TO LOVE AGAIN

Chapter 8

Her POV



“Target Locked!” I whispered in my mind. I intentionally squeezed his hand, feeling a bit tipsy myself. Before Justine invited us here, my friends and I had already agreed to have drinks earlier this morning. He responded by gently pressing my hand too, and when he looked up at me with a meaningful smile on his lips, I knew we understood each other immediately.

A mischievous smile played on my lips as I went closer and sat beside him, Ely sat next to me, placing me between her and Jeric.

Jeric briefly stood up to reach for the beer bottle on the table, grabbed one, and handed it to Ely. “Thank you!” I heard Ely say to him. He got another one. “Beer?” He looked me in the eyes, offering it to me, but being the flirt that I am, I deliberately met his gaze with a flirtatious smile. I seductively smiled at him as I accepted the beer he offered, I deliberately touched his hand when I accepted the beer he handed me.

His gaze went down at our hands.

“Thanks,” I said in my most alluring voice.

He stared back at me and gave me an amused smile. He raised his own bottle of beer slightly in front of me and nodded his head.

“You're such a flirt!” I secretly nudged Ely's knee when she leaned over and whispered to me.

I glanced at Jerick and took a sip of the beer he gave me.

"I'm glad you guys decided to have your vacation here in the resort," I looked up at Justine standing in front of us with Nicco and Cindy. "How many days have you been here?" He added.

"It's our second day, but we're leaving tomorrow," Kyle replied.

I was looking at my friends, but my mind couldn't focus. I could feel Jerick's gaze beside me, and when I tried to glance at him, I wasn't mistaken. He was intently staring straight at me. Once again, I locked eyes with him, but my attention was diverted when I heard my name.

“How are you, Claire?” I turned back to Justine. I knew what he meant by that question.

"I'm doing good, Justine,” I smiled. “So freaking good. Thanks for asking, by the way," I answered.

I really do appreciate him. I took another sip of the beer in my hand.

"You look different," I stopped midway. I put down the beer I was holding and looked at him again. I smiled bitterly.

,"You're just not used to it. Maybe because I cut my hair, but it's still me, Justine," I said.

"And it looks so good on you, really. So glad you're okay now, Claire," he said seriously.

I felt the sincerity in every word he said, and I smiled back at him.

"Thank you, Justine. Glad that you like it, just for a change, you know," I tried to sound cheerful. I didn't want to sound sad, and why would I be? It's been months since it happened, and I've slowly been forgetting about it.

Everyone's attention shifted when their other friends arrived. Four girls and one guy. One of the girls immediately hugged the guy sitting on another single couch. Her name was Adrianne, and shamelessly, she kissed him on the lips, which he promptly responded to. He didn't mind the eyes watching them.

"Ugh! Get a room, guys!" I laughed as Jerick scolded them, but I laughed even more when Adrianne raised her middle finger at him, not breaking the steamy kiss with her girlfriend.

"Flirt!" Justine introduced their new friends one by one. I smirked when I saw how Nicco stared at this beautiful young lady, Gabby. I then glanced at Cindy, whose face couldn't hide her displeasure as Nicco put his arm around Gabby. I wondered what Cindy felt seeing Nicco openly interested in someone else.

Cindy and Nicco were a couple, and I couldn't blame him for staring at Gabby. Gabby was stunning, like a goddess. I guessed she was the youngest among us. The new arrivals soon went to shower and change because they were still wearing their bikinis, but Adrianne, even though he didn't swim, went with Mitch to shower. I doubted if they were just going to bathe, but that's none of my business. It's their life.

Apparently, Justine's friend group had its fair share of flirtation. After a while, they all came back except for Gabby, who had already fallen asleep, according to Nathan. Miggy suddenly stood up. He picked up an empty beer bottle from the floor and stood at the center.

"Move this table," he ordered.

"What nonsense are you thinking, Juan Miguel Fernandez II?" Adrianne teased him, holding her girlfriend, Mitch.

"Shut up!Why not help me instead? So, you'd be useful too!? All you know is flirting," Miggy retorted. Justine's friends had a unique way of teasing each other, very harsh but I admired how none of them got offended; they even laughed it off, including Adrianne.

Nicco and Jeric helped MIggy move the center table. Miggy immediately placed the empty bottle in the middle and started spinning it. We already had an idea of what game Miggy had in mind.

"Damn! Truth or Dare? Really?" Adrianne continued teasing him. The first spin landed on Nathan.

"Truth!" We all laughed. He hadn't even been asked yet, but he already had an answer. "And yes, I love her. Is that okay?" We all laughed at his friends' reactions.

"Don't get too excited, bro, damn it! There's no truth here, only dares, and we've known that for a long time, bastard!"

"F*cki you!" Nathan cursed at Miggy but the second just laughed at him.

"So, who's gonna give the first dare?" Justine asked.

"Of course, it's me! I'm the one who thought of this," Miggy said.

"Let's stop this, guys, let's just drink again," Adrianne teased him.

"You're such a killjoy, Adrianne! You damn party pooper!" Miggy complained to his friend before shifting his attention to Nathan.

"First dare, confess your feelings to Gabby,"I was just listening to them, but I quickly realized that Nathan is Gabby’s best friend, and from reading between the lines, everyone quickly figured out that Nathan had a secret crush on Gabby.

"Basic!" Nathan took a sip of his beer. "Later if she wakes up."

"Oh, that's unfair!" Justine's twin sister, Jazlyn, complained.

The bottle continued to spin, and dares were assigned to each person it pointed to. Everyone was goodsports. We all participated, no one refused, and no one got offended. We just enjoyed the game. The whole place was filled with jokes and laughter. Everyone's jaws would hurt from laughing so much. Until the bottle pointed to Jerick, as Ely was the last one to do a dare, and according to the rules, whoever did the last dare would give the next one pointed by the bottle.

"My turn . . ." I heard her whisper.

I had a bad feeling about what she was planning. I took a sip from my beer as everyone's attention focused on what Ely was about to say.

"Jerick, I want you to do a strip dance for Claire," she said. I almost spit out the beer I was drinking when I heard what she said. Is she my friend?! No! Best friend, Damn!

His POV

"Piece of cake!" I silently said in my head, smirking at Ely's dare for me. I downed my entire bottle of beer in one gulp, and when I placed it back on the table beside the couch where I was sitting next to Claire, the bottle was already empty.

As I stood up, the crowd around us started cheering. Can you guess whose friends had the loudest cheers?

I faced Claire. I looked into her eyes, and she met my gaze, her eyes fixed on mine as I began to gyrate, mimicking the moves of male strippers I had seen in movies. Her gaze shifted down to my body as she bit her lower lip. I'm not a dancer, but I know how to move. I excelled in front of her like a professional stripper. I grabbed the edge of my white tank top and slowly, teasingly removed it, never breaking eye contact with her angelic face. I grinned when I saw her struggle to swallow as her eyes remained fixed on what I was doing, her gaze slowly trailing down to reveal my bare chest.

I dropped the tank top to the floor somewhere.

The cheers grew louder. I reached for her hand; it was cold but soft, and I slowly brought it to the top of my abdomen, a move I shouldn't have done because it only served to awaken the sleeping beast below my belly button. Sweat began to form on both sides of me. Her cheeks turned pink when she sexily bit her lower lip again, her gaze now fixated on my chest and then locking on my eyes once again.

I released her hand, bringing mine to the buttons of my pants, but just as I began to unbutton them, I noticed the alarm in her eyes. It seemed like she was nervous, but I stopped when someone suddenly grabbed both my arms.

Miggy and Justine were laughing as they pulled me back.

"Bro, chill out! This isn't an adult film, hey!" Miggy exaggeratedly exclaimed.

I sat back on the couch, still beside Claire. I had already put on my tank top again. Our attention was now on what was happening in front of us, without a word or a glance exchanged between us, but we were aware of each other's presence.

It was Gab's turn, and Claire stood up. I glanced at where she was heading, finishing my beer and leaving it on the table beside me. I discreetly looked at my friends one by one before subtly standing up. No one noticed me leaving because all eyes were on Gabby, who was now dancing in front of Nicco.

I followed Claire and saw her enter the bathroom. I stepped towards the direction she went, stopping at the side of the bathroom door where I saw her enter. I leaned my arm against the door, intending to wait for her to come out, but to my surprise, the door suddenly swung open, and she grabbed the front of my tank top before pulling me inside the bathroom.

She closed the door behind us, leaning against it, but what she did next shocked me even more. She tiptoed and without warning, pressed her lips against mine; my lip rose in surprise. I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around my hips, switching our positions. Her back hit the door behind her, her lips parting in surprise when I deliberately pressed my hardening length against her.

"He wants you, babe," I said hoarsely.

"And I want him inside," she whispered, sending a devilish shiver down my spine.

I aggressively kissed her again.