Home for the Summer (BOYXBOY)

23 | Nerds Against Jocks

I didn't feel Nicolas leave the bed, but sometime in the morning, he did and left a note on the TV that read, "went 2 the hotel gym, b back @ 10!". So much for taking a break.

It was 9:45 now and I decided to hop in the shower before Nico got back. Benji was sleeping on his stomach, sprawled out like a starfish and I sort of wanted to throw a pillow at him for forcing me to sleep next to Nico. Maybe this trip was a mistake because, right then, I was running on 4 hours of sleep and hating myself for it. Not to mention that there were still 3 nights left where I'd have to somehow survive laying next to him. But, the day was supposed to be a blast and I wasn't about to let last night ruin the rest of my time. Showering would help. And maybe some coffee.

Once I was dressed and ready, I stepped out of the bathroom just in time for Nico to enter the room.

"Oh, hey," he said. His entire body was shiny with sweat and his chest still rose with heavy breaths. "Benji's still asleep?"

"Yeah. Technically, he has five minutes before I wake him up, so," I shrugged. Nico nodded absently as he looked at Benji before turning to me again. My hair was still wet from the shower and I felt oddly self-conscious because of it. "I thought you were taking a break from working out while we were in LA."

This was supposed to come out as a joke, but he didn't seem to register that and instead met my eyes, like I was trying to break into his head.

"It was only for an hour. Not much of a workout at all."

"Okay."

"Besides, I like working out. It's soothing."

"Okay."

The conversation felt a little strained and I wondered if Nicolas was freaked out after last night. I wouldn't blame him. He smiled briefly before huffing out a breath. "I'm gonna take a shower, then." And, quickly, he passed me in the doorway and the water began to run.

***

Coffee did, in fact, cure my tiredness, but I still had a stomach. We were all squeezed into some coffee shop close to the hotel and I noticed that everyone else looked a lot more awake than I did. Lilli was drinking peppermint tea and eating a lemon muffin beside Benji who was smearing cream cheese onto his bagel. Izzy and Rowan split a slice of coffee cake and both got cold brews. I sipped on my iced latte and picked at the scone in front of me. The only person who looked slightly less conscious was Nico. He was stirring a matcha latte and looking at his phone.

"You okay?" I asked as I met his eyes. Immediately, he grinned and clicked his phone off.

"A bit tired," Nico replied. "But, super excited about today."

"Speaking of today," Izzy said, mouth full of coffee cake. "I thought of a brilliant idea for the four of us to do while they surf."

I glanced at Benji and Lilli who shared a quick smile before I leaned against my hand. "What is it?"

Izzy fished through her tote bag for a moment before retrieving a box of water balloons. "We can battle."

"A water balloon fight?"

"Yeah! Rowan and I against you two."

I glanced at Nico and shrugged. "Sounds fun. What do you think?"

"You're on," Nicolas said, grinning at Izzy.

"Not to rush you guys," Lilli began, "but, we have 15 minutes until noon, and our entire schedule is going to be thrown if we show up late."

We all shared a look before gulping our drinks with intense speed and running out of the cafe.

***