Chapter 10
When Alex woke up, she didn't feel the body that she remembered falling asleep with next to her, but rather the body that she dreamed about since she had left Newport. She quickly retracted her arm from the other body and sat up in bed, causing the other girl to stir slightly. Alex watched wide-eyed as Marissa began moving around and mumbling in her sleep.
"Alex...I love you..." Thousands of thoughts ran through Alex's mind as she tried to figure out why Marissa was in her bed with her and if Marissa knew what she was saying. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard a familiar laugh coming from the other room. 'Summer.' Alex carefully crawled over Marissa's sleeping body, not wanting to wake her up because it would've been awkward, and also because she didn't feel like talking to her just yet.
Once Alex successfully got of bed, she couldn't help but smile when she saw Marissa's facial expression scrunch up from a dream of some sort. Alex hesitantly reached her hand towards Marissa's face and delicately tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. After watching Marissa for a few more seconds, she left the room quietly and headed for her sister's room.
"Summer?" Alex heard giggling as she pushed open Summer's bedroom door and was surprised at what she saw. Her sister was on the floor with Jodie, painting her toe nails a sparkly pink. The two girls turned their heads from what they were doing to greet Alex.
"Morning, Lex. Aren't my toes cute?" Jodie wiggled her toes as Summer giggled again.
"What the hell..." Alex stopped in the middle of the doorway, watching them.
"What, you don't like it?" Summer's smile turned into a frown. "I thought the color suited her because pink is so nice and happy and sweet. And that's what Jodie is!" Summer had regained her smile and was hugging Jodie now. Alex leaned against the doorframe and cocked an eyebrow at the two girls.
"And why do you say that?" Jodie grinned mischievously as Summer released her from the hug and began talking.
"Well, Marissa ran off on me some time last night, and Jodie, being as sweet as she is, thought that I would've been lonely, so she ended up staying with me in my bed last night." Alex's jaw clenched and she folded her arms across her chest.
"So she switched places with Marissa? Huh. Interesting." Alex shot Jodie a dirty look but the other girl just smiled and winked.
"Speaking of Marissa, we were talking, and we wanted to go out to breakfast." Summer looked over at Jodie. "You can go, right?" Alex cut Jodie off before she could answer.
"No!" Both girls were surprised at Alex's outburst and stared at her. "I mean, she has to get back to L.A. right away, right, Jodie?" Alex and Summer looked at Jodie for an answer. Alex nodded her head while Summer gained a sad facial expression.
"You have to leave already? We didn't even get to hang out yet." Jodie glanced at Alex and then back at Summer.
"Actually, I took the week off, so I think I can stay a few days longer." Summer threw her arms around Jodie's neck and squealed. Alex glared at Jodie again, not really wanting her there with her sister.
"Oh my god, I sooo have to take you shopping, and the spa, oooh, and then we can get our nails done and then have lunch at the harbor, and then shop some more. It'll be soo much fun!" Summer got off of Jodie and was now talking to herself about her plans with Jodie. And Jodie obtained a somewhat scared face while Alex smirked at her. 'Ha, now she's gonna get it...'
Meanwhile, in Alex's room, Marissa was beginning to wake. She still had her eyes closed but was stretching out her body while she groaned. Then Marissa yawned as she tried to get comfortable once again in the fluffy blankets. She paused. 'Fluffy blankets?' She felt around the bed and grabbed one of the pillows next to her and brought it to her face. She hugged it tightly when she smelled Alex's perfume on it. Abercrombie's 8. 'Woah, wait. Alex's perfume?' She then bolted up from her spot and began looking around the room. Thoughts of her sneaking into Alex's room the previous night came back into her mind. 'Crap! She woke up before me...Gotta go talk to her...' Marissa scrambled to get out of the blankets and out the door to Summer's room, where she assumed everyone was.
Not really paying attention to her surroundings, Marissa collided with the girl she was looking for, knocking them both to the ground. One more hurt than the other. Alex groaned as she rubbed her jaw and checked up on Marissa who seemed not to recover as quickly as she did.
"Marissa?" Alex placed an arm on one side of Marissa's body to lean on she could bend over Marissa and examine her more closely. Alex could see that a small bruise was forming on Marissa's forehead and began to feel extremely guilty. "Marissa." She shook the other girl's shoulder gently, trying to get her to respond. Marissa made a slight grunting noise and Alex smiled. She patted her right cheek lightly while still leaning over her. "Marissa, get up."
"I don't wanna..." Alex laughed as she rolled her eyes at the girl. Marissa kept her eyes shut as a smile began forming on her face as well.
"Marissa Cooper. Get up this instant." Alex put her hands on her hips, trying to sound serious and stern.
"Make me." Her eyes were still closed but now she was smiling deviously with her canines showing. Alex then chuckled at Marissa's playfulness.
"You asked for it..." Marissa then felt Alex's weight on top of her, but before she could enjoy the feeling or even register it, she felt Alex's ten fingers going at her sides, tickling her feverishly. Marissa burst into laughter along with Alex who didn't let down her attack. But somehow, Marissa pulled herself together long enough to switch places with Alex so that she was on top and the one tickling someone.
After a few more minutes of laughter, Marissa collapsed on top of Alex's worn out body, and felt Alex's arms instinctively wrap around her. They lay there content with each other, their legs intertwined as well as their hearts. During those mere minutes, the two girls had forgotten about everything that had happened in between their relationship and the present, all they had remembered was each other, and that was enough for the moment.