● qυorra neverѕea ●

The striking reminder of how Slater's lips feel against my skin has me in a complete daze as I walk downstairs, carrying my half-eaten breakfast. Hannah and Lucas cut off their conversation as I arrive in the kitchen doorway, reluctantly entering the atmosphere of awkwardness to set my piece of toast on the table.

Lucas is the first to speak.

"I'm sorry for assuming that you guys did anything but sleep in the same bed," he says, looking incredibly remorseful, "I don't know what came over me. I know D like the back of my hand, and he'd never take advantage of you like that."

I smile weakly, "I'm sure it was a heat of the moment thing. I'm sorry too."

A firm body presses up against my back, radiating heat. I look up and behind me, finding Slater.

"You two look cosy," Hannah takes advantage of my more reasonable attitude towards them, biting her bottom lip as she sips from her mug of coffee mischievously, "It sounded like you were being exorcised in there, Quorra."

Against my own will, my cheeks flourish with colour. I walk away from the heat of Slater and into one of the stools around the kitchen island, "Not funny, Han. I was being tickled," I mutter bitterly as Slater sits down beside me, no doubt masking a smile.

She hums a response that tells me she isn't convinced.

"Alright, we have a busy day ahead of us," Lucas chips in, rubbing his hands together for warmth as Hannah perks up at these plans she must already know about, "There's some relationship reconciliation in order."

"When did you swallow a thesaurus?" Slater asks as his best friend snorts.

"There's a dirty joke in there but I'll save it for some other time," he waves it off dismissively as Hannah and I share a flat look, "We're heading out in fifteen! You two need to shower - separately: we're on a time constraint, lovebirds - and get changed quick. D, come with me, and Neversea, you go with," he stops mid-sentence to briefly kiss his girlfriend, "her."

The next fifteen minutes pass in a blur. Hannah forces me into her purple dress from yesterday (I've since deduced that there was never a post-post-graduation-party party after all) and adds a light layer of makeup to match.

"I hate you so much," I tell her as I look at the back (or lack thereof) of the dress, "Do you think I'm going clubbing?"

She laughs, "You didn't say that when I wore it yesterday. And no, not quite clubbing."

Here's the thing with Hannah and I: while she has a flawless body, she's not as emphasised as me in the upstairs department. So while this plum dress fit her slim figure immaculately, I've got an issue with tightness.

"You looked beautiful in it. I've got too much going on in the front and back; I look like a prostitute!" I argue.

I cross my arms over my chest entirely unhappy with her persistence in getting me into this dress.

"A beautiful prostitute, if you insist on calling yourself that," she attempts, giving me another once over, "I think you look hot."

I scrunch my nose up, "Since when did dressing your friends up like hookers for your former teacher become a hobby of yours?"

"It's fine," she waves me off, "You won't have the dress on for long anyway."

I gasp audibly, "Hannah Klein! Lucas has tainted you!"

She looks confused for a moment, before realisation dawns on her and she doubles over in laughter.

When she eventually catches her breath, she explains herself, "Quorra, I didn't mean that Slater's going to ravish you on the floor the second we step out," she starts giggling again mid-sentence, deepening my frown, "You'll get what mean I when we arrive."

A knock on the door tears our attention away.

"Ladies, we're heading out now! You guys ready?" Lucas calls, voice dulled by the wooden door.

I groan, taking one last look at myself in the mirror. It's hopeless trying to change now.

Hannah grins, smoothing down the front of her form-fitting dress before opening the door to the two men outside. As soon as I catch a glimpse of Slater, I dart over to him and cover his eyes, appreciating the silver heels on my feet that add a good three inches to my height.

I don't even take note of the smart attire he is clad in, too busy trying to hide my outfit from view as Slater tries to pull my hand away in confusion. Meanwhile, Lucas is gaping at me.

"Oh my god, Neversea! You look hot," he compliments.

"Lucas!" Hannah and Slater chorus with equally irritated tones.

He only shrugs, "She does. You know I only have eyes for you, babe," he comforts Hannah.

"I wore that dress yesterday, you know," she comments, looking unimpressed.

He smirks widely, "And I made sure I let you know how much I appreciated you in it last night, no?"

"Ew ew ew," I gag, not needing to fake it.

Still blinded, Slater reaches around my waist. When his fingers graze my bare back, he retracts them abruptly.

"Wait," he freezes, perfect eyebrows furrowing, "Are you... naked?"

"I may as well be!" I snap, blushing crimson as Hannah sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Alright, let's get going," Lucas interrupts my embarrassing moment, gently taking Hannah's hand in his and walking downstairs.

I cringe at the thought of Slater seeing me in this, but suck it up and remove my hand after making him promise not to make me feel worse about it.

He grabs my hand the instant I remove it, holding it in his. After blinking to adjust to the light, he takes me in, slowly dragging his eyes down my figure and then back up. I can tell he's trying not to linger in certain places like the gentleman he is, but even Hannah wasn't able to help it when I first put this dress on.

Leaving him speechless, I decide not to let him stare for any longer and pull him down the stairs, feeling incredibly exposed.

"Wait, are you sure you want to go out in that?" he asks me when we finally catch up to the other two.

I let go of his hand to press the backs of my hands to my cheeks. Oh god, this could not be more mortifying. Does he not like it?

He must decipher my thought process from my open-as-a-book expression.

"It's not that I don't like it," he saves himself, eyes drinking me in once more, "I just think you'll get cold. Where are we going, Lucas?"

He directs the second half of his sentence to his best friend, who is unlocking the door with a grin.

Lucas opens the door, letting in a chilly breeze, "Don't worry, our destination is definitely heated."

With a grim expression, Slater pulls me into his side by the waist and follows the other two out the door.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

◈ѕlaтer нarтley◈

She is beyond beautiful. It isn't enough to call her that. She isn't dressed for comfort, or for confidence, or to impress - it looks like she's dressed to attract all eyes within a hundred metre radius to her. She looks, for lack of a better word, sexy.

I steal another glance at her beside me in the car, trying to make my peeking unnoticeable as she looks out the window at the passing houses. The purple dress hugs her upper torso tightly, flaring out at her waist before ending mid-thigh. I can't see the exposed back of it right now, as she leans against the car seat, but I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I saw it for the first time. The openness has me questioning what she has on under this dress, or if she has anything on at all.

The thought leaves my mouth dry.

Quorra turns around, as if hyper-aware of my gaze. She smiles, her blush finally starting to fade, even though the tips of her ears are still scarlet, "Why are you staring at me?"

Lucas snickers in the front, so I shoot him a warning look in the mirror. He mimes zipping his mouth closed, but shares a smirk with his girlfriend regardless. He's really influenced her, hasn't he?

"I was wondering if you were cold. Are you?" I ask, hoping my alibi is convincing.

I remove my blazer and drape it over her shoulders before she responds, adjusting the collar to my button-up.

"You don't have to-" she tries to take it off so I wordlessly rest an arm over her shoulder to keep it on.

"Thank you," she mumbles.

For the remaining five minutes of the car journey, I pretend that I don't notice Quorra checking me out. I look out the window and brush my free hand across my jaw, trying to keep my smile at bay. She is adorable and doesn't even know it.

When we arrive at our surprise destination, I nearly choke on thin air.

"A spa?" Quorra exclaims incredulously, "God, is that what you meant earlier, Hannah?"

Hannah turns around and grins at my angel as I tilt my head in question.

"Meant by what?" I ask, narrowing my eyes as Quorra completely ignores me, looking like she regrets ever bringing it up.

She mumbles a 'nothing' under her breath. My interrogation is cut short when we start to exit the car, so I mentally take note to bring this up later.

"What is your reasoning behind a day trip to the spa, Lucas?" I ask as he locks the car and we all head towards the grand entrance of the spa.

Its a white marble entrance intricately accented with shimmery gold adornments. The cursive lettering that spells out 'Drift Away Spa' is enough to tell me that this place is expensive, if the small fountains either side of the entrance that spout water (probably holy) aren't already a clear indication. I hear my angel gasp in awe at the sheer elegance radiating from this place. I can almost see the fanciness dripping off every decorative column as we enter the sleek spa.

Lucas snickers, "Well, I was trying to think up a place where you guys could get naked and release the sexual tension between you. They also have free wine if you book in groups."

I disregard him, draping an arm around Quorra's waist and rolling my eyes at him as he informs the front desk that we've arrived.

"Don't listen to him," I mutter against her ear as she looks up at me helplessly.

I look around, admiring the interior. Every surface and article of furniture sits upright in a plethora of alabaster, pearl, eggshell, cream, and ivory, contributing to an atmosphere of cleanliness and purity. The floor is the only stark contrast to the heavenly white furniture, instead a glossy black marbled with greys and golds. It nearly squeaks under my feet as we walk to the front desk.

"Alright, here's a brief schedule for the day's activities," the worker behind the desk informs with a dazzling smile, not a hair out of place and her smart uniform ironed flat, "Your first booking isn't until 1pm so you have some time to explore the spa yourselves before making your way to this room."

She points a manicured finger at a coloured room on a map in front of her, handing us the entire leaflet afterwards. Judging by the multiple folds in the leaflet and the spiral staircase I see in my peripheral vision, I know we're going to be using this map a lot. I smile gratefully at her as we walk away, keeping a hand at Quorra's waist and the other at my side, holding the leaflet.

We leisurely follow Lucas and Hannah, who start to explore the Brobdingnagian site excitedly, leading us up a set of stairs.

I glance at the pretty girl beside me momentarily, knowing something is off with her the second I catch her worrying gaze.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" I ask, hoping to lift her spirits.

If anything, I seem to make her even more conflicted.

"I don't know," she mumbles as I try to imagine her level of mental torment, "Everything's so... normal. It's weird having you here when two days ago, you weren't. You are completely different yet exactly the same as I remember you. I just need to get used to this again."

I don't know whether to smile or frown. It makes me happy to know that she still possesses a decent level of trust towards me and is comfortable being open about how she feels, but at the same time, it disappoints me because I know it will take a lot of convincing and expiation on my part to fully gain her forgiveness.

We continue to ascend the staircase, but I focus my attention on Quorra over the beauty of the second floor (despite the simultaneous gasps of Hannah and Lucas in front of us).

"I know things are weird right now, and that is expected. I know you don't forgive me completely yet, and I know you might never understand why I did what I did, but I'm just glad that I can be here beside you right now. Why don't we just enjoy the day, and question what on earth is happening between us tomorrow?" I suggest, not wanting her to blight this scarce opportunity at an otherworldly spa, "I promise I won't dodge a single question."

A second later, she's making my heart skip a beat with a gorgeous smile.

"Alright then. Just for today."

●（=｀～'=） ●

I was debating on whether to update this tomorrow since it's not been a week yet, but decided not to prolong it any further. Hope you enjoyed!

One of the next chapters will be the last! However, I will write an epilogue. This story has actually turned out way longer than my other two, which have been 30 chapters each. I like it - gives me more time for plot twists and character development, but I also hate it because it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to these characters. I'm way too attached!

Any predictions for the following chapters? I'm wrapping up chapter 51 right now hehe.

Love you with all my heart.

Over and out,
Agent Spud 🥔