𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲

t w e n t y - f i v e

Amaya woke up, curled into Jonah's side, his arm somehow still draped over her. It was easy to forget that he didn't move a lot while sleeping. She, on the other hand, did. She wasn't quite sure if the sign of his arm on her meant she didn't move, or that he did. Maybe it was just the culmination of a little bit of both. But it said a lot that Amaya's thoughts went to how it was possible for him to still be touching her instead of how safe he made her feel.

Jonah hadn't made her feel safe in a while, to no fault of his own. No, that power over her had turned to Daniel of her own volition. She had so softly forgotten what it was like to be in love with Jonah and had so preciously let that love transfer to Jonah's best friend. It was a choice, and yet it wasn't. She hadn't chosen to fall in love with Daniel, but she had acted on her feelings, and that made all the difference.

It took everything in her to stay put, to not go into the hallway in search of Daniel, or Zach, or anyone that wasn't Jonah. It took everything in her to lay there silently when she woke up, not even touching her phone. She wanted to, so bad, but she restrained herself. She had to make Jonah sure that she was in love with him, even if it meant faking sleep. Amaya felt dirty, but she just... she couldn't break up with Jonah, not yet. No, she didn't love him, but he was... he was familiar. He was comfortable, and Daniel was new, exciting. Part of her wondered if it was the newness of it that made her crave it, that once the thrill expired she'd regret leaving Jonah. But she couldn't say, not when it was nine in the morning and she had just woken up. Not when she was just doing her best to pretend she was sleeping every time her boyfriend stirred.

But eventually, she tired of the quiet, easing herself out of Jonah's grip. She moved off the bed as quickly and quietly as she could, her eyes flickering to his sleeping figure every few seconds just to make sure he hadn't woken up. She shrugged on a sweater from the ground, one that swept over the shorts she'd slept in, and, taking a look in the mirror, pulled her hair into a bun. It looked a bit like a rat's nest, but that's what happened when you didn't immediately brush your hair after waking up. Truthfully, Amaya couldn't be bothered to look anything other than what she was.

She grabbed her phone off the counter where it was charging, tucking her keycard into the pocket of her shorts. Casting one last glance at Jonah, she exited the room as quietly as she could manage. She chuckled as she saw the 'do not disturb' sign on the door; Jonah really needed the sleep, but she hadn't expected to see it. Did he... had he thought they were going to do something last night? All they did was watch movies and talk.

Shaking off the thought, she looked down at her phone, searching her texts for Daniel's room number. He was sharing with Zach, which was bound to be fun for the two of them. Zach was the group prankster, and Daniel was awful at keeping secrets. Well, except his own.

She texted Daniel when she approached his room, and a moment later, the door opened. She was pulled into the room, sending a fleeting glance at Zach's sleeping figure.

"Hey, should we-"

"Shh, it's fine. Wanna shower?" Daniel raised an eyebrow, and Amaya blushed, shoving him lightly.

"Zach!" Her hushed voice picked up, and he put a finger to her lips, pulling her into the bathroom and shutting the door.

"Zach is asleep, and we-" he pressed a kiss to her lips- "will be quiet."

"Jonah's gonna wonder why my hair's wet." She raised an eyebrow at him, unconvinced. She wanted to have shower sex with him, she really did, but it was a logistical nightmare. Zach right outside, Jonah in the other room... it was risky.

"You can dry it," was Daniel's reassurance, and finally, Amaya caved, nodding.

"Fine, fine. But if Zach wakes up-"

"I'll lock the door."

"Okay, okay." Amaya laughed softly at his persistence, pulling his body to hers, hands going to his hair as he fumbled to find the shower dial. He did after a few moments, but instead of moving into it, he pressed Amaya against the wall, a hand resting at her face while the other ran down her side, finding its way underneath her sweater and pushing it up.

"Daniel," she murmured as he trailed kisses from her lips down her neck, a gasp escaping as he nipped at her collarbone. "Take it off."

"Hmm?" His eyes flitted up to hers from where he was, a light sparkling in them after she gave a glare.

"You heard me." She pushed him away gently, stripping off her clothes. Before he could say anything, she darted into the shower, grinning at him. "Coming?"

✿

Two hours later found the two of them, fully clothed, in the lobby with the rest of the group. Amaya was deep in conversation with Corbyn as they waited for Jack, the last of them to arrive, to finish breakfast. Daniel's eyes were on his phone, though he did keep note of Amaya in his peripheral. It was when Zach sat down beside him that he shook his gaze, turning to his friend.

"Hey, uh, just a thought," the younger man said quietly, "if you're going to have sex with someone, maybe don't do it in our room where I can hear you. It was awkward, dude."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at him, head tilting. "Yeah, my bad." His heart pounded against his chest as it dawned on him that maybe Zach knew who he'd been with. But then he said, "I'm really glad you're getting back into dating," and the fear abandoned Daniel completely.

"Yeah, buddy, me too." As Zach's attention went to his phone, Daniel's drifted to Amaya, his head shaking slightly. That was close.

✿

REECE SAYS!

hey y'all so i totally disappeared and honestly, that's my bad. to be honest, the past two months have been... hectic. i moved, started school, my dad had a major surgery, and my partner of two years broke up with me (and i believe there was cheating involved, so this story has been kind of difficult to come back to!). i needed a break from the writing world because the real one kind of blew up around me. anyway, enjoy this update! hopefully i'll be more consistent.