"Okay," I answer, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. Isla gets there as well, and before she can open the door, I push her against the wall. Her eyes widen at my actions, but I only smirk down at her. Reaching up to place her hand around my shoulder, she says, "Bathroom." I walk into the bathroom, taking her with me.
Once we get inside, Isla giggles. "We are so bad."
I ignore her, placing my hand on her waist as I bring her closer to me. Moving her hair off her face, I say, "I missed you the whole day today."
"I've been by you," she says, confused. I shake my head, tilting her chin up to meet my face, and say, "No, I missed you this way." Her hands go around my neck, and I don't hesitate to place my lips on hers. We are quick to catch each other's lips, and I kiss her slowly and delicately. She pulls away for air, and I move my lips to her neck, holding her as I continue to get a taste of her.
"Julian," she moans my name softly, but I tease her more on her neck. After I'm satisfied by the way she was gripping me tightly, I move my lips back up to her face. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, I whisper, "Do you like neck kisses? Because if you don't, then I won't do it again."
"You're so dumb," she says, her eyes wild and her voice raw. "I love it."
"Good," I whisper before kissing her again. When she whispers my name a little too loud after a while, I pull away. Placing my forehead on hers, I allow myself to breathe. I place my hand on her chest and say, "Too loud. I can't do this to my brother."
"Sorry," she apologizes, but I catch her word with my lip. After one more peck, I pull away from her and say, "Okay, I'll sneak out of here. See you in a little bit."
"Yeah," she says with a smile, her cheeks still red. I get out of the bathroom and sit out there. Once she is out, I head in, and this time I get ready for bed. Once I come back, I move to head to my bed, but my leg catches onto hers. I almost trip, but Isla has a hold on my arm, grabbing me to her. I'm grinning when I stand in front of her and she bites her lip, looking at me.
She pulls me down by the neck and presses her lips against mine. Before she can pull away, I open my mouth to allow her to deepen the kiss. My hand moves to her hip, gently holding her as she kisses me. I push her down, and when she falls on the bed, I curse, sitting up. Holding her face in my hand, I whisper, "I think we should go to sleep."
She plays with the hair by my neck and says, "I like kissing you."
"As do I," I say with a smile. "But not too much, or—you know."
She sighs, falling back on the bed herself now. Gazing up at the ceiling, she says, "Well then. I guess this is a good night."
I let myself look at her for a moment before leaning down and pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, baby," I whisper, pulling away.
She places her fingers to her mouth, smiling at me as she whispers, "Good night, Julian."
I went to sleep that night content and was just ten feet from her. It's the best sleep I get.
•
"Fuck," I hear when I wake up with the sun blazing at me the next morning. I look over to find Isla sitting up. "I was going to wake us up for sunrise," she says, rubbing her temple. "I guess I forgot to set my alarm."
"You were going to wake up my brother and my parents for sunrise?" I ask, chuckling. "That would never happen."
"I know," she says, and then gives me a smile. "I was going to wake up just the both of us for sunrise."
"Aw!" I frown. "I bet it would've been a good idea."
"Yeah, but we missed it," she says softly. I laugh, looking over at her as I say, "It's okay. We can catch the sunrise another day."
"The day before school?" she asks, and I sigh. But then I say, "I guess we will have to wake up early for school anyway."
"Yeah," she says, getting out of bed and then grabbing something off the table. Then she walks over to my bed and stands in front of me. I sit up, my hand going to the hem of her shorts, where I pull it down. Gently, I guide her to a seating position, right by my lap, and ask, "So what's up?"
She seems shy as she opens up her palm. She holds it out toward me, and I ask, "What's that, Nova?"
She flushes at my words and says, "It's a friendship bracelet. I made it for you."
"Friendship bracelet?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her. "Am I being pushed to the friend zone again?"
She laughs nervously, wiping at her hair and holding out her palm toward me again. "No, I just wanted to make you one. Remember when you were wearing an old one on the Fourth of July and I said that I'd make you one?" She smiles and says, "Well, I made it yesterday when we were watching the movie."
"Really?" I whisper, grabbing the little object in my hands. She made it when we were watching the movie, and it made me smile. "It's not red."
"Well, it's my favorite color instead," she says, talking of the pink color. Giving me a grin, she says, "I hope you'll still wear it."
"Of course," I say, and I hand it to her. Holding out my wrist, I say, "Here, put it on me." She smiles as she gets closer to me, placing her knee in my lap. She places the bracelet on my wrist, and when she has to tighten it, she asks, "Should I make it loose so you can take it off?"
"Take it off?" I ask with a snort. "I'm not taking it off. Tighten it."
"I'm not taking it off?", she repeats, a smile on her face. As she tightens it, she glances up at me and says, "So you'll wear it every day."
"And be reminded that you're my girlfriend," I say with a smile. "Should you keep me happy all the time."
She finishes off the task, grinning wider as she says, "You're so cheesy."
I shrug. "I just like you a lot."
"You should give her your one now," comes a blurted shout from the other side of the bed. My eyes widen and my face reddens when I turn to my brother. I give him a sharp glare and turn back to Isla. "You have something for me?" she asks excitedly. "Here, give me it."
"I'm—" I say, clearing my throat. "I'm saving it."
"For who?" Isla says with a snicker. Tilting her head to the side, she says, "You have another girlfriend back home or something, Julian?" I shake my head and then say, "No, I actually didn't get to buy the thing."
She gives me a look before sitting up from bed. Walking to her side of the room, she says, "Okay. Well, I'm going to the bathroom first." After she heads into the bathroom and it closes after her, Jack says, "You lied to her again."
"Can you not?" I mutter.
"I don't get it," Jack said, looking at me with an inquisitive expression. "You got it for her, so why don't you give it to her?"
"Because, it's not that easy," I admit. He gives me a blank look, and I say, "Listen. You start dating a girl because you like her, but once those feelings grow, it turns into something different."
"Love," my brother says simply. "You love her."
"I—" I say and then raise an eyebrow. "What? How do you know about that?"
"Mom and dad love each other," he says simply. "I know what it looks like."
"I guess," I say quietly. "But it's not that simple."
"Yes, it is," Jack says with a smile. "You've been dating for a while, and you love her. Why don't you give it to her?"
"One," I say, eyes widening in fear, eyes darting to the bathroom door. "Stop taking so loud." Then I say, "Two: It's too soon, and if I tell her I love her now, she will think that I don't mean it."
"But everyone knows you do," he says. Then he sighs, "You're scared that she doesn't love you back."
I choke on my spit before Jack says, "Well, she does."
"She doesn't," I say, way too quickly. He gives me an incredulous look. "Yes, she does. Julian, look around. She chose to come on a trip with our family; she hangs out at our house, and she chooses just your company no matter what you're doing." He then cringes, "Which I'm sorry for not letting you watch the movie with her. I know that you both would have liked that."
I give him a look, and he chuckles. "You don't get it, do you? There's a high chance she loves you back, and if she doesn't, then she just doesn't know it yet."
I'm dazed by my brothers words, but the bathroom opens up again. Jack jumps off the bed and heads toward it. I braved a look at Isla, who was giving me a smile. "Good morning, by the way," she says as she heads down to pick out new clothes for the day.
"Good morning," I answer before walking away from her. My brother was right—not about how she loved me. Even if she didn't, shouldn't I let her know just because I did? Shouldn't I be proud to admit that I love her? With that in mind, I made a plan to give it to her later today.
When I walk towards her barroom once my brother comes back, I notice something on Isla. My eyes widen as I get a closer look at her. I curse under my breath and move closer to her. Placing two fingers on her neck, I say, "Shit. I left something on here."
She looks up at me and then down at her neck. "I know," she admits. "And I'm glad you finally noticed this time."
"This time?"
"I went home the other day with a slight tint on my neck," she admits. "It went away before I could let you know."
"Oh," I say, and a smile creeps onto my face. She kicks me, pushing me away as she says, "You're the worst, Julian Hayes."
And yet, I hope you love me, Isla Nova.