This time, when I wake in Ed's bed, I'm not disorientated at all. I'm the complete opposite; I'm relaxed, calm, not stressing about anyone or anything.

Ed's lying beside me, still sleeping quietly, so I press a kiss onto his lips.

"Morning." He smiles at me, eyes sleepy, "I could get used to waking up with you."

"Morning," I smile back, and kiss his lips again, a hand resting on his strong, sexy bare chest.

I lay my head on his chest and his arm comes behind me and wraps around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, just breathing and enjoying each other's presence, but it felt like a hell of a long time, and I loved every second of it.

We're interrupted by someone shouting: "What the hell, Cole? You can't just hook up with my freaking twin sister every time I'm not available!"

"Oh God." Ed groans, "It's too early in the morning for this."

"Just leave it," I begin saying, but he's already out of bed and pulling a pair of shorts on (he wore pants to bed last night).

"I can't." He sighs; "They'll end up breaking something – either each other or something on the yacht."

"Hang on." I slip out of bed and link my hand in his, "I'll come with you."

"You don't have to." He shakes his head, disentangling our fingers, "You have a shower and get ready to go back to your van, I'll sort them out."

"Are you sure?" I ask, but he's already walking out of the room.

Yawning and stretching, I walk into the bathroom and, after discarding yesterday's/last night's clothes, step into the huge shower, that's panelled with white marble. The hot water crashes over my skin as soon as I flick it on.

Wow, I think, it's been forever since I've actually had a normal shower.

The solar-powered shower on the side of my van is great for the life I'm living right now...but having a proper shower sure is great.

"You nearly done in there, Skye?" Ed knocks on the door.

"Yeah! I'll be out in a second!" I yell back, and finish up quickly, drying and throwing my clothes back on.

When I leave the bathroom, Ed's leaning against the wall outside the door, a drained look on his face.

"How's...everything?" I decide on asking.

"Well," He smiles weakly, "I got to them before they broke anything, or anyone."

"That's good." I bob my head, nodding.

"I...I really don't mean to kick you off, but, erm." Ed awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

"What is it?" I frown, laying my hand on his arm, "You can tell me."

"My dad called, and, erm, he wants me to bring the boat back into the harbour." His eyes flick up to mine, "Cole is ready to take you back to the docks, so you can get back to Bessie..."

I'm getting the feeling that he's not quite ready for me to meet his dad. But that's okay, I'm okay with that. I won't push him or rush him at all, in any way.

"Ed. That's totally 100% fine." I tell him, smiling.

"Phew." He breathes, laughing lightly, "So...can I come see you later?"

"Of course." I grin.

"Good." He grins back at me, and plants a quick kiss on my lips.

"See you later." I wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"Yeah. Later, Skye." His arms hold me, before I pull away.

Cole is already on his RHIB, with a face like thunder. So, after a very brief goodbye to a very hurt-looking Jessica, I clamber into the boat.

He pulls away from the boat without a word, and we're silent for five minutes before I can't take it any longer.

"Do you know what the surf's gonna be like today?" I ask; it's an easy topic, right? Plus, it steers clear of the whole Jessica-and-Maddy situation.

"Calm this morning, and then it's gonna pick up at midday." He tells me, voice level.

"Are you gonna be out this afternoon?"

"Nah, I got some stuff I gotta sort out." He responds, not once glancing my way.

I'm about to ask if Maddy surfs, but then I remember the Jessica-and-Maddy thing (why did I even forget in the first place?) and shut my mouth.

"Here we are." Cole pulls his RHIB into the docks and I promptly hop out.

"Well, thanks for taking me there, and, erm, bringing me back and everything." I shift awkwardly.

We finally make eye contact, as he shrugs, "Don't mention it. Ed likes you, so I like you."

Is that how you got together with Maddy? I think, but don't say.

"Thanks again." I say, and walk out of the docks before turning to go along the beach, and back to Bessie.

Back at Bessie, I collapse onto my bed, which isn't nearly as soft and comfortable as Ed's...

"You miss me, girl?" I mutter to Bessie, rubbing my face.

Propping my arms underneath me, I sit up a little, thinking; I now have one hell of a good reason to stay in California.

Thaddeus Reiley likes me...and I like him.

"We're gonna be hanging around Cali for a little longer, Bessie." I tell my van, smiling and jumping off my bed.

I grab my iPod and stick both of the earphones in, and the next song that plays is 'Crying in the Club', by Camila Cabello.

So put your arms around me tonight
Let the music lift you up
Like you've never been so high
Open up your heart to me
Let the music lift you up
Like you've never been this free
'Til you feel the sunrise
Let the music warm your body
Like the heat of a thousand fires
The heat of a thousand fires

Ain't no crying in the club (hey, hey)
Let the beat carry away, your tears as they fall baby...

I dance around to the music, running my hands through my beyond-messy hair and swishing my hips from side to side.

Last night, Ed questioned how I could only 'kinda' like history, when I was going to take it at college...damn, I'd have to explain that to him sooner rather than later.

I half-wish I hadn't said anything in the first place; the fact I was going to take a double-major in History and Historical Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania is something that I'd rather not think or talk about.

But I guess that if I want Ed to trust me, I'll tell him everything. Well, almost everything, anyway.

There are still certain parts of my life that I don't want him to know about, most likely because those details will change the way he looks at me, and I don't want that to change.

I flop down into the driver's seat of my van and stare out at the ocean, where the waves are steadily increasing in height and power—just like Cole said they would. Despite not being sunny, it still looks warm out.

Music still pumping through my ears, I start getting changed into my bikini, and then my wetsuit, leaving it halfway up my body.

You think, that you'll die without him
You know, that's a lie that you tell yourself
You fear, that you'll lay alone forever now
It ain't true, ain't true, ain't true

Another glance through my windshield tells me that there are already some surfers out in the water, so I clamber out of my van and lock it up, before grabbing my board down from the roof.

Jogging down to the shore, I notice that a couple of the guys in the water are Kai, and Austin from the 'afterparty'.

After stretching and warming up on the sand, I strap on my leash and tuck my board under my arm, grinning as I run out into the waves, which are crashing in now.

"Hey, guys!" I yell to them, paddling out to where the two of them are.

"Hey, Skye." Kai grins at me, "Did you enjoy meeting Thaddeus Reiley?"

"I can't believe none of you told me." I laugh, shaking my head.

Kai simply shrugs, "Not our place to tell—it was Ed's."

My grin widens as I see Sophie and Ed paddling out to us.

"Speak of the devil and he doth appear." I joke.

"Aww, what were you speaking about Soph for?" Ed jokes back, laughing and pushing his wet hair out of his face, his wetsuit stretching taut over his strong chest...

"She was talking about you, jerk." Sophie rolled her eyes at her brother.

I blew a kiss to Ed, before paddling out and away from them, eager to catch a wave.

My arms cut easily through the choppy waters, my board gliding smoothly (despite the fact I need to stick another layer of wax on it). Salt water laps up in my face, stinging my eyes and burning nose, but I love it. I love every single second of it.

A wave approaches me, towering high, so I quickly rotate my board around and paddle—six single paddles, three on each arm, followed by two paddles with both arms—the perfect amount for where I'm positioned on this wave.

I pop up onto my board, just as the wave begins to crest, planting my feet firmly, and then, just like that, I'm surfing once again.

The exhilaration and adrenaline of it course through my veins, as I traverse the wave, pumping it slightly to get a little more out of it; the wave isn't quite as big as I had hoped.

"Go Skye!" One of the guys whoops.

I ride out the last of the wave, and paddle back over to the group.

"Tell me, Teddy," Austin smirks, "Does she ride you as well as she rides waves?"

In response to Austin's innuendo, Ed merely glares at him. Rolling my eyes at the two of them, I paddle out again, already craving another wave, another thrill.

For some people, they have alcohol and drugs that give them their highs...but for me, all I need is a good set of waves and I'm high on pure adrenaline.

A noise beside me startles me, and I see that Ed is paddling out alongside me.

"Sorry about Austin." He grunts. "He can be a total dick at times."

"It's fine." I stop paddling and sit up on my board, an action that Ed quickly follows, "There are always guys like that."

"Yeah, well." Ed shrugs, "You shouldn't be treated like that. Ever."

My heart warms despite the cool sea, "Thanks, Ed."

"So, I was wondering, can I come back to your van after this?" Ed asks.

"Of course." I smile, chuckling slightly, "You can even use my solar-powered shower, if you want."

"I'll probably need to; I've got a shift at the Oasis this evening." He tells me.

"Oh." My smile falters; for some reason, I was starting to hope he'd stay the night in my van.

"Yeah." He scrunches up his face, "I know."

"You wanna catch a wave together?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Yeah, sure." A grin finds his face again, "If you think you can, that is."

"Is that a challenge I hear?" I raise an eyebrow at him, "Because I am always up for a challenge."

Ed says nothing; he doesn't need to, as he begins paddling to catch the next wave.

This one's taller and more powerful than the one I just caught, so I paddle more, until my shoulders get a little sore, before popping up.

To my right, Ed pops up at the same time, and we ride the wave in almost perfect synchronisation.

"Not bad, Skye Jameson." Ed appreciates as we sit on our boards, "Not bad at all."

I wink at him, "Whatever."

We ride a handful more waves, before the sea calms down again, and the waves are almost 'ankle breakers', as Ed and his friends call them. Though the best wave I rode today was with Ed.

Heading in, I see Cole walking along the beach, and nudge Ed, who then sees him as well.

"I'll catch up with you at your van." Ed tells me, kissing the side of my head.

"Okay." I reply, but he's already jogged off to talk to Cole.

Even though Cole messed up, I really hope that him and Ed make up—that's what best friends are for, after all.

Back with Bessie, I put the kettle on and peel off my wetsuit, just as the sun's coming out from behind the clouds.

I have to wait a good ten minutes for the water for my shower to be warm enough, but it turns out that Ed and Cole spend longer than that talking, or arguing, or whatever. There's some form of communication going on, at least.

"How was that?" I ask, chewing my lip as Ed finally walks up to my van, board under arm.

He shrugs a shoulder, "We're good now. He's just...still hurt over everything that happened with Jessica, and he thinks that he can make her jealous if he hooks up with Maddy."

I shake my head, "That's messed up."

"Yeah, but he's my best friend, so I gotta try and help him through this." Ed smiles at me.

"How long have you got until your shift at the Oasis?" I ask, trying not to sound too bothered.

He pulls his phone out of a waterproof case and checks the time, "Like, half an hour."

Not long at all, then.

"Good news is that the shower should be warm and that the kettle's almost boiled." I smile, hiding the fact that I want him to stay with me all night long.

Laying his surfboard and phone on the ground, he begins peeling off his wetsuit, leaving me awestruck once again as he unveils his sculpted washboard abs, and a short pair of boardshorts.

"Well?" He eyes me, "What are you waiting for?"

Biting my lip, I also peel off my wetsuit. I glance down when Ed's eyes almost pop out of his head, and see that my bikini top had wriggled around whilst we were surfing—leaving my chest only half-covered.

"Crap." I swear and rush to cover myself back up.

"Holy shit." Ed also swears, and steps closer to me, gently pressing my back against the side of my van.

I'm pretty sure my cheeks pinken when his lips make contact with mine, and his hands pull down the rest of my wetsuit, discarding it on the ground beside his.

Reaching over his head whilst continuing to kiss him, I flick on the shower, praying that it's warm.

Thankfully, warm water begins to run over us.

But we don't stop kissing; our tongues slide in and out of each other's mouths keenly, almost desperately. My hands run through his wet hair, pulling his face closer to my body as his lips leave mine to kiss down my neck.

Suddenly, the kettle begins to whistle, and I slip away from Ed to turn it off before I accidently end up setting Bessie/my home on fire.

"Hey, you were gonna tell me about why you only 'kinda' liked history but were gonna do it at uni? What's with that?" Ed asks as I step out of my van.

I shrug a shoulder, "My dad wanted me to be a museum curator—the dream job that he left behind when he came to the States to live with my mom."

"Where's your dad from?"

"Ireland. My mom and him met, when my mom went there on a business trip." I tell him, faking a swoon as I explain, "They claim it was love at first sight."

"Don't you believe in love at first sight?" Ed questions, frowning slightly.

"I don't really know." Another shrug, "Or maybe it's just lust at first sight."

"Speak for yourself." He huffed, before grabbing his phone and checking the time yet again. "Look, I should probably head off now."

"Oh." I chew my lip, "Sure, whatever. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"I'm so sorry that I've gotta go." He steps towards me and clasps my hands in his. "But I'll make up for it. I'll make up for it tomorrow morning."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I frown as he quickly kisses me.

"You'll see." He laughs lightly as he picks up all his stuff and walks away down the beach, leaving me totally and completely baffled.

*~*~*~*

For the rest of the late afternoon and into the evening, nothing happened. So, I ate a crap ton of food and crashed early-ish.

I don't know what Ed has in store for me tomorrow morning, and I was half-excited, half-nervous.

I also didn't get around to completely explaining the whole taking-history-at-college-because-my-dad-wanted-me-too thing...maybe next time I try and tell him, my words will be a bit smoother or whatever.

A yawn stretches my mouth as I snuggle down into my bed.

Today's just been another day in paradise...I think sleepily.

"Night, Bessie." I whisper, flicking my lamp off and letting sleep consume me.