EIGHT

It was dark outside. Alexia shivered as her dad put her suitcase in the trunk of the car. She put her hands in the pockets of her coat and closed her eyes, trying to warm herself up.

It was 4:00 in the morning, and today was the day. She had been looking forward to this day since Jason and the others had barged in her house and surprised her with the question. Of course she couldn't have said no! She wasn't crazy!

Also, when she realized Jason was attending this trip, she had to say yes.

Damian wasn't really happy with the idea and had fought with her all the time after they left her house two days ago. He only shut up when her dad got sick of them fighting and had asked what in the hell was going on.

"You're driving me crazy!" Her dad, Emilio, had exclaimed in frustration when the bickering started again during dinner. Everyone surrounded the big dinner table. Emilio, his wife Florencia, Stefano, Dominic, Carina, Catalina, Teodoro, Alexia, Damian and little Frederico. It rarely ever happened, but Emilio said he wanted to celebrate that everyone had Christmas break so everyone made the time.

Everyone got silent. Catalina coughed and took a big bite of her steak.

"We're sorry, sir Emilio." Damian muttered in embarrassment.

Emilio shook his head and took a sip of his wine, looking at his daughter and her fiancée. "You guys want to tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help."

It was silent again until Damian decided to speak up. "Um, Alexia's friends showed up this afternoon. They wanted to go on vacation with her and I got a little upset when I heard that I may not see her the entire break."

Emilio raised his eyebrows and looked at his daughter. Alexia rolled her eyes and looked back at her dad. "Dad, seriously, when do I ever get the chance to go out and do something fun outside of college? I think it's nice they wanted to include me."

Her dad nodded. "I agree. So, vacation I hear?"

Alexia smiled. She knew her dad would understand. "Ryan's dad gifted him a trip to the Maldives. They're all going. The Maldives dad! I would kill to go there!"

"The Maldives? Phew, that is amazing Lex. Of course you want to go. Were you planning on telling me or your mother anytime soon though?" Her dad smiled. Alexia quickly nodded. "Yes, I swear. I just heard about it three hours ago, so I was looking for the right moment to ask. They're leaving the day after tomorrow."

Her dad nodded again and took another sip of his wine, looking at his plate. He looked like he was letting it all sink in so Alexia turned her attention back to her own plate and took a bite of her food.

"Who's they?" Florencia, her mom, snapped. Alexia swallowed. Oh shit.

"Ryan, Chaz, you know them right? My best friends from high school? And Chloe, Sienna, and Jason." She whispered the last part, hoping her mom wouldn't notice the last name she said.

Her mom choked on her steak and took a big gulp of her wine to wash it away. With teary eyes she almost yelled, "Jason? Jason McCann?"

"Um, yes mom."

"Jason as in your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes mom."

The air was thick with tension. Damian's face turned red with anger and he furrowed his eyebrows together. "That was your ex boyfriend?"

Alexia looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Are you feeling threatened by my high school romance?"

"I cannot believe that guy had the balls to step into this house! He knows I'm your fucking fiancée, right? The next time I see him I'll kick all of his teeth out of his mouth! That's why he was feeling so comfortable, right? The fucker wasn't feeling the least bit intimidated at all! I can't believe this." Damian slammed his fist on the table. The entire table shook.

"Damian, calm down! I spoke to Jason and they are just friends!" Catalina shot, looking at Damian in disbelief. How did he even dare speak like that to Alexia in front of their dad?

"I don't care!" Damian screamed, grabbing Alexia by the shoulders. She pulled back fiercely.

"Enough!" Emilio yelled, calming everyone down again. "Damian! I do NOT tolerate you talking to my daughter like that! I do not tolerate you using that language in my house AT. ALL. Do you hear me?"

Damian looked down. "Yes, sir Emilio."

"You should not be threatened by a relationship that's long gone. It's immature and childish. Alexia was a kid. She's a woman now. And you do trust her, don't you? Trust is the most important part of marriage."

Damian nodded again. Although Alexia didn't fully agree with the part where her dad said she was a kid during that time, she appreciated him sticking up for her.

"Good. This is the last time I hear you giving her a hard time about Jason McCann under my roof, understood? He's a good kid and we," he pointed to all of them, "appreciate him because he used to be a big part of our family. If Catalina says they're just friends, then they're just friends. You should be ashamed. Isn't it amazing that after everything, they can be friends?"

Silence again.

"I wish you all the fun on this trip, baby. How long are you guys planning on going?" Her dad looked at her and winked. She smiled widely. "Two weeks."

"Alright then, two weeks it is! Talk to your friends and see if we can do anything to help. We could take them to the airport or pay for something.."

"Thanks dad, I really appreciate that." Alexia got up off her chair and kissed her father's cheeks. He hugged her softly.

After dinner, Alexia overheard her dad and mom fight. Her mom didn't agree and thought Jason was 'toxic to her marriage'. Her father didn't listen to her.

Her mom was the strict one, and usually the one who decided who can do what and who can go where. Her dad doesn't really care and keeps himself busy with the more important things, like the business. However, if he does have an opinion, for whatever reason, his opinion overpowers her mother's opinion. He could be pretty scary if he wanted to.

"You coming, hija? I've been calling your name."

Alexia quickly nodded and followed her dad to the car, who was now fully packed with her suitcases. She couldn't help but take two.

Her dad insisted in bringing her to the airport, no matter how early. She loved him for it.

"So, are you excited, mi vida?" He asked when they were both in the car. He started the engine. Alexia nodded again. "God, yes. I need this."

"I understand. You've got so much coming up with the wedding and all that, that it's nice to finally have a break. You deserve it." He exited their driveway and Alexia looked at the frozen fountain until it was out of sight. "Thank you."

Their drive to the airport wasn't short, but it seemed short. They'd put on the radio and they had been singing to the new hits. Alexia always had fun with her dad and she liked to believe he enjoyed her company as well.

When they arrived to the airport, her dad parked the car and the two of them got out. He hurried to the trunk and opened it, pulling out her suitcases. "Give me one." She said, holding out her hand.

Her dad shook his head. "What kind of gentleman do you think I am?"

She laughed and shrugged, knowing her dad wouldn't give her one suitcase no matter what happened. They chatted about the trip until they arrived to the spot where everyone said they were going to meet.

You're used to a crowded airport, so it was a surprise when the place wasn't crawling with people. There were people, of course, but there weren't as many and Alexia was actually glad. It was too early in the morning for her to be bumping into people without getting into a fight about it.

They decided to meet up in front of a coffee shop, so everyone could get their liquid before having to wait hours to finally enter the plane. She was excited.

No one had arrived yet so Alexia and her dad sat down in the shop and talked a little more.

"Lexi... you've got to cut Damian some slack. He's your fiancée, he's not used to not seeing you for two weeks straight. And then when he hears you're going with your ex-boyfriend.. it's not a fun thing to hear."

Alexia licked her lips. "I guess, but still dad. You don't know how he acted in front of them."

"I can imagine. He could be a complete dick sometimes. Excuse my language."

She giggled. "Yep. Don't worry, though, we made up so the same day so there's nothing to worry about."

Emilio smiled. "I'm glad. You're so grown! My little baby." He pulled her into a tight embrace and she chuckled as she let it happen, thinking back to when her and Damian made up.

"I'm sorry, baby. I really am." Damian whispered. He had walked in Alexia's room while she was changing, so she covered her bare chest with the shirt she'd just put off moments ago. "Jeez, you scared me." She exhaled.

He closed the door and sat on the bed, looking at his fiancée. She was wearing nothing but panties. The shirt in her hands was still covering her chest.

"Sorry."

"For what?" But she knew damn well for what. He embarrassed her in front of all of her friends and Jason. That's what embarrassed her most. Because she knew that Jason would never embarrass her like that in front of anyone.

"For how I acted. And for scaring you."

Without even realizing it, she heard herself say, "it's okay," automatically. She was so used to forgive Damian for all the shit he did to her, she never held a grudge anymore. She made up with him the same day almost every time he did something stupid. Not because she was forgiving, but because her mom idolized her marriage and because Damian was the boss. Not her.

"I'm glad you forgive me," he whispered, standing up from the bed just for a second so he could pull her on the bed with him. She squealed and accidentally let the shirt go. He chuckled when she grabbed her breasts with her hands, trying to cover them up anyway. "Stop scaring me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry baby." He smiled and grabbed both of her hands, pulling them away from her boobs. Staring at them, she started to feel uncomfortable. "I'm really in the mood." He muttered.

She didn't reply and just sat there as he took her tits with his hands. It didn't even feel good! Alexia used to moan the second Jason put a hand on her thigh, but right now, even with her boobs in Damian's hands, she wasn't turned on the least bit.

After that they had the lamest sex in the world.

"Your friends are here, Alexia. I'm going to go now." Her dad woke her up out of her trance and she looked up, looking at whoever he was referring to. She smiled when she saw Ryan and a girl she'd never met before walk towards their table.

Her father kissed her goodbye and wished Ryan and Sienna fun. Alexia didn't do anything until he was out of sight, so she could jump up and pull Ryan into a tight hug.

"I. Am. So. Excited." She puffed out, suffocating Ryan. He started laughing loudly and Sienna giggled as well. "Jesus Lexi, chill out please." He sighed when she let him go, happy he could breathe again.

"I'm Alexia! You must be the famous Sienna. Am I right?" Alexia gave Sienna a quick hug too and smiled at her friendly. Sienna laughed and nodded. "Famous? So Ryan must've talked about me?"

Alexia's smile widened. "Girl, you have no idea!"

Sienna looked at Ryan in awe and he turned red, not looking back. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Alexia!"

"You too, Sienna. So, you brought two suitcases, huh?" Alexia noticed, pointing at the three suitcases Ryan was holding. Ryan groaned. "Yes. Yes she did."

Alexia and Sienna burst out in laughter.

After a short while Chloe joined them and not long after Chaz and Jason had also showed up.

"Took you a while." Ryan pointed out while hugging Chaz and Jason. Alexia looked at Jason, who was wearing sweats and a sweater. He had the hood of the sweater on and looked like he had just woken up. He didn't look happy. She couldn't help but think about how cuddly he looked in those clothes.

Chaz threw his hands in the air. "I'm innocent! It's him," Chaz pointed at Jason, "he couldn't get his stupid ass out of bed!"

Jason didn't give any reaction whatsoever.

Ryan laughed. "I'm not surprised."

When Sienna finished introducing herself to everyone and all six of them got their coffees, they started walking to their gate.

Everyone seemed to be overly excited and no one could shut up about how much fun it was going to be and about all the things they were going to do, but Jason. He hadn't said a word the entire time and Alexia decided it was time for her to break the ice.

Pulling her suitcases with her, she quickened her pace so she was walking next to him. He looked up to see who was walking beside him and when he saw it was her, he continued to look in front of him, just like he was doing the entire time.

"Hey." Alexia mumbled.

"Don't mumble, I hate that." Jason snapped, still not looking at her.

She laughed. "This is too early for you, isn't it?"

This time he did look at her and even cracked a smile. "It is way too early for me to be all giddy and shit."

She smiled back, happy he even smiled at her. "Yeah, I guessed so."

"So.."

"So... I just wanted to make sure... are we going to act normal this trip? I don't want to ruin it and I don't think you want that either. Besides, I'd enjoy it way more if we were friends."

Jason nodded, breaking their eye contact again. "Yeah, you're right. From now on, we're friends." He stopped walking and pulled out his hand, waiting for her to shake it. She eagerly, maybe too eager, grabbed his hand and shook it.

They kept holding each other's hands until they realized they looked like complete idiots and let go.

From then on, it was all fun. All six of them were talking and joking around, nothing was awkward any longer and even Jason started showing the slight bit of excitement, no matter how early it was.

-

"But I want to sit next to Chaz!" Chloe whined when they finally boarded the plane to Dubai. There were three seats every time, so that meant that three of them would sit behind the other three. Alexia didn't find it a big issue. They weren't far apart, there was no one between them, it was literally them sitting behind the others.

However, Chloe made a big deal about sitting in between Sienna and Alexia.

"Chlo, it's literally only going to be like this when we take off. After that we can put off our seat belts and go wherever we'd like." Alexia hissed, repositioning herself in her seat so she sat comfortably. The flight to Dubai was going to be extremely long and after that they had to take another flight.

"Yeah but Alex.." Chloe replied.

"No, shut up, Chlo." Alexia snapped back quickly, closing her eyes and leaning back on her chair. She could hear Sienna snicker.

"You guys aren't scared of flights, right?" Chaz shot to the girls sitting behind him. He didn't turn around to look at any of them. Alexia fake laughed. "Shut up, Somers, we all know you're the biggest pussy of all six of us."

Ryan and Jason 'oooooh-d'.

"Yeah? Just wait for the plane to take off, you will shit yourself." Chaz spat back, not going to take humiliation from a girl. Alexia laughed. "We'll see."

Unfortunately for Alexia, she did kind of feel nervous when the stewardess told everyone to buckle up. It was not that she'd never flown before, she just didn't like the turbulence when they took off and it was enough to make her sick to her stomach. Of course she wasn't going to tell anyone about it.

The plane started moving and Alexia leaned her head against the window, looking outside. It wasn't dark anymore and the sun was shining brightly. Her eyes travelled from the snow on the ground to the sky.

The person in front of her turned his head around in his seat and looked at Alexia. "Nervous?" Jason wondered.

Alexia shrugged. "A little."

He nodded. "Just close your eyes and take deep breaths. The turbulence will be over before you can even realise it."

She thanked him and closed her eyes, switching over to panicking modus in her head.

Okay, calm down Alexia. Like Jase said, it'll be over before you even realize it.

But what if we crash?

Alexia, stop! We're not going to crash!

Why was she thinking that? She didn't believe they were going to crash anyway.

What if I throw up all over Chloe and Sienna?

The plane fastened it's pace and Chloe squealed in excitement. The guys all laughed and Sienna commented about something, which made them all laugh more. Jason turned around in his seat again and looked at Alexia, who still had her eyes closed.

Don't throw up. Don't throw up.

It went faster. "I love this part!" Chaz emitted, the others agreed. Alexia was silent.

I do NOT love this part.

Then, with no other warning, the plane ascended and everyone quieted down. No one liked turbulence and every person had his or her own way of dealing with it. However, no one felt as sick as Alexia was feeling.

When the lights went off and the plane was flying steadily, everyone put off their belts and started to talk and joke around. Alexia kept sitting.

Jason unbuckled and took the empty spot next to Alexia where Chloe had been sitting just moments ago.

"Are you okay?"

Alexia nodded, not looking him straight in the eyes.

Jason snickered. "No you're not. You're really pale. Like, really."

She shrugged and didn't open her mouth, scared she'd vomit right there. He pulled up his eyebrows and softly shoved her shoulder. "Hey, are you going to be sick?"

No reply.

"Alright then," Jason stood up and held out his hand, waiting for Alexia to take it. "Let's go."

Because Alexia didn't want to open her mouth, she couldn't reject so she obediently took his hand and let him take her wherever he was planning on taking her.

The two wormed themselves between all the seats and people and bumped into at least three kids. Alexia didn't care. All she could think about was how his hand was so big, yet so soft, and how her and perfectly fit into his. Like they were made for each other.

And of course, how much she needed to barf.

Jason stopped walking abruptly and she bumped into his back accidentally. He laughed and took a step to the side so she could see where he'd brought her.

The toilets.

Alexia shook her head and let his hand go, pointing to the toilet and shaking her head again.

"If you weren't going to be sick you'd talk!" Jason exclaimed, pushing her closer towards the door with the big F on it.

She was not going to throw up! Especially not in front of Jason. No. It was not going to happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

In one swift movement, she pushed the door open and fell to her knees, hanging above the toilet seat. Jason quickly followed her inside and locked the door, gently grabbing her hair as she let it all out in the toilet.

"Oh my God, go away!" She muttered in-between-pukes.

"Just shut up and fucking puke!" Jason hissed back, putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Alexia didn't have time to say something back because her mouth was full again.

Yikes.

-

"Well, that was awkward." Alexia spoke after she'd had twenty mints and no sign of what just happened anywhere on her.

Jason laughed shortly. "I knew you had to throw up! In my opinion, it was hilarious." She rolled her eyes and he nudged her shoulder as the two walked back to their seats. "Hilarious to you! I just threw up all of my organs!"

"You're so dramatic. You just got sick of the turbulence, who cares?"

Alexia widened her eyes. "How can you not get sick of the sight of someone throwing up in front of you?"

Jason shrugged. "I don't know."

Alexia licked her lips and looked at Jason. Him holding her hair was hot, no matter the situation.

As she looked at him, his beautiful and huge posture, his cuddly and warm clothes, his sexy features, they arrived to their seats. Chloe and Chaz were nowhere to be found and Ryan and Sienna were sitting next to each other, their bodies intertwined and eyes closed. Sienna was leaning on Ryan's shoulder.

"That's cute," Alexia sighed as she sat down in her seat. Suddenly she felt really tired. Jason sat in his assigned seat in front of her. After two seconds he turned around and faced her. "Can I sit next to you? This is boring." He pointed at the two lovebirds next to him.

Alexia nodded and he quickly got up to sit next to her.

It was silent until she decided to break the silence. "Tell me about your life. After high school."

Jason looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

"Alright. It's not interesting, though."

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I'm trying to get to know you, Jason. Again. Friends do that, right?"

He looked like he was thinking about it and then nodded. "Okay, I agree."

From then on, they kept talking about their favourite foods, their favourite drinks, their favourite tv-shows, the most embarrassing things that had happened after they were separated, the fights they'd had with friends... they talked about everything. That is, until both Jason and Alexia fell asleep.

-

What was that noise? Could someone turn it down?

Alexia frowned and kept her eyes closed, trying to fall asleep again. But the noise! How could she ever fall asleep when there's a damned chainsaw somewhere close?

Her eyes fluttered open and she took a moment to adjust to the lights, and after that to wherever the hell she was.

Looking around, she noticed the plane. Most people were sound asleep, some were typing something on their computer or listening to music. The lights were dimmed and there was no stewardess in sight. She turned around and looked outside of the window.

It was dark again. You could barely see anything, only blackness.

How long had she been asleep?

A loud noise startled her and her head shot to wherever the noise was coming from. It came from next to her. Jason.

Jason was curled up in the seat, his head almost dangling on his own shoulder. His sweater was off and Alexia got the chance to stare at his muscular arms. Her eyes followed the tattoos up to his upper arms and took a long look at his neck, his shoulders, and then went more upwards to stare at his jaw line.

Sharp as fuck.

His lips were a soft pink and so plump, so well-rounded. She had to keep herself from leaning in and touching them with her own lips. His eyes were closed, he was of course, sleeping. His hair was messed up and wild, and even so, it still looked like the softest hair in the entire world. Her fingers ached, she really wanted to run them through his hair.

Trailing back down she couldn't help but look at the tiny bit of skin that was showing because of his shirt being pulled up a little. She could remember the six pack and the V-line and she was pretty sure they both had gotten way better.

Looking down more she noticed the bulge in his sweatpants and looked away quickly, feeling the heat rising up to her cheeks. Jesus, she was a real pervert.

But she couldn't help but remember how amazing their sex used to be.

And in that moment, Jason snored and Alexia realized the chainsaw was Jason's snoring. She woke him up annoyed.

"Wha-what?" Jason yawned. His face grew angry when he saw Alexia. "Why did you wake me up? Fucking hell!"

"You're snoring! Loud!" Alexia spat back.

"Oh," Jason grinned, "oops."

She snorted and turned around to look back outside of the window. Jason tapped on her shoulder and she turned around to look at him again. "What?"

"Well, since we're both awake, let's watch a movie." He shrugged and pointed at the screen in the seat in front of them. Alexia considered saying no until he got that cocky smirk on his face she really, really liked, so she said yes. They both put on headphones and started watching the movie.

She kept secretly looking at Jason, and Jason did the same, and that's how they watched movie after movie for hours straight.