Within hours of Oscar's stitches having been removed, they'd been ushered onto the family's private jet—the very one Oscar and Max had their sushi date night on. And a few hours after that, along with a short drive, they were lounging under a big umbrella, on the pale sands of a beautiful, sunny beach, in a place that Oscar couldn't remember how to pronounce.

"How're you feeling?" Max asked, ducking back into the shade and sitting down next to Oscar. He set a huge, fruity-colored drink, with its own little umbrella and neon blue straw, down for the punk as well. Max wasn't really feeling great himself, but he was trying to not let his sour mood be that apparent. "That's non-alcoholic, by the way, but the barista assured me it was good," he added, sipping on his own drink.

Oscar took a sip as he stared out at the pristine bluish green water, the kind that he'd only ever seen in pictures or on shows like Bro-Island. The drink was tart and sweet, not bad for a kids drink.

The mafia prince sighed. "Look, I'm sorry for being short these last few days...er, week," he said as he squinted at the sparkling waves. "It's not that I didn't—or don't—wanna enjoy this vacation with you or anything, it's just...you know..."

Oscar propped his arm on his knee as he leaned back in the lounge. "What do ya want me to say...?" The punk wondered as he lowered his sunglasses enough that he could see over the top of them. "It's fine, don't worry about it," Oscar said with a grin before pushing his glasses back up and taking another sip. "Just... ya know. Try to enjoy your vacation... maybe?"

That grin of Oscar's made impossible for Max not to smirk. He took a purposely loud sip from his straw, chasing it with a commercial-worthy "Ahhh..." before adding, "Bet." Setting down his drink, Max stood up. "Come on. I wanna go rent some Sea-Doos..."

"A see-what?"

But Oscar's curiosity was already hooked, and he left his comfortable lounger and the shade behind as he followed Max down the beach to a pier with what Oscar could only describe as...

"They have water motorcycles?!"

Max's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger, though he didn't answer Oscar until after he'd spoken to the attendant and finished their short transaction. Then he strode up to the punk, lifting his hand to put a rubbery elastic around Oz's wrist with a short cord and a set of keys dangling from it. "They're called jet skis, but yes. Water motorcycles," Max laughed. "And keep this on. I'm serious. Otherwise you'll be swimming a marathon to catch the thing after the first time you fall off."

Oscar smiled, unable to contain the level of excitement rushing through his veins, as he got onto a jet ski for the first time. After the guy running the rentals gave him some first-time pointers with the little English he knew, they were off. For Oscar it was the oddest mix of familiarity, it was like his bike and at the same time nothing like it at all. The ability to race across the water the same way he raced down a street, to mix his love for speed with his love for water, was the best hands down.

And as always, once he'd gotten comfortable driving the jet ski, he started thinking up new ideas of what he wanted to try and do with it.

"Wanna race?"

"Absolutely," Max chimed, bringing his jet ski around behind Oscar's so that he could line up beside him. "From here, over to where the girls are," he said, shading his eyes as he pointed down the beach to where he could just make out who he knew was his mother and two sisters. "First one who passes where they are wins."

"Right, on..." The punk nodded, surveying the distance before he started to count down. "On your mark... Get set... GO!"

Going from just drifting in the water to shooting across it was an absolute blast. But to make the wind whipping by and the sound of the engines even more fun, was the dramatic effect of the splashing. And of the bit of air they caught cresting every wave. In a lot of ways, racing a jet ski probably felt more like racing a dirt bike than it did racing through the streets of Kingsport.

Thanks to experience, maybe, Max managed to make it to their imagined finish line just before Oz, and slowed down to come back around, raising his hands in the air to celebrate his victory. "Close, but no cigar, Buddy," he teased, whipping his wet, dark red waves out of his face.

"That looks fun!" Elise called, from where she and Angela were wading, thigh deep in the water.

Even though Oscar didn't win, he had still learned that if he made a hard turn while coming to a stop he could get some pretty good splash action. He was admiring the glittering drops of water across Max's tanned skin when Elise caught his attention and he rode over to her and Angela.

"Well, I don't usually pick up hitchhikers..."

Elise laughed, rolling her eyes. "I don't usually ask for rides from strange guys."

"Marc, you guys should let us have a turn," Angela suggested as Max pulled up beside Oscar again. "Instead of hogging all the fun."

"You sure?" Max asked. "I thought the last time you drove one of these you complained for at least an hour afterwards about how sore your arms were," he added, in drew sibling fashion.

Angela splashed him in response, to which Max revved the engine, turning enough to send a bit of water back at her while he snickered.

"Marc!" Angela laughed, despite throwing, "You're a prick!" in there as well.

"I don't think I wanna actually drive one," Elise said.

"Oh, yeah no, he's totally a prick," Oscar agreed with a grin that said he wasn't much better.

"Well, you're in luck because I wanna keep driving." Oscar said, leaning over and reaching out his hand to help pull her up. Of course, Elise was in the cutest bikini in Oscar's opinion, though he knew he might have been a little biased.

"Don't worry, Angie! I'll find a rope for you and be right back!" Oscar teased, though knowing Oscar, it was just as likely that he would make good on that promise.

"I think I'll pass, Oscar, but thanks!" Angela said, waving. "Just be careful! It does hurt if you fall off when you're going fast!"

"We'll be careful," Elise chimed, wrapping her arms around Oscar's waist.

Max did his best not to fixate on how close Oz and his sister's bodies were. He knew she'd ridden with Oz on his motorcycle before, and this wasn't much different... Though a little safer, at least. Plus, his punk looked like he was having a really great time, and Max couldn't be grumpy about that...

The rest of the day was perfect, or as close to perfect as a day could get. The three of them sped up down the beach, and a little beyond where they probably should have gone, exploring the area for things to do tomorrow.

Max spotted a waterfall that looked like it had a zip-line across it, which of course sounded great to Oscar, though required a little coaxing to get Elise in on it, and after that, Elise made them all pose for selfies by the waterfall. Finally, Max felt like he'd loosened up, and he wasn't as upset about not being in Kingsport to deal with work, and the Dinas, and everything else... Until it came time for checking into their hotel.

"...Wait, what?" Max blurted without thinking, when his mother handed a key card to Elise, telling her that was the one to her and Oscar's room.

The three women looked at Max, and while Elise looked concerned, the other two just looked confused.

"What?" Gloria asked.

Max's brain was blank for a second before he cleared his throat and shrugged. "Oh, I figured we were each getting rooms. Thought Oz might want his own."

His mother raised a brow and tilted her head. "You've brought girlfriends before, and I don't remember you asking for a separate room for them."

Angela nodded, clearly able to recall said vacations as well.

Max shrugged. "...Right."

Gloria handed Max the keycard to his room and he took it, flicking the edge with his thumb.

"Right, so did we decide when dinner sounds good?" Gloria asked.

"I think six-ish." Angela said. "I want time to shower and get ready."

"That sounds fine," her mother agreed. "I'll call ahead and make the reservations. We'll meet here in the lobby at a quarter till six."

Everyone agreed and then dispersed to their prospective rooms. Oscar caught a look from Max that he was unable to read just before he followed Elise into their room. It wasn't fair, he and Max should be sharing a room, and if Max would just—no, he couldn't let himself go down that rabbit hole. He didn't want to be angry at Max. He didn't want to ruin their perfect day.

"Mind if I shower first?" Elise asked.

"After you," Oscar replied as he fell back onto the bed—the only bed. He was still trying to salvage his mood, but all he kept replaying was the look on Max's face before they'd gone to their rooms and what his mother had said.

"You've brought girlfriends before."

He didn't want to be mad at Max...

But he was.

Elise wasn't in the shower long. And wherever Oscar's mind was, it must've been pretty stuck there, because it took her saying his name twice before he blinked and sat up.

"...Did you fall asleep?" she asked, giving him a soft smile. She'd put on a band shirt and some shorts after getting out of the shower...an old shirt of Oz's that he'd given her. His idea. The girls he'd known growing up seemed to have a thing for borrowing and or stealing clothes from their boyfriends. And, in all honesty, seeing his shirt on her gorgeous frame hit different.

Oscar slowly shook his head. "No," he replied, rolled to the edge of the bed and got up, while she finished scrunching the extra water out of her dark hair with a fluffy towel that had the hotel's gold logo embroidered on it.

"Oh...well, shower's yours," she said, stepping out of the way of the bathroom, but clearly taking the opportunity to admire Oz's bare upper body.

But before he'd fully passed her, he stopped. Fuck it, he thought to himself and turned bringing them within inches of each other.

"Should we just do it?"

Elise's eyes went wide and her cheeks immediately flushed. "Uh-" she finally managed before a breathy, nervous giggle escaped her. But it wasn't all nerves. There was excitement and curiosity in her dark eyes too. "Are you serious?" Elise whispered, before biting her bottom lip, gaze raking over the tattoos on his shoulders and ribs before flicking back up to his face.

"Yes?" He looked her over and stepped in a little closer. Now that she hadn't rejected the idea outright, he knew that he'd been right. She'd been thinking about it too. "I mean, real talk. If we do it, then it won't be, like, a thing anymore... We won't have to keep thinking about it. You know what I mean?"

She nodded. "Yeah...Because I do think about it sometimes...but...it wouldn't be fair to Marc...or to either of us. Would it? I really like you Oz, but we don't actually belong to each other, and as long as I get to be your friend at least, and enjoy hanging out with you sometimes, then...I can be okay with just being that. Just friends..." she said, an odd mix of disappointment but also sureness in her tone. "Can you?"

"Mmh," he chuffed—his expression like a cat being told to get off a countertop.

"...Besides, what would we tell Marc? Because I'd rather us be able to be honest with him about anything that's happened between us."

"Be honest with him? Oh, you mean how he's so honest with everyone else?" The wicked smirk on his face faded and he cleared his throat as his gaze dropped to the cheap hotel carpeting. "Nothing would be worth losing either of you..." His gaze lifted to meet Elise's. "But it would just be this once."

Elise placed a palm on his chest to balance herself, and leaned up onto the balls of her feet. She pressed a kiss against the hinge of Oscar's jaw. Then his cheek, then his lips. It was a heated kiss. Feverish, almost, and she didn't resist at all when Oscar's tongue pushed its way into her mouth, but as soon as they broke their kiss for air, she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. "No, it wouldn't be..." she said, reluctantly pulling away and giving him an apologetic smile that easily turned playful.

"You don't know that!" Oscar whined childishly, making her laugh.

"Your turn to shower," Elise reiterated, before briefly glancing down at the bulge in his swim trunks. "And maybe make it a cool one?" she teased, despite being just as turned on, and knowing she'd have to go unsatisfied as well.

"Fiiine..." the punk growled out before stalking into the bathroom and half heartedly slamming the door.

I know some of y'all might have been worried, but I hope y'all are proud that Oz and Elise decided to hit the breaks~! x3 The right choices can be the toughest sometimes.

Now, who's looking forward to some spice next chapter for our good, bad boys~?🔥🙌

Shout out to oddtea !  Thanks so much for your support!!