Sapphire

"I'm really sorry, sweetie." My dad's saddened voice comes out of my laptop speakers, his eyebrows furrowed as his face takes up the screen. "You know I want to be there with you more than anything, but I couldn't get a plane ticket on time."

I force a smile onto my face, "It's okay, dad."

"It's not, and we both know that." He sees right through my lie. "I had promised to be there for your birthday, and I failed you. I'm truly, deeply sorry."

"Don't worry about it." I genuinely say. He has enough to worry about with his job, I'm not gonna let him stress over my birthday. "I was gonna hang out with my friends anyway. They planned out a day for me."

He smiles, seeming a little relieved. "I'll make it up to you once I get back, alright? Happy birthday again, sweetie. I love you."

"I love you, too, dad."

He hangs up the call and I sigh deeply, shutting my laptop and placing it on the nightstand.

I look up when I notice Ian leaning against my doorframe, a plate in one hand and his other hand behind his back. With a proud grin, he walks towards me and sets the plate down on my lap. My eyes scan the contents and I can't help but to smile wide. It's a stack of pancakes with the words 'happy birthday' written with sliced strawberries and bananas as the letters.

Impressed, I look up at him. "How long did this take?"

"A while, but that's not important," he dismisses. "Do you like it?"

I nod, grinning from ear to ear. This instantly lifted my mood. It's such a thoughtful gesture, one he didn't even have to do.

"I love it, thank you."

The hand that was behind his back reaches forward and I watch as he sprays whipped cream in the middle, popping a candle in place. He then lights it and sings 'Happy Birthday' to me.

I just sit there awkwardly as he does so.

Once the song ends, I wish for a fun birthday since I won't be with my dad, blowing out the single candle once the wish is settled. Ian beams happily before running out of my room, a bit too giddy, if I may add.

He walks in a few moments later, a luxe white box with sapphire blue roses in his hands. My eyes widen and I set down the plate to look up at him in shock.

"Ian, you shouldn't have." I gape at the expensive box of flowers when he hands it over to me.

He shrugs, "I wanted to."

"This is the sweetest gesture anyone's ever done for me. Thank you so much." I set the box down on the bed before standing up to wrap my arms around his torso, resting my cheek against his chest. "You don't know how happy you just made me."

"Well, I did wish you a happy birthday." He laughs softly, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm glad you liked it ... Sorry about yesterday, by the way."

I pull away to give him a puzzled look, "What about yesterday?"

"The couch?" He offers, but I need him to do better than that, so I let him continue. "When I almost kissed you. I don't want you to feel like a rebound, because you're not. Our deal is to kiss at school, and I crossed the line. I'm apologizing for that."

I wave him off, sitting back down to dig into the pancakes. "Don't worry about it. If it was bothering me, I would've pushed you off. Trust me."

He sighs in relief as he sits beside me, "Thank goodness, I didn't want things to get weird between us."

"Don't worry about it." I pat his back. "We're good."

* * * *

With my hands stretched out in front of me in order to avoid bumping into anything, Ian guides me somewhere away from his car with his hands over my eyes. Once the sound of the ocean waves reaches my ears, and the sea breeze hits my bare skin, I realize where we are and smile.

"You've been saying you want to go to the beach for so long," he removes his hands from my eyes and I blink to look at the scene in front of me. "So I decided to set up your party here."

There's around fifty people in bikinis and swimming shorts huddled to the far left of the beach, a beer pong table and rows of coolers laid out on the sand, along with a game of Twister and other fun activities. There's people playing flip cup on a table, some already looking drunk.

Turning to look at Ian, my face breaks out into a wide grin.

He looks over at me nervously, "I hope you like it." 

"Seriously?" I look at him as if he grew a second head. "Ian, this is great! You're the best!" Overwhelmed with excitement, I wrap my arms around his torso in a hug before Amber's voice makes me pull away.

"Sapphire! Over here!"

Turning around, I see her advancing towards us in a bright red, two-piece bikini. She's holding up a blue bikini, and I know this because she's frantically waving it around yelling, "I brought you a bikini!"

With the help of her and Ian holding up two towels as a makeshift changing room, I change into it. Once I'm in the triangle bikini top and cheeky bottoms, I let them know that they can put the towels down.

Amber instantly pulls me along and I look back to give Ian an apologetic smile. He simply waves me off, a bright smile taking over his features.

Turning back around to see my friend's back, I allow her to drag me until we reach the beer pong table. "I need a partner, but I don't trust anyone else's aim. The losers are taking shots." She lets me know as she grabs a ping pong ball and shoots, missing by a hair.

My eyebrows draw together, "My aim isn't great, though."

"I see you make the shot every single time when you throw balled up pieces of paper into the trash can from across the room, don't give me that shit, bitch." She's quick to remark. "Now aim and shoot. They're letting us go first because it's your birthday."

She hands me the other ball and I look over to see our opponents for the first time. It's Brian—one of Ian's friends that stopped going over ever since Ian ditched all of his friends after finding out that Ivan was the person Julissa cheated with. I never thought it was fair that they had to lose a friend over a stupid decision someone else made, but he doesn't seem all that bothered.

Then again, he already looks tipsy.

Heaving a sigh to relax my nerves, I take my aim to try to bounce it into the cup. Brian and his female partner take notice and they both start waving their hands frantically over the cups, trying to stop the ball from going in. Taking their tipsiness to my advantage, I make it go straight into the cup instead and smirk when Brian smacks it somewhere off to the side.

"She didn't bounce it!" Amber is quick to defend, knowing that I probably would've made the shot. "We get both balls back to shoot again!"

Brian looks a little dazed, and his partner turns to give him a disapproving look. "Brian, pay attention! She didn't bounce it in the end!"

"Sorry, I'm a bit slow." He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Take your shot again, then."

Amber grabs the balls from the girl and dips them into the cup of water to clean off the sand, before handing one over to me. This time, she lets me go first. I take my aim towards the cups in the middle, giving myself a better chance of making it in. Everyone watches as it makes it in with a tiny splash.

Amber cheers and high-fives me, shouting "Take that!" to our opponents.

My eyes trail over to the crowd surrounding us and I grin at Ian, who offers a quick wink. I notice that he's holding a red solo cup and arch a questioning brow. He simply shrugs, mouthing, 'Uber.'

I laugh, fixing my attention on the game again when Amber cheers. My eyes zero in on the cup she made it in as both Brian and his partner fish out the balls before drinking the beer. Two less cups for us.

Once they set the empty cup aside, Brian takes his aim and makes it into the cup at the tip of the triangle. His partner takes her aim next and I quickly swat it away when it bounces on the table.

"Not on my watch, sister!" I call out, making her laugh as she shrugs.

"It was worth a try."

Amber drinks the beer Brian made it in and we continue to play until we're left with two cups standing and they're left with four.

When Brian takes his aim, the ball spins around the rim and I quickly bend down to blow it completely out of the cup. Succeeding, Brian curses out loud and Amber squeals in excitement, the beers already getting to her.

His partner shoots next and misses, but the ball rolls back to her and she quickly snatches it again. With the rollback, she's allowed to shoot again, but it has to be a trick shot. Knowing the rules, she grabs the ball with her non-dominant hand and shoots. To her luck, she actually makes it in.

I hurriedly chug the beer and make a face. I always forget just how disgusting it tastes. Setting the empty cup aside, I bite my lip nervously when I see the last cup standing on our side. We're so close to losing and I hate mixing different types of alcohol. That's literally begging for a headache.

With the ball now in my hand, my eyes zero in on the unfinished cup in Brian's hand. If I make it in, the game is over and Amber and I immediately win. Brian and his partner will have to drink all the beer left on the table, plus the shots.

Going for it, I take the shot when Brian is distracted by talking to one of his friends, jumping up in excitement when I actually make it in. I guess Amber was right, throwing pieces of paper into the trash has prepared me for this.

Brian stares at the ball floating in his cup before blinking at me. After a while of staring at me with a perplexed expression, he breaks out into an impressed grin. "That was badass."

Amber chugs the rest of her beer before high-fiving me. "I'm glad you made us win because if I drink one more sip of beer, I think I'm gonna throw up. I started drinking way before you arrived."

I laugh, grabbing a beer from one of the coolers since I already started drinking beer anyway.

Ian prances towards me and I eye him warily, allowing him to wrap an arm around my shoulders. "I didn't know you were good at beer pong." He comments, taking another sip from the unknown drink in his hand.

"Me neither." I shrug as we walk alongside the shore. "This was my first time playing. I know the rules and strategies because Amber is obsessed with that game. She always talks about it when she gets back from a party."

He nods in understanding, "That makes a lot of sense."

"What are you drinking?" I eye the cup in his hand, the dark contents inside catching my attention.

"It's just tequila and coke. Nothing special." He replies coolly, tipping the cup to drink every last drop. "I thought you didn't like beer." He gestures to the can in my hand and I shrug before taking a sip, unable to hold back the disgust from showing on my face.

"I don't, it tastes like doo-doo water." I admit. "But I already drank some during the game and I don't like mixing drinks. I have once before and it made me feel sick for an entire day."

He chuckles, letting go of me to run back to the coolers. He pops a new can of coke open before pouring it and some tequila—which was transferred into a plastic bottle—into his cup.

Giddily, he walks back towards me with a slight hop to his step. I shake my head in amusement, taking another sip of the beer before gagging.

I swear, it better get me drunk before I throw up.

* * * *

A few hours and a lot of drinks later, Ian and I are found sitting on the sand with a blanket around our shoulders, away from everyone else. Ian's arm is securely around me as I lay my head on his broad shoulder.

"Wanna play a game?" He asks out of nowhere, sipping on his lost-count of coke and tequila.

I take a sip from my who-knows-what-number beer, no longer needing to throw up with the taste. "Sure, which game?"

"Two truths and a lie."

I hum, "Down. Who goes first?"

"You can go first, if you want." He offers, finishing his drink before setting the empty cup in a hole so it won't roll away and become litter.

"Okay, here it goes." I clap my hands for emphasis. "I had a pet hamster when I was seven. My favorite color is purple. And I don't know how to drive. Which is the lie?"

He looks deep in thought when I turn to look at him.

A few moments later, he turns to me, confidently stating, "The lie is that you don't know how to drive."

"Nope." I laugh. "My favorite color is actually blue."

He facepalms himself, "Of course, your name." Then, his gaze lands on me as he arches a confused brow. "You don't know how to drive?"

"Shocking, right?" I laugh humorlessly at myself. "I have crashed my dad's car more times than I can count. I'm just lucky he loves me. If not, I'm sure he would've disowned me long ago because of my stupidity. One time I even rammed right into him when he was trying to signal me out of a parking spot." I snort at the memory. "Don't ask me how."

He laughs, rubbing my arm when a soft breeze gives me goosebumps.

"I can teach you, if you want?"

I turn to look up at him, and he looks down at me. He actually looks serious. "Did you not hear the part where I said that I crashed my dad's car numerous times?"

"I did." He looks back towards the ocean. "I want to try to teach you, though. I'll just make sure it's in a secluded area, where you can't crash into anything."

"I'm sure I'd still find a way."

He lets out a deep chuckle, probably imagining me crashing into anything and everything. "You'd be surprised about your hidden abilities. I've been told that I'm a pretty good teacher. I'm very patient."

I just smile, watching the assortment of reds, yellows, and oranges taking up the once blue sky, those same colors mirrored on the water. The wind plays with my hair and brushes past my face, whooshing by my ears as if whispering its deepest secrets to me.

Mesmerized, I lean closer against Ian, offering my official response with a wide smile. "You can try to teach me. I'm warning you, though, I'm terrible."

He hugs the blanket closer to our bodies, causing us both to lean in closer. "Alright, I accept the challenge. But now it's my turn to make you guess my lie."

"Let's see what you got."

"Alright," he lets out a deep breath, a slight slur taking over. "I have three sisters. My housemate is hot. And my ex is annoying."

"Pfft," This is too easy. "Come on, I already know you only have one sister."

He chuckles, "And you know you're hot and Julissa is very annoying."

"Stop it," I feign shyness. "You flatter me too much."

"It's true . . . Hey, I don't know about you, but I kind of want to go into the water." He's already standing up as he talks, and I immediately hug the blanket all to myself. "Wanna join?"

I quickly shake my head. "Hell, no. Are you crazy? It's freezing!"

The colors of the sunset kiss his exposed skin and I find myself tracing the crevices of his abs with my eyes. Unaware of my shameless eye rape, he runs past the waves and kicks the water.

He looks so carefree and happy—so much so that it makes me want to join.

Dropping the blanket onto the sand, I chug the last of my beer before picking up his empty cup and throwing them both into a nearby trash bin. When I run back towards him, he bends down to splash water on me and I gasp, bending to do the same to him.

It quickly turns into a water fight and I'm soon wrapped up in his arms as he spins me around in the water. I'm laughing so hard that I can no longer hear the music being played where our friends are located.

He stops abruptly and I frown in confusion.

His hands find my waist and I shiver, not because of the cold air, but because his piercing blue eyes are holding my brown ones captive. The purples and blues newly reflecting on his face make me realize that it has transitioned from day to night without me noticing.

Before I know it, his lips are pressed to mine and I find myself tangling my hand in his hair as I kiss him back just as forcefully.

He pulls away and rests his forehead against mine, his breathing ragged as he tucks a strand of my wet hair behind my ear. "Is it bad if I admit that I like you?"

The alcohol in my system makes me dumber than usual, because I simply blink at him. "What?"

"I like you," he sighs, the smell of alcohol in his breath not bothering me the slightest bit. "I honestly don't know for how long, but I barely admitted it to myself a couple of days ago."

"Are we still playing two truths and a lie? Because I don't think that's how it works. The truths and lies are supposed to be short and to the point."

He grabs my face in his hands and breathes in deeply through his nose, blowing it out through his mouth. "Sapphire, seriously." He groans. "I like you. It's not a lie, and if you still want to play then here goes another truth: I want to be with you. The lie would be that I enjoy when you're not around."

I gape at him, his confession catching me off guard. I never really saw him that way, but I'm sure the furious thumping of my heart and the swarm of butterflies in my stomach mean something.

"I—I ..."

Instead of answering, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him with all I got.

We end up ditching the beach party he set up for me to take an Uber back to our apartment, plastered and still in our swimming attire.

If the doorman is shocked to see a pair of half-naked, drunk teenagers, he doesn't show it. He simply lets us in and watches us as we stagger across the lobby.

While in the elevator, we kiss as if we're each other's oxygen, stumbling towards our apartment number without pulling away.

A few people passing by give us odd looks, but we don't pay much mind to them.

Ian struggles to put the key in and I bite my lip as he pulls away to curse under his breath, twisting the key and allowing us entry. He kicks the door behind us and I reach back to undo my bikini strap, discarding it somewhere on the floor before he pushes me against a wall. A subtle moan escapes my lips and he groans before grabbing my thighs and hoisting me up. With my legs wrapped tightly around his waist, he carries me into his room and gently lays me down on the bed.

He pulls away to look down at me.

My hair is pooled around me, still damp and framing my face. He's staring at me as if I'm the most beautiful piece of artwork he's ever seen, a strong expression of lust taking over his features.

I've never seen this side of him.

Maybe this is why he doesn't like getting drunk, he turns into a completely different person. The usual sweet and playful Ian turns into a rough and hungry Ian.

It's actually kind of hot.

With bedroom eyes, he hovers back over me, his hands placed by my head.

Biting my lip, I press a finger to his lips before sliding it down his chest, over the bumps of his abs, and finally, hooking it onto his swim shorts.

Understanding my insinuation, he allows me to pull them down before he kicks them off to the floor.

With a newly found hunger, his lips meet mine again. Except this time, we don't pull away, not even to tug my bikini bottoms off.

Author's Note

Longest chapter so far. Whoop whoop!

I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long and I'm glad it's finally out there.

What do you think of this new side of Ian? *smirk* *wink wink*

You know what they say, the shy ones are always the freaky ones lmao.

Okie well, that's all I wanted to say.

Much love,

Kim