Love Drunk 3.0 (Completed)

Chapter 35

Italy 3 p.m.
Y/n POV -

I'm watching all the boys play games in the pool and smile. Life can't get any better than this. The summer sun is caressing my bruised skin and my heart feels full, hearing them all laugh. Seeing Ethan, completely relaxed, having a good time makes me the happiest girl in the world. Add Grayson, Kian and Shawn to the equation and life is perfect. They're throwing around a ball, and for the 23rd time the ball ends up on my head. Shawn climbs out of the pool and runs up to me to grab the ball. "Sorry.." he chuckles as he kisses my head, dripping cold pool water all over me. It makes me squeal and goosebumps cover my arms.

"Yo Shawn! Get your hands off my girlfriend!" I hear Ethan yell playfully from the other side of the pool. "Yes Shawn! Get your hands off our girlfriend!" Kian laughs. I lean to the side and look past Shawn to lock eyes with Kian. I stick out my tongue and flip him off, just when I see Ethan put him in a headlock and pull him under water. The sunshine is lifting everyone's spirit and I lay back on the deckchair. Ava, who's laying next to me, turns her head, lifts her sunglasses to lock eyes with me and points her finger at all the boys in the pool. "So.. you've dated all of them?" She says impressed as she raises and eyebrow. "What?!" I chuckle as I look around the pool.

Jason is trying to keep up with the youngsters. David is only dipping his feet in the pool and is probably still editing, seeing him staring intensely at his laptop. Jeff, Todd, Kian, Shawn, Grayson and Ethan are still throwing that ball around. "No!!" I laugh out loud. "I've only dated Ethan and the one you're having a crush on.." I answer as I observe her reaction. Her cheeks immediately fluster and she quickly puts her sunglasses on again. "I don't have a crush on anyone.." she mumbles. The confidence she's radiating at all times crumbles as she says those words. A smile appears on my face when I see her squirm uncomfortably in her own skin. "Okay.." I say provokingly. "I guess you just randomly kiss men in elevators then?" I add as Ava almost chokes in her gin tonic.

"How do you know?" She asks me shocked in between coughs as she frantically starts blotting her chest with a towel to get all the gin tonic off. I gaze at the boys in the pool and back to Ava. "I'm the least of your worries.." I laugh as I point at the pool. "They all know.." I add and Ava's already rosy cheeks turn bright red. "You're kidding, right?" She gasps mortified. "I'm afraid not.." I chuckle as Ava tries to bury herself in her beach towel. "So.." I start again teasingly. "About that true love.." I laugh. "Are you sure there is nothing going on between you and Grayson?” I now ask Ava straightforward. She lowers the towel on her face just below her eyes and peeks in my direction. “I don’t know..” She breathes softly, the sound of her voice muffled by the towel.

Ethan walks up to us and sits down on the deckchair, in between my legs, while facing the pool. The cold water dripping from his hair is splattering all over my warm legs, but this time there are no goose bumps. My skin is tingling under his touch, from his energy and love. I sit up and put my hands around his neck, pulling him close to me. He rests his back against my chest and we both lay back. “What were you two talking about?” He asks curiously, since it probably caught his attention that Ava and I both stopped talking as soon as he sat down. He tilts his head back on my shoulders and smiles at me. I can’t suppress a smirk and my face tells Ethan everything he wants to know.
“Ahhh, Grayson..” he chuckles while looking over at Ava, who is still hiding behind her towel. She pulls the towel back over her head and I hear a muffled: “Shit..”. It makes both Ethan and me laugh. Ethan sits up and tugs on one of the corners of the towel so Ava’s bright red face appears again. “Why don’t you just ask him out on a date?” Ethan says. I furrow my brows and so does Ava. “What? No!” we both say simultaneously. Ava and me talking in sync sounds a lot more aggressive than we intended to. “Wow, wow, wow!” Ethan chuckles, throwing his hands up in defeat. “It was just an idea. You don’t have to come for my throat!” he laughs.
“They are friends..” I tell Ethan. “Yeah, it would be weird if I suddenly ask him out on a date..” Ava fills me in. I can tell she is startled by her own words, this is her kinda admitting she likes Grayson. “And besides that..” I continue. “The guy should ask out the girl..” Ava and I say at the same time again. We lock eyes and both share a satisfied nod. Ethan’s gaze switches between Ava and me and he grins wide. “Okay, okay.. new twins in town, I see.” He laughs as he gets up and dives in the pool again.

We watch Ethan pop up his head above the water, when he reaches the other side of the pool and his hands brush through his hair. I look back over at Ava, who’s complexion is returning from tomato red to her glowing olive skin. She’s gazing at Grayson and I decide not to bring up her crush on him again, but let her semi confession marinade in her brain for a while. “Oh..” I say as I reach for my backpack. “I still got your note, with the poem..” I add as I pull the piece of paper out of my bag and hand it over to her. We lock eyes and she smiles kindly, which makes my eyes travel to her dimples for a brief moment. “It’s yours..” Ava says.
“I think it is of more use to you right now, than it is to me.” She adds. I’m curious to know why she carried this note with her and why she doesn’t need it anymore. But the deep and meaningful poem holds me back from asking her all these questions. “I’ve suffered from pretty bad anxiety..” Ava says as she reads my face, and apparently also my mind. “I’ve in some way experienced the same thing you just went through..” She softly says. Her teeth sink into her lip. I can tell talking about this affects her. “Thanks..” I say quickly to let her know she doesn’t have to share things she doesn’t want to share. “Thanks.. for the note.”