Nate was dead tired when he pulled up to school the next day. He had Celeste really should have called it a night when he put Brooklyn in bed but, he just couldn’t. Though he had been a bit tired at the time he just couldn’t let Celeste go yet. He had asked her numerous times if she was tired and she always replied with a negative. Nate never understood where that girl got all her energy from. 

After parking his truck, Nate got out and leaned against the drivers side door. It was still rather early and he knew that Celeste would be a while longer. She had a routine that she went through every morning. After she got ready she would have breakfast with her brother if he was still home. If it wasn’t breakfast with him it was with the twins. With his hands stuffed in his pockets Nate watched as more and more people pulled into the parking lot. 

“You’re here early,” he heard Hunter comment from beside him.

“When did you get here?” he asked looking over at his friend.

Hunter shrugged before answering. “Just now,” Nate nodded but said nothing. “No offence man but you look like shit,”

“Thanks,” Nate muttered dryly. As if he hadn’t already known that.

“No prob,” Hunter grinned slapping Nate on the back. “So has Celeste told you about our plans for Spring Break?”

“Yeah, she told me last night when she came over for dinner.” 

“You two getting pretty serious, huh?”

“You could say that,” 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the both of you” Hunter began

“Is this where you give me the ‘If you hurt her, I’ll hurt you’ speech?” Nate chuckled, he had been waiting for either Aaron or Hunter to do so. 

“Damn straight,” Hunter nodded “I’m serious though. Celeste has been through enough in her life. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time and if you do something to hurt her, I swear to God, best friend or not I will kick your ass.”

“I’ll let you,” Nate replied in all seriousness, looking Hunter dead in the eye as he said the words. “I don’t plan on hurting her and I would never purposely do so.”

“We’re good then.” Hunter grinned “Here’s our girl now,”

Nate followed Hunter’s gaze and watched as Celeste drove up and parked in the stall next to his truck. “My girl,” he grinned

Celeste smiled as she followed Nate’s form. She had spotted him as soon she had pulled into the schools parking lot. She could tell that he was really tired but, he still managed to look just as delicious as always. Nate walked around her car, her eyes never leaving his, until he stopped at her door and opened it. 

“Morning beautiful,” he grinned leaning into the car.

“Morning,” she breathed 

“Yuck, I am so out of here” Nina said from the back seat. Celeste had honestly forgot that she was not along in the car.

“I think it’s cute,” Maddie gushed 

“You would,” her twin scoffed 

“Don’t scoff at me,” Maddie grumbled “I don’t even know why you’re acting like you’re grossed out. You and Aaron are even worse then them.”

“Whatever,” Nina huffed as she got out of the car.

Celeste bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. It was so good having friends like the twins. Maddie had been right about Aaron and Nina, they were definitely worse then Celeste and Nate were around everyone else. Sure, they shared kissed every now and then but, never had an all out make out session. Okay, so there was the odd time that they had but, in their defense it hadn’t started with their friends around. Celeste got out of the car and wrapped her arms around Nate’s waist, grinning up at him. 

“You look tired,” she whispered running the tips of her fingers under his eyes. 

“And you look as chipper as ever this fine morning” Nate chuckled 

Celeste shrugged “I had lot’s of coffee with my breakfast.”

Nate sighed and shook his head. “You are going to drive me crazy today after all that caffeine.”

Celeste just giggled and stepped back. Grabbing his hand she began tugging him into the school. She wasn’t that bad and he knew it and even if she was, Celeste knew that he would love it. She could hear him chuckling behind her and she led him through the halls, oblivious of the looks that she still received from the girls. It had taken a little getting used to but now Celeste didn’t give two shits about what those girls thought. It wasn’t her fault that Nate had chosen her over them. Maybe if they hadn’t been so desperate, they would have actually had a chance. Celeste almost laughed out loud at that thoughts. It probably wouldn’t have happened either which way. 

Finally getting to her locker which was a hall away from Nate’s, Celeste began rummaging through it trying to get all her books for the day (well the first half anyway). From the corner of her eye she could see Nate leaning against the lockers beside her’s just watching her with a small, tired smile on his face. Guilt gnawed at her as she gaze at him from the corner of her eyes. She should have just let him get to bed when he asked her if she was tired. It was true that she hadn’t been but, he must’ve been even though he was the one who hadn’t wanted to stop the video chat in the first place. 

“Hey,” she whispered as she closed her locker and placed a hand on his cheek. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured

“You’re exhausted, I can tell” 

“I’ll be fine,” Nate smiled “Plus, I wouldn’t want to leave the school to fend for themselves when it comes to you all hopped up on caffeine”

“Oh, ha ha,” Celeste rolled her eyes.

~*~

The rest of the day went by without incident. By lunch Celeste was dragging her feet since the pick me up that she had gotten that morning had worn off. Maybe she should have taken her own advice and gone home to rest like she had told Nate to do. Slumping into her seat at their lunch table Celeste leaned her head against the cool wooden surface. Even with her eyes closed she knew when Nate had made his way over. She could smell his aftershave, it was a scent that she wouldn’t soon forget. He chuckled and she could feel the heat of his body as he sat next to her. 

“Feeling okay?” he asked, laughter clear in his voice as he rubbed her back.

“I’m awesome,” she mumbled without so much as peeking at him like she had wanted to do. 

“You look it,” he chuckled “You’re still beautiful though.” Nate whispered into her ear causing a shiver to run through her. 

“Hey, Ce, you good?” Hunter questioned as he too had joined them. 

“Freaking amazing,” 

“What’s got her panties in a twist?” he snickered 

“The exhaustion has caught up with her now that her caffeine fix has worn off.” Nate replied. 

“You should know better Ce,” Hunter chastised “The crash always sucks for you if you’ve had more then two cups of coffee.”

“Yeah, yeah” she yawed waving him off halfheartedly. “I’m just going to take a power nap and be good as new by the time lunch is over.”

“I have a better idea,” Nate said as he brushed her hair behind her ear. “I’ll take you home.”

“No, I can’t miss out on the next half of school,” she said with another yawn. 

“You’ll miss out on it anyway falling asleep in class,” Hunter pointed out 

“Come on,” Nate said standing from the table.

“Fine,” she sighed finally opening her eyes. 

Nate had somehow gotten her keys and gave it to one of the twins before leading her out of the café and out to the parking lot. Celeste couldn’t help but feel like this was becoming a regular thing with them. Just last week they had skipped out on a whole day of school. Nate was a really bad influence. Celeste laughed internally at that. With a huge yawn she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. She was already snuggled up in a comfortable position before Nate got into the drivers seat. She didn’t really want to be cutting school again but, Nate’s offer was too appealing to pass up. It was definitely more appealing to her then it had been to him earlier that morning. 

Celeste closed her eyes during the drive. Not caring one way or the other where it was he planned on taking her. When the truck came to a stop Celeste cracked open her eyes and spotted her house. That was the last place that she had thought he would take her. But where else would he have gone? Didn’t matter anyway since her bed was in there and that’s where she had wanted to be. Climbing out of the truck Celeste led the way up to the front door. She didn’t bother waiting for Nate to follow her once she was inside. She made her way down the hall, straight to her room. After dropping her bag on her desk and kicking off her shoes, she crawled into bed. It was like heaven once her head hit the pillows. Feeling the bed dip, Celeste looked over her shoulder to see Nate settling in beside her.

“Go to sleep,” Nate whispered into her ear.

“Mm, you too” she whispered back

Celeste was asleep in a matter of seconds while Nate was left awake. He was tired, sure. But, he would much rather lay there and watch Celeste sleep. She always looked so beautiful and peaceful while she was sleeping. He wished that he was able to wake up next to her every morning. That was a dream that wouldn’t be coming true for a while. Well, it would be a while if he didn’t count their up coming trip. That was something that he couldn’t wait for. It seemed like Friday was a million years away when in reality it was only just days away. The weekend they had spent in Phoenix was just a tease for him and he couldn’t wait till he could have her to himself for a week. Not counting the rest of their friends that were also coming along. He would still have her in a room all to himself. 

Eventually Nate had fallen asleep as well. Aaron found them wrapped in each others arms a few hours later. He was finally caught up with all the paper work at the shop and had decided to head home early. He wasn’t expecting the surprise he had stumbled upon. Nor did he expect a smile to bloom on his face when he did. As much as he hadn’t like Nate at first, the boy was starting to grow on him. It was hard not to like the guy who made his baby sister so happy, happier then she had been in years. He watched them for a bit before closing the room door and heading to his room. He had been heading to the shop earlier then he normally did and was dog tired. 

Not long later Celeste began to stir. Lifting her arms above her head, she arched her body, stretching out the tense muscles. She was awfully still for only sleeping for a few hours. As she tried to stretch out even more she realized why. Nate was curled around her body still fast asleep. Looking beyond adorable. Celeste grinned and slowly turned onto her side. She brushed back the hair that had fallen across his forehead. 

“Mm, what’re you doing?” Nate mumble sleepily.

“Just looking at you,” she replied “You’re so adorable when you’re sleeping”

“So are you,” he smiled without opening his eyes. 

There was a knock on the door and a voice spoke from the other side. “I know you guys must be hungry so get up and get out here before the pizza get’s cold.”

Celeste knew instantly that it was her brother. She stiffened, she knew Aaron was going to be pissed. It was still early and school had just let out not long ago. If he was home and ordered pizza that he knew that she hadn’t stayed in school all day. Nate climbed off the bed and pulled her along with him. He didn’t seem to mind that her brother was going to chew her out once they left the confines of her room. When they walked into the living room she was surprised that the twins, Hunter, Jay, Jess and Brooklyn were there as well. Nate stopped in his track and she collided with his back, he was shocked as well. 

“Um. . .” Celeste began though she wasn’t sure what she was going to say anyway. ‘Um’ seemed like her safest bet. 

“Mommy! Daddy!” Brook squealed, jumping out of Jessica’s arms and running over to Celeste and wrapping her arms around Celeste’s legs.

“The two of you gonna stand there gawking or u gonna come and eat with us?” Hunter asked, tapping one of the pizza boxes.

Finally finding her voice Celeste asked, “How can you all be so hungry if school just let out?”

“Hon, it’s nearly dinner time” Maddie giggled “Where have you been?”

“I know where she’s been,” Nina chuckled

Celeste felt heat rise on her cheeks, she knew what Nina had meant. “We were so not doing what you think we were.”

“Suuure,” Nina said with a roll of her eyes. 

“They weren’t,” Aaron assured with a grin “They were both knocked out when I got home. Fully clothed.”

“Well that anywhere near as good as my thoughts were,” Nina grumbled

“Yes, and we all know what you were thinking” Jay laughed 

“Can we just eat please?” Celeste butted in as she scooped Brook into her arms. 

Celeste walked with Brooklyn over to one of the vacant couches and took a seat, placing Brook next to her. Nate came over and sat on the other side of his daughter. Celeste served up some pizza for the three of them before anyone could try and start up another awkward conversation. She didn’t feel like talking about she and Nate’s nonexistent sex life. She wouldn’t want to talk about it if they had a sex life either. The one thing that she couldn’t believe though was that it was almost dinner time. Celeste had to take a look at the clock on the wall to make sure that Maddie wasn’t messing with her, she wasn’t. She should have really checked the time instead of assuming that school had just let out when she had woken. 

Their little pizza party last a few hours. The pizza had long ago been consumed but, it seemed like no one really wanted to leave. They were all having such a great time. It had been a while since everyone (not including Nate, Brook and Jess) had all gotten together at Celeste’s house just to hang out and have dinner. They really needed to get back into doing so again. It had been too long. Maybe after their getaway for Spring Break they would get back into things with each other. 

With the night coming to a close everyone slowly made their way back to their own homes. Jay was the first to leave followed by Hunter and the Twins. Nate was the last to go. Jess waited in the car with Brooklyn as he and Celeste said their goodbyes. Celeste stood on her porch, wrapped in Nate’s arms, where she always wanted to be. Even though they had only been together for a short time she knew that she always wanted to be with him. She just hoped that he felt the same way as well. Celeste wouldn’t voice her thoughts though, it was way too early in their relationship to do so.

“No Skyping tonight,” said Celeste

“No Skyping,” Nate agreed “And get to bed earlier then midnight.”

“You too,” 

“Might be a little difficult since we both had rather long naps today.”

“We’ll manage,” Celeste shrugged 

“I don’t know how I’ll manage going to be without you,” he admitted “I’ll like falling asleep with you in my arms.”

“Mm, I like it too” Celeste sighed, resting her cheek against Nate’s chest. “But, we have a week to do so when we get to Mexico.”

“Yeah. Yeah we do” Nate said tightening his hold on her. “I better get going, gotta get those two home.”

Celeste nodded and reached up to press a kiss against his lips. She pulled away before he could deepen it. If she hadn’t, who know’s how long it would have been before Nate was able to leave. Celeste gave him a gentle shove and that was all he needed to get the message. It was time to go home. Nate just smiled, stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed off to his truck. Celeste leaned against the frame of the open door and watched as Nate got into his truck and sped off home. Once the truck was out of sight, Celeste headed into the house and closed the door behind her. 

After helping Aaron clean up their dinner mess Celeste took a shower and climbed into bed. She wasn’t all that tired since she and Nate and spent the better part of the day sleeping. She could still smell the fragrance of his shampoo and aftershave on the pillow he had used and cuddled up to it. She really loved the way that he smelled. The last thought before sleep snuck up on her was: Friday needs to hurry up and get here already. 

~*~

“Okay, so” Aaron began placing his hands on Celeste’s shoulders. “Never go anywhere alone, always have at least one of the guys with you at all time – not including Jay.”

“Hey!” Jay protested from his spot on the sideway. “I’m just as much of a guys as these two,” he said pointing to Hunter and Nate. “If not more.”

“Anyways,” Aaron chuckled “Keep your phone on you at all times. Make sure it’s charged and that your GPS is on just in case. Call me every morning or night to check in, just so I know you’re alright.”

“Yes, dad” Celeste giggled. 

It was finally Friday and Celeste couldn’t be more thrilled. Everyone had decided to meet up at her house and they would all ride together in Nate’s truck to the airport (which Aaron had drove them to). Now she was getting the whole be safe and check in talk from him before they left for their trip. 

“I’m serious,” Aaron huffed

“I know you are,” Celeste smiled up at her brother. “I’ll always be with one of the guys – not including Jay,” she said just for the hell of it. “My phone will always be charged and my GPS tracking thing that you insisted I get for this trip will be on 24/7.”

“Good,” Aaron grinned “Oh and a few more things. Don’t party too much, don’t drink too much and by God please, use protection.”

“Aaron,” she hissed punching in lightly in the stomach. 

“I am not kidding,” he said seriously. “I’m too young to be an uncle.”

“You’re twenty five” Celeste pointed out. 

“Yeah, I’m too young” he nodded “I love you and Happy Birthday” he said before hugging her tightly

“I love you too,” she said hugging him back just as hard. “I’ll see you in a week”

“Have fun be careful.” he said with a smiled “No get out of here before you miss you’re flight and have to drive there.”

With one last hug and smile Celeste walked over to Nate who was standing with their luggage. Aaron said his goodbye to everyone else and gave Nina and long passionate kiss. Once he was back in the truck they all headed over to the check in counter. Soon they would all finally be in Cancun and they could get the party started. 

Celeste was a little nervous about what the girls had planned. She had partied or drank since the night that she gave Nate the lap dance. That night seem so long ago. In reality it was only a little of two months ago. How things can change in such a short amount of time. If someone had asked her two months ago if she thought she would end up being Nate Anderson’s girl friend she would’ve said ‘Who is Nate Anderson?’ just like she had when she found out that he was the guys she gave the lap dance too. She would have laughed if someone had told her that in two months time she would be going on vacation with the schools player/bad boy. Now though? Now she was just happy that her life was as good as it was (minus all the Samantha drama). She was 18 and going to Cancun, Mexico for a week with her closest friends and boy friend, nothing could get better then this.