Lᴀsᴛ Kɪss (3)

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Conrad swam across the pool. Swimming down into the water before coming back up. His eyes landing on Liz who sat on the edge with her feet in the water. He approaches slowly and stands to his full height in front of her. His arms resting on the sides of her, being sure to get no water on her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Liz looks down at him, "How much I'm dreading tomorrow."

"You don't have to go." He says with a slight shake of his head

"I don't want to upset my mom." She sighs

He wanted to argue that she shouldn't be upset in the first place, but could sense her uneasiness. Conrad looks down before looking up again, "It'll be over before you know it."

"I hope so." She mutters as she picks at her nails. Conrad's flicker across her face. Her eyes held a certain softness to them that was only there when she was tired.

"You didn't have to come out here. You could've gone to bed."

"Is that your way of saying I look like an exhausted mess?" She jokes

Conrad smiles, "You look sleepy. Beautiful, as always, but sleepy."

Liz smiles softly, "I wanted to be with you."

Conrad's eyes soften as Liz stares back at him. She blinks slowly and a soft yawn escapes before she can stop it. Conrad laughs as she covers her mouth, "Alright, come on, sleepyhead."

"You can still swim. I'll be fine." She says as he swims away and pushes himself out onto the edge. He walks over to the chair and grabs his towel.

"You might fall asleep sitting right there." He laughs. As she stands up, he walks over with his towel and kneels before her to dry off her legs and feet. Her eyes follow him as he stands to his full height. He smiles down at her before kissing her forehead, "Come on."

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Liz woke up the next morning to complete chaos. Everyone ran around trying to get themselves ready for the wedding that was happening in a few hours. She was barely able to leave the bathroom after her shower before someone else was rushing in.

Every few minutes someone was rushing back and forth in front of her door.

"Watch out, watch out, best man coming through."

"Blake? I need socks, man."

"No, you're not borrowing my socks."

Liz rolled her eyes as she bent down to fasten the clasp on her shoe. Conrad walks in completely dressed, "You almost ready?"

"Yeah." She mutters as she sits up, "Just my shoes."

"Okay, can someone find Redbird socks?"

Conrad chuckles as he gets down on his knee to slide her other shoe on. He fastened the clasp and Liz smiles, "Thank you."

"Of course." He says standing up. He holds his hand out for her to take and helps her up from the bed.

Dakota knocks on the doorway before stepping in, "Yo, have you guys seen Jere?"

"No." Liz says

"No, why?" Conrad asks

"Dude, he's like, missing." Dakota says

Liz frowns, "What do you mean missing?"

Steven rushes in, "Have you guys seen Jere?"

"No, what the hell is happening?" Liz asks

Steven huffs and clenches his jaw before shaking his head, "Belly told him last night that she still has feelings for Conrad."

"What?" Conrad exclaims

"I don't know. She told him last night and now he's gone. No one can find him."

"Why the fuck would she tell him that?" Dakota asks

"Fuck, if I know, bro." Steven says, "I don't know exactly what she told him, but that's what she told me. No one can get a hold of him."

Conrad sighs as he scratches his brow, "Okay, I'll- I'll go look for him. You guys just go to the country club. Maybe he'll turn up there. I'll call if I find him."

"Okay." Dakota sighs as Conrad kisses Liz's forehead before walking out

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Conrad had been driving around for a while in search of Jeremiah. Nothing had clicked until he looked at the note Laurel had asked him to give to Jeremiah. Now, he was walking up to his mother's memorial. Immediately, he sees Jeremiah sitting at the bench.

As he steps closer, Jeremiah huffs, "I'm warning you, don't come near me right now."

"Jere, we don't have time for this. You're getting married. Come back with me."

"Fuck you." Jeremiah spits

"What's it gonna take, Jere? Do you want to hit me?" Conrad asks, "You have no reason to be pissed at me right now. I didn't do anything."

"You sure about that?"

"I am and Belly's waiting for you. Don't keep her waiting on her wedding day."

"Shut the fuck up and don't talk to me about her." Jeremiah says jumping up and pushing Conrad back

"What the fuck are you mad at me for?" Conrad says

"Because it's always you. With Dad, with Belly. You're always the first choice and I'm the one who gets treated like shit."

"I don't feel that way about, Belly, alright? I never have." Conrad says, "I don't know where the hell any of this is-"

"So, you knew?" He exclaims, "You knew and you didn't say anything?"

"I knew because of Liz. It's the whole reason why she didn't go to the bachelorette party." Conrad says, "She's been pissed at Belly. But I can assure you there's nothing there. Not for me."

"And yet, she still wants you." Jeremiah says, "You get to treat everyone like shit and still get off scot-free."

"Who have I treated like shit? What are you talking about?" Conrad asks with furrowed brows

"You've never paid any attention to Belly, you disappear and we barely hear from you for four years, and before any of that, you treated Liz like shit." Jeremiah says, "You didn't even have the balls to tell her you loved her, you made Dakota do it and even then you still backed out."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Do you even actually love her? After all the shit you put her through?"

"I know about Cabo, you dick." Conrad spits. Jeremiah's face hardens, "I've never been with, looked at, or even thought about being with another girl. I didn't hurt her and use a fucking marriage proposal as a way to make up for the shit I did. So maybe I should be the one asking you if you actually love Belly or not."

Jeremiah's fist then collides with Conrad's cheek. Conrad grunts as his hand comes up and holds his face. He raises his brows, "Okay. Good. Can we go now?"

Another lands to his gut making Conrad kneel down in pain. Jeremiah stands over him, "You don't get to talk to me about if I love Belly or not. Not when you drug Liz through your bullshit for months."

Conrad looks up at him, "You can take all your shit out on me, but you know I'm right."

Jeremiah shakes his head and turns away, "Fuck you."

"This wedding shouldn't be happening." Conrad says standing up with a groan, "For whatever reason, you guys are clinging onto each other. Whether it's because of Mom or because you're afraid to be alone, but it's not right. It's not healthy."

Jeremiah turns back toward him. Conrad nods lightly, "You know I'm right."

"You're not."

"I am." He says stepping closer, "You guys both deserve better than what you're getting from one another. Even though you fucked up, you deserve someone who can you give you their all. I don't have feelings for her. I never have and I never will. It's not me you have to worry about, Jere."

Conrad then pulls the letter from his jacket and holds it against Jeremiah's chest, "Read this. It's from Mom."

Jeremiah takes the letter and turns away as he opens it. He's silent for a few seconds before he turns back to him. Conrad nods, "If you still want to marry her, we have to go now. I can promise you that there's nothing there, I would never do that to you."

Jeremiah looks down at the note again before looking up at his brother, "Fine."

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