Gunner strolled over to the pool edge where Vivian was sitting and haphazardly dropped his massive weight right next to her on the concrete. His large, shirtless shoulder knocked heavily into hers. The sudden impact sent him completely off balance. For a split second, he nearly tumbled headfirst into the pool, his fingers frantically clawing at the nearby grass to keep him from falling face-first into the water.
Once he finally righted himself, his legs dangled in the pool right beside Vivian's, their thighs brushing ever so often with the movement of the water. Actively pretending like nothing had just happened, Gunner turned his head and flashed her a wide, disarming smile.
Just in front of them, Koda and Fuhad were still swimming, their competitive streak unending as they tried to create the largest wave, sending a massive splash of water hitting right against Vivian and Gunner.
Gunner reached out, attempting to grab Vivian's drink, but his vision swam as the world began to spin. He nearly fell, heavily leaning his weight onto Vivian. Reacting quickly, she caught his shoulders, resting one palm firmly against his chest to hold him steady so he wouldn't pitch forward into the deep end.
"Going hard tonight," she said with a dry amusement, releasing him once he'd steadied himself. Right after, she handed him the drink. It was just mint-infused water.
Gunner chewed on a laugh, taking a sip and nodding as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Avoid Koda's protein punch rum cocktail. I had four," he said, gesturing at his extremely intoxicated self.
At Gunner's easy smile and light mood, Vivian wondered how he could do it. How he could seem so relaxed when tomorrow she would learn what her life would become. And he was here drinking and laughing and able to act as if he didn't know, it felt like it was just too easy for him to lie to her face with every smile and touch. It was hard not to be irritated by him. Not to fall into the well of emotion that was simmering right beneath the skin, but there was something earnest in Gunner that made her pause. In her head, she thought it could be because she already liked him. Because they'd already spent so much time together lately, it made it easier to let it go and forgive and relax into what she had no control over.
Gunner, completely taken by Vivian, felt his clouded judgment take over. His hand that was rested behind her easily found the small of her back as he leaned in, ready to capture her lips, to feel them press against his skin again. For a second, it felt as if time had slowed, as if the world was giving her an infinite amount of time to make a decision as Gunner leaned in towards her. It was a moment, a pause in time where she could decide if she would pull away in anger. Slap him, throw her drink in his face. Scream about how he could so easily touch and kiss her as if he didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Lulling her into this false sense of enjoyment when feelings first start to bloom. What then there was the other side of it. Then the inevitability. Tomorrow she would be his. So what was a day early? As all these thoughts raced through her head, she closed her eyes making her decision. What did a kiss matter a day early?
As Gunner watched her eyes close, a symbol of trust, he felt that churning in his gut, the guilt that had been driving him to drink and fall into oblivion all night. He wanted to tell her. He felt guilty. He felt cruel. Disgusted with himself that he was the only one of the two of them that knew that tomorrow they would be engaged. Instead of kissing her, his forehead rested on her shoulder as he breathed hard trying to control his growing desire against just being decent.
As Vivian stared down at Gunner resting against her, she couldn't help the small smile that cracked her lips. She wondered what was going on in his head, where his mind was at. Groaning, he cussed under his breath as he lumbered to his feet. Reaching down, he took a hold of her hand, pulling her up with him.
"Just come with me," he said, pulling her further into the backyard, deeper into the brush, further away from the music, the noise, the chatter, the judgments. He wanted to talk to her alone where no one would hear, where they could be honest. Once he felt he was far enough away, he flopped down into the grass, pulling her with him. Both of them lay staring up at the darkened sky, washed in a sea of stars. Without the light pollution of the rest of the city, the hill had the best view of the night sky.
"What are we doing?" Vivian asked, turning her head to stare at Gunner's profile that seemed transfixed with the night sky above.
With a few deep breaths, Gunner sighed, knowing he would have to say something, but wanting to say it right, not to get his words wrong, not to fuck anything up. "I just... you know I..." Sighing deeply, he held her hand tight, squeezing ever so often. Unsure if he was trying to offer comfort or get it. "I don't want you to hate me." His words were vulnerable, honest, quiet but Vivian heard them, all of them. Without her notice, her lip curved ever so slightly at the corner. It was the beginning of hope. Hope that he was finally willing to tell her the truth. That he wouldn't cower away. That he wanted her to know.
"I just can't have. I don't. Vivian." Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her till she was flush against his side. As he hovered over her, his eyes taking in her every feature. The thick lashes, the freckles along her nose. The bright brown eyes, her full lips. All of it. He didn't want to miss a thing. He didn't want to mess it up. "I got to have to tell you but I just..."
Vivian softened her expression as she reached out, her fingers easily resting against his wildly beating heart. "I want to hear whatever you have to say. No matter what it is." She hoped it would be enough to give him courage, holding her breath that he would say the truth finally.
"Our parents, they've been talking, not just talking. Talking I mean like negotiating. I'm saying this wrong and I mean we're getting engaged tomorrow. What I mean is, we're getting engaged tomorrow. The final negotiations are tomorrow. I wasn't supposed to tell you but I couldn't not say anything. I just... fuck, I just... I don't want you to feel betrayed... by me."
He felt confused as a smile bloomed on her lips. He wasn't sure what it meant. Vivian Linden, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. "Thank you for telling me," she whispered. Her cheeks flooded with heat as she stared up at him. It didn't matter that she already knew. What mattered was that he had enough respect to tell her what he knew, what he believed she didn't know.
It was as if her words finally set him free and lessened the guilt he was harboring. With a sigh of relief he fell back onto the grass no longer hovering above her. Pulling her until she was practically on his chest. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I can't believe you're not kicking me in the balls right now. Oh my God. I thought I was going to have a fucking panic attack. That you were going to kill me."
Towards the top of the hill, the party had now combined. No longer in smaller groups having their own fun. Everyone huddled together as they stared down the slope of the backyard to Vivian and Gunner.
"So they are dating?" Darla said with a large smile on her face.
"I think so," Gigi said shrugging without much care.
"I wouldn't celebrate too quickly. We still don't know," Mimi cut in.
"I think they're cute. I could see them being a good couple," Nala said as she looked towards the two, before her eyes found Jiho's only to quickly look away. Jiho knew what Nala was thinking, but it was a fantasy. They would never be Vivian and Gunner. And no one knew what Vivian and Gunner were anyway.
"How long have they been dating?" Fuhad asked while looking towards Natalia.
Before she could open her mouth and say something distasteful, Harrison expertly spoke for his wife. "We do not know if they're dating. We only heard about that one date they went on."
"Was it even a date?" Carrie asked while looking around the group. She hadn't got the invite.
Koda shrugged. "Not really, it was more of a weird fucking dinner. With a lot of kinda couples. Couples. Nothing really serious. If anything, it could be a gathering of fuck buddies."
"Hey!" Both Darla and Nala said at the same time.
"Not you guys," Koda said uncaringly before looking back down the slope where the two were practically trying to invade each other's bodies.
"I don't think it matters what's going on over there," Ming interjected, walking back toward the outdoor bar. He grabbed a fresh bottle of Don Julio and began pouring it generously into a row of shot glasses. "Leave them be. They'll tell us whenever they figure their own shit out. Until then, we're taking shots and keeping the fucking rager going." He was trying to help his friend out by averting some of the attention that would distract them from figuring out their own shit.
Deciding to give the pair some semblance of privacy, the group gathered around the bar, each of them grabbing their own shot. As they lifted their glasses, Natalia pointed over her shoulder back toward Vivian and Gunner.
"For the record," Natalia said in her most unapologetic tone, wrinkling her nose, "I'm rooting against them."
Mimi smirked, raising her glass higher as she offered her own toast. "To V and G."
"To in-laws," Gigi said, shooting Natalia a provocative look as she clinked her glass.
"Sister-in-laws," Koda laughed, downing his drink.
Everyone broke into laughter at the jabs, the amusement rippling through the group—except for Natalia, whose expression remained entirely unamused.
From there, they went back to the shots, chuckling and swimming and singing for another few hours.
But as the night wound down, four helicopters hovered in the air above Carrie's property towards the farthest end. Sending Vivian's hair and clothes ruffling around her as she stared up at the sky. Both Mimi and Gigi sat down their drinks heading down the slope towards the waiting helicopters, saying their goodbyes as they went for whoever was still conscious. Meeting the helicopter at the furthest back end of the property where a helipad sat, they easily got into the landed helicopter before taking off into the sky with the other three accompanying choppers, ready to take them back to their home.
Jiho tossed one last lazy wave towards the fleeing copters before looking down at the two women on the patio furniture who had fallen asleep together on the patio furniture. He couldn't imagine that these two could sleep through such noise. Crouching down, he took Darla's phone from her hand. Holding it over her face to open her phone. Going into her pictures, he easily began to delete Nala's risky photos from Darla's phone. Unable to help himself, he sent one or two to his own phone before making sure the images were completely erased from Darla's phone. After he was done, he left the device next to her on the couch as he lifted Nala into his arms, bringing her inside so he could leave her in one of the spare bedrooms to sleep more comfortably.
Author's note:
Three more to go. I finished my hair, but I think I hate it!