Chapter 86 Chapter Eighty seven

Chapter 86 Chapter Eighty seven
Guess where I am right now?”
I pushed the phone inches away from my face as Sera’s happy squeal tried to burst my eardrums. We were on FaceTime, and I could clearly see that she was on the beach. 
“Ugh, a beach?”
She frowned, crossing her arms over her tiny bikini top. “That’s not a guess. You can see that clearly. I want you to guess where I am right now. Like,” she tapped her chin, “anywhere in the world.”
“Bali?”
I picked the first thing that came to mind because I’d always been terrible at guessing games. And she could be anywhere in the world, actually. She had money—her parents had money, Jackson had money; all that was left was to pick a destination. 
She paused, an eyebrow arching. Her face filled the screen the next second, showing only the top of her nose and her eyes. “Did Jace tell you?”
“Nope.”
Jace walked in then, carrying two glasses of juice with him. He dropped mine on the table and waved at the phone. “I would’ve told her if I understood anything Jackson said when he called me. But the network was terrible—and he kept saying something about how he wanted to drop out of high school and spend the rest of his life on a beach with you.”
Seraphine moved away, showing off a grin. “He asked me to marry him.”
“And you said no, right?” I prompted. “Because we’re in high school and you have your whole life ahead of you,” I added, in case she needed a reason to turn him down. 
“Well…”
“Sera,” I groaned as a shiny rock came into view, sitting on her second finger after the pinky. “You need to come back right now. I don’t know what the Bali air has done to you, but you should book the next flight back home.”
“Why?” She pouted. The camera angle changed, pointing away from her to the open beach. It took a minute, but I figured out what she wanted me to see when she zoomed in. 
Jackson, wearing the most colorful beach shorts, is playing volleyball with a bunch of others. I wouldn’t say playing, though, because he was doing a horrible job of it. 
“He’s pretty much good at one thing, and that’s that,” Jace whispered in my ear. 
“I can hear you.” Sera’s face came back like a jumpscare, one wide eye taking up the entire screen. Then she leaned away, holding her phone higher. “Isn’t he adorable, though? He had a tear running down his cheek when he got down on one knee during dinner last night. 
“Oh,” she sighed dramatically and batted her lashes, “I just couldn’t say no. Besides, what’s wrong with getting married now if I know he’s the one for me?”
“Everything,” I retorted without hesitation. 
She pursed her lips in only the way a puppy that’s trying to earn sympathy would be able to. Not that puppies can purse their lips, but yeah. “I thought you’d be happy for me, Grace. After all, you’re spending your holiday with Jace, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but it’s not the same thing.”
“Isn’t it? That’s your way of being happy, and getting married to Jackson is my own way of being happy.”
Oh god. 
I shut my eyes for a moment, digging my fingers into my forehead as a slow, annoyed ache began to throb. “Seraphine—” I started, then stopped. Who was I to judge her? She never judged me for anything I did—except the first time she walked up to me in the school cafeteria and practically condemned my fashion choices. 
She’s been my biggest cheerleader since then, whooping Georgia’s ass, standing up to Regina, threatening Jace—even though he’s been good so far—and hyping me up. 
I sighed quietly. “Who’s going to be your main bridesmaid?”
“Main bridesmaid?”
“Yeah. You’re getting married, aren’t you?” I asked. “You’ll need one. Unless you’re planning on doing a small—
“You’re not going to tell me I’m wasting my youth and that I should think about all the things I had planned for my future?” 
Uh…what? I shook my head slowly, squinting at her through the phone. “That was my speech. And you said your happiness was different from mine.”
Sera scoffed. “You’re supposed to talk me out of making a bad decision. That’s why you’re my best friend.”
“And I think you’ve drunk enough saltwater for one week,” I told her. 
We stared at each other for a few seconds through the phone, neither of us blinking…and then we collapsed into laughter at the same time. 
“You’re a good, horrible friend,” Sera said, wiping the tear from her ear, still giggling. “It’s a promise ring.” She held it up for me to see again. “I made him do a whole proposal because it’s my revenge for middle school, and we did get free champagne, but I would rather barf and eat it again before getting married to him.”
My eyes lifted when I felt Jace watching me. 
He took a sip from his glass and mouthed, “She would absolutely say yes.”
“I can hear you, Jace,” Sera warned. Her eyes rolled up like she could see him too. “Also, shoo. I need to talk to my best friend alone. No boys allowed.”
“You heard her,” I added. 
His shoulders slumped, but he walked out like the obedient boyfriend he was. 
“So,” Sera leaned in, her voice dropping into a whisper. “Tell me everything that’s been going on. Every single thing.”
I told her. 
After the eventful first meeting with my mom and Christopher, Jace had politely asked if she would let me spend a week with him. And my mom had agreed—without batting an eyelid. Christopher offered a small, cozy penthouse apartment he had, so we didn’t have to deal with Jace’s parents showing up. 
But the only condition was that we had to call both of them every single day. 
Which we did. 
And yesterday, I called my mom, but she was going out on a date with Christopher’s friend, Nolan. I didn’t tell Sera that part. 
It had been three days, and everything was going smoothly. 
“…and?” She prompted when I was done. 
I pursed my lips.  “And?”
“Anything else?” She asked. 
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about? Oh,” I snapped my fingers. “We’re going Christmas shopping today. We want to get a tree for the apartment and one for my mom, because we’ll be spending Christmas with her. Although Jace’s granddad invited us to his place to spend Boxing Day—so I guess it’ll be a busy holiday.”
Sera rolled her eyes.  “Boring.”
“Not as interesting as sunbathing on the beach.” I nodded in agreement. 
She sat up on her beach chair, a curious expression crossing her face. “Have you two gone past second base? Third base?”
I shook my head even slower this time. “Third base? What is that, baseball?”
“Ugh,” she rolled her eyes. “I still have a lot left to teach you, Grace Thompson. I’m asking if you guys have had sex.”
“Seraphine!” I chided, my face turning red instantly. “That’s too much information.”
“Why? I’m your best friend, aren’t I? And from the looks of it, you haven’t. Which—” she raised her hand. “Is absolutely fine. You don’t have to do it until you’re ready, and I’m very sure Jace respects that. However…” she wriggled her brows while my face flamed, “if you need tips, I’ll be more than happy to enroll you in my sexual education 101 class.”
I groaned, slapping a hand to my face.  “I am absolutely going to forget that we ever had this conversation.”
“You’re going to need me, my darling Thompson,” she continued, using a weird British accent. “You’re a knowledgeable human; far superior to most of us sub-par, but there are some things you lack insight into. And I—” she placed a hand on her chest, puffing it out, “—will be more than delighted to school you.”
I dropped the phone to cross my arms. “I do not wish to delight you. Also…also…also—” I repeated the words, forcing a crack in my voice, before freezing on the screen. 
“Thompson? Grace? Grace?”
Don’t blink. 
Don’t blink. 
“Stupid network,” Sera sighed. “I’ll call you back later, and you better not miss my class!”
I exhaled only when the call ended, and the screen went dark. That was close. As close as two nights ago, when Jace and I almost did it. His grandfather’s penthouse just so happened to have the finest collection of alcohol in a cabinet that was unlocked.
And I had a bet that I hadn’t cashed, and we had nothing to do, so I suggested playing a game of cards. If he won, he’d take the kiss back. If I won—
Neither of us had a complaint, but it went from normal cards to strip poker—my humble suggestion after three tiny glasses of whiskey. Underaged drinking, yay! 
Jace tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t be stopped. 
And unfortunately, he couldn’t say no to me. 
Except when he took his shirt off, I couldn’t stop thinking about how delectable he looked. Muscles, abs, and everything my dirty mind wanted at the time. 
I had an idea, and I was unstoppable. 
I found whipped cream in the kitchen, hid it behind my back as I walked back to the living room, pushed him to the floor, and straddled him. 
Then I proceeded to lick the whipped cream off his chest, while telling him how annoying it was for him to look so good. 
We kissed. 
Some of my clothes came off. 
And then he did the thing he did that day in the house when we had everyone over. And I wanted more—I was willing to go all the way, to fourth base, but he carried me to the bathroom instead, ran a bath and closed the door. 
I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 
When I woke up the next morning, racing to the bathroom because I was delusional to think hangovers didn’t exist for people like me, I had flashbacks. 
Embarrassing flashbacks that had me locking the door for thirty minutes, staring at my reflection in the mirror, and brainstorming ways to pretend that it never happened. 
So…
Even if we were going to have sex, safe to say it was off the table for now. 
“What’s off the table?”
“Oh my god!” I jumped, my hand flying out and knocking the glass of juice to the floor. “You scared me.” 
“Shit,” I cursed at the sight of the yellow liquid spreading, getting off the couch and hurrying towards Jace so that I could get a cloth from the kitchen. Or something to clean up. 
He stopped me. “I’ll do it.”
“It’s my mistake.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” he said softly. “But something’s going on with you, Thompson. I can tell. So,” he cleared his throat. “I’m going to get a mop. My grandpa has one of those fancy ones where you have to press a button, and then we’ll talk about what’s bothering you, okay?”
Not okay. 
Totally not okay.