NICOTINE || Alex Ramos

Chapter 15

Song for this chapter: Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz

"Why..." "Wasn't it my turn for a question?" he cut me off, I sent a glare at him. "If your gonna ask a fucking question, ask it." I bit, stopping and looking down at him as he stood at the bottom of the carpeted staircase. "Sarah," he smirked. "Do you have any idea what you are doing to me?"

Lauren's P.O.V
I got a random text from Sarah out of nowhere saying to pack for a trip. When I called her to ask what she was talking about, she didn't answer. I didn't pack because I didn't know how long we were going to be gone for or what we were doing for that matter.

I heard a car door shut outside and I knew it was her. "Are you ready?" she let herself in. "No, I didn't know what to pack." "Clothes." she stated the obvious. "Two days." she said what I guessed would be how long this so called trip would last. "Why are you doing this out of the sky blue? Did something happen?" "No, I need a break to relax and just be myself, it's for us to just have fun and let loose for once." she informed me as I threw random clothing into my bag. "So where are we going?" "It's a surprise." she mischievously grinned, pushing me out the door towards her car.

It was a three hour drive and I was texting Will along the way. When we arrived, he told me not to text him and to just have fun. We pulled up to a beach, the sun was setting perfectly against the water and the sight was breathtaking. I couldn't find the strength to move my feet, I didn't want to take my eyes off the view. We stood there staring at the mixture of colors, there was hardly anybody else here, only a couple of people spread out across the entire length of the beach. "Only two days?" I sighed, looking over at the just as stunned Sarah. "Two days." she let out a breath.

Two hours passed and we still weren't ready to leave, we sat on a large blanket in the sand, close enough to hear the sound of the waves splash against the shore. Taken by surprise, a football landed on our blanket and before we could see where it came from, there was two highly attractive, muscular guys standing above us. "Holy...um hey." Sarah muttered. "Hey." The one smirked at her. "This was his idea to talk to you guys." the one not amused by Sarah said. I later found out his name was John. Sarah left me with John as her and Luke walked elsewhere. Yes, me and Will may be talking again, but we're not together. John was nice, funny, sexy, and just like one of those guys you see in magazines, same thing with Luke. John and I sat on the blanket together, instantly clicking. I occasionally glanced over at Sarah and Luke walking along the shore, the smile never leaving her face.

Sarah's P.O.V
There was something about Luke, of course he was amazing, but there was something else. Something that made me feel different about myself, it was a good feeling that I couldn't put words to. He took me by surprise by grabbing my hands in his, pulling me with him, running against the firm, wet sand. I laughed as the water splashed across my feet. I'm really glad we took this trip.

It turned out Luke is marine, he answered everything I asked him about it and he clearly enjoyed talking about it. We sat on the top of hill that was a mixture of sand and itchy grass, I was in between his legs, my head resting against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around my waist. It had to be really late by now, but no one seemed to be paying attention to the time. We both looked up at the stars, Lauren's voice pulled my attention from the sky. She was on the phone with what I assumed to be Will, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I ignored it and focused all my attention back to Luke, because something about all of this just seemed so right.

The rest of the night, and the entire next day was spent with Luke and John. We all fell upon something that felt better than just a summer love. After successfully completing the mini vacation, we had to say our goodbyes and drive back home. During the car ride, Will called Lauren to ask how it was. The way she gushed to him about everything, I don't know whether she was just trying to make him jealous or if she was actually telling the truth. "Anyways, there's a massive party at the field so that's were me and Alex are going to be tonight if you want to come." his loud voice changed the subject. Lauren looked over at me and I sent her an unsure face, until we both gave into his offer. "We should be there in about an hour." I raised my voice so he would hear it. "Sounds Gucci, we'll see you then." he ended the call.

"Sarah, you made it. What's up?" Alex forced a laugh, stumbling towards me. "Do you need help with that?" Lauren mumbled to me, referring to the drunk Alex. "It's okay, I got it." He leaned against the hood of my car, holding himself up as his face fell. "Are you okay? What happened?" I asked him. "Sarah, can you just do me the biggest favor in the world right now for me?...Just don't ask." You could hear the sorrow in his voice. I swallowed, "Do you need a ride?" "Yeah." he sadly admitted with a sigh.

His arm was around my neck as I helped him up the stairs and into his room. "I'd ask you to stay but I...I'm definitely gonna be puking and that's not very sexy." he let go of me and fell onto the bed, stomach down. I pulled his shoes off of his feet before throwing the cover over his non-sober body. "Anyway, you got the marine so it's all good." his voice was muffled by the bed. "Yeah, get some sleep, Alex...goodnight." I let out a breath, leaving the room.