The Ultimate first kiss checklist

Chapter 23

The sun is setting and we are all still sprawled out on the beach. Most of the families are packing up and making their way home. We are all just watching as the sun dives into the water. Isabella suddenly stands up answering the call as she walks up and down the beach.

"How are you holding up?" I ask Percy as he lies next to me. His eyes are shut and his arms are crossed over his chest. "I think I've fallen asleep about 5 times while lying down like this." He chuckles. "You can't be tired already it's only 8 pm. The night is young and the sun has only now gone down." He opens one eye watching me "Easy for you to say you probably were asleep until 10 again. I've been up since 7." I smile settles on his face. "Well don't make your problems mine." I let out a giggle. "Come on we only have like 16 hours to go before we technically leave this place." I watch the heavy rise and fall of his chest and notice how he's managed to just fall asleep in the middle of our conversation.

I roll my eyes giving myself a mental note to remind him about this for the rest of our lives. I turn to see if Isabella is still on the phone and almost jump as she takes a seat next to me. "I'm not that ugly. You don't have to jump when you see me." She laughs at her joke. "That's not it. I just didn't expect you when I was turning my head." She gives me a blank stare "Yeah, sure." Her choice of words makes me roll my eyes. "So who were you talking to?" I ask her as she plays with the edges of her phone. "Grayson. He says he's feeling better so he'll see us later."

I nod "Oh okay cool. I'm sorry for what happened this afternoon. It was an accident." I start playing with my fingers. "Don't even worry about it. He should've been looking at the ball so it's technically his fault." I laugh at the memory of the red bruise stuck on his forehead. "It was a pretty good shot if I do say so myself." I agree with Isabella making her nod.

"It looks like they are setting up for a party over there." Isabella points to the other side of the beach. Lights are pointing up to the sky, a few speakers are standing around a big stage made of wooden panels. A few people are standing around. Probably getting everything ready for the show. "Seems like a big one considering the lights and speakers," I add still staring in the direction of the stage. "It's a good thing we're pulling an all-nighter then, isn't it?" I turn towards Isabella with a smile growing on my face. "Definitely."

***

The music is ringing through my head as I jump with the rest of the crowd. Grayson has just appeared and Isabella went to get him, leaving Percy and me to dance. Everyone is hopping up and down to the beat of the music. The song stops and a new one instantly starts playing. I instantly stop jumping. I wait for the melody of the song and I feel my body swaying in slow movements as the music slows and people start grabbing their partners to dance. A tap on my shoulder takes me out of the trance and Percy stretches out his hand motioning for me to take it. I smile at his gesture, taking his hand as he pulls me towards him "Saved by my trusty dance partner." I say dramatically making Percy chuckle. "Yeah, I know. What would you do without me?" I throw my hand over his shoulders as he moves his hands to my hips. "Isn't it weird that they are playing a slow song at a beach party?" he scrunches his eyebrows together as he thinks. "You know... after this vacation nothing surprises me anymore so... No." He shines me a toothy grin and I feel my body melt.

The song ends and I slowly let go. His hands still linger around my waist. I look down at his hands before looking back up at him. I feel him freeze before letting his arms fall to his sides. He clears his throat. "I wonder where Isabella went." He looks around "She went to go find Grayson." I answer him. A new song starts playing. "Come on we better start dancing before people bump us out of the way." We move more to the middle of the crowd getting lost in the music again.

I feel someone bump into my shoulder and I turn to see who. With a giggling Isabella grabs hold of my shoulder. "Sorry someone tripped me, luckily I grabbed onto you and not some random person." She says letting go. "It's okay. Did you find Grayson?" She turns around. "I did but I think I lost him in the crowd again." I face palm myself "Oh that's great." I giggle making her laugh. "What did I miss?" We jump at Grayson's voice screaming from behind us.