"We actually made it in time." Ashley said as her feet hit the ground and they both walked up the steps that lead into the humongous ship in front of them.

Reece had raced none stop towards it, quickening his pace the second he saw the vessel rise into view. He stepped behind her, his breathing heavy and labored; yet he somehow managed to let out a calm chuckle as he gripped the rail behind Ashley.

"Of course." He said, his chest inches away from her back as they finally stepped into the clean, wooden deck that was moderately packed with people; both staff and students, "—I wasn't about to wait a whole hour for the next one."

Ashley chuckled and turned around to face him as she walked backwards, "Neither was I actually." She revealed with a snicker, "—we could have tried something else though so we'd be fine."

Reece let out a slow, wide grin as he watched her turn and walk away with a subtle skip in her step, "What's this?" He paused, waiting for her to turn to him once more, "—are you this excited to spend some quality time with me?"

Ashley scrunched up her nose and shook her head, "Way to ruin the moment." She teased and pointed at the buffet table in front of them, "—the reason for my giddiness."

Reece let out a chuckle and caught up to her, "Of course." He said, shaking his head as he whispered under his breath, "—even though we just had breakfast."

"What was that?" Ashley asked as she leaned her right ear up towards him, waiting for him to repeat himself.

Reece only shook his head and placed his left hand on her lower back, beckoning her forward since she had stopped walking. The smile on his face remained as they approached the table and stood in front of the many food varieties placed on it. It seemed that they weren't the only ones who still had room for more food seeing as about six other people were surrounding the food. It was packed with all kinds of food, ranging from any fruit you could think of, salads, smoothies, punch, champagne, cold drinks, wine and some snacks like nachos, crisps, popcorn of all kind. 

Reece didn't need to look at Ashley to know that her eyes were glistering with hunger; partly because his own probably were too. He scratched the back of his head in wonder as he pondered on what he would take. Meanwhile, Ashley had a whole croissant in her mouth, a pack of Doritos held under her right arm, a glass of soda in her other palm, and was struggling to reach for a bowl of freshly chopped mangoes with the hand that had the Doritos. He shook his head at her and grabbed a tray beside him, before he set it down in front of her then reached for the bowl of mangoes and placed it onto it. 

Ashley cleared her throat and sluggishly placed everything but the croissant in her mouth onto the silver tray, before she briefly looked at Reece and mumbled a thank you his way. He let out a snicker and grabbed his own tray then reached for two glasses of wine, salads and one gigantic bowl of freshly cut mixed fruits. Ashley looked at tray and raised an eyebrow before she turned to her own mess and pursed her lips. They both then walked towards the beach chairs that were step up around a pool that sat in the middle of the packed deck. Finding two vacant ones, the two walked towards it in silence as they both took in the view in front of them while the ship begun to sail. The cruise was meant to be a long ride so they needed to pick a spot where they would both be comfortable.

"So, have you ever been to an island before?" Ashley asked, looking up at Reece as she took a bite off her croissant.

Reece smiled, "A few actually." He said, "—but it was all this family, never with friends." He said as he suddenly frowned and looked out into the crystal blue ocean, "—come to think of it, I've only been twice. Once when I was a kid, and the other time when I got out of high school. I was accompanying my father, now that I remember." He finished shaking his head as he clicked his tongue.

"Well now you have." Ashley said, smiling at him with a few crumbs peeking at the corner of her lips, "—I hadn't ever been to an island. It's so beautiful here and secluded. You can see the stars outside and it's usually quiet too. If you told me that I would get to enjoy such a beautiful scene I would have called you crazy."

Reece let out a breath through his nose as his eyes softened. He reached out his free hand and swiped the crumbs off her lip, "Then I guess we'll just have to make sure you'll keep seeing as much as possible." 

Ashley pursed her lips the second his fingers let the corner of her lips and she looked away, clearing her throat and trying her best to ignore her rapidly beating heart, "I'd like that."

Reece placed his tray on the table between the two seats they had chosen then grabbed Ashley's own and placed it down beside his own. They both took a seat on the white beach chairs then briefly looked at each other before snapping their eyes away. He grinned and leaned his back on the headboard before sprawling his feet in front of him; getting comfortable. Ashley did the same while dragging the surprisingly light, white table closer towards where their heads were and let out a content sigh.

"I meant to ask you, by the way," she begun turning to him in time to see him raise an questioning eyebrow, "—why were you in the T.S.D.A? You don't seem like trouble to me." She asked as she finished off her croissant.

Reece shrugged and placed his arms behind his head, his muscles bulging as he did, "Before you were admitted, there was a fire in the elite building." He begun, "—Ah, I should probably start with how this school used to be."

Ashley grabbed her soda and took a sip before she answered him, "Blake told me that much not too long ago." She paused, "—about how Grudgeford used to be before Mrs. Huxley passed away. He said something about a fire too, and how the sections practically became gangs."

Reece nodded and grabbed his own cold drink. He took a sip before he let out a sigh, "Well there was another fire recently, about two weeks before you admitted." He said with a shrug, "—my sister caused it, but I took the fall for her because it would have been her last strike. You see, she doesn't want to stay here, so she's rebelling. She been rebelling for as long as I can remember." Reece continued, "—she got expelled yesterday though, and finally  got what she wanted."

Ashley frowned as she lowered her drink from her lips, cocking her head to the side, "Why was she so adamant on leaving?"

Reece let out a scoff. "She wants to transfer school and do Fashion and Design, but its not available in Grudgeford. Our parents just won't let her switch from Business so she sort for other means. She's a good kid, but she insists that is what she wants to do." He explained as he took another sip, "—I can't really blame her. She can take care of herself better than anyone I know."

"Aww," Ashley gushed, "—you're such a good brother."

Reece grinned at her, "I try to be."

"You are. My brother would sell me out so quick." Ashley revealed frowning as she leaned back and grabbed her Doritos. She pried them open and offered Reece some to which he didn't hesitant and reached for a whole handful of it.

"I mean if it were something else I would definitely be snitching on her, but she's suffered enough in school so I gave her a break. Otherwise, we have our moments." Reece said as he tilted his head back and popped the Doritos into his awaiting mouth.  

"Of course you do. I take it back." She teased as she gazed into her snack that was missing half of it's contents thanks to Reece's gigantic hands. 

Reece stretched out his arms in front of him and turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "Should we go check out the cabins?"

Ashley nodded and got up with her snack, waiting for Reece to do the same. She looked down at their trays, "What about out stuff?"

"Leave it. No one will touch them." Reece reassured her as he looked around for a cabin crew member and gestured him over. After talking to him for a few, he placed his hand on Ashley's lower back and led her towards the door a few feet away from them, and to their immediate left.

🔱🔱🔱

"Is that Mariana?" Ashley asked as she set her drink down and placed her palms behind her. 

They were back from their walk around the inside of the ship. They had come back to find her seat occupied with a random couple she hadn't ever seen before, forcing them to share a long chair. Reece was sprawled on the top half of it with his legs on the side and Ashley was seated upright on the bottom half, her legs facing the white table that had been on Reece's other side before they had to move their food.

Reece nodded as he scooted closer towards her back and pulled out a piece of confetti on top of her head, "Did you only just see her?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Ashley nodded, "I hope she won't start anything." 

Reece let out a breath through his nose then reached over her to the table in front of her. He grabbed one of the forks in the fruits bowl, before he stabbed a cut of mango in it and brought it towards her lips, "You don't have to worry about that. I won't let her."

Ashley grinned and parted her lips, taking a bite off the fruit, "You're too sweet." 

"So she's jealous you were getting attention from Eros? She's had a crush on him for a while."

Ashley nodded, "I'd like to think so. She told me to stay away from all three of them and everything. Looks like in the end, things turned out in her favor."

Reece shook his head as he took a bite of the fruit salad before he spoke, "I mean, I knew Eros was scary, but for him to go that far. What ticked him off?"

Ashley shrugged and told him everything about that night, leaving out no details and needing to talk to someone who wasn't her usual gang in case there was something she was missing. Reece listened to her intently, constantly feeding her fruits and drinks, despite her protests. 

"To be honest, for the little that I've known Eros, I can confidently say that he must have really wanted you to move out. I can't tell you why though because your guess is as good as mine. He pulled the same thing with me." Reece said with a shrug, "—we used to be somewhat friends, but he suddenly switched up and stopped talking to me. Turns out Gregor wanted him to use me to get information about my father's company. Something he could use to his advantage, so Eros cut me off instead, without saying anything. I only found out because Seb eventually told me everything. It was around the same time I got thrown into the T.S.D.A too." Reece finished, "—the more you try to figure him out, the more lost you'll become. Though that was a dick move."

Ashley nodded, "There could have been a better way to go about it, but it's all in the past. Even if there is some reason behind it, it's too late to ask him about it now."

Reece leaned his head towards hers out of nowhere, a smirk playing at his lips as he briefly lowered his eyes to her own, "And what about your feelings for him? Do you still like him?"

Ashley let out a muffled cough and searched his eyes, feeling herself drown in their sharp, crystal depths, "I think I'm already over him." She revealed, feeling bolder than usual and needing to feel Reece's soft lips on hers once again. 

It was she thought about last night, after he had walked her to her room.

She gulped and reached for his collar before she tugged him towards her and claimed those soft lips with her own. Reece smiled and scooted closer towards where she sat—between his parted thighs. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, enough for her right arm to press against his chest. He kissed her back with just as much want and desire as she did, grabbing a fistful of her black hair and letting his fingers explore and rest between the soft mass. His heart hammered hard in his chest, causing him to suspect that she could feel it through his loose dress shirt. Ashley pulled away and looked up at him from beneath her long eyelashes and smiled at him. Reece could swear he couldn't breath in that moment and brought his lower lips between his teeth. 

He knew in that moment, all he wanted to do, was shield this woman and keep her away from anyone—or anything—that would ever be foolish enough to hurt her, or dare give her a hard time.

🔱🔱🔱

Eros frowned as he gingerly brought his phone closer to his face, squinting at the brightness of the white screen screaming at him to wake up. He let out a sigh and looked over at the clock on the wall in front of him. He clenched his jaw once he realized it was four in the morning. He had been sound asleep when his phone started spasming and buzzing like mad.

At first he had thought it was an emergency, but when he sat up and stared at the unsaved number, he knew then that he should have turned over and gone right back to sleep. He would have done just that, if the text notification that lit up a few beats later hadn't contained a name that perked his interest. Two of them in fact, and the next thing he knew he was in his messages, wide awake and rethinking everything.

Ashley x Reece having such a blast while you're gone. Did you two fight? Break up maybe?

Either way, I'm glad you got over each other. 

And good morning, hope I didn't wake you.

:)

Eros sat up straighter and scratched the back of his head. He knew exactly who this was, and didn't bother to reply. Above all the texts stood four pictures of Ashley and Reece having a good time together. The first one was of them seated next to each other with two very full trays of food standing between them, the second one was of them walking towards what Eros could assume was the cabin, the third picture was them sharing a seat and the last one was of them kissing. Eros scrunched up his nose and deleted the pictures as he examined them, a part of him needing to see it clearly before they were gone. He tossed his phone on his bed and placed his head on the head rest behind him. He would be lying if he said that those pictures didn't affect him, but what irked him more was the fact that Mariana was still out to get Ashley, despite them not being close anymore. 

He let out a breath through his nose, realizing that this was exactly what he wanted for her, but hating that it actually happened. He knew it was selfish of him to hope that she wouldn't move on, but when his mind drifted to the night he pushed her too hard, he clenched his jaw and shoved the thought at the very back of his mind. She was right to do so, and she was right to find someone better. Reece was a good man and would without a doubt treat her right. She needed someone who had their life together, someone strong and direct, not a man with a lot of things to deal with and so many secrets to keep from her. Eros gritted his teeth, slid back into his sheets, reached for his phone and placed it on the bedside table beside him. 

When they meet again, he would tell her everything and get it over with while things are still tense. Until then, it would have to wait. He could only hope that she will listen to him and not get herself involved.

🔱🔱🔱

He claimed her lips with his own as she shut the door behind them with his right heel. Their breaths danced together heavy as he guided her backwards towards her bed. He let out a deep groan once he felt her hands begin to desperately wonder beneath his shirt, slowing growing closer to where he craved her attention the most. Ashley let out a breath through her nose, and reached for his belt. She hooked her pointer and ring finger around it, before taking the chance to pull him impossibly closer against her body. 

Just as she did, the back of her calf hit the bed behind and sent them both falling on it. Reece let out a deep chuckle that vibrated all the way to her core, having not once broken their lips apart. Gingerly, he pulled his lips away and trailed his hand down her chest, leaving a hot trail of want following after him. Ashley arched her back and clenched her teeth, needing him to touch her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and trailed them up his hair. 

Reece looked up at her from beneath his eyelashes as he slid his hand in to her shirt, resting it on her warm stomach. He smirked when she pulled him down by the neck and reclaimed his lips once more. He kissed her back with just as much vigor and passion, all the while letting his hands roam freely up her shirt; flicking, squeezing and kneading. Ashley couldn't force back the whimper that escaped her lips in time, yet that was enough for him to keep going. He pressed his crotch over her own, letting out a warm, shaky breath as he groaned.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Reece asked, his voice deeper than usual as he looked at her with a fire she had no idea he had burning in his eyes.

Ashley could only nod, as she couldn't trust her own voice. Reece held her gaze a little longer than she wanted—almost hesitant—causing her to reach up and bring his lower lip between her teeth; tugging before she attacked them once again. 

All the unease he had been feeling flew right out the window behind them in that moment, and all they could both think about was each other, and how they both didn't want to stop there.

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edited seal madam