“Sorry about breakfast.”
Natalie jerked awake and cracked her eyelids to see Lexi standing over her. How long had she been asleep? She peeked across the pool and saw Colton sitting on the edge with his legs dangling in the water, laughing at something one of the guys had said. She squinted up at Lexi, but what she really wanted was to sink back into her dream as quickly as possible.
“I meant to meet you, but Colton wanted to go for a bike ride, and we ended up picking up some food and having a breakfast picnic together. It was so romantic.”
She felt sick to the stomach. “No worries. I ate with my friends.”
“Tomorrow instead?” Lexi asked.
“Tomorrow’s the trip to Jamestown. Sorry.”
“We’ll do lunch another day then.” Lexi walked around the pool toward Colton without waiting for Natalie’s reply.
Natalie wasn’t going to hold her breath, and she honestly didn’t care whether they had a meal together or not. In fact, she sort of hoped it didn’t work out. Something still felt off about how nice Lexi was being. Why the sudden need to be BFFs?
“Why do you give her the time of day?” Trinity asked when Lexi was out of earshot.
Natalie shrugged. “Keep your enemies closer, right?”
Trinity laughed. “Truth.”
“Hey, there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” Olivia said.
Natalie peeked across the pool at Colton and his friends again. He and Lexi were now floating near the corner of the pool, her arms and legs wrapped around him. A knot formed in her stomach as she watched them. Whatever Colton had said made Lexi throw her head back and laugh loud enough for everyone to hear.
She couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m sorry. I’ve gotta get out of here.” She scrambled from her seat, gathered her things as quickly as possible, and headed to their room.
Trinity and Olivia came not long after.
“Are you OK?” Trinity asked. “It must be hard for you to see them together.”
“Let’s get cleaned up and go to dinner. You’ll feel better after you eat,” Olivia assured her.
“I’m not hungry.” She threw on her running clothes rather than showering. “I need a run.”
“Natty, come with us,” Olivia begged.
“I’m sorry, Liv, I just have to clear my head.”
Natalie ran down the beach for the second time that day, earbuds in, listening to Taylor Swift. She ran full speed until she couldn’t run anymore, then kept walking until she was a good four miles from the resort. Walking back gave her plenty of time to think.
She couldn’t pinpoint one emotion—sadness, guilt, hurt, embarrassment. It was her own fault for making the stupid decision to take the alternate route away from the hotel pitstop in West Virginia, for sleeping in the tent with Colton, for letting herself get close to him—emotionally and physically. And for what? He seemed no closer to ending his relationship with Lexi. He’d given her no guarantee that he ever would. He’d made her no promises.
If she didn’t put the road trip behind her, she would be miserable for the rest of her vacation. So she resolved to do just that and to steer clear of Colton and Lexi. She couldn’t let them ruin this week she had been looking forward to all year.
When she returned to the room, the girls were gone. Exhausted from lack of sleep, head pounding, neck still aching from her whiplash, she took a quick shower, threw on her pajamas, and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
23
History
Trinity grumbled as she and Olivia took their seats on the bus across the aisle from Natalie.
“Come on, you guys. It’ll be fun,” Natalie assured them.
“So you say,” Trinity replied. “The cozy bed is calling me back.”
“You can sleep in at home any time you want. How often do we get to see places that have to do with the history of our country?”
Trinity shook her head. “You’re way too excited about history.”
“I like seeing new places. Don’t you?”
“I was fine seeing the boardwalk and the beach.”
Natalie smiled. “Thanks for coming with me.”
Trinity gave her a thumbs-up, but Olivia remained quiet. She had been quiet all morning, in fact.
“Everything OK, Liv?” Natalie asked.
“Fine,” Olivia replied.
Uh-oh. She knew her best friend, and that was not an honest fine. But before she had a chance to question her again, she was startled by a hand on her shoulder.
“Is this seat taken?”
Her gaze lifted, and her heart skipped a beat at Colton standing there before her. “You’re not signed up for this,” she blurted.
He smiled at her. “I am now. Can I sit?”
“Sure.” Her stomach fluttered, and she scooted over to the seat closest to the window. “Wouldn’t you have more fun playing chicken in the pool with your friends?”
He plopped down in the seat next to her, his thigh pressed against hers, and patted her knee. “You can’t get rid of me, Nat. I told you I wanted to hang out with you this week.”
“I thought you were just saying that. I didn’t think you actually meant it.”
“Why not?”
“Because.” She stared out the window at the parking lot.
“That’s not an answer.” He leaned forward, angling into her until she looked at him.
She was flustered being so close to him again. “Because the bubble has popped. Back to reality. Back where we belong.”
“Are we? Really? Because this is the first time since we got here that I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
When he said things like that, she wanted to believe him. She wanted it to be true. Because she agreed. Sitting next to him felt right, like they were supposed to be there. Together. Like everything that had happened on their trip wasn’t just some crazy fluke.
Despite her earlier resolve, she touched his hand, and the biggest smile spread across his face.
“Hi, Colton.” Trinity interrupted their moment.
He looked across the aisle.
“You know Trinity and Olivia,” Natalie said.
“Hey,” he greeted them. “Are you girls having fun so far?”
“On this bus? Not so much,” Trinity replied.
Colton chuckled.
“Thanks for bringing Natalie down here. It wouldn’t have been the same without her.”
“That’s for sure,” Colton replied.
Still Olivia said nothing.
Colton turned his attention back to Natalie, his eyes traveling over her face. He tapped her nose with his index finger. “Got a little sun yesterday, did ya?”
“A little.” She wiggled her nose, which was not quite as red as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but close. “I should’ve put extra sunscreen on my nose, I guess.”
He leaned into her shoulder and his mouth curved up to the right. “You look cute.”
The scent of coconut sunscreen and mint mouthwash invaded her nostrils. She shoved aside the sudden longing for minty kisses and rolled her eyes. “Sure.”
“You really need to learn to take a compliment.”
“What, like Grant’s comment yesterday?”
“He’s not subtle.”
She feigned shock. “You don’t say?”
Colton smiled.
“Doesn’t it bother you? The way he talks to girls?”
“I mean, he can be rude sometimes, but what can I say? He’s a flirt. It’s just who he is.”
Natalie rolled her eyes again.
Colton looked at her seriously. “And he’s my friend.”
“I know he is.”
“Don’t you have any friends who do things you hate?”
Natalie thought for a moment. “Not really.” Unless she counted Lexi.
“Well, you’re lucky.”
She was well aware of that fact. After her friendship with Lexi fell apart, it was easy to see who her
true friends were, and it made her appreciate them even more.
“Speaking of friends, you couldn’t drag yours along today?”
Colton laughed. It was pretty ridiculous to think that anyone in his crowd would attend an educational day trip instead of hanging out at the beach. Lexi wouldn’t be caught dead on a trip like this.
“Hey, did you say something to Lexi about me?” She was curious about Lexi’s overly friendly behavior.
Colton shook his head. “Not really. Why?”
“Well, if you told her to stop harassing me, thank you. She’s been … better.”
“I did mention it to her again, but I didn’t think she was listening,” he said with a smirk.
Maybe that explained Lexi’s change of heart toward her.
“I also asked her why you two aren’t friends anymore.”
Her eyes widened. “What did she say?” Natalie was anxious for the answer, because she truly wished she knew what had changed between them.
“She said it was ancient history, back when you were in elementary school.”
That wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. “It wasn’t elementary school.” She shook her head. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter now.”
“I won’t let her bother you.”
“I’m not sure there’s much you can do if she decides to come after me again.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Trust me, there is.”
“Anyway, thanks for standing up for me.”
He leaned his shoulder against hers. “I always will.”
She wanted to believe that, more than anything, but so far, it seemed he only meant it when it was convenient for him.
The bus pulled into the parking lot of the Jamestown Settlement and let the students off at the door. They entered and made their way through the displays in the historical gallery. Natalie was fascinated by all the artifacts and the replicas of settlers’ homes. History was one of her passions and something she had seriously considered studying when she got to college—maybe as a minor.
As they exited the main building, Natalie glanced over at Colton and found him watching her.
“What?”
“You like all this stuff, don’t you?” he asked.
She nodded. “I really do.”
“Well, I have to admit, it’s not as boring as …” His words trailed off as he caught sight of three ships docked just past the replica of the fort that once stood at Jamestown. “I want to see the ships.”
She laughed at the look of boyish excitement on his face.
They walked to the fort first and wandered through the buildings—the blacksmith, the living quarters, the armory. The sound of a rifle firing came from the nearby stage, where a man dressed in settler’s garb was demonstrating how to load and fire a black powder rifle.
Colton suddenly took Natalie’s hand and led her through the doors of the church. They sat together on one of the heavy wooden pews toward the back and listened to a woman in historical clothing talk about the building and the history.
Natalie’s eyes scanned the room from the raised pulpit to the candlesticks attached to the rafters to The Ten Commandments and The Lord’s Prayer written in old style calligraphy that graced the walls. She tried to imagine the settlers in a church like this, her thoughts returning to the little service they had attended at the campground, the worshipful choruses echoing in her mind.
When the tour was over, the woman walked to the back and unwound a rope tied near the door. She asked for a volunteer and chose a young boy to help her ring the church bells. The boy laughed as the rope pulled his arm a little and the bells sounded.
Colton looked over at Natalie and smiled. They exited the building with his hand on her lower back. “Can we go see the ships now?”
She cracked up as he rushed ahead of her to the fort exit.
“This is what I’m talking about.” Colton pulled out his phone and took some pictures of the ships—re-creations of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, which brought the English colonists to Virginia in 1607. He grabbed Natalie’s arm and tucked her into his side, holding his phone out for a selfie.
“Are you gonna post that?” she asked.
“Not if you don’t want me to.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” She didn’t need to give Lexi any more ammunition. “But send it to me.”
A few taps on his screen and her phone dinged.
She opened the picture. “Nice.”
“Come on!” He grabbed her arm and dragged her along behind him and up the gangplank of the Discovery, obviously excited to board the ship.
She nearly dropped her phone because of him. Again.
They walked around the deck first, then made their way down into the belly of the ship. The interior of the boat was cramped, and she couldn’t imagine the settlers making the long journey across the ocean from England in such tight quarters.
When they came to the sleeping chambers, Natalie leaned into Colton’s back and peeked over his shoulder to get a better view. “That’s crazy small.”
“We could fit.”
She smacked him on the back and moved away.
“We fit in that sleeping bag together,” he said.
Her gaze traveled back over her shoulder, and she was about to remind him that it was a two-person sleeping bag when she noticed the flirtatious look in his eyes.
“We could make this work.” He nodded enthusiastically.
“Oh my gosh.” She walked away, shaking her head, the warmth of his presence close behind.
Natalie climbed the stairs to the upper deck and walked out to the bow. Colton moved to stand behind her and grabbed her wrists, lifting her arms up until they were straight out to each side.
“Are you flying?” he whispered.
“Colton!” She yanked her arms from his grip. “We are not recreating the scene from Titanic.”
He busted up laughing, which turned into a groan when she elbowed him in the gut.
When they exited the ship, Natalie saw Olivia and Trinity standing not too far away next to the Godspeed. She ran over to catch up with them while Colton boarded the Susan Constant.
Olivia’s eyes met hers. “Are you two having fun?” Her voice held more than a hint of annoyance.
Natalie nodded. “We are. Colton is like a kid on these ships.”
Olivia rolled her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Liv?”
Natalie looked at Trinity, who stood quietly to the side, then back at Olivia.
“I thought we were going to see this together, and then you two took off.”
“Oh, we didn’t mean to. We lost track of you in the museum,” Natalie explained.
“You have a phone. You could’ve texted me or waited for us.” Olivia’s tone had become harsh.
“I’m sorry, Liv. I didn’t think this was such a big deal to you. You guys didn’t even want to come.”
Olivia’s eyes fixed on hers again. “You’re right. I wish I hadn’t.”
“I’m glad you came. I am.” Natalie felt awful, and she desperately wanted to make it up to her best friend. “Wanna go check out the Native American village together?”
“Fine.” Olivia rotated on her heel and started walking in the other direction.
Natalie spotted Colton walking along the deck of the ship. She took her phone from her back pocket and fired off a quick text letting him know where she was going. It was a very couple-y thing to do. And they weren’t a couple. But it felt natural—almost second nature—to let him know.
Her phone chimed with his text.
Cole:
I’m almost done being Cap’n Jack. See ya over there.
She smiled as she slid the phone into her back pocket again.
“You really like him, don’t you?” Trinity was grinning at her as they walked along behind Olivia.
“I can’t help it. When we’re together, it’s so fun and natural. And when we’re not, all I can think about is being close to him again.”
“And kissing him. In the car. In the middle of a thunderstorm.” Trinity practically swooned.
Natalie could almost still feel his lips on hers and a warmth spread through her body that had nothing to do with the sticky temperature outside.
The girls walked into one of the re-created Powhatan domed dwellings. It was more spacious than it appeared from the outside, with plenty of room to move and sleep. There was even a fire circle in the center with a vent atop the dome to release the smoke. Animal hides were everywhere—displayed along the thatched walls, strewn about on cots, stretched outside on a rack to dry. Fishing nets, handmade baskets, and quivers full of arrows hung near the door.
Natalie turned too quickly to exit and bumped into Olivia, nearly knocking her over. “Sorry, Liv.”
“Watch what you’re doing,” Olivia snapped.
“What is wrong with you?” Natalie snapped back. “I apologized for losing you earlier, but I know it’s not that. You’ve been acting weird all day.”
“Don’t worry yourself about it. You’ll find out soon enough.”
“What does that mean?”
Olivia pushed past her and ducked through the door.
Natalie’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at Trinity. “What is going on?”
“I can’t say.”
She tilted her head. “You can’t or you won’t.”
“She told me not to tell you. She wants to be the one.”
“Tell me what?”
Trinity pressed her lips together. “Sorry. Talk to Liv.”
“How can I if she won’t talk to me?”
Trinity shrugged.
Natalie blew out an exasperated breath and left the hut. Colton was just walking up, but Natalie looked past him in search of Olivia, who was nearing the main building again.
“Hungry?” Colton asked. “Because I’m starved.”
Natalie simply nodded, and the three of them walked along the path to the main building. Colton and Trinity chatted about the ships as they moved down the hallway to the main lobby and entered the restaurant, but all she could think about was the look on Olivia’s face as she had walked out.
18 Hours To Us Page 15