boiling. It was one thing to throw menial insults at me, but when you start to insult my family, the claws are out.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up” I bellow, effectively silencing the whole table. I heard the clinking of silverware dropping on plates, and saw Cam’s mouth agape in shock.

“Y/n…” Gilinsky whispered while kicking my foot lightly under the table.

“I got this G” I said. Normally I was above this, I would just let it roll off of my back, but not tonight.

“These two guys right here, have more talent in one finger than you do in your whole body. I mean really, what are you good for? You’re just taking up space. Not to mention you’re completely wasting your time chasing after a guy that doesn’t want you” I started to lay into her, my face growing red with fury. Everybody just watched in complete horror.

She looked around somewhat nervously, but tried her best to laugh it off.

“Bullshit, Nate’s in love with me and you’re just too jealous to realize that you’re not good enough” she retorted. I stood up throwing my napkin on the table, Sam grabbing one arm just in case I tried anything.

“It’s not about being ‘good enough.’ What good does it do when the guy is completely repulsed by you, speaks bad about you when you’re not around, and goes out of his way to avoid you” I argued. She sat in silence at the impact of my words.

“You can try your best to hurt me, but I’ll be damned if I let you hurt these guys” I motion around me. “And you,” I turn to look at Nate, “I thought you would at least have the dignity to stick up for your friends.” I threw myself back in my chair and chugged my water, damn roasting people took it out of me.

“Check please!” Gilinsky half-shouted to any waiter in the vicinity. He stuck behind to finish up with the bill while the rest of us gathered our things to leave.

Nate’s POV

“Nathan! Are you just going to let her talk to me like that?!” Jessica whisper-shouted pulling on my arm.

“You were out of line attacking the Jacks like that” I simply responded as I got up from the table. We made a right commotion out of this dinner. My plan kind of backfired, I wanted to get a rise out of y/n, which happened, but I didn’t expect her to say such hurtful things. The rift is greater now.

We were walking behind the rest of the group, and I saw Sam holding onto her tightly. He was rubbing it in. I harshly pulled Jessica into my side, in a desperate attempt to exude my masculinity.

“Oww, Nate, watch my hair!” she whined.

“Sorry” I mumble gruffly.

By now we were all standing outside in the night air, waiting for G to finish up with the check.

“She’s only talking a big game because she’s got Sam Wilkinson on her arm” Jessica said to me, but quite loudly to where I knew the others had heard also.

“I have fucking had it with you” y/n said leaving Sam’s arms, and stormed right towards us. She lifted her hand and smacked Jessica right across the face. She stumbled backwards, from the pure force of the blow. Y/n turned quickly on her heel and walked with Sam and the others towards the car. Now I know I really fucked up, when the night resulted in physical blows. I shouldn’t have brought Jessica here, it made everything worse and possibly drove y/n further into the arms of Sam.

“Come on, I’ll take you home” I say ushering Jessica towards the car we came in. We drove in silence the entire way, she looked pissed that y/n got away with the last word. I could still see the bright pink handprint left on her face. I pulled up to the front driveway of the house she was staying at.

“You wanna come up?” she asked quickly, and in an angry tone.

“No I’m good” I say before driving off, leaving her standing in her driveway. I could hear her screaming something at me, probably a mixture of expletives, but I didn’t really give a shit.

I just kept driving.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 15

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Fifteen

Y/n’s POV

I immediately stripped out of my clothes and got ready for bed. I was 10,000 times done with this day. The more I was awake, the more I stewed about what was happening. I got angrier by the minute, which in turn lead to frustrated tears. I pulled the blankets up to my chin and just sobbed, letting it all out of me.

I heard my bedroom door open and close, and felt the bed dip behind me. I was physically exhausted so I didn’t even bother to check to see who it was. A slender figure slid into bed beside me and pulled me into their chest. The cool smell of mint gum hit my nostrils. Sammy.

He didn’t have to say anything, just wordlessly consoled me by holding me tight, which was exactly what I needed. His arms snaked around my waist and he tangled his fingers with mine. I could feel him breathing deeply, his chest periodically brushing my back. I don’t know what brought this on, but in this moment I am thankful for him.

The next day…

I awoke the next morning feeling deeply rested. Crying always tends to take it out of me. I felt heat radiating beside me and I knew that Sam had fallen asleep as well. It was almost 11:30, and I’m guessing the boys have already made their way down to the beach.

“Morning” Sam said stretching broadly, eyes still shut.

“Hey” I say quietly, sitting up in bed. “Sam,” I say getting his attention, “thank you.” My head dropping down.

His hazel eyes were bright due to the sunlight filtering through the room, and his hair was swept every which way.

“You’re welcome baby girl” he said in his croaky morning voice. He sat up slightly, resting on his elbows.

“You don’t deserve that shit. I don’t know what Nate is doing, but I do know it’s not right” he said seriously. The mention of Nate’s name made me exhausted all over again.

“He’s acting like a dick, so fuck him” I say through clenched teeth. I stood to head into the bathroom.

“Y/n, wait” Sam said, a little anxious.

“Yeah?” I ask in the doorway.

“Let me take you out. Show you how a real man would treat you” he said, all trace of humor gone from his demeanor. His tone was rushed, and his eyes were pleading.

“You know what? That would be nice” I shoot him a small smile before retreating into the bathroom. Fuck it, what did I have to lose at this point. G was just looking for a hookup, so I was fine to just be friends. And Nate can go fuck himself-or better yet, Jessica.

Sam’s POV

I flopped back on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a stupid grin on my face. She said yes. I had to tell someone, so I rushed downstairs into the kitchen. I saw the Jacks sitting at the island, eating cereal.

“Just the guys I was looking for” I say grinning at them. G’s eyes grew wide as he looked at Johnson.

“What did you do now Sam?” Johnson said.

“Why do you always assume the worst?” I ask, grabbing a water out of the fridge.

“Because I know you” he laughed.

“Very funny. This is actually good news. Y/n agreed to let me take her out” I say smiling before sitting across from them. G dropped his spoon in the bowl.

“She what?!” G exclaimed, in pure shock.

“You heard me right boys, she’s coming around to the idea of Sam Wilkinson” I smile, cheekily.

“More like coming around to the dark side” G laughed throwing his head back. I shot him a fake glare.

“Dude I don’t think this is a good idea” J said, shifting in his seat.

“Always the doubter, Johnson” I say getting defensive.

“Just a realist man. You’re heading into deep waters, you better know what you’re doing because I’m not having y/n get hurt again. Or worse, the entire squad torn up” he says. Gilinsky grew solemn, realizing the possible outcomes.

“Nobody is going to get hurt man, just relax” I say trying to brush off their serious tone. J just shot me a knowing look before he and G slipped out the back door to join the others at the beach.

I was annoyed that they weren’t happy for me, but I guess it’s just me doing this on my own.

Nate’s POV

I was sitting on a stretch of beach by myself. I made sure to venture a little ways down from the house so that I wouldn’t have to face the others. I truly felt like I was alone, I lost y/n, the guys didn’t really know what was happening, and my only ally in the house, Sam, had turned on me too.

I looked down to where my feet were buried in the sand, the shore gently lapping up next to where I was sitting. The sea breeze was brushing my hair around my face. I was tired, I hadn’t slept in days.

“Hey stranger” a voice said before sitting next to me. I looked at them and turned back to looking at the sea. It was Jessica. Normally I would argue with her, tell her to get lost, but today I just don’t have it in me.

“You wanna talk about it?” she said, feigning interest in my situation. I just gave her a semi-poisonous look, she was 99% of the reason why y/n dropped me.

“I don’t want to tell you shit. Why don’t you leave me alone” I say bitterly.

“Nate, I know you don’t mean that. We had a good thing going” she began.

“That was a year ago, get over it” I scoff. Clearly she hadn’t remembered that I dumped her crazy ass.

“Well you know where to find me if you want to go out sometime” she said, determined to win me over I guess. I just shake my head, not interested. She retreated back down the beach in the direction she had come, once again leaving me with my thoughts. The peace and quiet didn’t last long before I heard the voice I would recognize anywhere shouting and laughing.

I turn my head back towards the direction of the house and could see y/n shrieking and playing around with the guys. She looked happy, but still not quite herself. I decided to head back to our area on the beach, to lay on my towel for a while. I placed my Ray Ban’s back over my eyes so I didn’t have to make eye contact with anyone.

“Hey Skate” Cam shouted from where he was throwing a football with Nash. I just nodded at him as if to say “what’s up” before I laid back on my towel. I caught y/n rolling her eyes at my lack of a response.

“Here baby girl, I got you your favorite” Sam came out of nowhere holding two ice cream cones. She grinned broadly as she took the giant waffle cone into her hand, the ice cream piled high.

“Sammy you remember that?” she giggles before taking a lick.

“Of course, I know everything about you, remember?” he smirked before grabbing her waist. His hands roamed her skin, which there was a lot of because of her bathing suit. I laid down completely, shutting my eyes so I didn’t have to watch this sickening sight anymore. They sat on beach towels a couple of feet in front of mine, so unfortunately I could still hear their conversation.

“You excited for tonight?” Sam asked.

“Definitely! It’ll be nice to go out to a nice dinner, all of us” she said. Nice dinner? What is she talking about.

“I’m sorry that the whole crew is going to be there on our first date, you know how insistent J was that they all come” he chuckled. My breath caught in my throat. Date.

“It’s fine Sam, really. You can just make it up to me later” she said playfully. Oh fuck no. There is no way Sam fucking Wilkinson is stepping in to take her on a date. I am so incredibly pissed at the betrayal.

That evening…

It was dusky outside as I heard the others buzzing around getting ready for dinner in town.

“Y/n can you help me with my tie?” I heard G bellow down the hallway. She would always take care of us with shit like that, we were incompetent.

“Come here G” she giggled. They met just where my door was cracked open, and I could see them standing in the hall.

“You look nice” she said while looping his tie through the hole she created.

“Thanks babe” he smiled brightly. They broke apart to finish dressing, when Swazz burst into our shared room.

“Hey man, you coming out with us tonight?” he said while rummaging through his shoe collection in the closet.

“Nah, I’m good.” He emerged with a pair of black Vans. He stopped to shake his head at me before exiting into the hall.

“You gotta snap out of it sometime man” he said before exiting.

“Damn, you look fine baby!” I heard Sam drawl. Y/n came up and swung her arms around his shoulders, stepping on her tip toes to place a kiss to his lips. She giggled when he started to tickle her sides. This was sickening.

“Guys, let’s go!” Kenny shouted from downstairs, and soon the upstairs hallway was void of people.

I was pissed that she would get with Sam so quickly after dropping me. Or maybe it was Sam that made a move on her the minute he got the chance. I didn’t really know, but what I did know was that it making me jealous. A plan began to hatch in my mind. Two can play at this game.

I pulled out my cell phone, and dialed the number. I waited as it rang multiple times.

“Hi, Jessica? Yeah, it’s me. Listen I changed my mind, let’s go out. Tonight. I’ll pick you up in twenty, I have a place in mind.”

The Tides Have Turned-Part 14

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Fourteen

Two days had passed since my talk with Nate, and I haven’t heard from him since. I was never a fan of the silent treatment, and icing people out, but I had to patient. He probably needed time to get over it, just as he did with other fights we’ve had in the past. I have to admit, I miss him. His company, his laugh, all of it. I just sigh, I’m not the most patient person.

I was still in the hospital, because the doctors wanted to keep an eye on my wound until they were sure it wouldn’t become infected. I was tired of being here, I wanted to be back at the house with the guys, where I belonged.

“Good morning sweetheart! I have some good news, your doctor cleared you to be discharged, so you might want to call someone to come pick you up” a nurse said marching into the room. I could barely contain my excitement at the thought of going back to the beach house.

“That’s excellent! I’ll call someone right now” I smile at her. I reached for my phone off of the table next to my bed and pulled up my contact list. I automatically hit “N” for Nate’s number, but stopped myself. Normally I would call Nate in situations like this, but I didn’t think it was appropriate so I made a call to someone else.

“Hello?” the familiar voice sounded through the phone. Johnson, my best friend.

“It’s me, I’m being discharged can you come and get me?” I said, barely containing my excitement.

“What?! That’s great! I’m on my way!” he spoke rapidly before hanging up the phone.

A nurse helped me get dressed and gave me instructions how to care for my injury while at home. She escorted me down to the waiting room so I could wait for Jack. I thanked her for her kindness and gave her a small hug.

Twenty minutes later, a familiar blonde head rushed into the waiting room. His eyes were searching until they found mine.

“Y/n!” he yelled.

“Shh!” a front desk nurse looked annoyed.

“Y/n” Jack whisper-shouted, causing me to giggle. He gingerly hugged me, so as not to hurt my side. He held my hand and took me to the car.

“You have my parent’s car?” I question, confused.

“Yeah the keys were on the counter, and I didn’t think a bus was necessary to pick you up” he laughed climbing inside.

“I can see that” I laughed. It was weird, how did he get the keys. I could have sworn I left them in my room amongst my other things.

“I know what you’re thinking” he said staring straight ahead. Jack could always read me like a book. It was both good and bad, depending on the situation.

“Nate was the one to drive you to the hospital that night” he said seriously. Of course he was.

“Oh” I manage before looking out of my window again. That explains why Jack had the keys, Nate must have returned them to the house.

“Look, I don’t know what you said to him, but he ain’t right” Jack continued. I sighed heavily, not wanting to divulge into this conversation.

“Jack, I’m sure you’re just exaggerating. Nate is a big boy, he’ll be alright” I roll my eyes, slightly annoyed at this topic. What was said needed to be done, even if it hurt both his feelings and mine. Did I want to stop being with Nate? No. But if he’s interested in an old flame, I’m not about to be his side piece.

“I’m not exaggerating y/n” Jack said even deeper now. Normally I could count on Johnson for being even-keeled, but I knew he meant business when he was serious with me of all people. I shifted my focus to his profile as his jaw clenched, deep in thought.

“Nate hasn’t spoken to any of us in two days. He just stays in his room, or mopes about the house. We ask him to the beach, but he always brushes us off” Jack said. That really was abhorrent behavior for Nate. He was a fighter, he’d yell, punch things even, to get his anger out. He was never one to shut himself off from the world. You always knew where you stood with Nate.

“I don’t know what to say Jack” I said.

“Well I don’t know what you two had going on, but whatever it is you might want to consider talking to him. Straighten him out, we’re starting to get worried” Jack said shooting me a side glance.

“I don’t know Jack…” I trailed off weary to talk to Nate again.

“Just heed my warning” he said before we continued the rest of the drive in silence.

We pulled up to the house about ten minutes later, and I slowly walked through the front door. The guys immediately stopped what they were doing to come and greet me. Cam placed his drink down, Nash turned off the TV, Kenny lowered the music, and Sammy came bounding down the stairs.

“It’s so good to have you back babe” Sam said wrapping me into his chest tightly. He rested his chin on the top of my head, and inhaled deeply.

“It was only two days Sammy” I giggle and I could feel his laugh reverberate through his chest.

“Two days too many baby girl” he said placing a kiss on my cheek. The others greeted me much in the same way.

“We have matching battle scars” Gilinsky said waving his bandaged hand at me. I laughed at his silly remark before searching the room for the one soul I knew wouldn’t be there. I didn’t even have to ask aloud, before Johnson just shrugged his shoulders at me.

“I’m just gonna go upstairs and freshen up” I say before leaving the guys downstairs. I walked up the steps carefully, and heard the soft hum of music, the bass vibrating. Nate. I was contemplating whether or not I should go and knock on his door, but my decision was made for me as he rounded the corner from his room. I stood frozen in my tracks as he walked towards me. I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when Nate looked right past me. His eyes were void of any emotion, and he brushed by me as if we were perfect strangers. That was worse than any stab wound I could ever have.

I turned into my bedroom and slammed the door shut before I started to tear up. I have succeeded in doing the one thing I never wanted to happen; I lost my best friend. I severed our friends with benefits situation to avoid exactly this, but he refused to acknowledge me anyway.

Nate’s POV

Seeing her killed me. I didn’t even realize that she was set to be released, until I heard Johnson pull up in the driveway. I wasn’t done processing everything that had been said. We could never seem to get our timing right. Either somebody was always getting in the way, or I wasn’t man enough to speak up. And now she has the wrong idea about Jessica and I. But being the typical stubborn y/n, she wasn’t willing to hear me out.

I felt emotionally drained after leaving the hospital that day. I didn’t want to talk to anybody, or do anything. I just wanted to stay in my room with my music and my weed. That was all that would work to keep my mind off of things. I needed to get something to eat, because I haven’t eaten in like 24 hours, so I exited my cave of a bedroom to head downstairs. I saw her standing by the staircase and the entrance to her room, she was bandaged and looked exhausted. If she wanted to absolve this fucked up relationship we had, then so be it. It took all of my strength to ignore her and our past. I walked right past her. I thought I would keep my dignity and would feel pride in that, but this hurt worse.

Y/n’s POV

I spent a couple of hours in my room, just watching TV and trying to calm myself down. I figured it was time to eat because I smelled the aroma of food wafting through the house. I slipped on my slippers and made my way downstairs.

“Hey baby, take a seat I’ll fix you up” G said from the stove.

“Thanks G” I said before sitting next to Cam and Kenny. We all made small talk about what I had missed when I was in hospital, and by the sounds of it, it wasn’t much.

“Here, eat up. You need your strength” G said placing the plate in front of me and kissed my head. I smiled and thanked him once more before digging in.

“Oh my god, real food. Not that hospital bullshit” I say eagerly causing the guys to laugh.

“Yeah Chef Gilinsky over there thought it would be good for you” Sam chuckled.

I caught the sight of Nate out of the corner of my eye fixing food, and to my surprise he actually sat at the same table as me. Albeit, he sat as far away from as he could get. He never really looked up to talk to anybody, just ate in silence. Awkward silences were always too much for me to bear, so I decided to man up and initiate the first move.

“So, Nate are you going out to the beach with us tomorrow?” I say as nonchalantly as possible. Some of the guys chimed in helping me out with this conversation. Nate looked up looking at my eyes in a fleeting moment, before raising his eyebrows slightly and looking back at his food. Not a “no,” not a nod of disagreement-nothing. I rolled my eyes at his childish games.

“What the fuck ever” I say getting up and throwing my plate away. I stormed off to my bedroom and slammed the door.

I felt myself starting to get angry. If he wanted to ice me out, and act like a child then so be it. I would get on with my life, and enjoy my time with the others.

Sam’s POV

“Dude what the fuck?” I say, agitated at Nate’s rude behavior towards y/n. I don’t know what is going on with him, but his bad mood was starting to get on my nerves too.

“She was talking to you and you didn’t even answer her? What is that” I say further. This must have struck a nerve because he spoke for the first time in two days.

“You don’t fucking know the situation Sam so back off” he yelled. I felt myself get defensive.

“Why don’t you explain it to me then instead of acting like a little bitch!” I screamed back.

Nate stood abruptly, his chair screeching backwards against the tile. G and Swazz stood up to stick their hands between us as we were now heaving face to face.

“Everybody calm down” J said. “Take a walk, both of you.”

“We can’t have more fighting amongst us” G said.

Nate just rolled his eyes and stormed off. I sat back down still pretty mad about how he treated y/n.

“Look, bro. I know you care about y/n, we all do, but you shouldn’t pick at Nate. He’s going through some shit with her” J said towards me.

“You think I don’t know that? I know just as well as anyone. But I also know that it doesn’t give him the right to treat her like shit. She’s upset, clearly you can see that!” I say both defending myself and motioning upstairs.

J squeezed his eyes shut in exasperation.

“If Nate is gonna act like that, then he doesn’t deserve her. She needs somebody to be a man” I say crossing my arms.

“And what. That’s you Sam?”

The Tides Have Turned-Part 13

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Thirteen Everything was a blur, the room was spinning. I acted before I even thought of what I was doing. I lunged towards Jack and initially thought I was successful in stopping the attack. I stood and watched his face contort in pain and realized it was only his hands that were sliced. My world suddenly entered slow motion, voices becoming muted. I felt a sharp pain, but with my focus being on Jack I didn’t really pay attention to myself. I slowly looked down to see a deep stab wound in my side. My hand clutched the area tightly, blood seeping through my fingers and staining my dress. I suddenly felt weak, and sank slowly to the ground. I could see the guys moving towards me, mouthing words, but it was like nothing came out. Just silence. Nate’s POV Screams filled the room as the fight escalated to an alarming level. I caught on quickly that Gilinsky was hit, but I didn’t know where. All I knew was that I had to get the knife away from these assholes. I lunged for the guy and knocked him to the ground. I struggled to pin him down, attempting to punch him, when he brought the knife close enough to slash my forearm. “Fuck!” I yelled in pain. It hurt, but it fueled my anger further. I gained the advantage of laying a few punches on the guy and kicked the knife out of reach. I was slamming into him repeatedly. “Nate, bro that’s enough” Johnson yelled, out of breath. The party was thinning out by now, probably because shit got too heavy. “The cops are probably on their way, we gotta get out of here” Swazz said. “Guys, we have a bigger problem” Gilinsky said clutching his hand in pain, his voice laced with worry. “Nate you’re going to want to get over here, NOW” Sam yelled. This alarmed me once more and I rushed towards them to see y/n unconscious on the ground. She had blood all over the front of her dress.

“Oh my god…” I whispered, sinking to my knees. I pushed the hair out of her face and tried desperately to get a reaction out of here, but with no luck.

“Y/n, please. Wake up. Say something!” I plead. I moved her arm to examine the wound, and saw it was pretty deep. I needed to get her to a hospital.

“Guys we gotta go” I say more urgently. I quickly removed the hoodie that I had been wearing and tied it securely around her torso to keep the blood in as best as I could. I picked her up bridal style and began jogging out of the house.

“Fuck! We didn’t drive here, we walked!” I say stopping dead in my tracks. I knew I didn’t have much time.

The guys quickly followed me outside, they each had varying degrees of injuries-myself included. The most important thing right now was getting y/n sorted out. I knew there was nobody left at the house, so I clutched onto her as tightly as I could and began running as fast as I can. The endless stretch of beach was blurring past me at a dizzying pace. I needed to get back to the house, and the car, as soon as I could.

The guys were hot on my trail when we finally sprinted up the driveway, now more out of breath than before.

“You guys take the bus, I’ll take y/n in her parent’s car” I say motioning towards the vehicles.

“Alright man. Listen, be careful” Johnson said before climbing into the driver’s side of the bus. The guys all packed in tightly, Gilinsky appeared to be out of it.

“We’ll see you there” Sam said shooting me one last sorrowful glance. I just nodded my head and jogged towards the car. I gingerly placed y/n in the front seat, I was fraught with worry. I drove faster than I ever have before. I was praying silently that I wouldn’t get pulled over for doing 90 in a 35 zone.

I didn’t even really know where I was going, I just had to drive into town and hope for the best. I kept glancing at her in the front seat, each minute becoming more serious.

“Please, baby. Stay with me, don’t go anywhere. Please. Don’t leave me, I need you” I pleaded more for myself to hear than her.

Finally I saw a large building with bright read letters reading EMERGENCY ROOM. I pulled up and picked y/n up carefully out of the car before bursting through the doors.

“Somebody please help! She’s been stabbed!” I shout desperately through the ER. A group of nurses quickly ran towards us, one bringing a stretcher. They whisked her out of my arms quicker than the time it takes me to blink. I didn’t want to let go of her, I had this stupid separation anxiety. Always afraid I wouldn’t be able to see her again.

“Sir, you should come with me” a nurse said pushing me towards an exam room. I sat there in a daze as she cleaned up my arm.

“You’re going to need a few stitches, but other than that you’ll be fine” she said reassuringly.

“What about my girl?” I asked worried. I couldn’t give a shit about my arm, I needed to know that she would be okay.

“I don’t currently know her status. You’ll have to talk to her doctor, but try not to worry” she said finishing my stitches. I exited the room and sat in the waiting area where I found most of the other guys. I sat down next to Sam in silence. Nobody really spoke to each other, all waiting with baited breath. Try not to worry. That’s like telling a fish not to swim, or a bird not to sing.

We sat and waited for what feels like hours. Still no word on how she’s doing, which was increasing my anxiety by the minute. I couldn’t just sit here anymore, it was too much.

“I’m going for a walk” I say before completely bursting through the waiting room doors.

I was just a quick fuck.

Those words were running through my head. Is that what she thought? That was the last thing she ever was to me. She was hurt because of me, and then that idiot Gilinsky made it worse. She was put through hell in the matter of a couple of hours, and now here she is seriously injured. And I wasn’t there to protect her-Sam was. I mean I was grateful that he was there, I know he loves her, but it should have been me.

“Nate! Bro, come on! They’re about to give us an update” Swazz yelled out through the doors. My head quickly snapped up, freeing me from my thoughts. I sprinted back into the waiting room, desperate for good news.

“Hey Dr. Miller, what is it? How’s she doing?” I say roughly shaking his hand.

“She’s alright. She sustained a pretty deep stab wound, but you got her here quick enough to prevent infection and blood loss” he stated looking kind but professional.

“We stitched her up, and she should heal rather quickly. She’s lucky you guys were there. You can go in and see her now” he said before shaking our hands and walking away. I stood semi-frozen before Johnson put a hand on my back.

“Come on man, it’ll be okay.”

Y/n’s POV

I stared mindlessly at the fuzzy television screen in my hospital room. The bed was uncomfortable, and the room was decorated with fake plants and cheap furniture. I sighed, but quickly winced at the pain. A knock sounded on my door, and I figured it would just be another nurse to check on me.

“Come in” I answer, my voice void of any emotion. My heart lifted when I saw each of the boys entering single-file.

“Hey there” Kenny said coming over to place a tender kiss to my head. I smiled at him as he sat on the chair next to my bed.

“Hey beautiful, feeling okay?” Sam said moving to put his arm around me. His beautiful features were bruised and cut.

“I’m fine Sammy. Are you?” I say worried. He let out a deep laugh.

“Doing alright baby girl, this is nothing” he said nonchalantly. The rest of the boys filled the room, sitting anywhere they could including the floor. Johnson sat at the foot of my bed and Gilinsky joined him. My heart hurt to see Jack’s hand bandaged.

“Jack, oh my god, I’m so sorr-” I begin, tears filling my eyes. He held his hand up to stop me.

“Don’t even, y/n. This was not your fault, and if it wasn’t for you I would have been worse off” he said with complete gratitude.

“Maybe I am in love with you considering you saved my life” he said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. I chuckled softly clutching my side. My eyes moved around to these guys that cared so deeply for me, and I took a second to realize how grateful I am.

My eyes then shifted to the familiar dark hair and tattoos. Nate was standing in silence, behind Swazz’s chair. His eyes were bloodshot, and he too had a bandage on his arm. I motioned for him to come over to my side. He sharply inhaled, but complied.

“We’ll just give you guys a minute” Johnson said standing to leave.

“We are right in the waiting room if you need us babe” Sam said before placing a chaste kiss to my cheek. I squeezed his hand to show my thanks. The last boy left allowing the heavy door to swing shut.

I returned my gaze to Nate who was looking everywhere but at me. It’s like he couldn’t handle seeing me like this, but I needed him now more than ever-even just as friends.

“Nate…” I let out softly.

“I was so fucking scared” he said, barely over a whisper.

“Are you alright? I didn’t know you got stabbed” I said feeling guilty.

“I’m fine, really” he said seriously before looking down. He looked up again, finally staring deeply into my eyes.

“I never thought you were a quick fuck. I enjoyed every second of our time together. If we hadn’t had that fight then you wouldn’t-” he began to stammer.

“Nate, don’t. I don’t know what you and Jessica had, or have going on, but she made it quite clear that you are attached. I need you to be here for me, as a friend right now” I say squeezing my eyes shut. The words were so painful to utter.

“Wait, Jessica? She said some shit to you?” he said with mixed emotions.

“That’s not the point. Be with her, Nate. It’s clear you two have history together, and you know what they say that’s hard to ignore” I say trying my best to be convincing and heartfelt.

“You don’t mean that” he said standing, clearly taken aback.

“Our arrangement is over Nate” I said before looking away. I couldn’t bear to look into his eyes.

He walked in silence towards the exit, before quietly mumbling something under his breath. He was never direct with his feelings, so I couldn’t be sure, but I think he said “please don’t leave me.”

The Tides Have Turned-Part 12

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Twelve

I stood still, my eyes bouncing from face to shocked face of my closest friends. The room became eerily silent, or so it felt. I realized that I had put our entire personal lives on blast, and I felt my cheeks warm with embarrassment.

“Can somebody please tell me what the fuck is going on?” G exclaimed, exasperated.

“Dude, you’re in love with y/n?” Nash asked, eyes wide. “I thought you would at least say something to me, we only grew up together” Johnson scoffed.

“I have no idea what anybody is talking about! This is news to me too! Since when am I in love with y/n?!” Gilinsky yelled.

“It looks like you’ve got other priorities, so I’m gonna go” the girl next to him said. “No wait up!” G tried.

This was turning into a shit show, everybody accusing each other of being dishonest. I quickly slipped out of the circle of people, desperate to be anywhere but here.

Nate didn’t want me for anything other than a quick lay. I couldn’t believe he would lead me on like that. Granted feelings were never vocalized, but why would he act like a different person when it was just the two of us? It made me call our entire hotel trip into question. And now Jack’s blatant confusion, and subsequent rejection, was the cherry on top. I need a fucking drink.

I walked full speed to the bar to drown my sorrows, but was stopped short and yanked into a private room. I came face to face with none other than Jessica.

“What do you want?” I roll my eyes, barely containing my disgust.

“No need for the attitude, it doesn’t make you very appealing” she grinned. I knew she was reveling in what happened out there.

“If you have nothing of value to say, then I’ll be on my way” I say turning to leave. She moved in front of me and placed her hand on the door.

“Not so fast” she spoke in a harsh tone.

“I’m here to warn you that you better back off of Nate. I don’t know whatever you thought you two had going, but it’s over now. He’s mine, always was, and always will be. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away” she threatens.

Normally I would have defended Nate, saying he wouldn’t want her, he’s moved on, etc. The truth is I didn’t know what was going on in his head anymore. I could barely make sense of how he felt about our messed up situation, so how could I speak to whatever the hell he calls what he had with Jessica.

I have had enough of everybody’s bullshit for one night.

“I’m shaking” I mock intimidation. She just lowered her eyes at me.

“Well get used to this, because I’m not going anywhere” she said. I whipped my head back at her words. A devilish grin formed on her face.

“You heard me right. I rented a beach house 2 miles up from yours. So if you even think about going after Nate, you’ve got one hell of a fight ahead of you.”

“It must be sad being that desperate” I say before promptly exiting the spare bedroom, content with having the last words. Now I really needed that drink.

I poured myself a drink and sat on a barstool, wallowing in my own sorrows when a guy sat next to me.

“Hey beautiful, what’s your troubles?” He said.

“Where do I begin?” I say taking a swig of my drink. “I was sleeping with one of my best friends, only to find out that he probably never wants me and will get back with his ex” I wince at the thought.

“Oh then there’s one of my other best friends who basically announced that he isn’t in love with me to an entire party of strangers” I finish both my story, and my drink.

The guy swiftly poured me another, and it was the only thing that made me feel even remotely better, so I accepted.

“That’s rough baby girl,” I cringe at the pet name the guys usually use on me. “I’ve been through a similar situation myself” he said. I widened my eyes in disbelief as he yammered on about a girl back home.

About 5 drinks later I was still rambling about my conflicting feelings for my friends. I was starting to lose my train of thought, and the sharpness of my surroundings. The emotions were too strong when combined with alcohol for me to care.

“You know what would make you feel better?” “Hmm?” I hum, drunk. “A little one on one time” he said smirking. He grabbed my elbow and started to steer me towards a back bedroom. I stumbled on my feet, losing my strength. I had an awful feeling deep in the pit of my stomach, but I didn’t have the wherewithal to do anything about it.

I was tossed onto the bed when I heard the door creak open and then shut again. To my horror, I was face to face with Eric. I tried desperately to make sense of the situation.

“I see you met my friend John” he smirked. It was a setup.

“Your-” I say becoming increasingly uneasy.

“Eric baby. We met on the beach? And then had that romantic encounter in town? You wouldn’t remember I suppose, you’re too gone” he laughed vindictively. “I knew it was only a matter of time before we would get to be alone” he said crawling on the bed towards me.

I sat paralyzed in fear. He slid his hands up my sides and moved to kiss my lips. I turned my head in aversion, but he grabbed my face. He placed a rough kiss on my lips and moved to suck on my neck. He pinned my wrists with his other hand and I writhed underneath him. I didn’t want this, but he had been drinking as well and is much larger than I am.

He started fumbling with my clothes causing my anxiety to reach a new peak.

Sam’s POV

“Come on baby, it’s gotta be through here somewhere” I say pulling the girl I had been dancing with along with me.

Things had been getting pretty steamy on the dance floor between us tonight, so when she whispered she was good to go I couldn’t refuse. We were giggling as we knocked photos off of the wall.

“Shh baby we can’t be too loud” I say careening around the corner where the bedrooms were. I jiggled the handle to the first door and stumbled inside to hear stifled groaning.

“Woah sorry man, looks like somebody is already getting busy in here” I turn to laugh at the girl I was with, but was stopped by the sound of a weak voice.

“Get off of me” it barely resonated in the room.

“Hey man, what’s going on here. Looks like the lady’s not into it” I say.

“Mind your fucking business bro, get out” he grunted harshly in my direction. Something about this situation didn’t feel right. I couldn’t in good conscience leave this girl.

I walked closer to the bed to pull his shoulder back when I was confronted with my worst nightmare. It was y/n.

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER” i bellowed shoving him back as hard as I could. The alcohol I had consumed earlier was pumping through my veins. To say I saw red would be an understatement. I’ve never felt this degree of anger towards any human being before in my life.

He went tumbling backwards onto the floor where I was instantly on top of him. I was bashing his face in repeatedly.

“You fucking treat a girl like that man?” I spat beating him. Y/n managed to stand and move towards the doorway.

“Sammy stop, you’re going to kill him!”

Nate’s POV

I was having a beer trying to collect my thoughts on the drama that went down earlier. Everyone in the vicinity began shouting and started to flock towards one area of the house.

“Now what” I mutter, exhausted.

A huge commotion was being made on the inside as I heard somebody yell.

“FIGHT!” They yelled. Knowing my friends, it was probably one of them. Dillon most likely had too much to drink and got into it with another guy.

“Excuse me” I said moving through the growing crowd of people to deal with it. But nothing could have prepared me for the situation in front of me.

“What the fuck?!?!” I yell in utter shock to see Sam beating a guy to a pulp. He was almost unrecognizable but as I got closer I realized it was that asshole from the beach.

“Dude he had y/n” Sam said breathless. “I think he was going to assault her” he continued. I felt my blood spike. He took the opportunity to slam Sammy into the wall, launching into his attack.

I ran at full speed into his side and began to wail on him. Every ounce of anger I had was pouring out of me. How could he do this to a girl? MY girl?

“Yo what the fuck is this!” Johnson exclaimed rushing into the room along with the other boys. A posse of Eric’s friends also joined the party and pulled me off of him to start hitting me. Within minutes it was a full out brawl between us.

We stumbled out of the room and into the living room in the midst of the fight. Thank god the squad rolls deep.

Y/n’s POV

I stood and watched in horror. This was a sobering sight. My best friends were in a vicious fist fight because I was foolish enough to accept drinks from a stranger.

I yelled for them to stop, but it was like talking to a wall- they were too far gone.

Gilinsky rounded the corner from the bathroom, eyes widening at the sight before him. He must have left shortly after our confrontation and wasn’t aware of dire situation. He immediately broke into a sprint to break up the fight-or join it, I couldn’t be sure.

“Hey! Back the fuck off!” He yelled in a tone so harsh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Gilinsky like that.

Fists were flying in every direction but there was something that caught my eye. It was shiny, made out of metal. I felt the gears turning in my head as I came to the realization that it was a knife.

One of Eric’s hoodlum buddies pulled it from his back pocket as Gilinsky was holding one of his arms and throwing punches any way he could. The guy brought his arm back before swinging it forward with full force. I could hear the blood rush in my ears as I moved towards the brawl.

“JACK LOOK OUT!”

The Tides Have Turned-Part 11

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Eleven

I awoke the next morning by my own body clock. Damn it felt good to sleep in. I reached for my phone to see what time it was: 11 AM. Half the morning was already wasting away. I looked over to see Nate furiously typing out a message on his phone.

“Mornin’” he said with a big grin.

“Hey” I said rubbing my eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me up? It’s already eleven o’clock.”

“You looked so peaceful, I couldn’t disturb you. Besides its good for you, we were pretty busy last night” he said with a smirk.

“Yeah well we should think about getting back before a search team is sent for us” I say sitting up in bed. Nate just nodded in agreement. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and tried to pull myself together the best that I could. Nate was shuffling through the room, gathering his things. He stopped to give the room one last look.

“I gotta say, I’m gonna miss this. It was like our own little paradise” he said with a hint of sadness. My heart stung at his words.

“I know, me too” I say softly rubbing his arm. We proceeded out of the hotel room and dropped the keys off in the lobby before heading to the bus. We drove back to the beach house in a comfortable silence. Nate held onto my hand tightly, resting on the center console. It was like he was savoring our last moments together before we were once again in the company of the guys. We slowly pulled up the drive and walked to the front door. It was open this time.

“Holy shit! There you guys are! Where the fuck were you?!” Johnson said climbing over the back of the couch and running towards us.

“We got pretty worried” Kenny said with wide eyes.

“You assholes locked us out last night!” I said accusingly. They all looked at each other in confusion.

“No we didn’t! Did we?!” Swazz asked trying to remember last night.

“Uhh yeah, we went for a walk on the beach remember? Then it started to downpour so we came back and you idiots had all the doors locked” I say crossing my arms.

“And none of you would answer your phones” Nate chimed in. A look of guilt washed across each of their faces.

“Holy shit, we are so so so sorry” G said bringing his hands together in a prayer formation.

“Yeah, yeah. Just thank your lucky stars that we found enough cash in the bus to get a hotel for the night” I say.

“Wait, wait. You took my slim jim money?!” J said raising his voice. Nate just shot him a look that said “don’t say another word.”

“I mean yeah, glad you were able to figure something out” J mumbled under his breath.

“Can we talk about what you’re wearing right now?” Sam said tugging on the jersey I had on.

“It’s all we had Samuel” I answer. “I’m gonna head upstairs to get changed, I’ll be back down” I add.

“You should wear that more often babe! Your ass looks cute in those briefs” Sam hollered behind me. I just flipped him the bird behind my back.

I emerged from my room about twenty minutes later in a fresh outfit. It felt good to be back in the house again. Nate was catching up with the guys, so I decided this was a good opportunity to confront Sammy about what he said to me last night. I walked over to the white leather couch and plopped myself down next to him. He was vibing to Bryson Tiller’s “Set You Free.”

“Hey babe” he smiled at me.

“Hey Sammy. So I think we need to have a talk about what you said to me last night” I say faking an overly serious tone. He immediately furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Uh, should I be worried?” he said running his fingers through his hair.

“You tell me” I continue.

“Shit. What did I say?” he asked with baited breath.

“Oh just that someone in the house is in love with me” I let out a slight giggle now. To my surprise, he looked increasingly more nervous.

“Wh-what? I said that?” he said looking anywhere but at me.

“Yes Sam, you did. I want to know if you were talking out of your ass, or if you know something that I don’t” I say closing the gap between us. A few minutes of torture and Sam would spill his guts. He couldn’t bear to keep a secret, especially not from the squad.

“I was drunk, I didn’t know what I was saying. You know how I get” he nervously chuckled. This was really eating him, I could tell.

“Yeah I do know how you get, and I know that you often spill sober thoughts when you’re drunk” I say poking his arm. “It’s Gilinsky isn’t it?” I ask. His eyes shot wide open.

“Uh, yeah. Yes it is. You got me” he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“I knew it” I smirk victoriously. “Sammy boy, you’ve been a big help” I said while wrapping him in a hug, before getting up to go talk to the other boys.

Sam’s POV

Holy fucking shit, what did I just do? Oh my god, I think I just royally screwed things up. I need to stop drinking to oblivion, I end up getting myself into situations that I really regret later. Thank god I didn’t betray Nate, but now y/n’s convinced it is Jack and that could present an entirely new set of problems on its own. I don’t know why she got that in her head, but I unintentionally just threw Jack under the bus. I rubbed my eyes harshly, contemplating what to do.

I had to speak to Nate.

I found him in the kitchen, getting a bottle of water from the fridge.

“NATE!” I shout, barely containing my anxiety.

“Bro, what the fuck. You scared me” he said clutching his chest. “What’s up? Why do you look like you’re about to shit your pants?” he said placing his water on the counter.

“Because I am dude!” I say pacing in the kitchen.

“Sam, calm down. Spit it out” Nate said.

“Y/n came to talk to me about some shit I said when I was drunk, and she was staring into my soul, and I got nervous and-” I start rambling still pacing. My hands were running through my hair twenty to the dozen.

“I sort of told her that Gilinsky is in love with her” I spat.

“You did what?!” Nate half-shouted. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows shot up.

“I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t very well tell her about our talk on the beach. She asked if it was G, and I panicked so I said yes” I shoot him a sorrowful look. Nate began pacing himself, his palms on his face.

“Fuck. She said some shit about that last night, but I didn’t think much of it. Now that you told her the same thing, she’s gonna go looking for answers” he said.

“Fuck, Sammy. What if G really does have feelings for her, and this ain’t made up at all?” Nate looked up with sheer terror. “We might have just pushed the two of them together” he said fraught with anxiety.

“Nate, calm down man. Don’t jump to conclusions” I say trying to calm him.

“What are we gonna do Sam?” he asked.

“We wait and see. Observe them together” I say. Nate looked uneasy, but agreed.

Nate’s POV

Sam and I walked back into the living room. We must have looked like we had seen a ghost because Johnson’s eyes widened at the sight of us.

“Woah, you guys okay?” he asked.

“Huh? Yeah man, all good” I reassure him.

“So what are the plans for tonight?” Sam said rubbing his hands together.

“Well there’s a party being thrown at one of the houses down the beach” Swazz said. “I got a text from one of the guys I used to shoot hoops with. We could go check that out” he continued.

“Hell yeah I’m down for a party” Cam said, with Nash nodding in agreement.

I wasn’t too sure if a party was really a good idea, but I wasn’t going to be the one guy that stopped the others. Besides, if y/n’s going, I am too.

Later that night…

I knocked softly on y/n’s door until I heard a faint “come in” on the other side. She was sitting at the vanity spritzing some perfume on her neck.

“Wow you look great” I said. She smiled widely at me.

“Thanks Skate.”

“You ready to go? The guys are all downstairs” I say.

“Yeah, let’s hit this” she said grabbing my arm.

We all made the walk down the beach towards the house Swazz said the party was at. He slid open the back door and we all entered, making our way around the people dancing.

“Hey man!” Swazz called out to a guy I vaguely recognized. They shook hands and exchanged a few words before he returned to us.

“Alright lady & gents, we’re good to go” he said. We all split up pretty much. Dillon, Cam, and Nash headed towards the bar, while Kenny, Johnson and Gilinsky chatted up some girls. The rest of us moved to the dance floor. I was never much of a dancer, but being with y/n changed that. She was so carefree, and a bit of that attitude has definitely rubbed off on me. We started twirling and moving to the music, with Sam dancing with a girl next to us. The song ended and the DJ was transitioning to another genre.

“I’m gonna get us some drinks!” y/n said before disappearing into the mixture of people. I was waiting for her to return, making small talk with some party goer next to me.

“Nate?! Nate Maloley! Is that you?” I heard a shrill voice call out. I spun around to see my ex-girlfriend Jessica sauntering towards me, her friends in close pursuit behind her. My eyes shot open, please not now. I was always sort of ashamed of dating Jessica, she wasn’t exactly a nice person. She was meant to be a rebound but it turned into a full blown relationship, and it was a tumultuous one at that.

She stalked closer, wearing five inch heels. I could smell vodka on her breath as she sloppily wrapped her arms around my neck, trying to hug me.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper harshly. It seemed like she had followed me everywhere I went since I broke things off with her. She could never fully accept the fact that I dumped her.

“Now, now. Is that the greeting that you give the love of your life?” she said before pressing her lips against mine. I heard the sound of glass shattering which caused my eyes to fly open. There stood y/n, staring us down. She looked angry. I could see her nostrils flare slightly, before she spun on her heel and stormed off.

“Get the fuck off me” I say peeling Jessica’s claws off of me. “Y/n! Wait up! Stop!” I shout weaving through people. “Get the fuck out of my way” I said pushing some drunk frat boys out of my path. She wasn’t stopping, even though I knew she heard my calls. I lost her in the crowd, due to the party becoming packed.

“FUCK!” I shout as loud as I can.

Y/n’s POV

I was fuming mad at what I had just seen. My emotions got the better of me, and instinctively took over. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the bleached-blonde girl clawing at Nate was his ex, Jessica. I knew who she was, but Nate was always guarded when it came to talking about her. None of us ever really pushed the subject. We moved on, figuring something deep must have happened between the two of them. To tell the truth, I didn’t even know why I was reacting this way. It’s not like Nate and I were a couple, and I caught him cheating. But it felt that way.

I knew this arrangement between him and I would come back and bite me in the ass. Friends are not meant to enter this territory, it completely complicates everything. These were the feelings that I wanted to avoid-hurt, jealousy. Nate called after me, probably wanting to explain himself, but he didn’t have to. I needed to take a breather, get away from him. My judgement was becoming clouded when I was around him, but I was beginning to see things crystal clear.

Nate and I weren’t an item. Probably never will be, so my time was best spent elsewhere. I made my way to where I saw a couple of the guys chilling in the corner. They were drinking, chatting up girls, and generally having a good time.

“What’s wrong?” Johnson’s face fell as soon as he saw me.

“Nate and Jessica” I answer, not needing any further explanation.

“Woah, what?!” J said. He knew as well as I did that Jessica was a touchy subject for Nate.

“Y/n! There you are. Why did you run from me?” Nate said interrupting our conversation. I just rolled my eyes and turned back to Johnson.

“Not now Nate” I answer tersely.

“You need to let me explain, I-”

“You what Nate? You don’t owe me an explanation. In fact, you don’t owe me shit” I say, catching Nate off guard.

“I got the message loud and clear. You don’t want me. I was just a quick fuck” I spat out hatefully. His eyes flashed with pain. I was making a scene, our friends gathering closely around us. Their eyes were wide at my admission of Nate and I’s tryst.

“I know when I’m not wanted, so I’ll go where I am—with Gilinsky. He loves me” I say for all to hear.

Everyone gasped, shocked at my words. But none more so than Jack Gilinsky. I could see him spit out the beer he was sipping, slightly choking at the sound of my words. The girl next to him looked pissed that she had wasted her time coming on to him.

“I WHAT?” he exclaims.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 10

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Ten

Nate’s POV

Before I knew what I was doing, I had y/n in a liplock. My mouth was moving ferociously on hers, and my hands tightly cupped her face. She kissed back with equal fervor, and the kiss became so intense it sent us tumbling to the sand. My hands roamed her body, my breathing becoming ragged. She probably thought I was just horny, but for me this kiss held all sorts of emotions. I couldn’t stand the thought of Gilinsky getting his hands on her, this fueled me to become more aggressive. She was moaning beneath me as I pushed her cardigan off and unbuttoned her shorts.

She rolled over on top and played with the hem of my shirt while kissing me passionately. The minty taste of her chapstick was stuck on my swollen lips, and I groaned at the familiarity. She slipped her hand beneath my shirt and rubbed my chest while rolling her hips against mine. I opened my eyes to see her staring down at me. Suddenly droplets of water were plopping on my face, and I squinted to see. She let up her kisses to take in our surroundings. It was starting to sprinkle.

We were so caught up in ourselves that we hadn’t noticed the changing weather. As each second passed the droplets were falling heavier. I quickly stood and grabbed her hand.

“Come on, I have an idea” I say while breaking into a speedwalk to the house.

Y/n’s POV

Nate and I broke into a full on sprint towards the house as we were becoming drenched. It crossed my mind that not one of the guys thought to look for us in the rain. Assholes. I made a mental note to rag on them later.

Nate was in front of me, keeping a tight grip on my wrist. His dark hairs were hanging in his eyes and he squinted to see me.

“You good lil mama?” he yelled over the sound of the rain. I couldn’t help but giggle, this was ridiculous.

“As good as I’ll ever be!” I shout in return. We had no shoes on, our clothes were heavy, and we were sprinting down the beach like maniacs. This would be comical if it were happening to somebody else. Nate took the steps two at a time to get to the back door. He tried to slide open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” he yelled in exasperation. He turned to look at me, my long hair hanging in my face. “Those assholes locked us out!” he yelled in disbelief. I didn’t really know what to do. The guys must have gone up to bed and forgot we were out of the house. Strike two, boys.

“Shit!” Nate said throwing his hands up. We paced the back deck for a few minutes trying all of the boys’ cell phones. No one was answering, of course.

“No answer” I say trying the last number. “What are we gonna do?” I asked.

“Hang on, I have another idea. Get on my back so you don’t have to run through the mud” he said turning around. He quickly ran towards the front of the house and tried all of the doors to the bus parked in the driveway. He rounded both sides of the car with no luck, settling on trying the trunk as a last resort. By the grace of God it swung open and we crawled inside. Nate pulled the trunk closed and collapsed in the back to catch his breath. We looked ragged and road-worn. We looked at each other and erupted into a fit of laughter.

“What the fuck was that?!” I say laughing harder.

“Beats me that shit came out of nowhere. Look at us! We’re ruined” he said while brushing the hair out of his eyes. His black t-shirt clung to his body, and I could see every line and feature of his toned torso. The way his dark locks hung when wet didn’t help my frustration below. I quickly shifted my legs, trying to focus on anything other than Nate’s enticing body.

“Well for the sixth time tonight, now what?” I ask ringing out my hair.

“Uhh, shit. Didn’t think that far ahead” Nate said rubbing his neck.

“I don’t think people plan for this Skate” I giggle. “We could get a hotel?” I say quietly. Nate looked straight at me. I hope that wasn’t too forward.

“Sounds like a plan to me” he said, before rummaging in the backseat. He pulled out a Nike duffel bag which had a couple sets of unworn gym clothes.

“Hell yes!” he said fishing through it. “I knew I kept an emergency gym back for a reason” he smirked, one dimple forming on his cheek. He found some spare cash that was shoved in the side pocket.

“Is it enough for a night?” I question.

“Hmm, we might be short” he said before climbing over the rows of seats. He looked in every side compartment in the bus before he found another ten bucks stuck in the seat cushion.

“Jackpot!” he grinned.

“Wait. Isn’t that Johnson’s roadtrip snack fund?” I ask giggling.

“To hell with his snacks! This is survival of the fittest baby, we gotta do what we gotta do” Nate said making me laugh harder. He grabbed my hand and helped me climb over the seats until I reached the front passenger side.

He climbed into the driver’s seat and messed with the visor above him before a spare key fell into his lap.

“You have a solution for everything don’t you?” I ask slyly.

“Just call me a Renaissance man baby” he said all cocky. I shook my head.

“Drive” I said. Nate pulled out of the driveway and proceeded into town, barely going over 35 miles per hour. We kept our eyes peeled for any sort of motel. We finally spotted one that offered 24 hour front desk service. He parked the bus, slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and grabbed my hand so we could run inside.

We stumbled into the lobby, dripping once again.

“Woah! Can I help you two?” the lady at the front desk asked. “Some storm isn’t it?” she continued. We were forming puddles at our feet, so I would say so lady.

“Yeah can we get a room, please? We need to escape this storm for the night” Nate said politely.

“Well you are in luck because we have one room left. However, it only has one queen bed. Will that be okay?” she said. Nate looked at me unsure what to say.

“That’ll be fine, thank you” I instantly replied. I caught his smirk out of the corner of my eye.

“Okay, you’ll be in room 16B, here are your room keys. Be careful out there!” she called before returning to the back room.

We wandered around for a minute before finding our assigned room. Nate effortlessly slid the key card in and unlocked the door. He dropped the duffel bag on the floor by the window. I walked further inside taking in my surroundings. It was a nice little motel, nothing fancy-but it would get the job done for tonight. I peeled my now soaked cardigan off of my skin and laid it on the back of the chair to dry. I turned to see Nate staring at me hungrily. I didn’t realize my white tank top was now stuck to me like another layer of skin. Everything I had was pretty much being showcased. Nate’s eyes darkened at the sight, and he barely hid the fact that his eyes were raking over my body.

I slowly stripped the tank top off my body, and wiggled my shorts down my legs. I was left standing in my bra and panties, and I sauntered into the bathroom to run a hot shower. Nate was left standing in the bedroom, speechless. I stripped my underwear off and popped my head around the corner.

“You coming?” I asked. Nate didn’t answer, but let his stripping do the talking for him. He peeled his shirt off of his body and stepped out of his pants. The clothes remained strewn across the floor as we stepped into the steamy shower. I ducked my head back to let the hot water stream over my face and chest. The warm sensation was quickly replaced by the feeling of the cool tiles against my back. Nate had me pressed to the shower wall and was intently sucking on my neck. I groaned at his spark of aggression.

I dragged my fingernails down his back causing him to roll his neck.

“Fuck, y/n. Look what you do to me” he said breathless once more. All of the previous passion encountered on the beach was reignited. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, and bit his lip here and there. He lifted my legs to wrap around his waist.

“Don’t tease Nate, I can’t take it” I groaned, knowing he liked to take his time.

“As you wish baby” he smirked. He proceeded to slide in causing us both to groan at the feeling. The water rushing over us made our bodies a slippery mess as he thrusted intently. In this moment he had an aura of maturity about him. This fueled me as I matched his thrusts, stroke for stroke. He grunted and groaned clawing at my back to keep me as close to him as possible. I’ve never had a lover be so touchy feely before, this was new for me.

“Oh my god Nate” I moaned as he became relentless. He was ruthless with his rhythm.

“Fuck,” he moaned against my neck. “I’m getting close baby” he said. His words made me tingle all over and I was going to peak in a matter of seconds. He ran his tongue along my jaw, the contact pushing me over the edge. I let out a loud moan as my chest heaved. I always became breathless and weak afterwards. Nate quickly followed suit and let my slippery body slide down his until I felt my feet touch the ground once more. His strong hands gripping my ass, before placing one last kiss on my lips.

“Shit” I say aloud with a slight laugh.

“Fuck, I know” he said running his hands through his hair. “I’ve been needing to do that for a while” he said laughing. I give him a pinch on his ass before stepping out of the shower. I pad over to the duffel bag with the white fluffy hotel towel wrapped around me.

“Nate?” I call out as he finished showering.

“What’s up babe?” he hollered back.

“Is there something in this Mary Poppins bag of yours that I can wear?” I could hear his deep laugh resonate in the shower.

“Look towards the bottom, you’ll see my old basketball jersey and some boxers” he yells back.

“Thanks” I say while rummaging around. Sure enough there was his old jersey with “Maloley” printed in large block letters on the back. I slipped it on over my head along with a pair of his Calvin Klein briefs. He emerged shortly from the bathroom with a towel hanging from his hips.

“Damn” he said.

“What?” I ask looking down at my outfit. “Too weird?”

“No, no. You look great, I’ve always wanted to see you wearing one of my jerseys” he said meekly. I smile to myself as he grabbed something for himself.

“Do you mind if I just wear these?” he said holding up a pair of black briefs.

“No, we’ll match” I giggle flashing him my underwear. He threw his head back in laughter.

“You’re too much, you know that?” he said before disappearing into the bathroom again. I started to flip channels on the crappy cable TV when he flopped down on his stomach next to me.

“So, what are we gonna do?” he said resting on his hands.

“Well I’m hungry, so how about we order some Chinese or something? I say casually.

“Fuck yes” he said scrambling to the phone. I knew Chinese was one of Nate’s favorites to binge on, which is why I suggested it. Nate called up the restaurant and started placing our orders.

“Hi, can I get orange chicken with fried rice, and-” he started speaking as I stood opposite him making stupid faces. He looked at me and tried his best to hold in his laughter so he wouldn’t come off rude.

“Hmm, yeah that’s right. No, two please” he continued, his dimples puckering his face because he was restraining himself. I loved Nate’s laugh, so I always tried my best to elicit one from him.

“You’re so going to pay for that!” he said hanging up the phone.

“What are you gonna do to me?” I reply batting my eyelashes innocently. He squeezed his eyes shut.

“Uhh, bad things if you keep that up” he said. I just shoved him back on the bed as I moved to the mirror to put my hair up in a makeshift bun.

About twenty minutes later a delivery guy came knocking at the door. Nate answered it and paid the man from the leftover cash in his duffel bag. I felt bad for the poor guy, having to go out and deliver in this rain.

“Oh my god this is sooooo good” I groaned after taking the first few bites. Nate made a content sound in agreement. This is exactly where I wanted to be. I looked at Nate, completely unaware that I was staring, he was tranquil. He was relaxed, and at peace with himself. There weren’t any crazy guys ruining this moment, it was just Nate and I binging on our greasy Chinese.

We finished up and started to get ready for bed. I finished brushing my teeth and turned off the light before crawling under the covers with Nate. A Jurassic Park marathon was on so Nate contently put the remote down and pulled me into his chest.

“This shit is classic” he said referring to the movies.

“Mmm, yeah but Jaws is better” I counter. He pulled back to look at me.

“What?! Dinosaurs are way more terrifying than a mythical jumbo shark” he said.

“Oh, because there’s really a Walt Disney World of Dinosaurs Nathan!” I say laughing at him.

“You say that now, but you watch. One day this will happen and I’ll be there to say I told you so” he said defensively. He was crazy, but I enjoyed his company.

We were halfway through Jurassic Park 3 when I noticed Nate was quiet. I looked up to see the poor guy sleeping.

“Nathan” I whisper loudly. “Are you sleeping?” I try again. I was stuck under his arm and wanted to move, but I didn’t want to wake him.

“I was” he whispered back. I let out a giggle before rolling over to settle down myself. I felt his bare chest push against my back and his muscular arm snaked around my waist. He didn’t say anything more, allowing us to drift off. Nate was a great guy, any girl would be lucky to call him theirs. I couldn’t help but feel like I was holding him back, he should be getting out there not being fuck buddies with me. A twinge of sorrow washed over me. I slowly closed my eyes relaxing into Nate’s shallow breaths.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 9

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Nine

I anxiously stood underneath Nate’s glare. His jaw was twitching, and I knew he wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the truth. I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I debated how I wanted to tell him.

“It’s nothing really. I ran into those guys from the beach, that’s all” I say downplaying the situation.

“Nothing?! Y/n those guys were eyeing you like a piece of meat” Nate said incredulously. I looked around nervously, when Jonah spoke up.

“Yeah, they certainly didn’t look friendly. Not like old friends you randomly run into on the street” he said.

I stared at Jonah praying he would shut up, he was making this worse without realizing it. I understood the altercation, but I really didn’t need Nate flipping shit right now.

“What did they say to you?” Nate said between his teeth. He was terse when he spoke.

“Uh, they just invited me to a party they were having, but I told them no. And then they sort of threatened that I would make it up to them” I say. A muscle in Nate’s neck spasmed as he took in my words.

“They threatened you?” he said more seriously now, inhaling sharply.

“Well not in so many words-”

“When were you going to tell me this?” he pressed.

“Nate, I would have told you eventually. But I didn’t want to ruin the night, and Jonah took care of it so it’s over now.”

“Well, uh, this has been crazy running into you but I should get going. Take care of yourself around here” Jonah said and gave me a small hug. I shot him a weak smile as he walked away. Nate was silent.

“Will you at least speak to me please” I asked. Nate was never like this, I mean he’s stood up for me before as good friends do, but never like this.

“I’m sorry” he said, sounding defeated. This confused me, what does he have to be sorry about?

“For what, Nate?”

“That I wasn’t there to be the one who protected you” he said looking down sadly.

“Nathan, look at me. There wasn’t a need for ‘protection.’ They were aggressive, but they didn’t touch me, there’s no reason to beat yourself up” I reassure.

“Yeah, but Jonah-”

“Wait! Is this about Jonah? Are you jealous??” I question, a little shocked. When I saw him become flustered under my gaze I couldn’t help but smirk. Jealousy.

“Nathan is jealous!” I taunt now, hoping to lift the mood. He whipped his back shocked at my reaction, and quickly backtracked to get out of it.

“No! That’s not it at all. I just wanted you to be safe” he said smugly.

“Whatever you say Romeo” I laugh before making my way over to the group again. Nate followed closely behind.

“Whoo! We’re talking big guns tonight baby!” Sam said drunkenly, with his cup in the air. He was standing on top of a table.

“Sam, nobody even knows what the fuck that means” J said sounded exasperated.

“Sammy, honey, you’ve had enough of that” I say taking the cup from his hand. I grab his other hand to help him back down to the ground. He fell slightly, and leaned all of his weight into me while wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I had to lean into Nate so that I didn’t fall myself.

“I think we should get him home” I said looking at Nate. He nodded in agreement before setting out to find the rest of the crew. Sam still hung on me, his eyes shut and head rolling around. He was talking out of his ass, I don’t think he knows where he is anymore.

“You’re such a girl y/n” he stammers.

“Uh huh” I say not paying him any attention.

“Like THE girl. The best girl there is” Sam rambles on. He’s cute when he’s drunk. Nate walks back towards us with Nash and the others in tow. Nash abstained from drinking tonight so he could drive us home. Nate took Sammy’s other hand around his shoulders and the two of us did the walking for him. We climbed into the back of the bus and I buckled Sam up.

“Thanks beautiful” he grinned sloppily at me. Gilinsky and Johnson were recording him for blackmail purposes later.

“Don’t post that shit online” I say to them. They laughed and swore they wouldn’t. We embarked on the journey back to the Hamptons. Sam was passed out beside me. I reached my hand to where Nate sat beside me and discreetly locked his fingers with mine. I needed to be sure that he was okay after the conversation with Jonah. He held onto my hand tight, and ran his rough fingers over my knuckles.

Back at the house…

“Ok, come on Sammy. Use your legs, come on” I say coaxing Sam out of the car. His legs started dragging on the ground.

“For god’s sake, we’re never letting him drink this much again” I say struggling to lift him up. Nate finally placed him on his feet and we hobbled through the front door. The guys all flopped down on the couch, but I think the night is over for Sammy boy.

“Hey guys I’m gonna put Sam to bed, I think he’s out for the count now” I laugh steering Sam towards the stairs. They all laugh and nod.

“Alright Sam. This is going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. Lift one leg at a time” I say sarcastically.

“What is this I’m doing?” he slurs.

“It’s this magical thing called ‘climbing stairs’” I say with false wonder. His beautiful eyes widened at me in mystery, like when you tell a child about Santa for the first time. I couldn’t help but giggle at him. He’s a fucking idiot, but he’s my idiot. It only took him twenty tries to get up the stairs, which was a new record for him. I pushed him down the hallway into his room. I took his shoes off, and placed his Rolex on his bedside table. He face planted the mattress, and would barely move when I tried to get him ready for bed.

“Sam, roll over” I say, losing my patience. He groaned and barely turned. I grabbed his shirt and lifted it over his head. Then I unbuckled his pants and pulled them down and off, leaving him in his boxers. That was as far as I was going to go, I wasn’t going to deal with a drunk AND naked Sam.

“If you wanted to get me naked, you can just ask” he slurred.

“Always the charmer, Samuel. Even while drunk” I laugh. “Lay back” I say pushing him towards the pillow. I swung his legs under the blankets.

“Thanks baby. I loveeeeee you” he dragged out, eyes fluttering open and shut. He was barely holding onto consciousness.

“I love you too Sam” I laugh and stood to leave, but he grabbed my hand.

“I know something you don’t” he teased, in and out of the situation. “Somebody in this house is in love with you” he giggles at the last part, like he let out a closely guarded secret.

“Yeah, okay Sammy. Get some sleep” I say before turning off the light and leaving. I entered my room to change into lounge pants and a tank top before returning downstairs.

Nate’s POV

We were sitting on the couch discussing the events of the night while y/n put Sammy to bed. A few minutes passed before she reappeared on the staircase. She had a serious expression on her face, as if she was deep in thought.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Definitely” she smiles. “What do you guys want to do?” she asked. I looked around and everyone shrugged.

“Wait, I have an idea” she said excitedly. She ran over to a storage chest and began rummaging around, before she pulled something out.

“It’s about to get old school!” she squealed pulling out Twister.

“Oh dear God, you remember what happened last time we played!” Johnson whined.

“Oh come on, please J! You love it and you know it!” she begged. He reluctantly agreed.

“Well I don’t see what else there is to do, considering we left the club early because of a certain someone” Kenny said motioning upstairs.

“Alright, I’ll grab some beers and snacks” I say before leaving to go into the kitchen. I gathered everything I thought I would need and walked back into the living room, arms full. Dillon, Swazz, and Gilinsky were pushing the furniture out of the way as y/n flattened out the mat. She then moved over to the stereo system and plugged in her phone. Instantly the sound of 3OH!3’s “Don’t Trust Me” filled the air and we all laughed.

“I told you guys it’s getting old school in here!” she laughed. She would deny it, but the girl was obsessed with them. She began to dance around the room, singing the lyrics from heart.

“Don’t trust a hoe. Never a trust a hoe” she sang and called out Gilinsky by pointing at him.

“Oh, I’m a hoe?!” he said faking that his feelings were hurt.

“Mmm, yeah G you are” she said not giving it any thought.

“Let’s play!” Cam said before Gilinsky got the chance to respond.

“Alright y/n since this was your idea, you move first” Nash said whilst spinning. “Ok, left hand blue.”

Y/n complied shooting us all a cocky smile, she thought she was going to win this.

“Ok, Nash you are right foot red!” Cam said, taking over the spinning duties. A few more turns passed and most of us were a jumbled mess.

“Nate! You’re right hand yellow!” Dillon said straining to reach the spinner. I moved accordingly and ducked underneath y/n’s chest. I looked up and flashed her a bright smile, I wasn’t complaining about my position.

“Shut it Maloley” she said smirking.

“What?! I didn’t even say anything!” I say defensively.

“You didn’t have to” she points out.

“Uh, guys, the more you talk the more we’re gonna collapse” Kenny warned.

“Ok, ugh, y/n move your right foot to green” Dillon yelled out again. She moved her foot and was now bent under Gilinsky.

“Damn, I could get used to this view” he said biting his lip.

“Aye, maybe y/n was right. You are a hoe!” Swazz called out from behind him. This caused us to laugh and I felt us tremble slightly.

“Woah, shit guys, hold steady!” J called out. He was always good at this game considering he wasn’t as tall as we were.

“Hold. Up.” A voice rang out through the house. We could barely lift our heads to see a hungover Sammy standing in front of us.

“You guys started a game of twister without me?!” he accused with a hurt tone.

“Dude you were out cold like an hour ago, how the hell are you alive right now?” J asked from somewhere under the huddle.

“You guys weren’t exactly being quiet down here, so I came down to see what was up because I heard noises. I figured it was either an orgy, or a game of twister” he said.

“Same thing” G smirked.

“So now I see this, and I am hurt you guys. You know that’s my shit, and I want in!” Sam said clutching his chest feigning deep emotion.

“Get on with it Sammy! We can’t hold out much longer!” y/n strained out beneath the mess of tangled bodies. Sam spun the spinner and grinned while moving towards us. He still reeked of booze, but it had worn off some. He was probably still buzzed, but at least he can stand on two feet now.

Sam moved behind y/n, who was standing in a triangular shape, and laid on top of her.

“Much better” Sam grinned.

“Omg Sammy, don’t lay there, I can’t-” y/n began before her legs trembled and we all collapsed with her.

“Good one Sam” Nash said shaking his head. We all just laughed, trying to sit up.

“I think I’m gonna go for a walk on the beach” y/n said standing up. The guys just nodded and flipped on ESPN, not bothered.

“I’ll join you” I smile innocently so as not to draw attention to us. I could see her pupils dilate before she smiled in return. She slid on her flip flops and we exited the sliding back doors. It was quite windy outside, and the night air was cool. The beach was cleared of debris so we removed our shoes and walked in silence for a moment.

“So Sammy told me something intriguing upstairs” y/n began, walking in a slow stride.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, genuinely curious. The boy could say some dumb shit when he was drunk.

“Yeah. He said it’s about one of us in the house” she continued. She was cautious, and I couldn’t really feel out where she was going with this.

“What about them?” I say, more nervous now. My mind was racing. I remember telling Sam how I felt about y/n within the first few days of being here. Fuck. He wouldn’t tell her that would he? Hell he could have told her anything, he was heavily intoxicated. My palms were sweating. This was not how I wanted her to find out.

“He said someone’s in love with me” she stated plainly. She wasn’t gushing about it, nor was she really curious. She had a suspicious aura about her. Now my heart was really racing.

“I think it’s Gilinsky” she said shrewdly. I nearly choked, both out of relief and confusion. My secret was safe for now.

“Why do you think that?” I ask. She was silent for a few moments, deep in thought.

“I don’t know. The way he acts around me? Maybe I’m reading too much into it. You know how big of a flirt he is with women, I’m probably just one of many” she trails off. I was cagey with my words, I had to proceed with the utmost caution.

“Yeah, I do know how he is. Love is a pretty strong emotion, you really think it’s finally caught up to Gilinsky?” I ask with genuine interest now.

“Who knows if it will ever catch up to him. But I do know he was intense when we hooked up” she finished.

I felt like I was slapped in the face. When did they hook up? We’ve been around her the entire vacation. If someone was gonna smash, we would all know about it. Sam told me there was nothing going on between them! Either he lied, or they were sneaking around. A god awful thought crossed my mind. Was she playing me? Our arrangement could be just one of many in her game. All previous worry about my feelings for her washed away. I heaved with jealousy, lust, and anger. What I felt right now was strictly primal. I needed to wash away any trace of Gilinsky. I needed her.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 8

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Eight

I exited the little boutique and made my way to a nearby shoe store. I found a pair of heels that I thought would go well with the dress and paid the cashier. I thought I pretty much had everything that I needed, so I made my way back to the street where I parked the car. I pulled out my phone to make sure that I was good on time when I ran into somebody’s chest.

“Sorry” I say before looking up.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t that pretty little number from down on the beach” I heard the same slick tone that we heard on the beach. I look up to see Eric and a couple of his buddies smiling down on me. I didn’t really know what to say. I was alone, none of the guys were around, so I thought about ways to get out of this without causing a scene.

“Sorry I bumped into you guys. I have to be going now” I say trying to maneuver around them quickly.

“Not so fast, princess” Eric said as he cornered me against the exterior of a shop.

“Why don’t you come join us at our place? We’re having a little get together, I think you would really enjoy yourself” he says stepping dangerously close to me. I clutched my shopping bags tightly in my hands as I squirmed under his gaze.

“No thanks, I have plans” I say meekly not trying to anger them.

“Well change them” he said taking one more step towards me.

“Hey! You guys can’t be loitering out here, I’m going to have to ask you to leave” a young man said as he emerged from the shoe store behind me. Oh thank god.

“Yeah, yeah. We’re going-see you around princess. You owe me a raincheck for that party” he said shooting one last wink as he and his scumbag friends slinked away.

“Are you alright? You look shaken up” the guy said walking towards me. He had a kind face, and genuinely seemed concerned for my condition.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks so much, I owe you big time” I chuckle.

“Yeah, well I saw how uncomfortable you looked when he was walking towards you and I knew something wasn’t right” he said grabbing my elbow to stabilize me. “I’m Jonah, by the way.”

“Y/n” I say smiling sweetly. “Well thank you Jonah, you’re a lifesaver” I say turning to head back towards my car.

“You sure you’re okay to drive? Do you need me to take you home?” he asked concerned once more.

“No, no. I’m fine, really. Thank you. I’ll see you around” I say before offering him a little wave. What are the odds, I’m so glad he was around to stop that encounter.

I slide into the car after tossing my bags in the trunk and set off towards the direction of the beach house. Even though the conversation with Eric still haunted me, I thought it best not to mention it to the guys-especially Nate. I wasn’t going to be responsible for ruining another night. Besides, Jonah handled it. I’m sure it is over now.

I pull up our long circular drive once more, and place the car in park. The bus was parked off to the side, so I knew the guys were already back.

“Hello? I’m home guys!” I shout as I enter the front door. No answer. I plopped my bags on the couch temporarily as I moved towards the large windows to see where they could be. Just as I expected, they found the outdoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi. I step outside to see them splashing around, doing backflips into the pool, and generally playing around.

“Enjoying yourselves?” I ask with a laugh, catching their attention.

“Y/n!! You’re back!” J said grinning.

“Yep, just got back. No one answered when I went inside, and now I know why” I answer.

“Yeah, we were sweaty so we figured why not go for a dip” Cam shouted from behind the rock waterfall in the pool.

“Why don’t you join us babe?” G asked. I gave it some thought for a minute. We were all back earlier than planned, so why not.

“Alright, I’ll be right back!” I say.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked. I looked back at him like he had five heads.

“Uh, to get my bathing suit on?” I say, implying he was dumb for asking.

“No need, you can just skinny dip” he said wiggling his eyebrows, and biting his lip. And thus begins the endless torment from the aftermath of our text conversation.

“In your dreams Wilk” I say before retreating back into the house. I went upstairs and changed into my bathing suit quickly. I went back outside and dove headfirst into the cool water. It was so refreshing after a humid day of shopping. Next thing I knew I was squealing as someone swam underneath me and lifted me onto their shoulders. It was Gilinsky, and he was prepping us for a chicken fight. Johnson climbed onto Swazz’s shoulders, and began talking shit.

“You’re going down J!” I yell while grabbing his hands. Gilinsky held onto my thighs to keep me steady. After battling for a few minutes, I ducked and gave J a solid push sending him tumbling down into the water.

“Alright! That’s what I’m talking about babe!” G cheered as he dropped me down into his arms. He was fiercely competitive, and always liked to be the winner. I grin at our team work and high five him.

“Hey, what time is it?” Nate asked coming up from underwater.

“Uhm, 6:30” Kenny said checking his phone on the deck.

“Shit, we should probably start getting cleaned up if we want to get to the city for 8:30” Nate said, and we all began to climb out. I wrapped myself in a towel and walked inside, as Nate gave my ass a little pinch. I winked at him when he smirked at me.

I walked upstairs and shut my bedroom door, before walking into the spacious bathroom. I started up the shower, and stepped inside. It was big enough for twelve people, but I loved that I had it all to myself. I let the hot water pour over me, and washed my hair and body. I emerged from the steamy bathroom, barely wrapping a towel around me when Sam came bursting through the door.

“Hey babe” he said strolling in casually.

“Jesus Christ! Don’t you knock?!” I squeal gripping my towel harder.

“Nothing I haven’t seen before baby” he smirks before throwing himself down on my bed. I just rolled my eyes at his comment.

“What do you want Samuel?” I ask impatiently.

“Well we need to have a little talk about the show you gave me earlier” he grinned, eyes lighting up.

“Sam, I told you. That wasn’t meant for you. Now if you don’t mind I have to get dressed” I say dismissing him.

“If it wasn’t meant for me, then who was it for?” he questions, a little more curious now. I started to panic. Shit, I didn’t come up with a backstory for this. I started mentally kicking myself before I came up with a good lie.

“My friend Nicole back home. Happy now? She asked what I was doing and wanted to see a picture of the dress. Simple as that” I say lying my ass off.

“Nicole, huh?” he says raising an eyebrow. He was questioning me, and I wasn’t sure if he bought it or not.

“Yeah, Nicole. You’ve heard me talk about her before” I brush him off and begin to sort through my closet for undergarments.

“Hmm, a likely story” Sam said eyeing me, not fully convinced.

“Sammy will you please get out, I need to changeeee” I whine.

“Alright, I’ll go. But this,” he motions between us, “isn’t over yet.” He moves to leave and is mostly out of the door as I shout

“Yes it is Sam! Nothing to talk about!” I just heard him chuckle and make his way down the hallway.

Well I managed to brush him off at least for now. I get back to my original plan and put on a black lacy underwear set. I curl my hair into loose waves and apply my makeup before I stepped into my dress. I put the finishing touches on my ensemble by spraying my perfume, and put on my heels. I gave myself one last look over in the mirror and smiled to myself. I looked good.

“Let’s get this night started” I say to myself before turning off the light and turning to go downstairs. Their voices were echoing loudly through the house as they all gathered in the foyer waiting for me. This is it, I breathed in and out.

Nate’s POV

I stood around with the guys and made small talk while we waited for y/n to come down. Sammy sidled up next to me.

“I think y/n wants me” he announces to the whole group while smirking. I almost choked at his words. My shock was immediately replaced with laughter.

“Ok, Sam. Sure she does” I say patting his back. It was near impossible to get mad at Sammy. The guy was a goofball, no matter if he was trying or not.

“For real man, her and I had words today” he smiles again. “And let’s just say that I’m more aware of how good she looks” he says flirtatiously. What the fuck Sam?

“What do you mean by that?” I ask quizzically.

“See for yourself” he smirks and gestures up to the top of the stairs where she stood. My jaw nearly unhinged, my eyes focused on her frame from her head to her feet.

“I’m telling you man, there’s no way the Lakers can pull that off” J said still in deep conversation with the other boys, when his voice cut off. Now everyone was silent, you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on her.

I took all of her in as she carefully walked step by step down the staircase. She was all dolled up, and looked grown. My eyes slid down her body, piece by piece. The red form-fitting dress skimmed each curve. The plunging neckline showcased her cleavage in just the right spots. It hugged her hips and her long legs were tan, topped off with black heels. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She was a work of art, simply put. I felt myself stiffen and immediately shifted it in my black pants.

“Damn y/n. Damn. That’s all I can say” Cam said pulling her in for a small hug. The others gave her words of encouragement followed by hugs as well.

“Looks like we’ll have to keep a close eye on you tonight, with you looking like that” Johnson says laughing.

“Thanks J” she giggles as she leaned into his side.

“Fuck, girl. Got me feeling some type of way” G says while sliding his hand down her ass when he hugs her. I instantly felt myself get revved up, but relief washed over me as I saw her remove his hand and place it higher up her back.

“We gonna do this thing, or what?” Nash hollers before heading out to the bus. We all filed out behind him, and he opted to drive. Y/n stood in front of me as we waited to climb inside. I grasped her waist to help her inside and she made sure to stop short and rub her ass on my crotch before getting in. I heard her giggle victoriously after I let out a low groan. What is she trying to do to me.

I got inside and found a place on a bench seat, and I pulled her onto my lap. I squeezed her waist periodically, remind her of our arrangement. She would slowly grind down onto me in such a subtle way, it was driving me crazy.

Nash drove us the entire two hour journey to the city, and we all grew more excited as night fell and the lights would flash. New York City was a hive of activity, there were people of all ages out and about enjoying the nightlife. We stared in wonder out the windows as we drove through Times Square, the fluorescent lights blinding us. We saw break dancers performing for a small crowd, jazz performers with their cases open for donations, and people on bicycles performing stunt jumps. The energy was insane. Nash found a parking lot nearby the club we wanted to go to, and we decided to walk the rest of the way.

We exited the bus and into the cool night air. I could smell y/n’s perfume as the wind blew past her, I felt an entirely new sense of calm in this moment. She grabbed onto my arm and we all walked to the club, laughing.

“Hey J! Am I finally gonna get a taste of those dance moves you told me about?” y/n asked with amusement in her voice.

“Y’all ready for this?” he looked around to all of us, prompting a rush of laughter.

“Put up or shut up J” I said.

“It’s going down tonight you guys” he said before moving to speak to the bouncer. Within moments we were all admitted to the club and the darkness set in. It was dimly lit, save for the strobe lights on the dance floor. There were tables and couches placed throughout the club, and a full service bar. Dillon decided to head over to the bar and put on his best “adult” face to see if he could snag us a bottle. If anyone could haggle booze from someone, it was Dillon.

“Come on baby, a promise is a promise” J shouted at y/n as he walked to the dance floor. She looked up at me with a glimmer in her eye, and I nodded telling her to go.

Y/n POV

I danced my way to the floor, following Johnson’s lead. He immediately launched into the sexy moves he obviously learned from a choreographer. This was confirmed when G jumped in and moved in an identical fashion. They moved and grinded all over the floor, throwing in body rolls like they were going out of style. I eventually stopped dancing and moved back just to watch them in delight. I couldn’t help but laugh at these idiots I call my best friends. When the song ended J walked towards me wiping the sweat off of his brow.

“How was that?” he asked, breathless.

“Not too shabby J. You weren’t lying” I laugh and reward him with a hug.

“Can I get this on record? Y/n admitting she was wrong?” he motioned around us until I smacked him on the arm. We walked back to where our group had a table to see Dillon pouring up glasses of champagne, and various shots.

“Dillon, how did you convince them you were of age?” I giggle, amazed.

“You just gotta act like you own the joint” he said with a false sense of confidence causing me to laugh. I helped myself to a few glasses of champagne, and soon the room was hazy. I didn’t feel out of control, but I was definitely buzzed.

“Here babe, take shots with me!” Nate shouted over the music. I gladly joined, throwing back the liquor and quickly biting into a lime. Our faces must have been a picture because the guys couldn’t help but laugh at our reactions.

“Shit” Nate mutters, followed by a laugh.

“Damn, last time I drink with you guys” I laugh joining in. The night continued like this for another half hour. I felt really good now, not caring about anything in the world other than my friends and how badly I wanted to dance.

“Come here baby, let me show you how it’s really done!” Sam says grabbing my arm and dragging me back to the dancefloor. He swiftly pulls our body into rhythmic grinding and swaying. If I didn’t have all of that to drink, I might have thought better of it. But when Justin Timberlake’s Sexyback blared through the room, I couldn’t stop. Sammy sloppily slid his hands down and around my body, it was evident that he had been drinking too much as well.

Sam pulled me over to the bar and leaned me back against the counter. He reached behind me and spread a line of margarita salt on my neck and worked his tongue, sucking each piece of the sweet salt off. He pulled back grinning at me.

“Told ya you want me” he said with a cheeky grin. I knew I shouldn’t have drank so much.

“That doesn’t mean anything Sam. We had too much to drink, and got carried away with the song” I chuckle pushing him off of me.

“Whatever you have to tell yourself babe” he winks before sauntering off to find some bimbo to dance with. I quickly set myself straight and remembered who I dressed up for tonight. I needed to find Nate. I wandered through the packed club until I found him leaning against the wall, drink in hand. He was bobbing his head to the music, and I took this as my opportunity to have some one-on-one time with him. I walk towards him swaying my hips, and grab his hand while staring in his eyes seductively.

“Woah, hey babe” he said stunned at my forwardness.

“Dance with me baby” I say leading him to the floor. We started to grind and his large hands found my waist squeezing intently. We were a dancing mess as Tipsy by J-Kwon brought everyone out to the floor. Our entire group was getting down and having a blast. Nate grabbed my hand to spin me around and I went tumbling into the person behind me. We both started to laugh at my clumsy mishap, when the person behind me spoke.

“Y/n? Is that you?” he spoke confused. I turned to see Jonah, the guy that rescued me outside the shoe store earlier. I was genuinely surprised, but pleased, to see him.

“Oh wow! Jonah, hey! Crazy seeing you here” I say enthusiastically and pulled him in for a quick hug. I felt Nate squeeze my hand tight.

“Shit, sorry. Jonah, this is Nate. Nate this is Jonah” I say making introductions. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“So how do you two know each other?” Nate questioned.

“Man it’s kind of a crazy story. I saw her outside of a shoe store in town this afternoon when these dudes were creepin’ on her. Kind of a weird way to meet, huh?” Jonah said not realizing the impact his words had. Nate tensed up and looked at me bewildered.

“Y/n. What is he talking about?”

The Tides Have Turned-Part 7

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Seven

“Sammy you can’t eat that!!!”

My eyes slowly peeled open to the sound of Johnson’s muffled voice shouting downstairs. I had no coherent thoughts in my brain at the moment, as I let myself wake up. My eyes darted around the sun-filled room. Two beds…Adidas sneakers…boxers? This wasn’t my room. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I looked to my right and found a sleeping Nate. His chest moved slowly up and down and I matched my breathing to his rhythm. He was distracting, I shook my head to refocus my thoughts.

I was still in his bed, I never returned to my room. The events of the bonfire were still foggy in my mind, I’m never drinking that much Malibu again. I rubbed my temples at the thought of hooking up with Gilinsky, and now possibly Nate. I felt the bed begin to shift to my right as Nate rolled over where he was facing me. His eyes opened slowly at first, and then shot open when he saw me face to face. I sat up in a rush, hoping we didn’t make a mistake.

“N-Nate, did we…” my voice trails off. He was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Uh, yeah. We did” he said, his voice groggy but unbelievably sexy. My thoughts clouded with worry, I hope he didn’t regret the events of last night. I suppose it was technically my fault, after all. I crept in here assuming I could spend the night with him, and what from what I remember I was the one to come onto him. I cringe at my forwardness.

“Nate, I’m sorry I-”

“For what?” he asks sitting up now.

“For barging in here last night, coming on to you, oh god you must think-”

“Y/n. Stop. You didn’t do anything wrong, I wanted it too” he says nonchalantly. I breathe a sigh of relief that he wasn’t totally disgusted with me.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a while” he says pulling me closer to him, and he bites my lip into a kiss. I relaxed into him, there was no doubt he had skill. As much as I knew this would complicate things, I never felt as sexually charged as I did with Nate. He wiped out the memory of G, if that attests to anything.

“We should do it more often” I say in between his kisses. The words escaped my mouth before I even knew what I was saying, but I was putting it all out there. He pulls back and looks at me with lust clouding his eyes. He smirked, creating two perfect dimples.

“Yeah, considering that was just a quickie” he says kissing my neck. By now we were in a mess of blankets in the center of the bed.

“Was it?” I moan a little as he would bite and suck the flesh.

“Mmm, yeah. We had a little interruption” he says as I furrow my eyebrows. I mean it vaguely rang a bell. I remember light streaming in and words exchanged in a hushed tone.

“Next time I want to savor you; taste you” he murmured against the skin just under my ear. I could feel his tongue dart against my neck as it moved when he spoke. I shuddered at his words, already feeling the warmth spread across my body.

“Nate! Wake up man! Breakfast is ready. And while you’re at it, find y/n and tell her to come down too!” Sammy shouted from the landing of the stairs. Nobody knew that we were in here together. Nate groaned, but got up to find something to wear.

“I guess that’s our cue” I giggle pulling my shirt from last night over my head.

“The timing around this place sucks” Nate says all bent out of shape, which causes me to giggle harder.

“Keep it in your pants Nathan, shit will happen when it happens” I say giving him a quick peck on the lips. I head towards the door and grasp the handle.

“But Nate-” I say stopping to look at him. He lifts his head to look at me. “This forbidden friends-with-benefits thing has to stay between us” I warn. “The guys can’t know. They won’t understand, and it would make things too weird” I add. Nate nods his head knowingly.

“Agreed, babe. Besides makes it hotter” he says winking at me. I smile and turn to leave when he pulls my arm, twirling me right into his chest. He smacks a warm kiss right on my lips, and my hands go to the ends of his hair.

“See you downstairs” I say before heading back to my room before anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Nate’s POV

I took an extra few minutes to cleaned up and pull myself together before heading downstairs. We couldn’t have it looking like we both came down at the same time, so I thought it best to stagger our entrances. I ran my hands through my hair and kept my outfit casual with sweats and a tank. I think I have given it enough time, so I make my way down the hallway and head downstairs.

The minute I approached the landing I could hear the guys shouting over the scores from the basketball games last night. Normally I would have been right there with them, but I had my own fun last night. The memory caused me to smirk. I plod down each step slowly and head into the kitchen to see a full breakfast has already been prepared.

“Damn this looks good. Who cooked?” I question aloud, my eyes lighting up at the feast in front of me.

“I did the pancakes and got all the other shit out, like fruit and stuff” Johnson said between bites of food.

“And Sammy did the eggs” Gilinsky chuckles at the notion of Sam in the kitchen.

“Woah, homie cooks now does he?” I shoot Sam a look of shock.

“You know I’m good at everything” Sam says his shoulders shrugging in an exaggerated manner.

“Shut the hell up Sammy” I say busting out laughing. I move to pour myself a cup of coffee and begin to pile food on my plate when I hear y/n’s voice ring through the kitchen.

“Mornin’ boys!” she says cheerily sitting on Sam’s knee as he wraps an arm around her waist.

“Hey babe, sleep well?” G asked her. I could see a smile playing on her lips.

“Mhm, really good” she says stifling a giggle.

“That’s good. I know how you get in those storms and thought for sure I’d have company last night” he laughs. A smug smile formed on my face, little did he know that she chose me and I did a lot more than comfort her in the storm.

I made my way over to the large dining table and sat next to Johnson and Cam.

“Hey dude, pass the syrup please” I say nodding at Kenny who sat across from me. He slid it across the table, and I caught it in my hand.

“Okay, speaking of company. I know Nate had some last night” Swazz spoke up a stupid grin on his face as he spilled my secret to the entire breakfast table. I nearly poured the entire bottle of syrup on my pancakes. I looked up to see y/n’s eyes wide, she looked like she was on pins and needles, afraid of what I was going to say.

“The better question is why you walked in bro” I say causing the whole table to laugh. I hoped this would divert the conversation away from the original direction, but of course they weren’t letting it go.

“Come on Skate, who was she?” Nash said, spooning cereal into his mouth.

“Yeah man, was she fine at least?” Johnson asked next.

“Guys I ain’t gonna kiss and tell like that. But yes she’s a dime” I say smirking and I saw y/n visibly relax before getting up to get herself some food. The guys went back to discussing last night’s game, and I saw this as an opportunity to clear my plate. I walked over to where y/n was standing.

“Close one huh?” I chuckle. She playfully hit my arm.

“Shit, yes. Don’t scare me like that again, or I will cut you off” she says with a wink before taking a spot at the table. I return to my seat and lay back casually draping my arm across the back.

“So what do we want to do today you fine people?” J asked outwardly to the group.

“Well I don’t think the beach is an option until they get a crew out to clear up the damage” Cam said. A few of us sighed, we wanted to live on the beach as much as possible this trip.

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I need to get out of this house so I’m going shopping” Y/n says matter of factly.

“Ughhhhh noooo” Gilinsky dragged out, scrunching up his nose. The others had looks of disdain also, and even I had to admit shopping was the last thing I wanted to do.

“I don’t know why you guys are groaning, that wasn’t an invite” she giggles. “The only one that gets a free pass to join me would be Sammy boy, but his taste in clothes don’t exactly vibe with mine” she laughs harder now punching him on the arm. This is why she was always more than welcome in the squad, girl had mad jokes.

“Laugh all you want but I never hear any complaints from the ladies” Sam retorts leaning back in his chair triumphantly.

“That’s because you and the ‘ladies’ don’t exactly do much talking” y/n says exaggerating the word ladies with air quotes.

“That is strike two for you y/n. First the pranks, now this. You got a storm comin’ babe” Sam laughs, mischief filling his eyes.

“Well if y/n is going shopping, why don’t we check out the gym in town? Shoot some hoops?” G asks. Now this was something I can get behind.

“Oh hell yeah, I’m in” I say. The guys all eagerly agree at something much more their speed.

“Hey I got an idea” J says, we all look at him signaling him to continue. “Why don’t we all meet back at the house later tonight, say like 8, and then head into New York City for a night out?” he says.

“Yes, you don’t have to ask me twice” Sammy says. We all eagerly agree to the plan and y/n claps her hands together in excitement at the plan.

“Now I have something to shop for” she says before running upstairs to get dressed.

Y/n’s POV

I quickly pulled on a casual summer outfit. Jean shorts, a white tee, and my white converse. I loosely braid my hair and throw on my sunglasses before heading downstairs. The boys were all standing around in the living room wearing variations of basketball shorts, tank tops, no shirts, etc.

“Sweatbands, Gilinsky? What is this, the 70’s?” I tease.

“Why don’t you get some of those short-shorts while you’re at it Michael Jordan?” Nash joins in.

“Yeah, you guys won’t be saying that when I whoop your ass on the court!” he defends. We all file out of the front door and towards the parked cars on the driveway.

“You guys should take the bus considering there’s a brood of you” I suggest. They all nod as Sammy made his way to the driver’s side door.

“Not you Sammy!!!” Nate yells running towards him to stop him his tracks.

“Why not?!” Sam whines.

“Because you’re a shit driver. Last time we let you drive you got so distracted you rear ended a guy” Nate chastises.

“That was equally his fault you know!” Sam says grumbling while climbing into the back. Nate just looks at me out of exasperation and I giggle at them. The boys could argue like old married couples sometimes.

“See you back here at 8, babe!” J shouts from the passenger side window as Nate was reversing out of the driveway.

“You got it!” I wave at them. I walk over to my parent’s car that they left for me to use if I needed to get around this trip. They were mostly with Johnson and Gilinsky’s parents the entire time, so they didn’t need three cars.

I climb in and crank the A/C on full blast and tune the radio until I heard Bruno Mars crooning through the speakers. This was going to be a fun day, I could feel it already.

I drove for 15 minutes before rows of shops came into my line of sight. I parked on the street and entered a vintage boutique expertly displayed on the corner of the street. I walk in and begin to peruse the endless racks of clothing. I needed something HOT, hotter than anything I’ve worn before. I wanted to look good for Nate, nobody wants a frumpy friends with benefits.

I walk over to a rack of dresses and begin searching until my eyes widened at the sight of a gorgeous red one. My mouth gaped slightly at the price, but it was breathtaking.

“Can I help you?” a salesgirl wandered over to ask me.

“Yes, I’d like to try this on please” I answer sweetly.

“Wow, that’s a beautiful dress! Right this way” she motions for me to follow her to the changing rooms. I walk in and quickly strip shimmying my way into the dress. I turned to look at myself in the mirror and was shocked. I loved it immediately, and knew it was just the thing to wear for Nate when we go out on the town tonight. It had a decently deep V down the front, and a cutout back down a couple inches of my spine. It was sexy, but not slutty. I decided to give Nate a little teaser of what he was in for later tonight, so I took out my phone and snapped a pic and pulled up his contact information.

Me: Look what I found for tonight! 😜

I clicked send and started to put my clothes back on when my phone pinged with a new text message.

Sammy😈: holy shitttt 👅👅 that’s for me babe? You shouldn’t have 😏

I furrowed my brows in confusion, that’s not the response I expected to see. What is Sam talking about. I scrolled up to see that I accidentally sent my sexy pic to the fuckboy himself rather than Nate.

Me: SAMUEL OMG THAT WASN’T FOR YOU 😧😧 forget you saw anything or I will have you by the balls!!!!!!!

Sammy😈: damn babe no need to get violent. But we will be talking about this later 😘

Oh my god, this could have been way worse. What if one of the guys found out it was meant for Nate? I’m thanking myself that I didn’t include Nate’s name in the text. I put my phone away, dropping my little act of flirting. I wasn’t risking it again, sorry Nate.

I proceed to the register and pay for the dress before I set off on the hunt for shoes and accessories.

“Looking good for your man tonight?” the saleslady asked with a knowing smile.

“Something like that” I answer with a slight smile.

Nate’s POV

“What are you smiling about?” I ask Sam who had a shit eating grin on his face.

“Oh, nothing. Just saw something interesting that’s all” he answers slyly. He was up to something, or knew something we didn’t.

“Okay?” I say dragging out the syllables.

“Let’s just say tonight just got a lot more interesting” he says with one last smirk.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 6

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Six

I laid on my bed for another five minutes, contemplating my newly recognized feelings. I started to panic. I can’t have feelings for ANY of my best friends, it would completely ruin everything we have. That’s one of the downsides to being best friends with all guys I suppose, and attractive ones at that. I began to breathe heavily, a million scenarios running through my mind-each ending badly.

“Ok, y/n, breathe” I say aloud trying to calm myself down. “It will be ok, maybe you’re just confused” I sat up trying to convince myself. Maybe I was overreacting, this was lust not love. That’s gotta be it. We all drank a lot, the relaxed vibe that the beach was sending. I just attribute it to hormones. I stand now, feeling slightly better, but still uneasy. The guys were expecting me back at the bonfire so I really should get going before someone comes looking for me.

I make my way towards the door when I caught sight of myself in the floor-length mirror by the closet.

“Shit!” I say a little too loudly. I walk closer to the mirror and move my hair back over my shoulder. There in all its glory, was a bright purple hickey. Jack must have been putting in work, it still looked fresh. I moved my hair in front of my shoulders, but it was too big to go unnoticed.

“Jesus, Jack” I grumble to myself. I quickly fish my makeup bag out of my purse and scramble to find my concealer. I skillfully dabbed it over the purple mark, blending carefully. It covered most of it, and I would just have to play the rest off as a bruise.

“Ugh, good enough” I say before throwing the concealer back in the bag. I head downstairs and pick the blanket up off of the floor, remembering the reason why I entered the house in the first place. I step outside and instantly the singed smell of firewood hit my nose. The night air was cool, but the bonfire was burning steady giving off heat. I assume my position around the fire and nervously glance at Jack, hoping he didn’t mention anything of our little tryst. Nobody was acting any different than before, and Jack himself seemed unfazed. Typical, I think.

“Hey you” Nate says kindly, sidling up next to me.

“Hey Skate” I grin, using his beloved nickname. He always told me that he loved when I used pet names for him.

“Cold?” he asks wrapping an arm around me. Damn, he was in a good mood. In fact, this was the most relaxed I’ve seen him the whole vacation.

“A little” I say shivering. He pulls me into the spot in front of him so that I was leaning back into his chest. One of my favorite things about Nate was his familiarity. His arms felt like home. A judgmental-free zone, just good vibes at all time. I eagerly snuggle into him, and he mindlessly plays with the ring on my right hand.

We all continued our conversations and stories, genuinely having a good time. Tensions seemed to be lifted from our group. We remained outside for another half hour or so, before we decided to put out the fire and head inside for the night. Cam and Nash grabbed two huge buckets of water to put out the flames while the rest of us started back towards the house. Before we walked up the steps to the back deck, we noticed two figures walking towards us. Nate instantly tensed and stepped in front of me.

As the figures came closer I recognized them as two of the college guys that threw the party at the cabana the other night. What did they want?

“Hey can we help you guys?” Nate barked out, setting the premise that we didn’t want to be bothered.

“Hey man we just wanted to come warn you guys that there’s a severe weather watch right now. They’re thinking a hurricane is gonna sweep through here tonight” the guy said throwing his hands up in defense.

“Wait, tonight?!” I say stepping out from behind Nate. I hated bad storms, they made me uneasy. Besides this was supposed to be paradise, no one expects a damn hurricane.

One of the guys steps closer to me, changing his demeanor completely. He assumed a large smile, he reminded me of a car salesman.

“Yeah, tonight. But don’t worry about it lil lady. We live right up the beach in that house right there” he points in the distance to a house a mile up the beach. “If you’re scared, you’re more than welcome to come hang with us up in the house” he says in a tone that makes me uncomfortable. This wasn’t a neighborly offer, it was creepy.

“Nah, she’ll be fine right here with us. With me” Nate interjects taking a step towards the guy. He clearly wasn’t about to play these games.

“Yeah, alright man. Just wanted to give you guys the heads up” the other guy said. They started to walk back in the direction they came, but lingered as they passed me.

“My name’s Eric, by the way. If you want a break from your boyfriend, you know where to find me” he says nodding condescendingly at Nate. I cringe, and Nate moved to take a step closer, but I grabbed his arm.

“Nate, don’t. It’s not worth it” I say, my voice laced with warning. Eric and his friend shot us one last smile before finally walking away. They sent shivers up my spine.

“Come on, let’s get you in the house” Nate said, careening me towards the back door.

2 hours later

Nate’s POV

It was midnight by the time most of us decided to part ways and head up to bed. After the run in with those assholes on the beach, we lingered in the living room for a while. Johnson, Dillon, Swazz, and Kenny opted to stay downstairs and watch a movie. The rest of us were too tired for that so we said our goodnights. The guys were oblivious to the situation, but I got a bad feeling from those two. Something deep down told me they didn’t just come over to “warn” us about the weather. Although I didn’t like them, they were telling the truth about the storm alert. I looked over at Swazz’s empty bed as lightning brightly lit up the room. He must have fallen asleep downstairs.

I turned over again to stare out of the windows in my room and past the balcony. The ocean was choppy, the water looked black and churned violently. The palm trees were swaying so heavily it looked like they were going to snap. The storm was furious and loud, there was no way I was going to get a decent night’s sleep tonight. I closed my eyes and tried my best to drift off to sleep, when I heard my door creak open.

“Nate….?” I heard a voice whisper, and their shadow crouch in the doorway. I would recognize that silhouette anywhere, it was y/n. My eyes remained closed, but a smile played on my lips.

“Come here baby” I say not even moving. I knew why she was in here, she hated storms and this was a nasty one. I was secretly thrilled that she chose to come to me and not G or anyone else. She walked deeper into the room and her walk turned into a full on sprint as a huge clap of thunder rung out. I laughed as she pounced onto the bed next to me.

“It’s not funny Nate” she says smacking my chest playfully.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry, here get under the blankets” I say making room for her. She slid under the sheets and I could feel the cool, smooth skin of her legs. She wrapped them over mine and settled right on my chest. I breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of her vanilla shampoo.

“Thanks Nate. If I get to be a bed hog, just kick me out and I’ll leave” she chuckles glancing up at me.

“Even though you totally are a hog, I would never kick you out” I say poking her side causing her to squirm a little. This was heaven, having her in my arms. Every time a bolt of lightning would cause the room to glow, I would see her eyes looking out at the ocean deep in thought. I wanted so badly to tell her how I felt, how I’ve been in love with her for a while. But I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t bring myself to say it just yet. We finally just got back on good terms, and I wasn’t about to have this ripped away from me just yet. So instead I settled on telling her something else.

“You know when I said that I would sleep with a hookup rather than you, I wasn’t saying that you were unattractive” I state honestly, and deeply. She lifted her head to look at me.

“You-you mean you don’t find me unattractive?” she asks hopeful. I wanted to scoff at the simple notion of her being “unattractive.” She was beautiful, and everybody knew it but her.

“Of course not. You’re stunning, you have all the guys drooling for you” I answer honestly with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood. Her eyes glazed over with multiple emotions. First shock, then a look of appreciation, and then one I couldn’t pin.

Another deafening clap of thunder sounded, but this time y/n didn’t jump. She sat up and swung her leg over me, now straddling me. My breath sharpened at the contact of her groin on mine. She leaned closer and grabbed both sides of my face before placing her pink lips on mine. My hands rested on her thighs as she deepened the kiss, causing me to let out a slight moan. She moved her hips slightly on my crotch as she sucked on my bottom lip. It dawned on me that the look in her eyes said lust, but she kissed like it was love.

“Fuck it” she groans taking her shirt off, before moving to kiss my neck. Before I knew what was happening, our clothes were being torn off.

Y/n’s POV

“Fuck it” I said before removing my clothes. This isn’t exactly how I planned on spending my night. Although, who can really anticipate a thing like this. I tried to settle into my own bed and get some sleep, but the storm was too severe. The guys were all passed out, but there was one person’s comfort I wanted the most. I snuck over to Nate’s room and was relieved when he invited me to stay.

I had fully intended to behave myself and just sleep there for the comfort. Then Nate went and opened his mouth, uttering the words I have been longing to hear.

“You’re stunning.” The words rang in my ears, for what feels like forever. I hadn’t realized it, but this was what I needed to hear. The sincerity in his voice riled me up in more ways than one. If this was lust, then I needed to succumb to it to get it out of my system.

I sucked on his neck feverishly, hearing his moans of encouragement. My hands worked his dark locks, tugging and twisting. His eyes were screwed shut as his hands stroked up my sides. He gripped my ass tightly, and his erection prodded my leg. I moaned aloud at the feeling. Nate was hot, and the sensation of him being hard because of me sent me into hyper sensitivity. Nate rolled over on top kissing down my exposed chest. His breathing was labored and he uttered various words of excitement.

“Shit y/n, yes” he dragged out as I rolled my hips underneath him. The door opened suddenly, and I ducked underneath Nate’s large chest.

“Shit Nate, sorry man. I didn’t know you had a girl in here” a sleep Swazz apologizes rubbing his eyes. He quickly shut the door. It was evident he didn’t know it was me. Nate and I stared into each other’s eyes, which were wide, a mixture of embarrassment and secrecy between us.

“Our little secret…” he whispered before sucking on my neck.

The Tides Have Turned-Part 5

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Five

Nate’s POV I had a pretty restless night’s sleep. Thoughts of y/n kept me tossing and turning in the bed. I felt bad, Swazz probably wanted to kill me for making so much noise. I laid on my back staring at the ceiling, contemplating what to do. I ran a hand through my hair and turned to check the time on my phone. 9:00 AM Well I guess now’s as good a time as ever to get up. I make my way over to the closet and pulled out a pair of flannel lounge pants and pulled them on over my boxers. I didn’t bother to grab a shirt because I knew it would be a while before the guys would stir. They would sleep until dinner if you’d let them. I make my way down the staircase and stopped momentarily to stare at the incredible view of the beach. The entire living room was flooded with light from the huge windows. I could see the trees sway slightly, it must be a beautiful day. I round the back of the couch and walk into the kitchen to get a glass of orange juice. I instantly smelled fresh ground coffee-somebody was already up.

I walked back into the living room with my drink, about to head back upstairs, when something moving caught my eye. There she was, gently swaying on the swinging bench on the back porch. Of course, she’s up. She loved the way the morning time was so peaceful. I tread carefully over to the sliding glass doors and stared at her for a minute before she noticed I was here. She sat in pale blue silk robe, fuzzy socks on her feet and her coffee mug clutched tightly in her hands. Her eyes were closed, her breaths even and slow. She must have sensed my presence because she slowly turned towards me opening her eyes. “Hey” she said sweetly. She was in a good mood. I made a mental note to not say anything to fuck this up.

“Hi” I say rubbing the back of my neck. “Wanna sit?” She asked arching a brow. I nod and eagerly join her, the two of us now rocking in sync. This was it, I needed to get us back on good terms.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” She asks staring at the ocean. “Mhm” I agree, but I wasn’t looking at the ocean. “Y/n I don’t know what got into me last night. I think I had too much to drink, and G and I were beefin’ over something before the trip and I guess it all just pent up.” Lie. All lies. I knew what my motives were, but if she wanted to be with Gilinsky and that’s where her happiness lies then so be it. I would have to get over it.

“Is that what this was all about Nate?” She asks relieved that she finally got some explanation. What she didn’t know was that it was still bullshit. “Yeah, I guess it was” I laugh nervously. “I was still buzzed when I came to talk last night, and I didn’t know what I was saying. You know I would support you and who you chose to be with, don’t you?” I question her. “Of course Nate. And you know the same goes for you” she smiles at me and places her hand on mine. It was obvious that she didn’t realize the implications of my question. I gave her a weak smile, hoping it was convincing enough.

“So! You ready for a great beach day?!” She clapped her hands together snapping into excitement mode, ending our previous discussion. “Uhh duh!” I say matching her joking mood. “Great! I’m gonna go jump on the guys and get ready!” She giggled causing a smile to form on my face. “Meet you down at the beach?” She asked standing to go inside. “You got it babe” I say. She shot me one last smile as she half-stepped into the house. “Nate-” she stops mid stride to look back at me, I lift my head to look at her. “I’m really glad we had this talk. Now we can get back to enjoying our vacation” she says cheerily and comes over to place a peck on my cheek. My lips barely curve into a smile, but she was already skipping into the house. I refocus my attention to the beach and sigh. I still felt at a loss without my girl, but at least this was a step in the right direction. Y/n POV

I march upstairs feeling like the weight of the world was off of my shoulders. After talking with Johnson last night I realized what was important and didn’t want to let a dumb misunderstanding come between Nate and I. Now hearing from Nate himself that it was all an alcohol-induced mistake, instilled my confidence in making this vacation go back to normal. And now here we are ready for our first beach day of the summer. I re-enter my bedroom and see Gilinsky still in a sound sleep. His legs are tangled in the blankets and his dark hair splayed on the pillowcase. I get a running start and jump on top of him. “Jackkkkkk” I say in a sing-song voice. He just grunts in return. “Come on get up! It’s a beautiful day, we’re finally going to spend time on the beach” I say drumming on his back. In one swift movement he rolls me over on top and starts tickling my sides “JACK! OMG!” I scream. “You know I don’t like to be woken up” he states pressing his lips just under my ear “but for you I’ll make an exception” he says almost seductively. “I’m honored” I say rolling out from under him. “Get ready, I’m gonna go wake up the others” I add before leaving my room.

I skipped down the hallway and threw open Nash and Cam’s door, not bothering to knock.

“Come on it’s time to get-” I stop short when I saw the two of them spooning in a dead sleep. They started to stir, Cam’s eyes fluttering open clearly trying to piece together where he was.

“I’ll just leave you two alone” I barely choke out through a string of giggles. Cam looked down at Nash’s arm and jumped so high I could swear he hit the ceiling.

“OH COME ON” he says loudly. “You know I was already weirded out by the fact that there’s one bed in this room” he laughs. Nash looked equally surprised but at this point he’s done some weird shit in his videos that he seemed indifferent.

“Anyways…” I say bringing their attention to me. “We’re having a beach day so get your shit together” I laugh before leaving to find my next target. I continue down the hall and crept into the room I knew the rest of the boys were sharing. I shut the door behind me quietly so I didn’t announce my presence just yet. The room contained three sets of bunk beds to allow for the maximum number of guests. I knew the sitting duck was Sammy. I ran downstairs to the kitchen to grab a glass and filled it with water. I had a devious smirk on my face as Nate was placing his empty glass in the sink. He rose his eyebrows at me and I held my finger up to my lips to shush him, and directed him to follow me.

We crept back upstairs and entered their bedroom once more. I slowly stalked to where I saw Sammy passed out on the bottom bunk. I knelt down on the floor and carefully placed the glass next to where Sam’s hand laid exposed. Nate crouched down behind me with his hand on my back, his bottom lip in between his teeth. He was biting down hard so he could suppress his laughter. I gingerly place Sam’s hand in the glass and watch his face contort in his sleep at the sensation. Nate and I take a step back covering each other’s mouths to prevent us from busting out laughing.

“Uhh” Sam groans slightly opening his eyes. “What the fuck is this?!” he yells his eyes widening in terror now. He looks down at his pants to make sure nothing happened, which caused Nate and I to lose our shit. We were laughing until tears were streaming down our face.

“YOU!” Sam points at Nate accusingly and Nate threw his hands up in surrender claiming his innocence. This caused Sam to shift his focus to me, still giggling wildly. I turn to run but before I could even reach the door he picked me up from behind and squeezed me tightly causing me to squeal.

“You think this is funny, don’t you?!” he play shouts tickling my sides.

“Omg Sammy stop I can’t breathe” I laugh.

“You don’t know what you have gotten yourself into babe” he says placing me back on my feet. “You just started a prank war. I would watch my back if I were you” he says mischief gleaming in his eyes. By now we have effectively woken up the entire house. Johnson just throws his hands up in the air making his way into the bathroom. He’s used to our antics.

“Hey man! Let me in! I really have to pee thanks to y/n!” Sam bangs on the bathroom door wildly.

“Damn, I didn’t think that old trick even worked” Nate says with a laugh.

“You got twenty minutes before we’re going down to the beach Wilk!” I say before exiting.

I head back into my room and quickly change into my bathing suit and put my cover-up on. I find my sunglasses and beach bag full of sunscreen, gossip magazines, and a towel. I was good to go, running down the checklist in my mind as I walked downstairs. Dillon and Kenny were lifting a large cooler out the back door as I entered the living room.

“What’s in it Kenny?” I ask.

“Uhh we got some waters, juices, fruit bowls, you name it! Since you were hell bent on getting to the beach right away we had to take breakfast to go” he chuckles.

“And we got the goods” Dillon says smirking while showing me a bottle of Malibu Rum. Trust Dillon to be in charge of “the goods.”

We all proceeded down the private path that wound its way down to the beach. It was a gorgeous day out, and we didn’t even have to worry about a crowded beach. The next group of people were at least a mile down the beach, which was fine by me considering the boys could get wild. I laid my towel out on the sand and kicked off my flip flops before I put my hair up in a bun.

The guys removed their towels from where they hung around their shoulders and claimed their individual spots. Nash, Cam, Kenny, and Dillon wasted no time before they sprinted to the ocean.

“Come on y/n show us the goods” Sam jokes as he playfully smacks my bum walking past me. I just flip him the bird to which he blows me a kiss.

Nate’s POV

I placed my black Ray Bans on my face and ruffle my hair. I look out towards the water where the guys were wrestling. The Jacks were next to me arguing about the direction they want to take their next single. They were artistically unique, and they somehow always found a way to make their styles mesh.

Suddenly all of that background noise faded away as I saw y/n lift her cover up over her body in one swift movement. It was like slow torture, but I couldn’t look away. I prayed to God that my jaw wasn’t on the floor. She began to rub sunscreen all over her body, her hands caressing every curve. This was the type of shit I would see in my dreams. It suddenly felt like it was a thousand degrees out, and not just because of the summer sun.

“Need some help?” Gilinsky sauntered over to her and began to rub the lotion all over her back and down to the curve of her ass. I hated the way he always slinked his way into these situations. It’s not that I’m mad that he has “game” it’s just he’s presumptuous. Rules don’t apply to Jack Gilinsky. I couldn’t bear to see this sight anymore and jogged down to the water, adjusting my swim trunks after that impromptu show. I know I said I would be cool with y/n and G, but damn this is going to be harder than I thought.

The afternoon continued on like this. When she was in the water the guys would splash her, pick her up, tickle her, you name it. Johnson and Sam set up a volleyball net on the beach and started up a game. We split ourselves evenly on both sides.

“Come on baby, you’re on our team” Johnson said to her. She was standing opposite me with the net in between us. She jumped up high to spike the ball, she had a look of pure concentration. She was good at everything she did, and I stood in awe of her. The ball went soaring past me at a neck-breaking speed and landed in the sand next to me. She received cheers and high fives from Cam, Nash, and Johnson.

“COME ON SKATE THAT WAS ALL YOU!” Dillon yelled at me, his competitive side coming out. Y/n looked at me and motion from her eyes towards me indicating “I’m watching you” I just shook my head and laughed.

7 Hours Later

Y/n POV

It was approaching dusk as we all sat in the sand in a circular pattern so we could face each other. A roaring bonfire was in the center of us. We were exhausted from being out in the sun for too long, but it was a great beach day. Our cups were filled with Malibu as we exchanged stories and talked about life.

“Do you guys remember that awful substitute teacher that we had for Spanish?” Johnson asks aloud.

“Oh that ex-military guy?” Gilinsky says busting out laughing as the memory floods back to him.

“Yeah man, he completely butchered the Spanish language. He made everything sound like ‘vagina’” Johnson joked and he had us all in stitches. He always had the best stories. Granted we were laughing a little too hard as the effects of the Malibu started setting in.

“Hey, who wants s’mores?” I question and saw their eyes light up like it was Christmas.

“ME!” they all but shout in unison. I walk over to the cooler and pull out the chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. I handed everyone a share of the ingredients and we all huddled closer to roast them over the fire. Gilinsky put his arm around me, but I didn’t think much of it. He always got flirty and touchy when he was tipsy. A slight breeze picked up on the beach and I shiver slightly.

“I’m just gonna run inside and get a blanket, I’ll be right back” I said heading up towards the house.

Sam’s POV

“Hey guys I’m just gonna go for a walk down the beach. I won’t be long” Nate said standing while he retreated towards the direction of the ocean.

“That’s odd” I whisper towards Johnson. He nudged me with his elbow.

“I think you should go talk to him, he’s going through some shit right now. If he’d tell anybody it would be you” Johnson said. I started to get worried. It wasn’t like Nate to let something affect him this deeply, he was a chill dude that kinda took life as it came.

I get up from my spot at the fire and follow the footprints in the sand, until I spotted him down at the shore. He sat on the sand with his feet in the water, reclining on his hands. I sit down next to him.

“Hey man” I say concerned. “Everything okay?”

“Nah Sam. I have a problem, and it’s eating me alive” he says glumly. Now I was really worried.

“What’s going on man? You know you can talk to me” I assure him.

“It’s y/n dude. She’s always on my mind. And I mean more than ‘she’s a part of the squad’ type thing” he says exhaling sharply.

“I love the girl, man. And it’s tearing me apart to know that she’s with Gilinsky” he says looking down.

“What are you talking about? Y/n and G aren’t together” I say furrowing my eyebrows. I don’t know where he’s getting this from. Yeah G flirted with her, we all did. Didn’t mean he was dating her any more than I was.

“They-they’re not?” he says his eyes widening.

“Nahhh. I mean I guess I can see why you would think that, but you know how G is. Dude’s a horndog” I say laughing. Nate’s demeanor visibly changed at my words. All previous sadness and tension resolving into the night air.

“Shit, that’s so good to hear” he laughs slightly, overcome with emotion. “Thanks Sam, you’re my bro” he says extending his hand for our handshake.

“Yeah man, that’s what friends are for. Now make sure you get the girl” I say. He just smiled at me before we return to the bonfire.

Y/n’s POV (Simultaneous to Nate & Sam’s conversation)

I walked into the house to retrieve a blanket so I could comfortably remain in the breezy night air. I think to myself for a minute as to where the blankets would be kept. I start to rummage through some storage chests in the living room in search of a blanket when I heard the door open and shut behind me. I turn to look at who came in, and I see Gilinsky stalking towards me on a mission. His swim trunks hung low on his hips and his tank top loosely hung on his tall frame, showcasing his sculpted biceps.

Before I even had time to process what to say to him he pushed me up against the wall, causing the blanket in my hands to fall to the floor. He moved his lips feverishly on mine, and pinned both of my wrists above my head. He tasted like coconut and other tropical flavors from the Malibu we had been drinking. I rolled my head back at the sensation as he continued to kiss down my neck sucking and biting all the right places. Jack starts to roll his hips against my groin and I reached down to palm him through his tightening shorts. He let out a deafening moan.

He reaches underneath my shirt, dragging his nails down my back.

“Shit,” I mutter out of breath. This felt good. I quickly move my hands to peel his tank top over his head, revealing his golden torso. He looked down at me with dark eyes, and bit his lip in a way that made me want to take over for him. He reattaches his lips to mine as his hands travel further down my back and grip my ass and thighs.

“Jack” I moan out. This only fueled him to keep going as he lifted me up, burying his face into my neck. I yank at the dark hairs brushing the nape of his neck.

“Fuck, baby, if you keep doing that I’m not going to make it” he groans. The potency of his words made me clench my thighs together around his waist. He turns around and makes his way upstairs to the master bedroom, kissing me the entire way up. He kicks the door shut before flopping us down onto the bed. He peels my shirt over my head and resumes his attack on my neck, although this time he trails wet kisses down my bust and stomach. I clench underneath him, wriggling at the pleasure.

“What do you want, babygirl?” he whispers seductively in my ear.

“Ugh, you Jack” I moan in response. He smacks a kiss to my lips his tongue gliding along my bottom lip effortlessly. He places little nips at my lower lip before slipping his tongue inside my mouth, groaning at the feeling. I can feel his hands lower to mess with the top button of my shorts. Suddenly the euphoric feelings began to subside, and I felt suffocated. The space between us hung hot and laced with rum. This didn’t feel right to me anymore. It wasn’t Jack, he’s gorgeous, this was me. At one point all I would have wanted was a sex fueled vacation with Jack Gilinsky. I went through my phase of having a crush on him, along with every other girl, but it just didn’t feel right.

I move to grab his hands to stop him, and he looks at me concerned.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but uh, would you mind if we didn’t?” I start to say, trying to come up with an excuse.

“I don’t feel so well, must be all the rum” I add trying to laugh it off.

“Yeah, babe. I don’t want you to not feel well” he says climbing off of me. “I’ll catch you the next time” he says with a wink gesturing towards his prominent bulge. I just laugh it off as he places a kiss to my cheek.

“I just gotta take care of this, and then I’ll see you back down at the fire yeah?” he asks.

“Definitely” I give him a smile. He exits my room and I flop back on my bed throwing my forearm over my eyes. What is going on with me? I was enjoying myself ten minutes ago.

My eyes shoot open when I came to the realization that I was “enjoying” myself because I wasn’t concentrating on Jack.

I was thinking of Nate.

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