#but last month I just had a beachy road trip vacation! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

generallybarzy · 4 years

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smile like sunshine ii

Sunday: ~6.4k words,

summary: The first day at the beach was always overwhelming: the first sight of the ocean after driving, the first taste of salt in the air, the breeze in your hair, the first feeling of warm sand beneath your toes. And with Mat here? Oh boy, there are all new sensations you’re feeling. But, work always has to come before play, right?

an: Alright this is the first real chapter at the beach! Literally everything in here- every store, activity they do etc- is based on the beach trip my family and I take every year, but I won’t go into detail about location so you can imagine it’s anywhere you’d like :) The chapters after this might take a little longer, because I already had half of this written when I uploaded part 1. But I hope it’ll be worth the wait!

It’s the summer of ‘19, eleven years after you first met Mat, and things are bound to be a little different this time around.

The first night in a real bed after a long road trip always felt great- finally being able to just stretch and sleep for as long as you wanted after hours and hours of travel, getting well rested and ready to hit the beach and jump in the waves. You still had a few hours in the morning before you were able to check in to your rental home on the oceanfront, so- like every year- you were sleeping in to get as well-rested as possible.

Mat, on the other hand, wasn’t accustomed to your family traditions of vacation and was used to waking up early, so he came to his senses long before you. The first thing he noticed that morning, before even opening his eyes, was how cold the room was. When you dragged him in here last night, even though it was dark it had still been sweltering outside in the beachy summer air, so you must have cranked the AC on high before crawling under the covers with him. But, strangely enough, despite the room being chilly he was still warm under the thin motel bedsheets. This led him to his second, and most striking observation.

As he slowly phased into consciousness, he noticed the cozy mess of bare limbs tangled with his under the sheets, and the consistent hot sighs of air against his throat. He could feel an arm wrapped tight around his bare waist- his shirt must have gotten pushed up overnight- and a small, gentle hand resting on his chest. His own arms were around your frame, one hand resting ever so scandalously on your thigh. Your bare legs tangled with his, and couldn’t help but notice how warm and soft you felt against him. And, God, you smelled so pretty- was that weird? He peeled open his eyes to find you looking peaceful and comfortable, pulled flush against his body, tucked into his side with your face smooshed between his neck and shoulder. Fuck, this was 100% inappropriate, he knew. You’re his friend, and this just isn’t how friends behave.

But he still couldn’t bring himself to pull away from you. Not yet.

You weren’t awake yet, and he didn’t have the heart to wake you up when you looked so comfortable, so he lay for another hour or so, just looking at you and thinking. Was this creepy? This is definitely creepy, but he didn’t care. Here he was, eleven years later, with the first girl outside his family he ever cared for. The girl he knew for one month, missed for ten years, the girl who found him and shocked him and stole his heart eight months ago and had continued to surprise him every day since then. You had him so, so wrapped around your finger and you didn’t even realize it yet. Ah, but friendship. Friendship meant he shouldn’t kiss you, shouldn’t tell you and the world how much you meant to him, shouldn’t have his hand this far up your thigh, shouldn’t be tangled into your body like this. Shouldn’t love you. Mat didn’t realize how red his face was getting or how quickly his heart started beating until his eyes fell back to watching you, snoozing comfortably on his chest. Hell, you could probably feel his heartbeat.

He untangled himself from you and rolled to the other side of the bed, taking a breath to try and steady his heart and cool the fire inside him. Wow, the effect you had on him was crazy. This week was going to be crazy.

A knock at the door had him jerking up in bed, afraid of your family finding him anywhere close to you, staring at you with such adoration. “Up and at ‘em, kiddos!” He rolled out of bed at the sound of your father’s voice. “We got a beach to hit!”

He opened the door without even getting the chance to wash his face or fix his hair, still wearing the same wrinkled tee shirt, shorts and socks that he’s had on for 24 hours now, and greeted your dad, pushing out as much of a smile as he could.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Mathew. Great, I needed to talk to you.” He froze where he was in the doorway, and looked back to where you were still asleep in bed, hoping that maybe you’ve woken up by now and would come over to save him from whatever was about to happen.

“Talk?”

“Yeah. C’mon, I’m not that scary.” Oh, you’re not that scary? Yeah right. But Mat complied, closing the door to your room and standing out front with your father, wanting to stay on his good side for at least this week. The sun was already bright, it was already getting hot and humid out, and though he couldn’t see the ocean yet, he could definitely smell the seawater in the air. He couldn’t wait to get out in the water with you. “(Y/N) brought you along on this trip with us, so you must be somebody she cares about. What’s your relationship to my daughter?”

“We’re just friends.” He spoke almost too quickly, wanting to convince your dad, and maybe even himself, that there was nothing going on between the two of you. “We actually met here on vacation eleven years ago-”

“Ah, ah, I remember, kid.” He waved his hands to stop Mat in his story. “But it’s hard for me to believe there’s nothing more going on between the two of you. You might have been in the back seat, but I saw the way you stared at her while she was asleep on the way here.” Mat’s heart stopped. Oh God, oh God, oh God your dad saw him staring at you. You had fallen asleep long before he did, so for almost an hour he had watched you sleep soundly with your head on his shoulder. He didn’t think anyone could see, but he was also so immersed with your beauty that he must have missed your dad’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I look at my friends.”

“Um…” He was at a loss for words, reaching up to run his hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure if he should try to find an explanation or just tell the truth, but your dad’s intense gaze wore through him. There was no way he could spin this to make it seem believably platonic. “Shit… “ He mumbled under his breath, looking down at his socks and knowing he couldn’t lie to this guy. “Okay, I might like her a little more than platonically, maybe. But I wasn’t planning to say anything to her yet.”

“Don’t.”

“Wha-?”

“I don’t know enough about you yet, but if my daughter likes you enough to bring you along- and I know she doesn’t trust people easily- I’m sure I should trust you too. You seem like an okay guy. So far.” Mat felt a smile light up his face, it wasn’t much of a compliment, but it still meant a lot to him.

“Oh, wow, thanks.”

“But know that I’ve still gotta be a dad here. And if you say anything to her that disrupts her happiness, it’ll make things awkward and ruin the whole trip. So, nothing sneaky is gonna happen under my roof, especially not this week. Nothing. I’ll be watching you, Mathew. Making sure you don’t try anything. Making sure you don’t hurt her.”

Mat was quick to shake his head. “Of course not.”

“I don’t care how much of an All Star you are, if you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt her…!” Mat hadn’t realized how far he’d been leaning back against the door until it opened behind him and had him stumbling to get his footing.

“Dad, why are you interrogating my friend?” He looked back to you, standing there in your own wrinkled tee shirt and those soft pajama shorts, the ones his hand had been ever so slightly underneath earlier, your hair a tangled mess but still beautiful. Your soft hands found his arm, ready to pull him inside and away from the questioning. A little too late to save me, (Y/N), he thought, amused.

“Well, you can’t just bring a random boy along without me questioning him. He could be a murderer.”

“Yep, he’s definitely a murderer.”

“We’ll see.” Mat felt a hand clap his back and forced out a smile. Your dad didn’t like him? To be honest, he wasn’t too familiar with people completely disliking him off the bat. Oh well, he was just being a generic protective dad, and no one could blame him for wanting to look out for you. Mat knew he had nothing to worry about- he definitely wasn’t going to hurt you this week, or ever, so your dad’s threat- his promise- meant nothing to him. “All right kids, get ready. We’re heading to the house soon. And wear your swimsuits so we don’t have to change when we get there.”

You pulled Mat back inside by the arm, closing the door behind you and not missing the final look he sent to Mat. “Sorry about that.”

“No big deal, just… obligatory dad talk I guess. Threatening any guy that gets close to his daughter and stuff.”

“Well, if it makes it any better, I meant to get up earlier to keep you safe from him.”

“I appreciate the effort, but you were a bit too late.” He smiled down at you and you became increasingly aware of how close you were standing. But you couldn’t look away, his hair looked so soft, having probably just woken up a few minutes before you, and his lips had the slightest pout to them that you didn’t realize earlier. His eyes- oh, his eyes- were a soft, beautiful golden brown color you loved so much.

“I swear, your eyes used to be a lot more green.”

Mat’s eyebrows quirked up with a smile, intrigued. “You remember my eye color after eleven years?”

It was meant to be teasing, you knew that, but it was true, and it felt like such an intimate thing. You had just been gazing into his eyes for much, much longer than was appropriate for friends! Maybe it was dumb, considering he was a friend, but you still thought back to his “dazzling green eyes” and the way they sparkled so much in the sunlight, and you hadn’t really seen them that green for any of the last eight months of your friendship.

“Um...” You took your hand off of his arm, shaking away your thoughts and pointing to the bathroom, clothes in your hand. “I’m gonna go change.”

The next few minutes were full of small, sneaky glimpses back and forth. Mat had never been this interested in getting ready in the morning, but watching you brush your hair and brush your teeth was just so immersing to him. You kept catching yourself glancing over to Mat, and couldn’t bring yourself to look away. He was so pretty in the morning, his eyes were so sleepy and his hair was so soft and fluffy, and it took everything in you not to reach up and run your hands through it. You’d never seen him this early in the morning, and if you were being honest, you were sad you didn’t get to wake up before him and just lay and watch that sleepy face that you loved so much. You couldn’t help but watch out of the corner of your eye as Mat stripped out of his shirt before disappearing into the bathroom to change into some swim trunks. Wow. He certainly didn’t have those abs eleven year ago.

You watched Mat when he opened the bathroom door and ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly in the mirror. “C’mon, Mat! You don’t need to do your hair, It’s just gonna get messed up in the water anyway.” You heard him laugh, used to your teasing.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He pulled you into his side. “Let’s go, princess.”

Some say eleven is a lucky number- when you see 11:11 on a clock, you want to make a wish, even if you don’t believe in wishes, don’t you? So maybe it had something to do with magic, maybe the stars had finally aligned, or maybe you had just both ended up in the right place at the right time, but you never thought you would be here again with Mat, especially not after eleven years.

And there it was. The first sight of the ocean was always so refreshing. After a whole 24 hours of travel and waiting and being as patient as possible, the first glimpse of the ocean, the first taste of salt in the air, the first feeling of sand beneath your feet was your big reward. And being here with Mat… it was a whole new feeling, even more intense. Here you were, standing in the sand next to Mat with nothing but ocean in front of you and shoreline as far as you could see on your left and right.

You hadn’t seen Mat shirtless much during your friendship, maybe briefly, but now it was clear- he had certainly grown, shirtless and looking absolutely stunning with the sunlight shining off of his chest and abs, rubbing what looked like the bare minimum of sunscreen on his shoulders. Woah, woah, you really shouldn’t be staring- but really, he’s gonna get sunburnt, that’s all you were worried about! He caught your eye with his gleaming sunshine smile and nudged you, his hand clapping your bare back softly and falling to your waist to pull you into him and bump hips in a teasing way he would do often, only now it felt a lot different, considering you were both almost naked. But, if he cared, that twinkle in his eye didn’t give anything away. “Race you to the water.”

He beat you there, of course, running into the oncoming waves with no hesitation, but you had the satisfaction of watching him half trip and half get knocked over into the water with a yelp, and watching him come back up all wet with dripping hair and a bright smile, laughing at himself. You stood in your spot on the wet sand and watched, feeling as if time was going in slow motion with some cheesy 80s love song playing in the background as he threw back his head and lifted a hand to get his hair out of his face.

“Are you coming in or not?”

Honestly, you could have sat and watched him for hours- he looked so irresistible with drops of water rolling down his perfectly sculpted chest and abs and his hair dark and slicked back- but having the option to be closer to him was something you definitely weren’t going to pass on. Maybe it took you too long to respond, though, because before you could even nod and come in after him, he was scooping you up in his arms with ease, startling you and laughing at your reaction. And as much as you didn’t mind being this close to him, feeling the warmth of his body through the coolness of the water, you knew where this was headed. “Mat, let me down! Don’t you dare!” But he was a menace, and he lived to annoy you, so he rushed out with you in his arms and dropped you in the water- which felt especially cold on your skin after you had stood in the sunlight for so long. You sputtered and wiped the water out of your face, thankful he was generous enough to not drop you right where waves crashed down. “Mat!”

In the midst of bending over in laughter, he managed out a quick- “You took too long!”

You wanted to be mad at how much he was laughing at your annoyance, you really did, but how could you when he was all wet and shiny in the sunlight and those swim trunks were so low on his hips and wow those abs and that V going down-

You splashed some water back at him, laughing along with his contagious little giggles as you stood and tried to recompose yourself in front of him- adjusting your swimsuit and what not.

Mat couldn’t take his eyes off you as you stood in the water in front of him. You didn’t know how good you looked in that swimsuit, though he’d never tell you that. Friends shouldn’t just tell each other they look hot, right? No, that’s weird, of course not. Especially not on the first day of six more at the beach. He didn’t want to make it awkward. But you did look breathtaking. And the way you smiled at him while wringing out your hair was making him hot in the face.

“I can’t believe you’re still a ten-year-old, Mat.”

“Umm, excuse you” He scoffed and put on a mock offended voice. “I was actually eleven, for your information.”

“Yeah, ‘cause that makes much of a difference.”

“You should be glad I couldn’t lift you back then. I probably would’ve ended up drowning you.” He caught the look on your face and smiled. “Accidentally, of course.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure.” You laughed a bit, but were quickly thrown off balance by a particularly strong wave crashing into you from behind and pushing you into a rock hard body.

“Woah, there, I don’t actually want you to drown.” This was Mat. Mat’s chest you’d fallen into, Mat’s arms that had caught you, Mat’s hard abs you were bracing yourself against, and Mat’s hair that dripped water down against your neck. The world seemed to freeze around you as you gazed up at him, not even realizing yet that you were practically feeling him up. And there, in the sunlight, his eyes had changed from honey-colored to the same gleaming, dazzling green you’d first seen eleven years ago today.

“There it is!”

“What?”

“The green! Your eyes are super green in the sun!”

Mat was quick to laugh. “Okay, you’re really hung up on my eye color, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.” You reached a hand up to brush a wet strand of hair away from his eyes and back behind his ear, not even thinking about how intimate it was. “You have really pretty hazel eyes, Mat.” His mouth softened into a smaller, gentler smile, but before he could even respond, though, your younger siblings were barging into the water, pushing between the two of you.

“Move it, lovebirds.”

“Remember to keep room for Jesus!”

“Jesus Christ, shut up, guys!” You backed away from Mat, not wanting to give off the wrong impression. “He’s my friend.”

“Yeah, whatever. Hey, mom wants you to run to the store to get some food for the week.”

“Now? We just got here!” You looked over at Mat, who was busying himself with splashing in the waves, trying to steer clear of your family for the most part. He didn’t need to, but you appreciated his thoughtfulness.

“Actually, her exact words were ‘she might as well do something for me’.”

You sucked in a breath and tried to ignore how deep her words cut. And so family week begins, huh? Of course there’s gonna be some shade thrown. According to your mom, you’d practically abandoned her after moving to New York at such a young age. You could see where she was coming from, sure, but it was a little overdramatic. “We’ll go later, when it’s too hot.”

“Yeah.” Your sister shrugged and tossed you a pair of goggles. “We’re gonna look for cool shells or fish or crabs or something. Mat wanna help?”

“Help with what?” Mat perked up, having heard his name. You smiled at the thought of inviting Mat into your family traditions, and your siblings getting along so well with him. Your sister tossed a pair of goggles over to him.

“Oh yeah, he’s totally helping.”

A few hours passed by quickly, too quickly for your liking, and, though Mat got bored pretty quickly of looking for shells, he and your brother had apparently bonded when it came to annoying you and your sister- tossing chunks of wet sand and seaweed at you and grabbing your leg while underwater just to scare you. Ah, boys. It’d be infuriating if you weren’t so hopelessly in love with Mat.

And now, your parents had sent the two of you out on a trip to get enough food for one week. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but you had just gotten here and wanted to spend as much time as possible in the water. You could deal with this arrangement, though, considering it was the hottest time of day and you’d probably be burning if you were out there. Also, this just meant more alone time with Mat but, as much as you loved the domesticity of it, Mat really, really didn’t seem to be enjoying himself.

“I can’t believe they sent us to do this.” Mat whined beside you, slouched over on his crossed arms and pushing the cart halfheartedly.

“Well, I’d love to be on the beach too, but we will have to eat sometime this week.”

“I guess.” He followed behind you silently for a few minutes, still mopey as you picked certain things from a list off of the shelves. Just as you thought you were finished and could go check out, he perked up at something. “Oh! I forgot to give you this.” He pulled something small out of his pocket and opened his fist to reveal a tiny, spiral seashell.

“Wow, that’s cute!" You took it from him, trying to ignore the sparks that ignited in you when your hands touched ever so softly. “And it already has a little hole in it! I could put it on a necklace! Thanks, Mat.”

“No problem,” his face was warm and smiley, always happy to make you happy. “I just found it in the water earlier and thought you’d like it. You like pretty things.”

“I do like pretty things.” You caught yourself before letting your gaze fall over him, but God, it was true. He was pretty. You thought for a moment, looking at the cart of food before an idea popped up in your head. “You know what? Even if my parents forced us to go shopping, we’re gonna have some fun for ourselves.”

“Oh yeah?” He laughed a bit, always a welcome sound. “And how do you suggest we have fun in a store?”

“Well, first, I’m gonna find something to make this into a necklace. Then, there’s a souvenir shop across the street from here...” You trailed off and sent him a questioning look. “I’d really like to see you in some of the Hawaiian shirts they always have over there.” He smiled and shook his head at you, and you knew he was coming with.

“Only if you get one too.”

So, one thing you learned on your first day at the beach was that Mat Barzal hated the “adultness” of grocery shopping, but loved shopping when it was for fun. You loved the intrigued look on his face when you pulled him along into the store, with all its brightly colored merchandise and knickknacks for beachgoers and vacationers. You loved the way his eyes lit up as he watched the hermit crabs and their pretty hand painted shells with amazement and begged you to get one. And, most importantly, you loved the disgusted look on his face when you held up a busy, floral printed shirt and suggested he try it on. “No way.”

“Come on, you’d look good in it!” He’d look good in anything, honestly, but you couldn’t just tell him that. Friends, friends, friends. He shook his head and held up a less dramatic shirt.

“What about this?”

“Wow, I didn’t think you were one to play it safe, Mat.”

“I’m not playing it safe! That thing is…” He stopped and rolled his eyes, seeing your attempt at puppy dog eyes. Yeah, you could get literally anything you want out of him already, and those big, innocent eyes just had him melting on the spot. Like he realized this morning, you have him so wrapped around his finger. He wanted to be serious, but he couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the situation. “Do you really want me to buy it?”

“I won’t make you wear it ever again after this week, I swear! I’ll never bring it up again.”

“Fine.” He grimaced again at the pattern but couldn’t help the smile that played at his lips as he grabbed it from you. He would really do anything for you. He could imagine Tito laughing at him in his head, claiming he was just so whipped. Yeah, he decided, he definitely was. “But I get to pick something for you then.”

“Bring your worst, Barzy.”

At first, you had expected him to pick something embarrassing, or silly, or plain stupid looking, but this was Mat Barzal, you had to expect the unexpected. So when he came up to you with a big smile and his hands hidden behind his back, you didn’t know what he could have back there, but that smile meant it must have been something crazy. “You can’t back out after I show you.” It worried you a little that you couldn’t back out, but you were just as stubborn as him and you needed to see him in that Hawaiian shirt.

“Deal.”

“Alright.” He presented you with what he picked out with a little “Ta-da!” and smiled when your eyes widened at his selection. In his hands was nothing embarrassing, nothing strange like you expected him to get for you. It was a simple, beachy romper with a bow as a belt tied around the waist. It was actually pretty cute, although not generally something you would wear. “Do you like it?”

“Wow. Seriously?”

“What’s wrong?” He looked genuinely concerned, as if worried he’d done something wrong.

“Nothing. This is, like, actually cute. I thought you were gonna get me something embarrassing. I practically forced you to get a shirt you don’t even like, and now you’re being all nice, it’s kinda making me feel shitty!”

“Nah, it’s no big deal. The shirt’s not that bad. And, I just thought…” He paused and shifted his weight on his feet a bit. “Well, you look really nice in this color. And your birthday is in a few days. So, this can be your birthday look. Hey, you can't back out anymore. It was a deal.” You couldn’t stop yourself from curling your arms around his waist and hugging him, bringing your face into his chest. You didn’t loosen your grip until you felt his arms fold around you as well, and felt his chin dipping down to rest against the top of your head.

You gave his chest a playful whack. “You’re so stupid nice, Mat. You don’t have to wear the ugly shirt.”

“Oh no, I’m definitely wearing the ugly shirt.”

And he did.

The day passed much too quickly and the sun was soon setting on your first night on the beach, laying out a lovely backdrop for a family campfire down by the shore, just above the waterline. Mat had come out of the house, a bag of marshmallows in his hand and a smile on his face when he saw you laugh at his shirt. “What? I definitely rock this.”

“Can anyone really rock that pattern?”

“Me, duh.” He laughed and watched you run down to the water, your one piece swimsuit hugging your body as you smiled back at him for a moment and made his heart skip a beat.

You looked so pretty standing with your feet in the water and smiling over your shoulder at him like that, your hair was blowing around your face. He wanted so badly to bring you into his arms, hold you, tuck your hair behind your ears and take your face between his hands and just kiss you in the sunset. He felt a punch to his shoulder lightly and looked over to see your younger brother there. “Stop staring at her, you creep.”

Mat scrambled for an explanation, “I- uh I wasn’t.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Dude, shut up.” Your sister looked up from her phone “they’d be cute together.”

“Ew, that’s so gross…”

As your siblings started arguing back and forth, Mat moved aside to distance himself from them as politely as he could. It was nice to meet them and all, but he wasn’t sure how comfortable he was talking about his relationship with you. Anyway, he was here for you. Only you. He moved over to where your parents were sitting at what would soon be the fire and dropped the bag of marshmallows he’d gotten from the house. “You’re an angel, Mathew.” Your mom reached up to grab his face between her hands, startling him a bit. “I can see why my daughter wanted to bring you.”

“Oh, wow, thank you.”

“Mathew,” your father looked up from the sand and Mat worried he was going to bring up their conversation from this morning. The conversation about how Mat may possibly have more than platonic feelings for you- damn it, he hated that he caved and told him- and the conversation about what would happen if he hurt you. But no, your father pointed to the water. “It looks like (Y/N) wants you.”

Sure enough, you were standing there, waving for Mat and smiling at him again. He couldn’t bite back the smile on his face as he slid the shirt off of his shoulders and dropped it in the sand where your dad was already working on getting the fire started. “Well, do you need any help with the fire?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mathew,” your mother sighed with a smile, “Just go to her.”

The air was still warm, but the ocean was starting to cool, lapping cold against your ankles when Mat came up next to you. You could feel his arm graze against yours- he was standing that close to you, admiring the sunset- the pastel oranges and pinks lighting up across the sky hanging over the ocean. But none of the scene in front of you was as beautiful as what was next to you. The sun, low on the horizon, was casting it’s last rippling golden streams across the ocean and shining right across Mat, lighting him up like the Greek-God-like statue he was- bouncing off of the definition in his chest and abs, igniting his eyes with that dazzling green, and pulling that beautiful, gleaming smile onto his lips.

Wow.

“Beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is.”

He caught your eyes and you were done for.

Maybe it was the way the sun was bouncing off his immaculate bone structure, catching all the right places- the height of his cheekbones, the firmness of his torso, the color in his eyes- maybe it was the lack of space between the two of you, maybe it was the serotonin rushing through your veins, but in that moment everything beyond you and Mat standing in the water disappeared in your mind and your gaze fell to his lips- so warm and inviting…

Or maybe it was just hormones.

His hand reached for your arm, sparking up wildfires whenever his fingers danced across the surface of your skin. He parted his lips. “It’s so crazy that we’re actually back here after eleven years.” His whisper was soft, delicate, afraid to break the sweet moment.

“I know.” Your voice was shaky, nervous, and you took a moment to compose yourself, dragging your gaze away from the gorgeous man beside you and focusing on the waves lapping at your feet. “It’s so weird.”

“But it’s amazing.” His hand found it’s way down to yours, touching it softly, fingertips to fingertips but not exactly holding it. “You know, your family doesn’t seem as overwhelming as you made them sound.”

“Oh, no, my siblings are great. And my parents are great seperate, but together... just give it some time. They’re gonna snap.”

“And I’ll be there to take you away when they do.” He looked so genuine in the moment, no jokes, no teasing, just dead serious. He was here for you- you knew that. He sighed, turning towards the shore and pulling you along with a soft smile. “I think they got the fire started. Guess we should go join them.”

The last thing you wanted to do was leave your little bubble with Mat and rejoin your family, but when you settled down on the sand and leaned against Mat, it was all okay.

It made you feel butterflies, sitting so close to him, wrapped in a towel and sharing a blanket, feeling his thigh touching yours and seeing him all smiley and lit up by the light of the fire, the smell of salt in the air surrounding you and the sound of waves crashing behind you. It might have been a bit tense as your father questioned him, not quite knowing or trusting this boy their daughter brought along, but Mat easily blocked out any awkwardness.

When the conversation turned to Mat’s career, your mother seemed a bit concerned that he hadn’t gone to college. She was a sports fan, but when it came to you, she wanted your friends and especially boyfriends and potential husbands to be smart and successful. To her, that meant college, and just playing a sport wasn’t successful in her books. You knew Mat wouldn’t talk back to your mom, so you were determined to brag for him about all of his accomplishments. He may not have gone to college, but he was damn successful. “Actually, last year Mat got the Calder- he was the best rookie in the league.” You clarified for your mom. “And earlier this year he was in the All Star Game.”

“Oh, really? Congratulations, Mathew.” At least your dad seemed interested now. Mat smiled, obviously pleased to have your dad's approval. Approval? No, his respect, maybe. “You must be a pretty good player.”

“Thanks, sir.” He grinned to himself and looked over at you, proud he had seemingly gotten into good terms with your father.

“I’m sure I would’ve heard about you, but I stopped watching hockey a while back.”

“Why’d you stop watching?” It seemed like an innocent question, but it had everything coming to a stop. Mat had never been someone who killed the crowd at parties, so the awkwardness that fell over the group wasn’t something he was familiar or comfortable with. He saw the way your siblings immediately looked up from what they were doing as if something he said had sparked their interest. He saw the way your mother rolled her eyes and your father’s gaze narrow in her direction. He wasn’t dumb, and realized he must have struck a sour chord in the family drama.

Yikes.

“Things came up. Life happened, people happened. Couldn’t enjoy it anymore.” His voice went gruff, and your mom scoffed from across the campfire.

You decided, like always, to remove yourself before the argument would start. And you could feel it coming. “Okay… I think we’re gonna head inside now.” Blanket still wrapped around you, you dragged Mat to his feet and hurried to pull him away from the fire and up towards the house. Maybe you were holding him a little too close for friends to be, but he just always seemed to radiate heat and you were cold, so you couldn’t help the way your hand drifted up his arm. Okay, it may have been partially your fault. Maybe you should have told Mat about your parent’s mess of a marriage, or given him a list of topics to avoid, but obviously it was too late now. He didn’t speak until you were opening the back door.

“Shit, I messed that up pretty bad, didn’t I?”

“No, I probably should've told you about them. Sorry.” You laughed a little bit. “For future reference, my parents bonded over hockey and when they started hating each other, neither of them could enjoy it anymore. It sucks. So maybe don’t talk about hockey with them?”

“Great, it’s not like that’s one of the only things I know how to talk about.” You couldn’t help but laugh at the sarcasm dripping off of every word.

“Mat, believe it or not, you’re not just a hockey player. You’re a lot more than that.” You stopped outside your bedroom door and let your fingers glide down Mat’s arm, looking up at him with a smile. He was watching with soft, honey eyes and his pink lips- you swear to God- are just ever so slightly puckered, as if he’s begging to hear more praise. You didn’t want to let go of him just yet, and you’d do anything to keep the conversation flowing. “Hockey isn’t the only thing in that pretty brain of yours. You’ve got other interests. Other hobbies. And you’re just good at talking.”

“Wow,” He laughed a little bit, cheeks blazing. Mat’s heart was pumping fast. Here you were, standing so close to him with your fingers setting fires on his arm, smiling and complimenting him with that pretty mouth of yours, telling him he was more than he sold himself as- no one could blame him for feeling flustered. You could make him believe anything; just the way his name rolled off your lips had him starstruck, had him moving mountains for you. He was so hopelessly fascinated by you, but there was still that constant nagging of ‘friends friends just friends’ in his head, and he could only hope to make it through this week and come out with your relationship unchanged. He stood in the hallway, not wanting to say goodnight to you yet.

“And you really do rock this shirt, honestly.”

His smile gleamed, all white teeth and pink cheeks and scrunched up nose as he lifted his head in a burst of laughter. “Of course I do.”

“Alright, well, I have a bathroom attached to my bedroom so…” You finally let your hand fall off of Mat’s wrist, already missing the feeling of his skin under your fingertips. “This is goodnight.”

“Right.” Mat nodded before taking a few steps backwards to where his room was down the short hall. “Hey, at least we actually have seperate rooms tonight, right?”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

But, unbeknownst to you, Mat tossed and turned that night, unsure now of how to sleep in his own bed. No matter what, he just couldn’t stop thinking about the night before, when you had wrapped yourselves up in each other’s arms and fit so comfortably, so perfectly together, like two pieces of a puzzle. Mat would never admit the feelings he felt when first waking up to find you in his arms, how he laid and stared at you for almost an hour before getting out of bed, or how he everytime your eyes met you easily made him flustered and nervous, as if this was a first love- maybe it was. And he certainly would never admit the way he fell asleep tonight, on his side, with blazing cheeks and a racing mind, holding a pillow firm against his chest and pretending it was you.

The pillow wasn’t nearly as good as the real thing.

#here it is!#smile like sunshine #mat barzal #mathew barzal #nhl writing #nhl fanfiction #mine #op #fanfiction #imagine #fic

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yourescapetofiction · 5 years

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The Tides Have Turned-Part 3

A/N: This is my old work, The Tides Have Turned. It is a complete story that I am reposting on this blog so the work isn’t lost and can be found for those interested :)

Three

An entire month. Shit. What was I going to do? I sat alone with my thoughts, Nate’s comment ringing in my head. I felt myself get heated, I was angry at myself for letting this bother me. I am not going to let this ruin the vacation that I have been looking forward to for months.

The last few hours of the road trip passed fairly quickly, I kept myself preoccupied playing games on my phone and snapchatting with the guys. God I feel bad for everyone viewing Sammy’s snapchat stories, he was relentless. I smile to myself, starting to feel better.

It was about five o’clock and the sun was no longer high in the sky. We started seeing signs saying

NOW ENTERING SUFFOLK COUNTY

I felt myself begin to get excited as we weaved through the narrow streets and past shop after shop. This place had everything, Tiffany & Co., Ralph Lauren, Coach, you name it. I guess that’s the perk of being wealthy and living in this area. I felt lucky that we were even able to vacation here, our three families splitting the cost.

“Ayeeee there she is!” Johnson exclaimed and pointed through the front windshield. We all directed our attention to the direction J was pointing and I heard collective gasps of awe. Directly ahead of us was the beach house we would call home for the next month. We pulled up the long winding driveway that was marked with trees on both sides. Nate pulled to a stop on the circular driveway and threw the bus in park.

“Oh..my..God..” Cam exclaimed breathless. This was their first time joining the five of us on this vacation, but even I had to admit this place had the same effect on me. I round the back of the bus and grabbed my case out of the trunk and dropped it to the ground. I placed my hands on my hips and just stared in awe.

“Wow” I let out. This place was breathtaking. It was large, so much so that it made our houses back home look like dollhouses. It was made of stone and was surrounded by palm trees. There was a gate on the right hand side of the house that led to a trail which took you to a private stretch of beach.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Gilinsky slung his arm around me.

“Always” I smile at him. He grabs my case for me and we all file into the house, jaws hitting the floor. The smell of fresh wax hit my nose as I notice the shiny wooden floors. The living room was unique in that it had floor to ceiling windows letting in massive amounts of light. The house had high vaulted ceilings and a fireplace that was eye catching. It was made out of stone and tiles with a mosaic of the ocean. I ran my fingers along the smooth colored glass, savoring each moment here.

“Hello, we’re here!!” Johnson shouts, his voice echoing through the house.

“In here kids!” we heard Johnson’s mom shout from the kitchen. We all followed the sound of her voice until we reached the equally impressive kitchen. Granite counters and state of the art appliances dotted the kitchen, complete with a dining table fit enough for a party.

“We’re so glad you’re here and made it safe and sound!” she exclaimed wrapping her son in a tight hug. She proceeded to hug us all individually and we all exchanged pleasantries until she suggested we get settled into our rooms.

“Why don’t you guys head upstairs and get settled? When you come back down you can join us for dinner” she smiled wide.

“Dibs on the master!!” Gilinsky shouted racing towards the staircase.

“Oh no way G! You got it last time!” Johnson shouted, quick on his heels. I just laughed shaking my head.

“I guess we’ll all have to settle for the sub-par rooms huh?” I question aloud making the rest of the guys laugh.

“Well you know you can always bunk with me” Sam suggested wiggling his eyebrows.

“Yeah, when pigs fly Samuel” I pat him on the back in a condescending manner. I caught a glimpse of Nate who was watching our interaction intently. He had a look of caution in his eyes, he was trying to feel me out. I stared right past him.

“You know what? Sam why don’t you show me my room after all” I say linking my arm in his.

“Sure thing babe!” Sam grinned wildly. Nate’s jaw clenched tight, his fists balled up.

“Hey man let’s get a room” Swazz slapped his back distracting him.

“Uh, sure” I heard Nate grumble.

We made our way upstairs and to the second door on the right. Sam steered me inside and I gasped at the size of this bedroom.

“This is a guest bedroom?!” I squealed.

“Nah, baby, this is the master. We all thought you should have it” Gilinsky interrupted marching into the room.

“You don’t have to do that G” I start but he holds his hand up signaling me to shut up.

“Nope, no arguments. Just take it and enjoy” he says. “But there’s one condition,” he starts

“And that is?” I question raising a brow.

“You gotta let us hang in here with you. And at least spend one night, I mean come on look at this place” he started to laugh.

“Alright G, you gotta deal” I chuckle.

“We’ll let you get unpacked and meet you downstairs for dinner” Sam says before kissing my head and exiting the room.

I plop down on the end of the bed, it was king sized and had white sheets and comforter. A flat screen tv hung on the opposite wall, and floor to ceiling windows gave me a view of the beach. The whole room was serene and had a relaxed beachy vibe. I was in heaven.

“Dude we are NOT sharing a bed!” I heard Cam shout from down the hall. I poked my head around the door when I heard Nash whining.

“Well I’m not sleeping on the floor, so get used to the idea” he smirks at Cam. I giggle to myself and slip back into my room before they knew I had heard them. I knew I was in for a lot of laughs this trip.

I began to unpack my case and place my clothes neatly into the walk-in closet. I had Spotify open on my phone and placed it on shuffle. Music always made tasks easier. I was dancing my way over to the closet with my favorite evening dress in hand when I heard a soft knock on my door.

“Come in!” I yell cheerily.

“Y/n?” I heard a voice call out.

“In here!” I yell in return. I spun around to see Nate standing in the doorway of my closet, and I could feel my face fall slightly.

“Hey” I say trying to force a smile. I didn’t want him to know anything was wrong.

“Hey,” he smiled back. “I, uh, just wanted to make sure you’re ok” he stuttered.

“What do you mean?” I ask, playing dumb.

“You know, after that incident in the car earlier…” he trailed off.

“Oh that? Yeah I’m fine Nate, really.” I lied. Nate visibly relaxed as he let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh good. I was hoping you’d say that. I mean it was pretty obvious that I couldn’t say I would sleep with you” he laughed it off. Now my blood boiled. What was so wrong with me that the notion made him scoff? I was fuming on the inside, but I wasn’t going to start World War 3 and ruin everyone’s time.

“Mhm” I uttered through clenched teeth.

“Ok, so you and me-we’re good?” he asked one last time.

“Yep, I’ll see you at dinner in five” I dismissed him turning around trying to fight back tears.

Nate’s POV

I regretted the words as soon as they came out. She looked cagey, like she was protecting herself. She shouldn’t have to protect herself from me, I was supposed to be someone she trusted. But I had to go and open my big mouth, it seems as though I’ve made it worse. I was so desperate to know that things were okay between the two of us. I can’t bear not having the closeness between us.

I saw the look of pain in her eyes as she spun around fiddling with the clothes in her closet. I didn’t want to push it, or put my foot in it again so I reluctantly left and walked downstairs for dinner. I approached the dining table where Gilinsky’s mom made us all plates. The boys were already gathered around the table diving in and yelling obnoxiously loud. Nash tried to engage me in conversation about his latest Youtube video, but I just nodded my head not fully listening. I couldn’t get y/n out of my head.

About five minutes later she emerged from the staircase. She had changed her clothes, she was now wearing a breezy white dress. She looked incredible, which just added insult to injury. She walked over and sat down between Gilinsky and Johnson. G was so obviously flirting with her which drives me fucking crazy. He could get near any girl he wanted, why did he have to have her? I mean yeah she was a part of our squad but I always felt like she was my girl.

She was about to say something but Johnson’s mom interrupted. Damn.

“I heard there’s a little party at the cabana down the beach tonight. You kids should go, it sounds like a good time” she said. All the boys made eye contact eager at the idea of a party.

“Oh yeah I heard about those parties, they gather all the teens and young adults staying in the beach houses to get to know each other and chill” Johnson answered. For the first time since that dumb game I saw y/n’s eyes light up. The girl loved to dance and have a good time, I knew she would be going tonight. Which meant one thing; I am too.

3 hours later; dusk

Y/n’s POV

We had all finished dinner and our parents were going out for the night to meet up with people they went to college with. This left the house to us and we blared music as we pre-gamed for the party tonight. I was in the mood to forget the drama with Nate and just have a good time tonight.

We all walked down the path, shoes in hand, and made our way down to the beach. The night air was swirling my hair around my face and I felt my dress flutter around my knees. There was a glimpse of light off in the distance and we knew we were heading in the right direction. Gilinsky came over and grabbed my hand flashing me a wide smile. Even in the dim light I could see his pearly whites.

“I’m telling you man this song is gonna be a banger” Johnson was animated while telling the guys about a new song he and Gilinsky were working on.

“You gonna learn the choreography this time J?” Gilinsky joked.

“Fuck you man, you know I can’t dance unless I have a couple drinks in me” J answered back.

“Oh now this is something I have to see” I laughed out loud, causing J to shoot me a glare.

“Baby I got moves, just you wait and see tonight” he winked.

We started to approach the light that was emanating from lit tiki torches. The cabana was open to the night air, but had enough room for a dance floor, a bar, and a dj booth. We immediately went to the bar which was run by some college kids. Needless to say we weren’t going to have a problem getting alcohol on this trip. I downed a couple shots and spun around when Kenny shouted to me over the music “y/n you have got to see this!” I shifted my focus to the dance floor and saw Sammy tearing it up- like literally tearing it up.

“Homie’s all over the place” Nate laughed loudly. We all burst into a fit of giggles to see his sporadic movements on the dance floor.

“OH! Shit, I think he almost hit that girl in the face!” Nash exclaimed out of breath. Sure enough there was a girl clutching her cheek and shooting an oblivious Sammy a dirty look. I had lost it at this point, between the mixture of alcohol and Sammy’s moves I was finally having a good time.

“Hey baby let’s dance!” Sam ran over to me.

“Sammy, how much did you have to drink darling?” I giggle grabbing his arm.

“Nothin’ yet, why?” he answered. This caused us all to make eye contact and burst out laughing.

“W-wait, you’re telling me you move like that and you haven’t even had anything to drink yet?!” Cam explained in shock while slapping Sam on the back.

“Yeah, ha-ha very funny guys. I’m just gonna jellyfish out of here” Sam puckers his lips and shoots me a silly face before disappearing back into the crowd.

I turned around to see some blonde girl grinding all over Nate, his hands fisting at her hips. She was flipping her hair all over the place, and I saw him bite his lip. She turned around to face him and I saw him place a sloppy kiss to her neck, making her throw her head back in pleasure. That was the last straw for me. I’ll show Nate who’s not hot enough to sleep with. I marched over to where I saw Gilinsky talking with Kenny and grabbed him by his shirt. He was wearing dark jeans and a white button down that he kept unbuttoned down to the center of his chest. His dark hair was long and swept every which way. He looked shocked when I grabbed him aggressively and pulled him to the dance floor. When he realized what was happening he eagerly followed.

I parted the people in my way and found a spot for us on the dance floor that would be right in Nate’s line of sight. I started by throwing my arms around Gilinsky’s neck, his hands finding my waist. Our hips were swaying to the music, when I heard the DJ take over the mic

“Alright y’all, it’s about to get sexy up in hereeeee!” he called and immediately the sound of Ginuwine’s “Pony” filled the air. The bass was boosted and reverberated off the walls. Oh hell yes, this is it. I spun around switching our positions so I was backed up against G and his hands slid down my waist and gripped my hips. He pulled me close to him as I grinded against him intently. I reached a hand behind me and ran it through his silky hair giving it a little tug here and there. I could hear his breath hitch as he buried his face into my neck. Jack brought his hands up to my neck and slowly worked them down over my bust, stomach, hips, down my thighs and back again. I was really losing myself in the song and the feeling of Jack’s hands when I dropped my head back on his shoulder giving him better access.

I glanced up slightly to see Nate looking furious. I shut my eyes again feeling satisfied with myself, when I felt a rush of air pass me. I looked up and saw Nate was gone. The next thing I know there was a separation between Jack and I, and I heard a harsh grunt as a fist flew hitting Jack straight in the face.

“Nate!!” I shout.

Jack stumbled backwards clutching his face when anger flickered in his eyes. He lunged forward out for blood. I couldn’t move as I stood there in shock.

What have I done?

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