The Bad Boys Saw Me Naked. Again

(5)

"I've missed you Mum." I hug her tight, not even caring we're standing in the busy airport.

"You too baby." She smiles, getting a good look at me. "You look fantastic, Harvard must be good to you." 

"It's so great." I gush. "You need to come see our apartment." 

"Of course." She smiles, looking past me. "Alex!" We break apart, so Alex can endure the wrath of my moms love.

"Hi sweetheart." I hear, and I grin, giving Derek a hug. 

"Hi." I tell him, helping him with their luggage. "How was your trip?" 

"Europe was amazing." He says. "Paris, Brussels, Berlin. So much history. I've never seen your mom so happy."

"She's been wanting to travel her whole life." I say, swelling with pride. I hand a bag to Alex,  who's finally broken free from Mum, causing him to make eye contact with Derek.

"Alex." Derek says gruffly. "How's work?" 

"Going well." Alex says shortly. "Lot's of business." 

"Well, I guess that's something." Derek says, before loading the last suitcase onto the trolley. 

I hold Alex's hand, silently willing him to stay quiet. 

"How about some dinner?"

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"Here's a picture of us at the top of the Eiffel tower." Mum says, showing us yet another picture. I sip my coffee, as we walk down the street. Dinner was great, and we got our coffee to go, wanting to take a walk. 

"Did you actually enjoy the moment, or just take pictures for the entire trip?" I joke. 

"Your mother wouldn't put the camera down." Derek chuckles. "Every meal, every landmark, there's a picture somewhere." 

"Do you have any pictures of your apartment Alex?" Mom asks him.

"I don't think so, but I can ask our room mates." He says to her.

"How many people live in it?" Derek asks curiously. 

"Us, some of my work mates." Alex shrugs. "Some of their girlfriends."

"How do you manage to study Harper?" Derek accuses. "That's a lot of people for one apartment." 

"It's fine Derek." I assure him. "They're friendly, and I usually go to one of Harvard's gazillion libraries." 

"I wouldn't let anything get in the way of Harper's education." Alex frowns.

"Good." Derek shoots back. "Because she is working towards a very bright future."

"And I'm sure she'll get it." Mom cuts in, I'm grateful for the intervention. We reach our cars, which were parked a few blocks away from the restaurant. They live in a small house in the hills, in the next town over. It's only about a twenty minute drive.

"So we'll see you on Thursday?" Mom asks, giving me a hug, whilst Derek and Alex exchange a formal handshake.

"Of course." I say, moving on to Derek. "I want to spend some time with you before we leave."

"Bye honey." Derek says. "Alex." They get in the car, and I watch them drive down the street, holding Alex's hand.

"You missed them." Alex says, wrapping his arm around me, sheltering me from the chilly air. 

"I did." I lean into him, breathing in his scent.

"Derek was ecstatic to see me." He adds dryly. I giggle, hitting his chest, moving towards our car.

"He just wants to protect me." I shrug.

"I'm protecting you just fine." He points out. Are you?

We drive, his hand comfortably placed on my knee. He always does this when driving. I think it keeps him concentrated, and calm. I love the feeling of it, it  reminds me of how he used to be all the time. 

"Lets not go back for a bit." He says, turning left onto the off road, leading to the water hole.  

"It's too cold to go swimming." I frown. 

"We don't have to swim." He shrugs. He pulls into the clearing, where the beautiful water is. I love it here. This is where it all started.

Alex grabs a blanket from the tray of the truck, and we sit on the grass, taking in the scenery. 

"You know why I love this place?" Alex chuckles, as he wraps the blanket around the both of us. 

"It was where we first met." I smile.

"I was gonna say it was where we first had sex, but that too." I burst out laughing, smacking him playfully.

He's right.  

It was the night before we left. We had found an apartment, I was starting Harvard. Alex had been accepted at the garage. We were on top of the world. We went midnight swimming, and it was magical. We were in love.

I mean, we are in love.

"I think we should reenact that later, when it gets a little warmer." He jokes. 

"Oh really?" I laugh. He takes my chin, and places a kiss on my lips.

"Definitely." He husks. I kiss back, and then we relax, keeping warm off each other, just enjoying the silence that we barely get to share.

"Tell me about Jesse." I say finally. I need to know, and Alex has to tell me. Secrets aren't good for us.

"It's really nothing." He sighs. "We grew up together, but we never got along."

"Why?" I ask.

"After our parents died, he was always coming over, trying to help, doing things." He says sourly. 

"He sounds terrible." I roll my eyes. 

"No, he was always bossing us around, making us feel as if we weren't doing enough." He explains.

"No one else seems that fussed." I frown.

"It was always aimed at me." He growls. "I was the one who was never home enough, I was always messing up Will's medication, I was the one who could never do anything right."

"I'm sure no one else thought that." I reason with him.

"They did." Alex snorts. "Everyone loves Jesse, they listen to his every word. He's a year older than Zane, so everyone looked up to him, and Cole wanted to watch over him. They felt sorry for him, because he was on his own when the accident happened."

"But why do you still have this anger towards him?" I sigh. 

"Because he thinks he can take better care of my family than I can." He huffs. 

"Well, prove him wrong." I suggest.

"What?" He says confused, obviously thinking I would just agree with him.

"You know that Cole isn't doing so well." I hint.

"No." Alex shuts it down.

"It wouldn't be forever." I continue.

"Not happening." He frowns.

"You could work at the garage in town." I explain. "And I would help at the house, letting Cole focus on school and work. Two months, tops."

"What about Harvard?" He desperately looks for a way out.

"I've got a month off, I worked hard." I protest. "I'm practically finished, and I can finish it off online. Even then, my teaching course I can do online too. It wouldn't be forever."

"Harper." He says seriously, pushing me off him. "We moved away. We have an apartment, we have friends. I don't want to give all that up. We're happy!"

"What about the happiness of your family?"