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One month.
It's been exactly a month since Ridge and I started this dating for a dare escapade. And I'm not gonna lie, it's been absolute bliss. It was fun. But, I wasn't supposed to catch feelings for him. I wasn't supposed to feel something like this. I wasn't supposed to take this way too seriously.
But here I am, already on the verge of smashing the third rule - Don't fall in love with me.
Slowly, but surely I'm surpassing the stage of this just being a crush. But I don't want to. It's gonna complicate things and our friendship. And I don't want that. And I don't even know what he feels about me. I'm clueless as fuck. And it's frustrating the hell outta me. But I cannot back out not because it won't change anything. I'm in too deep to get out unaffected. It's only gonna hurt.
"Lydia, honey, are you alright?" Erica's soothing voice echoes in my ears, breaking me out of my reverie. I turn around and face her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something." I respond, trying for nonchalance.
She walks towards me, holding my hand in a caressing hold. "Are you sure? You seem like something's bothering you. You can talk to me, you know that, right? I'm here, to listen." Her reassuring smile calms me down effectively.
I give her a small smile. "I will talk to you when I feel like it. I promise." Then I remove my hands from her grip and step back, lifting my lips in a big grin. "Now, let's go or we'll be late."
She seems satisfied with my response, grinning back at me. "Okay."
Together, we both walk down the stairs, straight to the hall where rest of the students are assembled, including our group of friends, as per the teachers' instructions. The teacher arrives as soon as Erica and I do and she dives into our schedule for the day. "Okay, students. The beach we visited yesterday is called the Nusa Dua Beach, one of the famous tourist attractions. And today, we'll be visiting the Museum PASIFIKA and then we'll be seeing the Devdan Show at Bali Nusa Dua Theatre.
Everyone squeals and shouts in delight, bouncing at their places. I even hear a whistle, earning a glare from our dear teacher and laughs from the crowd. The teachers yell for us to maintain the decorum and follow her quietly. So we keep our mouths shut and follow her.
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Museum PASIFIKA is magnificent.
It's an art museum presenting the Asian Pacific's variety of cultural artifacts. This museum is one of the best places to view and admire an extraordinary collection of art and crafts from the ancient times. The teacher explained this, not me. She also started speaking all about the history of the museum as if she had learnt all this the previous night and she just had to let it out before she forgot everything.
We all decided to roam around, observing everything quietly. This place had an exquisite collection of paintings of artists from all over the world. It was like a little glimpse into ancient art culture - absolutely beautiful. There was a mask room which captured my attention the most. All in all, it was a lovely place to visit. Definitely worth remembering.
After we are done with the museum, we head back to the hotel for lunch and resting before we have to leave again. The lunch is a fine affair - full of laughter and different delicacies. The food of Bali is absolutely delicious, especially the dish called Nasi Goreng. I googled it all the day before the trip so I know a thing or two about different kinds of foods and dishes famous here.
Gotta set your priorities straight, honey.
We took a nap for an hour and then we had to play dress up again for the show we had to attend. We reached that place pretty soon and then we were all seated. Since we are large in number, the whole auditorium was booked for us only. How convenient.
The Devdan Show was an extravagant show of Indonesia culture and diversity. The show featured a fusion of traditional Indonesian dance activities with modern contemporary dances, shocking acrobatic performances, and such beautiful looking costumes. All of the dances, the performances and the special light and sound effects were stunning.
When we left the theatre, we were all bouncing and laughing with excitement and joy. We reached the hotel and settled ourselves in our rooms for the next few hours, until the bonfire that was to be set up at night, at around ten.
Since I was tired, I decided to take a nap. "Hey, Em?"
"Yeah?" She asked, looking up from her phone.
"I'm sleeping. Wake me up when we have to go down again, okay?" I tell her.
"Erica will do that. I'm sleeping too. I'll ask her to wake us up." She laughs, throwing her whole down. Settling down next to me, she lets out a sigh and closes her eyes.
Erica comes out of the bathroom a few seconds later, looking at is with amusement."Sleeping?"
I nod.
"Okay. I'll wake you guys up at ten then. Imma head to Ash's room right now. Good night." She informs us, pulling the covers on us to cover us property. "Good night."
"Night." And then I'm out.
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"You look a little tired. Everything alright?" Ridge whispers in my ear, pulling me close to him, wrapping the blanket tight around us. Everyone is scattered around the bonfire, relishing in the feel of the warmth the flames provide. Since a lot of people, including the teachers are here, there are a lot of bonfires lit up around the lawn. Since Bruce was the first one to arrive, he picked a secluded place for us to sit and chill.
"I'm just a little sleepy. Erica woke me up from my nap." I respond, rubbing my palms against my face.
He snickers, kissing my forehead softly. "How unfortunate."
I nudge him softly, but a small smile appears on my face. I snuggle into him, the warmth emanating from him, his scent making me feel at peace.
"Did you see those dance moves? Man, I would love to see that show in person." Neil whistles, eyes sparkling with desire and awe. "I can still see those bodies moving in front of my eyes."
Kiara hits him on the back of his head. "Pervert."
"Excuse me? I'm the only one not getting any kind of action here okay! You all have boyfriends and girlfriends, I have dreams and porn, cut me some slack okay." He grumbles, glaring at each one of us.
"Did we ask you to remain single?" Erica arches an eyebrow at him. "Also, you are staying with guys in a room. Get freaky! who's stopping you?"
Bruce laughs out loud. "Man, you with Neil? I'd pay to watch that."
"Thanks for the offer, Tan, but I think I'm gonna pass." Neil grumbles, his face morphing into one of embarrassment and disgrace.
"As if I'm dying to sleep with you." Tanner retorts, rubbing his hands together in front of the flames.
"You guys never told us what exactly happened inside that store room last night, you know?" Eric questions, looking teasingly at Trish and Bruce.
Everyone murmurs in agreement at Eric's question.
"We'll, I was professing my love for her but she thought that I was joking. Pranking her, like a dare so she slapped me." Bruce mutters, chuckling. His eyes flicker to Trish who's blushing like crazy. He gives her a soft look before turning towards us. "Man I can still feel that slap on my face. Knocked me off hard."
Trish punches him on the shoulder. "You deserved it, you butthole."
"Just like I deserved that kiss I got after the slap. Man, it was like a rollercoaster ride." Bruce pulls her close to him, squeezing her tight. She giggles happily, hugging him back.
"Who decided to play matchmaker with these two?!" Ashton remarks, faking a gagging expression. "This love shit is taking a toll on me. Bruce doesn't look good all sweet and caring."
We remain silent as Erica glares at Ashton, a scary expression plastered on her face. Man, she can be intimidating when she wants to be. "Is that so?"
Ashton cowers a little, gulping. He takes a deep breath, getting ready to apologize. "Look, babe, I was just saying that, they, uh you know that-"
Erica throws her head back and starts laughing loudly, clapping her hands together. Ashton looks at her in confusion, but still wary of her, just in case she flips. Who knows? Girls can be unpredictable like that.
Peels of laughter roam around the group, everyone joining in with Erica, throwing pitiful looks Ash's way. He looks distorted.
Erica recovers after a few seconds and takes a deep breath, the laughter subsiding now. "Oh honey, it's so easy to mess with you." She pinches his cheeks, making him grumble under his breath.
"You are evil." He mutters, but a small smile makes it's way on his face nonetheless. How whipped.
"And we have another couple." Tanner interrupts, "I swear to god only Em, Neil and I are the sensible ones."
"I have mine at home, Tan." Em chuckles, "remember Kelsey?"
He groans, physically face palming. "Mom, come pick me up. I'm scared."
Laughter booms around, as everyone starts talking about random things after that. Ridge rests his chin on my head softly. I tilt my head slightly to look at him to see him closing his eyes again and again, as if he's trying to stay awake. Sitting up straight, I shake his shoulders a little. "Hey, wake up."
He shifts abruptly, rubbing his palms against his eyes. "I'm sleepy. I need sleep."
I chuckle and stand up. "Come on, I need sleep too."
He gets up and stands beside me, blanket falling off his shoulder. "Guys, we are going. Because we need sleep. Good night."
Everyone responds immediately but do not get up, which means that they are staying here for a while. Together we walk inside the hotel, silence surrounding us. Once we reach my room, he stops and waits for me to enter inside.
"Come with me. I don't wanna be alone." I ask him, opening the door using my key card.
He gives me a nod and enters behind me. I lock the door and throw myself on one of the two beds, closing my eyes. I hear Ridge chuckling behind me and then rustling of clothes. A few seconds later the bed bounces, indicating that he is on the bed with me. I look up to see a shirtless, sleepy Ridge staring at me with a smile. His eyes droop low, as he lets out a sigh of content. "I'm so tired."
"Me too." I agree, delving deep into the covers. Ridge gets in the covers too. And now we are laying down, face to face, just looking at each other. He doesn't say anything, and neither do I. This silence is comforting in itself.
But Ridge decides to break the silence. "I'm not ready to go back home yet."
"Me too. This was pure bliss." I smile at him.
We stay like that for a while, listening to the quiet. To get more comfortable, I scoot close to him and wrap my arms around his torso, my face resting in the crook of his neck. I don't know why I did that. But I'm going to blame it on my half conscious state.
His arms wound around me, eliminating any space left between us. "Good night, sweetheart."
"Good night, handsome." I murmur, placing a kiss on his neck, before drifting off to a peaceful slumber, Ridge's scent and warmth surrounding me.
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Okay guys, I need a Ridge now. Byeeee. Imma go find him and get back to you.
Next update soon!
Till then,
Stay Happy and Stay Safe! <3