“Boys follow me, girls follow Ms. Matthews.” Mr. Garcia calls out.

“See ya Em.” Jack gives me a strong hug.

I hug him back and grab my bags, running to Ms. Matthews. She guides us to our cabin on the opposite side of the island from the boys. We can still see their cabin from ours, but just barely. In between our cabins is a giant fire pit.

As I enter the cabin, I see bunk beds hugging the walls. All of the walls and floor are wood, with a few multi-colored rugs on the floor. I see one bathroom. Oh joy. The girls scurry inside and claim bunks. I wait for everyone to pick one and I pick the most isolated one, which evidently, is right next to the door. Apparently everyone wanted to be as far away from Ms. Matthews as possible. I rummage through my duffel bag pulling out my sheets, blankets, and pillows. I shove my duffel bag under the bed along with my guitar. I take the bottom bunk and set my bed up. I pull out my phone and see Jack texted me.

How’s it going over there?

I quickly snap a photo of me and my empty bunk, wearing a sarcastic smile. I caption it:

Awesome! Just chillin with my bunkmate. We have sooooo much in common.

You sarcastic fuck <3

You love it, don’t deny it.

I would never. You girls need to hurry upppp the guys are waiting for you by the firepit so we can walk the shorelines.

I glance up and see all of the girls setting their beds up. I approach Ms. Matthews.

“Do you mind if I go hang by the fire pit? I’m all set up and Mr. Garcia is already out there.” I ask.

“Sure. Tell Mr. Garcia we are almost ready.” She smiles at me.

“Will do!” I call back to her, darting out of the cabin. I speed walk to the pit and see Jack. He grins and meets me halfway, scooping me up as soon as he sees me.

“Hey you.” He murmurs into my neck, lifting off of my feet.

“Hey.” I giggle softly against his shoulder.

Jack sets me down and looks me in the eye. I blush and look down, butterflies erupting in my stomach. I glance behind him and the guys are staring at us whispering.

“The rest of the girls will be out soon.” I call to Mr. Garcia.

He nods and smiles with a smug look on his face. I bunch my eyebrows in confusion and look back at Jack. He’s looking down on me, his hair falling across his eyes, but I can see them staring right at me as he smiles softly.

“Is everything okay?” I ask him.

“Of course.” Jack replies simply, pushing a strand of hair out my face.

Girls come running out of the cabin, squealing with excitement. I roll my eyes and turn to Jack who still has his eyes glued on me. I rest my forehead against his chest involuntarily, and immediately he wraps his arms around my waist.

“EVERYONE READY?” Mr. Garcia booms, making me jump. We all cheer in return. “WELL LET’S GO!”

He motions for us to follow and we do, chattering with excitement. Jack slings his arm across my shoulder, and I gently shrug it off. He looks down at me confused and I just offer up a small smile.

“I’m sorry. Just a little uncomfortable with all of this. I still want to keep it just friends.” I look down at the ground.

“It’s fine.” He half smiles.

We walk in silence with the group and enjoy the island. The water hits the rocks, forcing the waves to crash with anger. A cool breeze passes by and I shiver. Without thinking, Jack takes that jacket off of his back and hands it to me. I slip into it, enjoying the warmth. I smile and thank him, noticing his skin tight white shirt. Damn, his body is pretty cute.

Mr. Garcia has us all sit by the shoreline and pulls a book out of his bag. None of us complain, only because we would feel bad. He just took us on this awesome trip, the least we could do is listen to a few pages.

Jack and I sit close together towards the back, just relaxing. Secretly, I love the water. There is something so relaxing and calming about it. I glance over at Jack who is sitting with his eyes closed and a small smile on his face. I know he is in love with this place; I can just tell. I’ve never seen Jack so much in his element.

As Mr. Garcia reads, my mind goes into it’s own little place. Why is it so hard for me to let Jack in? I’ve been hurt in one of the worst ways possible, so I don’t see what he could do to make it any worse. I wonder what it would be like if Jack and I were together. I glance over at him again, only to see his face all bunched up. I think he fell asleep.

JACK POV

“Jack, I just don’t think I can do this anymore.” Jamie says coldly.

“Please, please don’t give up. I need you in my life so badly. Jame, what changed?” I plea on the verge of tears.

“I don’t think we are good for each other anymore.” She replies simply.

I watch as the waves crash against the shoreline. She and I sit in the sand side by side, staring off into the ocean. Her phone vibrates.

“Who’s that?” I ask casually.

“No one.” She replies quickly. She pulls out her phone and tries to turn it off, but I snatch it from her. “JACK STOP.”

I read the most recent text.

Hey babygirl, last night was so much fun. When can I see you again? I hate seeing you only twice a week. Maybe we can see each other on tomorrow for our two month anniversary? Me, you, some dinner, my bed? ;)

“Who the fuck is this?” I ask her as calmly as I can.

“Must be a wrong number.” She replies snatching the phone back from me. “Maybe we should keep trying on our relationship Jack.”


“No fuck that, who is he?” I stand up angrily.

“It’s just some guy, don’t worry about it please.” Jamie begs me.

“How do you know him?”

“He a senior at Southridge. I met him at some party a couple of months ago.” She admits. “He asked for my number, so I gave it to him. We texted for a few days, until he showed up at my cheerleading practice one day. We started hanging out twice a week from then on. He would drive me around, take me places, let me hang out at his house.”

“Did you guys have sex?” I ask her.

She stands there quietly staring at the sand, not answering.

“Jamie. Answer me.” I grow angry.

“Just once. Last night.” She whispers.

“Are you fucking kidding me? We were waiting for our one-year, which I would like to add, is only a month away. You give it to this guy who you’ve been seeing for two months? What the hell does he have that I don’t?” I yell at her, tears streaming down my face.

“Jack please don’t cry.” She reaches out to wipe my tears. I swat her hands away and step back. “It was a mistake. You aren’t though. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. What about our future together?”

“Go have a future with this kid.” I gesture to her phone and walk off. “I’m done here.”

I hear her cry my name behind me, but I keep walking. Tears coat my face as I trudge to the sand back to the road. I walk all the way home, thinking about everything that just happened.

I spent 11 months with this girl. I remember when I first saw her freshman year, I swear, it was love at first sight. With her long blond curly hair, bouncing around her face, we locked eyes. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I knew at that moment, I had to make her mine.

I left her notes in her locker, telling her how beautiful she was. I wrote a song for her, and performed it on our 6-month anniversary. I brought her to my house to meet my mom, and instantly they were close. I had the most beautiful girl in the world, and she was all mine.

I knew something was up when her texting was distant. She would send short responses, or some that didn’t even make sense. Her kisses were shorter and she avoided eye contact at all costs. She swore she was just stressed with school. Silly me, I should’ve known.

I storm into my house and shut the bathroom door behind me. Thank god my mom isn’t home yet.

I look at myself in the mirror, disgusted. My hair is all messed up and my face stained with tears. I pound my fist against the bathroom wall, furious with myself. All of a sudden, I grab a razor from the sink. I break it apart by smashing it repeatedly on the counter. Finally, one of the blades fall loose and I grab it. Without hesitating, I dig the razor into my skin with as much pressure as I can. I scream softly at the pain, but continue on anyway. 11 cuts pour blood down my stomach, for the 11 months I wasted. I make the last two extra deep, so that I always remember how stupid I was to let her find someone else. I stop and stare at myself, realizing what I just did.

Quickly, I flush the razor bits down the toilet and hop in the shower. The hot water stings like a bitch as it strikes my cuts, one by one. I wait for the blood to stop dripping down my body to finally step out of the shower.

My phone vibrates and it’s Jamie.

Jack, please talk to me.

I throw my phone against the wall with all the strength that I have.

All of a sudden, I hear the waves crash.

I open my eyes and jump, only to realize it was a nightmare. More like dejavu. I hate that every single time I get close to a girl, Jamie pops into my mind. I can’t do this anymore. I need to talk to Emma.

I look to my left and there she is, staring out into the ocean with her hair playing around her face, her thin frame sitting lightly in the sand. She’s kicked off her shoes and buried her toes in the sand. I’ve never felt so intrigued by someone in my entire life.

Usually, not to sound cocky, but girls are pretty much on my dick non-stop. Em is the only one who hasn’t tried to get with me. She has this wall up that I am slowly but surely chipping away at. I need to tell her about Jamie. If I’m completely open with her, maybe then she’ll give me a chance. I just need that damn chance.

She glances up at me and smiles softly. My stomach is overwhelmed by jitters and it’s all I can do just to smile back at her. I thought Jamie was beautiful, but Emma is the true definition of beauty. Her piercing hazel eyes always have a story to tell. The way her long blond hair tangles around her face makes her seem so innocent. She’s the most down to earth girl I have ever met. Yeah, she cuts. So what? If I show her that there is more to life than keeping everyone out of it, maybe she’ll stop. I think she just needs somebody she can depend on. Dammit, I’m that guy.

The rest of the day flies past us. We walk the shoreline some more, go back to our cabins to work on some “bonding” exercises among each group, got ready for dinner, ate, and now we are back at the cabins. Emma and I played around goofily, teasing each other every now and then. It’s just not enough. I need to get her alone. Tonight. Problem is, we are already in our cabins for the night and everyone is getting ready for bed. Fuck it, I’m gonna text her.

Hey Em.

What’s up Jack?

Lying in bed, thinking of you. What are you up to?

Lying in bed, listening to a bunch of girls whisper. So much for bonding exercises. Somehow, I’m still the one left out.

Screw it, you don’t need them Emma. They are a bunch of fakes. You’re the realest girl out there.

Aww. Thanks Jack. Sounds like they are all going to sleep now. What’s your cabin like?

A bunch of guys snoring. It reeks like cologne, aftershave, and sweat in here. Everyone has been passed out for like 20 minutes.

Wow, sounds…fun…lol. Everyone here just fell asleep it sounds like. My teacher has been out for a while

Wanna sneak out?

Are you kidding! We’ll be killed if we get caught.

We won’t. You just said everyone is asleep anyway. Meet me at the firepit in 15 minutes. Just trust me, we will be okay. If not, I’ll take the blame 100%. If you feel like someone is awake, text me and we won’t do it.

I swear Jack, if we get caught…

We won’t.

See you in 12.

I grin and do everything I can, not to shout out in happiness. Thank god for the bottom bunk. I rummage through my duffel quietly, pulling out the thing I bought for her on our stop, and slide my guitar out slowly from under the bunk. I picked the bunk closest to the door, so I have an easy escape. I relax and count down the seconds until we meet up. I glance down at my phone and see only 5 more minutes. I decide to leave early so I can kind of set things up.

Quietly, I crawl out of my bed and pick of my guitar. I grab Emma’s gift and put it into my pocket. If Mr. Garcia can sleep through the snoring, I think he can sleep through a few squeaks. I tip-toe out of the cabin, making sure to close the door quietly.

I run across the area carefully with my heart racing. I’m so damn nervous. I really hope Emma appreciates all of this. She’s the only one I want.

I approach the fire pit and plant my ass on one of the logs there. Slowly, I take my guitar out of the case and make sure it’s in tune. I practice a couple of chords softly, making sure I have the song right. All of a sudden, I look up and see Emma slowly walking towards me. She’s wearing grey sweatpants and a black tank top that hugs her figure tightly. Her blond hair is thrown into a messy ponytail and a few strands play on her cheeks. She folds her arms over her chest and smiles at me softly. I smile at her, realizing at that moment, I would do whatever it took to make Emma mine. She’s exactly what I need in my life and I will wait as long as I need to for it to happen.

Notes

Hope you all enjoy it!! I'm going to be out of town for the next week, so I'm not sure if I will be able to update too often.
Any subscribers from Texas? Well, that's where I am headed! Hope everyone has a good one :)

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