It was 5 PM, prime time for parties in the sunset. And oh, what a party was held at the hotel. Non-alcoholic drinks were passed around, island-themed music was playing softly in the background, and—
"Sol, could you PLEASE get off your iPhone?" Nathan complained. "You're ruining the mood."
"What…mood…?" Solomon asked, typing mindlessly on the touch screen.
"We're trapped on a desert island. The only communication we have is smoke signals, and cell phones do not send up smoke signals. The natives on this island appear to be—"
"NATHAN. Just stop right there," Sol interrupted, tapping on the Tweet button. "We are at a barbeque in Miami, not an island."
Nathan folded his arms. "Exactly. We're at a barbeque. It's rude to keep tweeting or texting or whatever you're doing."
"Actually, I'm sending up smoke signals," Solomon smirked as he flashed the screen to Nate. "New app, only cost me $0.99."
Nate rolled his eyes and sipped his fruity drink. Across the patio, Lauren and Olivia were simultaneously talking to Derek. "I bet it gets crazy being on the road with the same people all the time," Olivia stated.
"Well, it can be a bit trying at times, but we really do care about each other, and we do our best to help each other out," he answered.
"Awwwwwwwwww!" Lauren shrieked. The other two just stared at her. "What? Derek's always so nice, it's so cute!"
Derek chuckled. "Well, thank you. But really, these guys are the greatest. Such silly, fun people. Every day is a new adventure we all get to have."
"And I like the way you use grandma words," Lauren interjected.
Olivia fell over laughing as Derek struggled to find words. "Grandma words…that's a new one."
"I mean, like, you use the nice versions of words. Like when you were telling the story about how that lady at Warped busted in on you in the port-a-potty…you chose your words very carefully. You even said you didn't want to be lewd, and Jacob just bluntly said you were taking a dump…not grandma-ish at all!"
"I heard my name," the drummer said as he walked over and sat down. "And the word 'dump'."
Olivia laughed again as Lauren blushed violently. "I was just quoting you from an interview," she explained.
"Yep, dat sounds like me," Jacob said.
"I can't even balee dis!" Lauren yelled and laughed, looking side to side to see people's reactions.
Olivia put her face in her hands. She knew Lauren was a huge FF5 fan, but she was acting like a 12-year-old Belieber around these guys. Maybe she should've just gone with Josh when he asked her to…
"Hey," a voice said next to her, making her jump. She turned and saw Josh grinning at her.
"Oh, hey there," she said.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Olivia glanced over at Lauren, still over-laughing at Jacob like an idiot. "As much as I can," she chuckled.
Josh shook his head and leaned closer. Olivia's breath caught. "Want to move somewhere a little quieter?" he asked.
"Sure," she managed to get out. She began staring at his hands. They were so…amazing. That was the only word that could describe them.
The two of them walked off a little ways, onto the actual beach. The sky was purple and red, and the waves lapped gently at their feet. It was a perfect scene.
"So," Josh said, breaking the silence.
"So."
"So…how are you doing?"
Olivia could tell Josh was feeling a bit nervous. But there must be a reason he brought her out here alone. "I'm doing great, what about you?"
"Fine. Just fine. Listen…back in Atlanta, there was this—"
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY GUYS!"
Josh sighed as his oldest brother came running up to them. "Y'all are missing the PARTAY!" Solomon shouted. "C'mon Josh, we need you! Oh. Hey," he said, acknowledging Olivia. "Let's go, man!"
Joshua shot Olivia an apologetic look as he was dragged back towards the hotel. She followed, pretending not to be disappointed.
Once they made it back to the patio, things were both quieting down and heating up. The chatting had ceased, but the other three band members were poised around a fire, clutching acoustic instruments. The light from the flames flickered off of Lauren's face, making her intense gaze toward Jacob look even more dramatic. Olivia couldn't help but be amused by her friend's fierce passion for him.
Solomon shoved Josh into a plastic chair and handed him his bass. "We g'on rock this out, alright?" he said with extra swagger in his voice.
Josh shrugged. "Sure. Whatever the heck it is we're doing."
"Soli wants us to play 'Mamacita'," Jake explained. "He wants to spice it up a little out here."
Lauren giggled. Solomon turned and winked at her. "Alright, one, two, three, four!" he counted off.
The boys began plucking their guitar strings as Sol started singing. Olivia swayed with the beat, never taking her eyes off of Josh. She and Lauren even sang along with the chorus.
Once it got to the bridge, Jacob began his vocal riff. "She drop it low, ai yi yi."
Lauren got up and began to follow the instructions in the lyrics. "Just make her shake," Jacob sang. Lauren grabbed Olivia's hands and pulled her out of her seat. The two of them began twirling around, shaking their hips like never before. Once the bridge ended, Olivia sat down quickly, surprised at herself. She was not the type of person to flaunt herself like that.
But even as she was turning red, she caught a glimpse of Josh staring right at her. He was smiling bigger than she had ever seen him.
Maybe immature, over-the-top fangirl Lauren was on to something after all.