Summer Reading

By angellwings

Ella rolled her suitcase out of her bedroom and into the living room. She placed her purse and her tote onto the couch and then turned around to glance over her bookshelf. She needed a book. She had plenty she hadn't read. So, she needed to pick out one to take with her to the beach for the weekend. There was nothing better than sitting on the beach, under the shade, and reading a fun summer book.

Peggy had given her a book for her birthday called Something Borrowed. Peggy said it was one of her favorite books. Ella stared at its pink cover thoughtfully, and then shrugged. She pulled it off the shelf and threw it in her travel tote. Why not? If Peggy liked it then she probably would too.

Her intercom buzzed and she hurriedly answered it.

"Yes?"

"Hey, Ells, it's Nate. Do you need any help with your bags?"

"Bags as in plural," Ella said with a chuckle. "You know me so well."

"You always over pack, Ella. No matter how many times I tell you not to stress. You might as well be a boy scout."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Just get up here and help me, okay?"

She went and got her smaller rolling suit case out of her bedroom and came back to the door just as Nate knocked.

"Hey!" She said happily as she opened the door. "You can take the big one."

"Gee, thanks," Nate said with a chuckle. "Good to see you too, Ella."

"We'll have plenty of time for pleasantries later. Right now I want to get on the road. I need a beach trip. Badly," Ella said with a sigh as she grabbed her purse and her tote and the smaller suitcase.

"Whoa, Ella. You've packed for like a month," Nate said with wide eyes as he grabbed the larger suitcase.

"Better safe than sorry," Ella told him tiredly. "You know this about me."

"There's a difference between safe and just plain excessive," Nate said with a chuckle. "It's three days at the beach. How in the world will you need all of this stuff?"

"Well," She said sheepishly. "I won't for sure need it, but I might need it. What if I spill something on one of my outfits? I need extras just in case."

Nate chuckled and shook his head. "You're insane."

"You say insane, I say prepared. You'll thank me when somebody gets mustard on one of your nice white shirts," Ella said with a nod as they headed out the door.

"Why's that?" Nate asked.

"Because I packed my stain removing kit and extra shirts for you guys that I brought from work."

Nate laughed softly. "Wow, that's intense."

"Oh please, you have no room to talk, my friend," Ella said with a scoff as she locked her door behind them. "How much work did you pack in your suitcase?"

"I—" Nate said as he stuttered and blushed. "None. None at all."

Ella smirked at him. "Liar. Did you pack your music in your guitar case? Hide a keyboard underneath your suitcase in your trunk?"

Nate gulped and looked away from her. "…no."

"Yeah," Ella said with a scoff. "Right."

"I don't plan on actually doing work," He said defensively. "I just, you know, thought if we had time…"

"We won't. No work, Nate," Ella said sternly. "That's the rule. We're all going to spend the weekend hanging out…together. Okay?"

Nate sighed. "Fine, no work."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

They finally got to the car where Jason and Caitlyn were waiting.

"Took you long enough," Caitlyn said. "C'mon, people. I'm ready to party. Can we get out of here?"

"Hold your horses, Caitlyn," Nate said as he rolled his eyes. "Ella had a lot of bags."

"Not surprising," Jason said with a chuckle as he got out and helped Nate put Ella's bags in the trunk of the car.

Ella got in the passenger side after Caitlyn hastily motioned for her to. Once Ella was seated Caitlyn leaned forward to whisper.

"I need Jase to sit back here."

"Why?" Ella asked.

Caitlyn gave her a bored look. "Why else, Ella? I'm trying to seduce him."

Ella grinned and laughed loudly. "Good luck with that. It'll take you all weekend. Jason's just as oblivious as Nate."

"Alright," Jason said suddenly as he opened the door and hopped in the back with Caitlyn. "Let's get this show on the road."

Nate got in the car and Ella gave him a pointed look. "Yes, time for a nice work free weekend. Right, Nate?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Right, Ella."

The four of them arrived at the beach house to find Mitchie and Shane stocking the kitchen with enough food for the weekend.

"Hey, you guys," Mitchie said brightly as they entered the house.

Shane turned and smiled at them. His eyes widened when he saw Ella walking in with only one suitcase. "Wow, Ella, did you actually pack light this time? You really only brought one bag?"

Ella glared at him playfully. "Ha ha, you're very funny."

"Believe me, she did not pack light," Nate said with a smirk. "She still has a bigger suitcase left in my trunk."

"You know what," Ella said with a huff. "If anything unexpected happens to any of you and you should need my emergency supplies do not expect me to give them to you. You've all officially lost your right to any of it."

"Oh really?" Mitchie asked with a smirk. "What if I spill something red or purple on my dress? You're just going to let that gross stain set and permanently spoil a good garment?"

Ella's jaw tightened. "Yes."

"You would?" Caitlyn asked. "You'd let that dress sit and nastify when you know full and well that you could save it?"

Ella gulped and nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"Then let's test that theory, shall we?" Jason said with a grin. "Shane, can I have a glass of wine, please?"

"Sure, buddy," Shane said with a smirk as he turned around and poured a glass.

"You wouldn't?" Ella asked worriedly.

Nate leaned toward her and whispered. "Oh, they would. You know they would."

Shane handed Jason the glass of wine and then Jason turned pretended to trip. He stumbled toward Mitchie and a bit of wine sloshed out of the glass.

Ella gasped and then sneered. "No! Don't you dare! If I have to spend my weekend getting wine out of Mitchie's white dress I will kill you Jason Allen Gray. And don't think I won't. I may be tiny but I will hurt you."

Nate tried to hold back a grin and a laugh, but he couldn't. He laughed loudly and instinctively pulled Ella in for a hug. He rubbed her back lightly and then pulled away. Ella smiled reluctantly and then laughed with him. Before glaring at the group.

"You're all evil."

Caitlyn smirked. "We know. It's what makes us fun."

"Okay," Mitchie said as she shook her head in amusement. "You guys finish unpacking and then we can hit the beach a bit before dinner."

Ella turned to get her last suitcase from the car but Nate stopped her.

"I'll get it, Ells," He told her. "You take longer to get ready than me. Go change."

Ella smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks, Nate."

He shrugged. "No problem."

She took her smaller suitcase into the bedroom she was sharing with Caitlyn and quickly pulled out an outfit and whatever other items she had in her small suitcase that she needed. She changed into a one piece cut out swimsuit that had no sides or back. She put on a cotton empire waisted cover up that was printed with hearts. And then grabbed a big straw hat and packed a tote bag with everything she would need for the beach (her book, sunscreen, a towel, and etc.) She opened the door and smiled when she found her other suitcase waiting on her on the other side. She pulled it inside and put it away just as Caitlyn entered the room and decided to change as well.

"I'm gonna go on out there," Ella told Caitlyn. "I wanna get some reading done before you and Jason start splashing every one."

Caitlyn laughed. "Fair enough. Just take someone with you, okay? I know we're all adults, but I think the buddy system is a good idea at any age."

"Fine," Ella said with a nod. "I'll go see who's ready."

Ella left the room and closed the door behind her. Mitchie and Shane were still locked up in their room doing who knows what. Jason had just started to change just like Caitlyn. Ella smiled, though, when she found Nate lounging in a chair on the back porch.

"You changed fast," Ella said with a grin.

He turned slowly and smiled easily at her. "I told you you took longer than me to get ready. Did you not believe me?"

"Well, I just figured with you unpacking the rest of the car and everything it might take you a little longer," Ella said as she sat down next to him.

"Unlike you," Nate said slowly with a smile. "I don't have to make my beach wear look like an actual outfit."

"Well, excuse me, if I like to look cute," Ella said with a grin. "I'm told the general public appreciates cute or was that incorrect?"

Nate smiled and gave her a once over. "No that wasn't incorrect. Cute is definitely appreciated."

Ella blushed and looked down at her feet for a moment. She took a breath and then looked back at him. "I was thinking about finding a spot on the beach. Do you want to come?"

Nate nodded. "I would love to. So, what's your plan? Are you going to actually do anything before you spread out your towel and set up your umbrella? Or do you plan on secluding yourself from us all weekend like always?"

"Hey!" Ella said as she laughed and smacked his arm. "I do not seclude myself! I just…like to read while I have the sound of the ocean in the background."

"Whatever you say, Ells," Nate said with a grin as he stood up. He motioned for her to join him and then they walked off toward the beach. He placed a hand on the small of her back as they walked and Ella could feel her cheeks burning. "What book did you bring this time?"

"Um, Something Borrowed. Peggy gave it to me."

"Something Borrowed?" Nate asked thoughtfully. "Let me guess, it's about a wedding, right?"

Ella chuckled, "From what I can tell, yes. I haven't started it yet. I read my Elle magazine on the way here instead."

Nate smiled and nodded. "Ah, your fashion bible."

Ella nodded as they surveyed the beach for a good spot. "If it was good enough for Elle Woods then it's good enough for me."

Nate stopped by a spot that was half shaded by a tree and gave Ella and expectant look. She nodded and set out her towel. The two of them sat down and Nate cleared his throat.

"Listen, Ella, um, I was wondering if when we get back…you might want to go out to dinner sometime?"

Ella looked up in surprise and smiled brightly. "I—I would love that."

"Yeah?" He asked with an excited grin.

"Yes, absolutely yes," Ella said with a blush and a nod.

"Good," Nate said with a real smile. "I was going to wait until the weekend was over, but I…well, we're alone now and that may not happen again for a while."

Ella laughed lightly. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Nate nodded and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Me too."

Suddenly Shane hopped out from behind the trees. "Hey, hey, love birds."

Nate and Ella jumped and glared at Shane.

"What?" He asked cluelessly.

Nate rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot, Shane."

Shane smirked at him. "Yes, but I'm your brother. So you're obligated to deal with me."

"Unfortunately," Nate said with a labored sigh.

Ella chuckled and bumped Nate's shoulder with her own. "Be nice."

Nate quirked an eyebrow at her. "That was nice."

"Alright, Caitlyn Gellar is here," Caitlyn announced as she joined them on the beach. "This party can officially start."

"And so it begins," Nate said with a chuckle. "We won't have another moment alone for the rest of the weekend. Just watch."

As Jason and Mitchie made their way to the beach Ella pulled out her book and began to read. It started out very well. Ella could relate to the main character. She knew what it was like to be in a dominating friendship. Darcy was Tess. Almost exactly. Ella was behind Rachel all the way…until she slept with her best friend's fiancé.

How was anyone a fan of this book? Ella could barely read it. It made her paranoid. What if someone did that to her? Could that happen? She glared at the deceptively happy cover and tossed the book into the sand.

"I should have brought a back up book," Ella mumbled with a huff. She continued to glare at the book and then at the hand that picked it up.

"Not a fan of your book, Ells?" Nate asked with a grin.

"It's about two people that are having an affair. The girl is sleeping with her best friend's fiancé! How could anyone do that to their best friend? Even if the best friend is an evil bitch. No one deserves that," Ella said angrily. "I hate that book."

"O-kay," Nate said slowly. "Time to take a break from reading." He grabbed her hand and led her toward the water. "Come on, come swim with every one else."

"Wait," She said as she dug her heels into the sand. "I need to ditch my cover up."

Ella walked back to her towel and peeled off her cover up and threw it down with the rest of her stuff. She turned around to find Nate frozen and staring at her with wide eyes.

Ella blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What? What's wrong?"

Nate cleared his throat and blushed as well. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong. Your, um, swimsuit has no sides or back."

Ella chuckled and grinned at him. "No, it does not."

He gulped and nodded. "I, um, I like it. A lot."

She smiled at him and reached for his hand again. "Good. Do you still want to swim? Or do you just want to stand here and stare at me all day?"

"Could I do both?" Nate asked with a wink and smirk.

"You could try, but…I think I'm gonna swim. So, unless you wanna stand here and look like a perv you might want to join me," Ella said with a grin as she released his hand and walked away.

"A perv?" Nate asked with a playful glare. "Did you just call me a perv?"

"What are you gonna do about, Gray?" Ella said challengingly as she paused in the shallow water.

"You better run, Ms. Pador," Nate said with a grin before he took off after her. She squealed and ran away from him.

The book was forgotten for the day. It was until just before bed that she picked it up again, and she was just as repulsed by it as she had been earlier. In fact, even more so. Because it seemed Rachel was letting this guy jerk her around. He was clearly leading her on.

"Something Borrowed?" Caitlyn asked. "You're actually reading that book?"

"Yes, although, I have no idea why. I hate it," Ella said with a pout as she placed her bookmark on the last page she'd read.

"Peggy gave it to you?" Caitlyn asked knowingly.

"Yes," Ella said with a sigh. "I do not understand how she could like this book."

"A lot of people like it," Caitlyn said with a shrug.

"But why? She's betraying her best friend!" Ella exclaimed. "That's not something that should be glorified by a novel."

Caitlyn held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, I agree with you, okay? I certainly would never think about cheating on either you or Mitchie. I just wouldn't let it happen. Not ever. And I definitely wouldn't want anyone to write a novel about it."

"Have you read it?" Ella asked.

"Started it, but I stopped as soon as Peggy spoiled the ending for me. I just couldn't bear to read that ending," Caitlyn said with a sigh.

"Oh God, how does it end?" Ella asked fearfully.

"Nope, not telling. You have to read it," Caitlyn told her with a chuckle. "G'night, Ella."

Ella sighed and set the book down on her nightstand. "G'night."

She glared at the cover once again as she turned off her lamp. She really wished she could stop reading it. But she had to know how it was all going to end. She could only hope that Rachel and the best friend's fiancé didn't get a happy ending. That just wouldn't be fair. To anyone.

Ella spent the next morning on the beach reading more of her book. The closer she got to the end the more confident she was that Rachel would end up with a completely different guy. A better guy. Who just happened to remind Ella of Nate. She would really prefer if Rachel ended up with Ethan. He was just better.

She moved to turn the page but a hand stopped her.

"Ella Billie Pador, may I request the honor of your presence? And ask you to put down that damn book?" Nate asked with a grin.

She chuckled at him and nodded. "If you insist. I think this book is going to end better than I thought anyway."

Once again she peeled off her cover up to reveal a floral printed cut out one piece with no back and no sides.

Nate winked at her. "I do love these half one pieces of yours. You think you could wear them after we return to real life?"

Ella blushed and smacked his arm. "I don't think so, Nathaniel. Do you know how big of a lecture I would get from my mom for that? I may be twenty-four but I'm certainly not exempt from lectures and guilt trips."

"Still," Nate said with a grin. "I think it's something to consider."

Ella laughed and shoved Nate's shoulder. He stumbled backward toward the water and she immediately tackled him. They both went crashing into the waves. Nate sputtered to the surface and stared at her in shock.

"I did not see that coming."

"It's because I'm petite. People always underestimate me," Ella said with an evil grin. "They forget that I'm kind of scrappy, and a little bit evil."

Nate laughed at her. "Well, I can promise you that I will never underestimate you again."

After lunch Ella picked up her book again. She was shocked at the twist. Rachel and the best friend's fiancé got back together, and Rachel left Ethan. Granted, she was never really dating Ethan to begin with, but still…

Now it seemed the two cheaters were going to get the happy ending. The cheaters. She finished the book just to make sure she was right, and once she knew she was she threw the book in the trashcan. She couldn't even stand to look at it.

Jason's brow furrowed. "Was the book that bad?"

"Yes, it was," Ella grumbled. "It was terrible." She pointed at Nate accusingly. "You…are not allowed to have a happy ending with either her," She said as she pointed to Mitchie. "Or her," She said as she also pointed to Caitlyn. "Clear?"

Nate's eyes widened and he gulped at her glare. "Clear."

"Good," Ella said with a soft growl before she walked out of the house and onto the back porch. She flopped down into one of the whicker chairs and stared at the ocean. Stupid book. She was going to have to have a chat with Peggy about her suggestions. From now on, Ella would pick out her own books.

Nate cleared his throat behind her. "Um, Ells? Are you okay?"

"Peggy is no longer allowed to pick out books for me to read."

Nate chuckled. "Yeah, I sort of figured that out for myself."

"If…" Ella let her sentence trail off before she took a deep breath and continued. "If our date goes well and we end up in relationship…you'd—you'd never cheat on me with Mitchie or Caitlyn, would you?"

"No, definitely not," Nate answered immediately as he sat down in the chair next to hers.

"Even if you figured out that one of them was your soul mate? You know? Like you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were meant to be with one of them," Ella said with a nervous gulp.

"No, Ella, never. I wouldn't even think about it."

"You're sure?" Ella asked softly.

"Ella, it wouldn't happen," Nate promised.

Ella bit her bottom lip. "How do you know?"

"Because I'm not meant to be with Cait or Mitch…I'm meant to be with you," Nate said with a soft smile.

Ella immediately turned to face him. "What?"

"I've known for a while now that I'm meant to be with you. No one else," Nate repeated.

Ella smiled softly at him. "You've known that for a while? And you didn't tell me? How long is a while?"

Nate cleared his throat nervously. "About four months now."

"We haven't even gone out on a date yet," Ella said thoughtfully.

"Ells," Nate said with a chuckle. "We've been around each other since we were—what?—fifteen? Any date we go on is going to feel more like a twelfth date then a first date. I don't need a date to tell me who you are and how I feel about you."

"How you…feel about me?" Ella asked with a small grin.

"Ella," Nate said with a chuckle. "You have to see where this is headed, don't you? I love you. How else would I know that I'm supposed to be with you."

Ella smiled warmly at him and she blushed before she responded. "I love you too."

Nate smirked and shrugged. "I knew it."

Ella laughed loudly and smacked his arm. "You're a jerk."

"A jerk that you obviously love," Nate said with a teasing grin. "That's gotta count for something." He reached out and grabbed her hand off the arm rest of her chair and held it in between them. "Ella, I don't know what that book you read was about but I can assure you…that's all it is. A book. A book about characters that apparently make stupid life decisions."

She sighed a nodded. "Very stupid life decisions. She left behind a perfectly good guy who was there for her for the guy that strung her along for an entire summer. Not smart."

"Is there a reason you're so attached to these characters, Ells?" Nate asked with a chuckle. "You're talking about them like they're real people."

She blushed again. "They just remind me of people I know, that's all."

"People you know? Like you and me?" Nate asked suspiciously.

"Yes, except they didn't get the happy ending. She had her happy ending with someone else," Ella said with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, if you'd stop thinking about this stupid book we might be able to actually have our happy ending," Nate said with a smirk as he stood up and then pulled Ella to her feet.

His arms snaked around her waist and she grinned at him. "Our happy ending, huh? I like the sound of that."

He nodded as her arms went around his neck. "Me too."

"You know, if this were a novel this would be the part where we would kiss," Ella said with a knowing smile.

"Really?" Nate asked with a smug grin. "I suppose you're waiting for me to kiss you then?"

"Don't you dare hold out on me, Nathaniel Gray," Ella said with a playful glare. "Kiss me, dammit."

His eyes widened and he laughed softly. "As you wish."

She rolled her eyes. "You're trying way too hard to sound like Wesley right now. You keep that up and I'll have to start calling you Farm Boy—"

Ella's sentence was cut off as Nate finally covered her lips with his. His arms tightened around her and he pulled her closer. Her hands fisted in the back of his shirt as he deepened the kiss. Nate's fingers tangled themselves in the ends of Ella's long hair as they pulled apart.

"This is a much better ending than the one in my book," Ella said with a grin.

Nate chuckled at her. "Oh, it's not over yet. We've got a while to go before the ending, Ells. Promise."