I feel someone's hand on my shoulder before they are shaking me awake and my eyes instantly flutter open, a blur playing around in my gaze. A sniffle escapes me as I bring my hand up to rub my nose and simultaneously, my mouth parts open and a yawn escapes me. When the tears glistening in my eyes make my vision worse, I bring my fist up to rub it into them. In confusion, I glance around, wondering when I fell asleep.
The first thing I notice is the nest of hair I was previously resting against and still, I scrunch up my face, the bemusement playing around my head increasing. Who is this?
"We're here. You should probably wake up."
Quickly, my gaze shifts over to the driver seat and for the first few seconds, I have no idea who the boy in the driver seat is until I remember the camping trip and the car trip to Lynton.
After clearing my throat, I consciously wipe at the corners of my lips lest there are remnants of drool staining them and from my movement, the person sleeping against my shoulder shifts around, a quiet groan ringing in the back of his throat. Then he tries to find a comfortable spot in the crook of my neck again by burrowing his nose there.
His hair tickles so I flinch a little.
Gazing outside the window, I marvel at the amount of green that stares back at me and in awe, I blink at the grounds of Lynmouth Holiday Retreat.
The setting sun peeks over at us through the mountains, colouring the sky a warm orange. The lawns are littered with both tents and motorhome pitches. I watch as a few people walk up and down, kids running around the grass, smiling jubilantly. The sounds of laughter ring as far as miles which causes my lips to twitch smilingly. It is everything I'd hoped it would be and more.
When I see the familiar faces of my friends in a random car park, Richard slows the car down beside them. The gravel underneath the tyres crunches loudly.
Glancing down at the still sound asleep Kai, I purse my lips to prevent a smile from stretching onto my lips when my eyes take in his soft features. Unlike me, he still manages to look so darn attractive. Slowly, I bring my hand up to tentatively push his hair back from obscuring his eyes.
When a throat clearing rings in the small enclosure, my gaze flickers over to Richard who has been curiously watching me this entire time through the rearview mirror. Abashed, my hand comes down and I avert my gaze when he knowingly grins at me.
As if to brush past that, I quickly shake the sleeping boy awake. He blinks up at me sleepily, still half lost in the hazy realm between sleep and wakefulness. Then a soft smile tugs onto his lips.
As if thoughtlessly, he reaches up to brush the back of his fingers against my cheek, curiously tracing the imprinted lines left there by the pressure between his hair and my face. My eyes widen slightly, surprised by the unexpected caress but the simple touch is enough to send a faint shiver through me.
We hold each other's gaze and I search his warm jade-browns for any hint of uncertainty. Does he know what he's doing right now? There is not an ounce of uncertainty—only a gentle openness that almost invites me in.
"Morning," he whispers, his voice thick with lingering drowsiness.
For a second, everything grows unnervingly quiet until I process what he has just said to me. Laughingly, I tell him that it is not morning and that we have arrived at the retreat. My words do not seem to register to him, so I reiterate them and explain to him why we are in a car and what we are doing at said retreat. That's about when it clicks for him, and he rises from my shoulder.
He then realises what he has done, a faint blush colouring his cheeks. Bashfully, he murmurs under his breath, "Sorry."
"No worries."
He stretches his arms above his head and a soft groan leaves his lips. When his shirt rises a bit from his actions, I don't fail to notice the defined lines skating across his waist. When he pulls his shirt down below his navel yet again, my gaze quickly springs up to meet his and I don't miss the little, amused smirk that tugs onto the corner of his lip.
My face starts to heat up and, in my embarrassment, I rush to push the door open so I can clamber out immediately. He definitely saw me checking him out.
With my shoulders kissing my ears, I quickly walk over to Taylor, doing everything in my power to avoid his gaze when he too gets out of the car. Still, I can feel him humorously smiling.
"What's going on? Why are you guys standing out here?" I ask her and look around at the group missing one person. "And where is Dominic?"
"He's over there," she responds, pointing over to where he is, and I glance over to my right to see Dominic in an office of some sort, talking to an older looking woman. "He's renting out two more cabins for the other people."
"No, he doesn't have to do that. Hold on a second. I'll be right back."
I hurry over to Dominic and the closer I get to him, the more I can see the intense concentration on his face as he listens to the attendant who is trying to figure out something that best suits our situation. His brows furrowed in deep thought, his fingers tap against the counter almost unconsciously.
Instead of rudely butting in the conversation, I wait for them to conclude what they are speaking about and when they do, he lets out a deep sigh. He doesn't look at me so I try to get his attention by tugging on his jersey.
Finally, his gaze slides down to meet mine, and I notice how tired his eyes look for the first time.
"What are you doing?"
"Paying for a cabin and swapping another for a lodge to accommodate the other people I didn't know about."
"But you don't have to do that. Since I invited them, I'll pay for the cabins and lodges. Let me go and get my credit card from my wallet somewhere in my suitcase. If I can just remember where I put it."
"No, it's fine. I got it covered. Just go back out there. I'll be with you in a second." Before I can disagree, he turns his back to me and goes back to speaking to the woman when she returns with some documents.
Bewildered by his wry behaviour, my head rears back. With an indignant look on my face, my eyes rapidly flutter and flicker around and reluctantly, I back out of the open doorway with my gaze still stuck on Dominic.
"What's going on?" Kai asks when I get back to them.
"Dominic is paying for a cabin and swapping another for a lodge because I didn't tell him that I invited more than just three people."
"He does not have to do that. I can pay for the three of us. Well, I can pay for Sabina and I. I know for a fact she did not bring her credit card with her. Richard can cover himself."
"Wow…" Richard murmurs sardonically under his breath, and when I glance over at him, I am not even surprised to see him back to thumbing the buttons on his Nintendo Switch.
"Tell him I can pay for one of the cabins; even the lodge."
"Uh… okay," I respond with hesitance and again, I spin on my heels to walk over to the office where Dominic is standing. I have a feeling he's still going to say no. Standing beside him, I tug on his shirt again to get him to look at me.
"What?" he questions me and the way his nose wrinkles in annoyance makes me narrow my eyes at him, so he pinches his shut for a second, inhaling deeply before opening his eyes again.
"Kai says that he and Richard can pay for one of the cabins and the lodge, so you don't have to."
"Seong Jin, seriously, it's not a big deal. I've got it covered."
"Why don't you want them to pay for themselves?"
"Because," he reaches over to grab his card from the woman, grabbing a pen and signing a document that she also hands to him, "I've already paid for everything."
"How much was it?"
Emotionlessly, he blinks down at me.
"Stop being so stubborn and tell me."
"You're the one who's being stubborn. Besides, it barely dents my pockets. Rich parents, remember?"
"Still, it's not fair to make you pay for everything just because you have rich parents."
"Well, it's already done so let's just let it go for now. We'll discuss it later on, okay?" He puts his hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me forward, ushering me back towards the waiting group.