WHO IS KNOCKING on my door this early in the morning?

Everyone knows I have never been a morning person, especially on my days off. So whoever is standing behind that door has a death wish and this will only end one way—slamming the door in their face. Unless they brought me coffee, which I will take and then slam the door in their face.

Grumbling, I stumble out of bed at the consistent knocking. At first, I hoped they would take the hint and go away, but I wasn't that lucky. Pulling my shorts down that have ridden up, I glance down at my thin tank top and booty shorts and sigh. Hopefully, it's Thalia or my elderly next-door neighbor needing help.

I'm also ninety-nine percent sure my hair looks like a bird's nest, a fiery red one.

The knocking continues and just makes me angrier. I huff out a frustrated breath before reaching up to look through the peephole and I sigh, resting my head against the door as I see Easton on the other side.

He knocks again and I unlock the door, flinging it open with force and a very pissed off look on my face. I hold on to the door before rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

A sheepish smile covers his face as he holds a coffee in one hand and a paper bag in the other. I watch as his eyes roam over my body, clearly noticing my lack of clothing and when his eyes reach mine once again I see something in them, but it disappears, and a smile tilts at the corner of his lips.

It had not been nearly enough time between when I agreed to be his fake girlfriend and seeing him again. After all, I was hoping to avoid him for a little longer after my pride took a hit that I can't do this by myself and need his help. I could have avoided him until tomorrow as that is when we are all going out for the day on a boat trip.

"Has being away for the past five years made you forget I don't like mornings?" I ask him, squinting my eyes into a glare that doesn't seem to phase him. After all, he had been on the receiving end of them growing up and was more than likely immune to them now.

"No, I remember," he admits, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then do you have a death wish?" I ask crossing my arms. His eyes dip slightly at the movement before he clears his throat, his eyes snapping back to mine.

"Would it help if I said I brought you a double espresso shot and breakfast?" he says, holding them both out to me as a peace offering.

I raise my eyebrow before reaching out to take the drink and breakfast. "No."

He chuckles, shaking his head. "Same old Gabs."

I sigh before taking a sip of the espresso. That hits strong for the morning after only just waking up. "What are you doing here, Easton? I just saw you last night, and I was really hoping to avoid you for a bit longer first."

"I know I'm not your favorite person in the world—"

He begins and I mutter, "understatement."

"—but I thought it would be best for us to spend some time together and at least be civil where we can make it seem believable. After all, that picture I posted blew up and there are already a ton of questions," Easton explains, rocking back on his heels.

"Spending time with you isn't really my favorite pastime at the moment, so if you'll excuse me," I say, going to close the door, but before I can he reaches his foot out to stop me. I huff, sending him yet another glare as I open it back up, slowly.

"I heard you're going diving today, thought I could come with like old times. That's if you'll have me? After all, I think we have more to talk about than what we covered last night," he explains.

"Which one of them ratted me out?" I ask, referring to Atlas or Thalia. "It was Atlas, wasn't it? I'm going to shave his curls off in his sleep if he's not careful."

He chuckles. "Didn't we both attempt that when we were all fifteen? He heard the shaver and woke right up before we could."

I nod and hum. "He is very protective of his hair."

"So, what do you say? Can I come in?" he asks me and I debate with myself for a moment. After everything that happened, going back to spending time together is the last thing I want, but then again, I agreed to it by saying I would be his fake girlfriend.

Gritting my teeth, I concede. "Fine."

Walking away, I leave the door open for him and I know he's inside once I hear the door click. Placing the bag onto the kitchen counter, I take out a breakfast sandwich and begin to pick at it. Turning around, Easton's tall frame practically swallows up my whole bungalow. His presence is highly known in such a small space.

A smile appears on his face as his eyes wander around the place, his feet taking him around every square inch.

"This place doesn't change," he says, his eyes wandering over to me as he sees me watching him.

I shrug. "I like the décor."

He wanders over to one wall that is filled with framed pictures of me over the years, including ones of Atlas, Easton, and me. He takes one of them off the wall, looking at it before he turns it around to show me.

It's of me and him when we were eighteen, on the beach, sat next to each other at a beach party. It's a pretty dark photo with it having been night. One Atlas took of us as we sat together talking, but the flames from the bonfire had lit up the photo.

"Remember this?" he asks me and I nod my head, dipping my head slightly as I focus on my food.

"It was the night you scared poor Tommy away after he hit on me," I tell him. "You didn't have to be so mean."

Easton shrugs, putting it back on the wall. "You were too good for him, plus I guess I had some ulterior motives back then."

His admission renders me speechless. It's not the first time he has hinted at his feelings for me when we were younger, since he has been back or followed up with his words he said that night.

"I'm going to get changed and we can head out," I change the conversation before finishing the rest of my breakfast and coffee, throwing the empty cup and bag away before walking past him and shutting my bedroom door behind me.

✺✺✺

Driving Atlas's boat out to the middle of the ocean, our journey remains quiet. Easton seems content watching the ocean. Meanwhile, I stand behind the controls, directing us out to sea. Atlas always lets me use his boat for diving, but when I learned how he and Thalia occasionally have sex, I made him vow to me he would sterilize it before I even stepped foot on it again.

I shiver at the thought.

"You okay over there?" Easton questions having noticed my reaction, and I nod.

"Just really hoping Atlas keeps his promise of sterilizing this boat," I tell him, and he looks around where he is sitting.

"Think that's enough sitting for me," he says, standing up and brushing his clothes as if that will help him. "How often do you come out here now?"

He asks me curiously as he walks around the boat before making his way over to me.

"I try for a few times a month. Sometimes it's less, sometimes more," I say, doing my best to focus on the ocean in front of me. I raise my eyebrow at him. "Shouldn't you really be keeping up with training while you're here? Rather than coming diving with me."

He shrugs as he places his hands into his board shorts pockets and looks at me. "I've been surfing, keeping up with my training regiment in the mornings, but at the same time this is the only vacation I've properly had. In the off season, I'm usually still training but relaxing more."

"Where is our first stop, anyway?" I ask, referring to his competition we will leave for in a matter of days.

He smirks. "Portugal."

"Jet lag is going to make me a zombie the whole time. I hope you know that," I tell him.

"I doubt it can make you grumpier towards me than you already are," he says, and I can't disagree with him on that one.

"Well, I have good reasons," I tell him and as he goes to open his mouth to speak, I turn off the engine, having reached our spot. "We're here."

Walking past him, I head to the box I made him lug on board that carries all the diving equipment and start pulling things out. I throw a wetsuit his way before taking my own. Ignoring his presence a mere ten feet away from me as he changes into the wetsuit, I strip to my bikini and start pulling on the wetsuit.

Reaching behind me to pull up the zip on the swimsuit I struggle to reach it, but before I can reach into the box where I put a piece of wire for when I come on my own to zip me up I feel a hand on the curve of my waist making me jump. The heat of Easton's hand sears through the wetsuit and I stand still as he zips up the back of my wetsuit, fingers brushing against my back as he does.

I mumble a thank you before I put the fins on as well as the diving equipment. We work in silence, getting prepared and making sure everything is on safely.

Soon enough, we're stepping onto the edge of the boat before jumping in feet first with the ocean camera in my hand. Once in the water, we swim downwards, towards the bottom of the sea. We swim past the fish and different sea life around us until the rocks at the bottom come into view.

While Easton swims around leisurely, I begin to document my findings of the sea life around us, doing my best to ignore him.

I send him a glare through my goggles as he swims across where I am taking the picture with his arms spread out. Shaking my head, I look down at the picture I had captured of him.

Six more months to go.

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A U T H O R   N O T E

Easton is really trying...

One more chapter and they will be heading out on the tour! 

What do you think they'll get up to?