The next morning, I'm smiling at myself in the mirror as I comb through my damp hair, still not believing what's happening between JP and me.

After the public confrontation between us, I didn't think it would end the way it did, with us deciding to move forward together.

It just felt like everything was right in the world, being next to him, in his arms. I feel the tightness in my stomach as I remember his touch, his lips, and what his mouth was doing to me last night.

I shake my head, chuckling, and focus on finishing getting ready.

I smile, remembering how he teased me when we woke up. He had tried to kiss me, and I pulled away, worried about morning breath. I jumped out of bed and brushed my teeth and used mouthwash, bringing a cup and a travel-size mouthwash to him as he smiled at me, still lying in bed.

He looked so cute with his bed head and lazy smile. He told me I worry too much about the weirdest things but used the mouthwash and spat into the cup I had brought him.

He had pulled me quickly onto the bed and kissed me slowly as I smiled into his lips. I loved how his weight felt on top of me, and my body instantly reacted as he moved his hands under my shirt, over my bare chest.

"I like waking up next to you, princess, especially when you're only wearing my shirt," He said as he kissed me and bit on my lower lip.

I laughed, "This is just a special occasion because I don't normally sleep like this."

"We'll just have to repeat this occasion over and over again, then." He grinned at me.

Shortly after, he left to shower and change after I invited him to go sightseeing with us.

I walk out of the room and knock on Annalisa's door. When she doesn't answer, I peek my head in and see she's not in there; her bed doesn't even look slept in, with the covers still tightly made.

That's weird.

I walk down the stairs to the living room, still don't find her anywhere, and then make my way to the terrace.

As I approach the window, I see she's sleeping on the patio couch; only she's not alone. Wrapped around her waist is a familiar tattooed arm; I move closer and see that it is, in fact, Joey, who's sleeping next to her.

Well, well, well, I smirk to myself.

I see her start to move slightly, and I turn away from the window, making my way back to the kitchen. I look up as she walks in, her hair wild from sleep.

"Hey."

Annalisa jumps when she hears my voice, looking up at me. "Oh, hey...you scared me." I can't tell if she's nervous or anxious.

"How was your night?" I ask, keeping my voice neutral even though I'm totally curious but don't want to make her feel embarrassed.

"Um, it was good. I think...How about you?" She asks me, watching closely, and I feel the heat rush to my face as I grin at her.

"It was great."

She smiles back at me and sits at the counter. "Did you and JP...?"

I shake my head, "No, but we enjoyed camping out in third base." I chuckle at my own words.

She laughs, "Did you try something I told you about?"

"No, not exactly, more like he did it to me."

"Even better," she smiles slyly at me.

"What about you?" I gesture out to the patio couch.

Annalisa blushes and shakes her head. "Nothing happened; we just talked. He's pretty funny when he's not an ass. I don't know how long we talked before we ended up falling asleep." She frowns as she finishes.

"Is that bad?" I ask her, observing her.

"No, it's just... that's a first for me." She admits. "I mean, you know I don't sleep around, but I've never just slept with someone, just to sleep." She laughs.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was a first for him, too," I tell her, smiling at her.

"First of what?" We turn and see Joey walking in the back door; his curly hair is sticking up in all different directions as he yawns, rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing," we both tell him.

"Morning!"

We turn towards the cheerful voice and see his sister, Mia, walk down the stairs in a long shirt with Vince following behind her, shirtless and only in his boxers.

Annalisa and I look at each other, our eyes wide.

"What the fuck?" Joey exclaims in surprise, and disgust laced in his voice.

His eyes move between Mia and Vince.

Vince smirks in return and grabs a coffee mug from the cabinet.

Joey starts moving towards the kitchen, his fierce eyes only on Vince. Annalisa stands up to get in his way.

"Joey, stop." She keeps him back as she puts her hand on his chest.

"You're seriously not going dad mode on me right now, are you, little brother?" Mia asks Joey.

Joey gives Mia a hard look before turning his attention back on Vince. "Tell me you didn't..."

"It's none of your business who I sleep with, Joseph," Mia responds, irritated.

"Oh, god!" Joey complains, and I can't help the chuckle that escapes my mouth.

He turns his angry eyes towards me.

"First, we had to watch Vince shove his tongue down your throat while he was groping you on your birthday, and now he's fucking around with my sister!" Joey goes off.

"Joey..." I start to say, but then Vince interrupts.

"What happened between Charmaine and I on her birthday was after too much alcohol; we only kissed, Joey." Vince glares back at Joey. "And I already told Mia about it since I had a feeling you'd bring it up."

I glance over at Mia, and her eyes meet mine before she winks at me.

"Did I miss something?" JP walks in from the back door.

My eyes move directly towards him, my body hums in response as he looks back at me; his eyes move down over my outfit. How does he do that?

"No, Joey just thinks he has a say in who I chose to spend the night with," Mia informs him.

JP looks at her, and his eyes move to her shirt then to a shirtless Vince. "Oh..."

Mia moves over to Vince, taking the coffee mug from his hand, and takes a sip before turning to him and kisses him. "I'll be back; I'm just going to take a shower and grab a change of clothes; want to join me?"

Joey makes a choking sound, and Vince smiles in return at her playfulness. Mia gives Vince another quick peck before turning away, smirking at Joey.

Vince's gaze follows her out the terrace door, smiling. "Man, what a woman." He says, and Joey starts moving towards him again, but Annalisa keeps him in place.

"I invited Mia to come with us to do some sightseeing today," Vince tells us as he sips his coffee.

"I invited JP, too," I announce.

"I guess I'm fucking going now, too," Joey says, glaring after Vince as he heads back to his room.

"You look nice, princess." JP whispers in my ear. "These yoga pants make your ass look amazing." He squeezes my ass lightly, making me laugh as he nuzzles my neck.

"This fucking blows! It's bad enough you two are going to be constantly eye fucking and groping each other, but now I have to watch my sister do it with that douchebag." Joey grumbles.

"Hey, my brother isn't a douchebag, asshole!" Annalisa stands defending her Vince. Joey scoffs at her and plops himself on the stool at the counter.

"I'm going to take a shower," Annalisa says as she starts towards the stairs.

"Can I come?" Joey asks her, sitting up now alert, and she flips him off in response.

JP and I both shake our heads at him.

"What?" He asks, looking at us confused.

<><><><>

Vince takes us to a park that offers tours on Segways through the city of San Diego.

Learning to use the Segways was a fun experience. Mainly because Annalisa and I couldn't contain our laughter, watching Joey struggle to control the Segway while maintaining his balance.

"Fuck this shit!" Joey nearly crashes into a door and swerves at the last second, jumping off the Segway. Our tour guide, Summer, jogs over and gives him some more pointers until he gets on and moves around without as many issues.

Summer leads us through the different parts of San Diego, sharing information on the city as we go along. We stop and take several pictures as a group at various spots during the tour. JP and I take a few of our pictures as well.

Annalisa and I race each other a few times but get reprimanded by Summer, to mind the speed limit rule on the Segways. Annalisa just rolls her eyes while I chuckle. After a couple of hours, we head back to the docking station area to leave the Segways.

I watch as Summer approaches Joey while he parks his Segway; she runs a hand through her short, brown hair.

"Hey, I know you're only in town for a few more days, but if you want to get together, I'd love to show you how fun the nightlife is here, too." She smiles coyly at him and hands him a small piece of paper, which I assume is her number.

Joey glances briefly over at Annalisa and me. Annalisa keeps her expression neutral as she looks at me.

Joey turns back to Summer and takes the paper, smiling at her. He watches Summer walk away, then looks back at Annalisa, as she also walks away towards Vince and Mia.

Joey crumbles the paper and tosses it in the nearby trash can. Hmm, that's interesting.

Tobias and Jimmy are waiting for us, leaning against Vince's car when we walk out. Vince lets them know he's taking us to a place called The Crack Shack for lunch.

"Why is it called The Crack shack?" Mia asks Vince while he drives us there. He laughs and shrugs, "I don't know. All I know is the food is excellent, and the atmosphere is fun. It can get crowded sometimes, so hopefully, we get there at a good time."

I lean up against JP in the back seat, and he puts his arm around me. I watch as Joey puts his arm around Annalisa, bringing her closer to him. "What's up, doll face? You're usually talking everyone's ear off."

She moves away, but Joey keeps his arm around her. "Nothing's wrong, and I don't talk that much."

He snorts, "Yeah, right." His fingers play with the ends of her hair during the drive as he looks out the window. I don't think he realizes he's doing it, either.

The Crack Shack is smaller than I expected, but it's buzzing with customers. There's an outside eating area, and Vince tells us--girls, to save some tables while the guys order food. Jimmy and Tobias sit with us while we wait, too.

"How's your arm doing?" I ask Tobias.

He shrugs. "Two more weeks with this damn thing." He lifts the cast up; his kids have written and colored all over it, making me smile because it completely takes away from his usual tough-guy look.

"How are you doing, Jimmy?"

He looks over at me and smiles. "Fine, never been to California before, so I'm glad I got to come on this trip."

"Well, it's not much of a trip since you have to be here, watching over me," I say to him, slightly embarrassed.

"It is what I get paid for, Charmaine. It does come with its perks, though." He says as a few girls walk by, smiling at him." I laugh, shaking my head.

I turn towards Mia and Annalisa, who are talking about work and Annalisa's plan to work for non-profits, focusing on social services to aid families affected by domestic violence and youth development.

"So, tell me, how did you manage to whip my brother?" Mia asks Annalisa, smiling.

Annalisa's eyes shoot up at Mia. "What?"

"For as long as I can remember, he's never had his eyes on just one girl. Which hasn't happened since his first girlfriend when he was in ninth grade," Mia tells us. I rack my brain trying to remember Joey's girlfriend then, but only remember him being a player for as long as I can remember.

"But she played him, and he hasn't been the same around women until you, it seems. I've been watching him, and he can't seem to keep his eyes off of you since last night at the bonfire and then all day today." Mia leans in, with her chin on her hand, smiling at Annalisa.

Annalisa scoffs. "Girl, no disrespect, but you need to get your eyes checked. You must have missed him drooling all over the tour guide we just left. She even gave him her number, and he took it willingly; he'll end up hooking up with her before leaving here, that's a guarantee."

I start to tell her he didn't keep Summer's number. "Anna—"

"Okay, here we are." Vince interrupts as he sets down some trays with an array of different foods. Jimmy and Tobias sit down at the table to eat with us, and we pick at the various foods Vince ordered, and it's all delicious.

I'm really loving the Mexican poutine fries that Annalisa and I are sharing. "Glad to see you've got your appetite back, princess," JP playfully teases as I continue to stuff my face.

He breaks a piece off of a biscuit and slathers on butter in a cup that came with the biscuits.

"Here, try this. You're gonna love it." He holds it out to me, and I open my mouth as he brings it closer.

I see some butter on his finger; I hold his hand while licking the butter off and taking the biscuit into my mouth.

I moan as the flakey buttery biscuit melts in my mouth, combined with the sweetness of the maple-flavored butter; that is definitely one of the best things I've eaten.

"Oh my gosh! That is amazing!"

JP's eyes seem darker as he watches me, and his mouth is slightly open, and then Joey roars in laughter.

"Well, we all know what Charmaine's mouth will be doing tonight!"

I frown at him, not understanding what the hell he's talking about as I look around, and everyone is either smiling or laughing, shaking their heads.

"Shut the hell up, Joey!" JP glares at him.

"Hey, you're the one that made it obvious with your reaction." Joey continues, laughing his ass off.

I turn to Annalisa; she is lightly laughing before she whispers in my ear, informing me what Joey meant, and now I know why everyone was looking at me.

I can't bring myself to meet anyone's eyes, but I peek up at JP, and he leans down and whispers, "I'm not gonna lie, that was fucking hot." He presses a light kiss on my cheek.

After lunch, we spend the rest of the day lounging around the house. Then, JP and I go for a walk on the beach, enjoying being with each other and take several more pictures.

When we get back, I take a book to read out on the deck while JP is on his phone, checking emails. My head is lying on his lap as he plays with my hair, and I end up falling asleep from how relaxing it feels.

I wake up to someone shaking me gently. My eyes flutter open, and I look up to see JP smiling down at me. "Hey, beautiful. Vince reserved a dinner cruise for us to go to tonight."

I smile at him, thanking him for waking me up to get ready as I sit up. He gives me a quick kiss and tells me he'll be back after he's ready.

"You two are cute together, you know." Annalisa stands at the door of the patio. "I don't know how I didn't notice it before, but the guy has it bad for you, Char."

I smile, thinking of JP. "He's pretty great. I mean, he's always been caring and protective. But he's also very attentive."

Annalisa gives me a knowing smile, and I chuckle at where her mind always seems to go. Then, she asks me to go to her room to help her choose an outfit for the dinner cruise.

After I help her, I go to my closet and pick a casual dark navy A-line dress that reaches just above my knees. I lay it out on the bed and am about to take my robe off when I hear a knock.

JP is wearing a black dress shirt with dark gray slacks. His sleeves are rolled up a quarter of the way, the bottom part of his sleeve tattoo on his right arm is visible, and he left a couple of the buttons undone, as well.

He smiles warmly at me as I move to have him come in. "You look amazing," I tell him as I kiss his lips lightly. "I'm glad you're here; you can help zip me up."

I walk over to the bed, slipping my robe off, laying it on the bed, and then picking up the dress.

"Holy shit."

"What? You don't like the dress?" I ask; as I pull it up over my shoulders, I turn my back towards him. "I need your help zipping it up, please."

He walks up behind me, and his finger brushes down my spine to the top of the band of the cheeky black lace panties I'm wearing.

"The dress is fine. It's what's underneath it that I love. Maybe we can skip out on dinner." He moves the dress off my shoulders so it pools at my feet.

"JP! It's going to get wrinkled."

I bend over to pick the dress up, but then he grips my hips firmly and pushes himself up against my ass. "Char, one day I'm going to fuck you so hard, just like this."

I look up at him through the mirror, as I'm still bent over, and I have to admit the position does something to me as he presses up against me again, his eyes filled with desire as he watches me through the mirror, too.

"Promises, promises." I tease, smiling at him, while I move my wiggle my ass on him.

"Don't tempt me, princess."

A knock at the door has us both turning in the same direction. "Char, you dressed?" Annalisa asks through the door.

"Almost!" I call out. I stand up and ask JP to zip me up, and then I laugh as I notice he's pouting while he zips me up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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