it was dark outside by now. stella had told jeremiah that she'd meet him down by the pool in five minutes. she changed into her simple, black bikini and checked the time. it was almost one in the morning, but she didn't mind. it wasn't like she was going to bed anyways.

she left her phone in her room, not thinking that she was going to need it. she made her way down her stairs and across the house slowly and quietly, trying not to wake anybody.

unfortunately for stella, she wasn't that successful. she turned the corner to go through the kitchen but she ran into susannah who was on her way to bed.

"oh, hey, sweetie," she said with a cup of tea in her hands. she looked stella up and down suspiciously. "what're you up to?"

"just a... swim," stella replied hesitantly.

it's not like it was a secret or anything, but now that she knew her feelings for jeremiah, it felt like she was sneaking around with him. even though, it was just a late night swim.

susannah nodded tiredly. "okay, don't stay up too late. tomorrow, i'm gonna ask conrad to take you to the ball."

stella chuckled softly, not wanting to hint anything to her. that was thoughtful of susannah to ask conrad to take her to the ball, but what if that's not what she wanted.

she watched to make sure that susannah went all the way up the stairs before she continued her short journey to the pool. when she was finally there, she found jeremiah standing in the shallow end, shaking the water out of his hair, telling stella that he had already been in the water for a little bit.

stella set her towel down on one of the beach chairs and walked around the pool. jeremiah noticed her and raised an eyebrow at her. "aren't you gonna get in?"

she stopped at the hot tub. "uhh, not in that water. that's way too cold."

"it's not even cold," he teased her, making her roll her eyes playfully.

"you getting in or what?" the sides of her mouth turned up confidently as she lowered herself into the water. the hot tub was warm, but not too hot.

jeremiah shrugged and joined her in the hot tub. it was like they both knew that either way, he was going to end up in the hot tub because she said so.

"come on," she rushed him, waving him over.

he smiled mischeviously before walking even slower towards the hot tub. stella groaned and sunk further into the hot tub, pretending to be annoyed. she couldn't be annoyed though. it was jeremiah she was talking about.

"stop being stupid, come on," she laughed, attempting to grab his hand and pull him in.

he dodged her hands and sat in the opposite end of the small hot tub as her. "i'm being stupid, huh?" he let a smirk grow on his face.

stella tilted her head back and sighed. "you're never gonna let that go!"

jeremiah couldn't help but admire her while she wasn't looking. he loved how she could look so good in something so simple. he paused suddenly, realizing what stella had just said.

wait, he thought. i thought she didn't remember that night.

the only way she would know that was an inside joke was if she remembered that night that she told him the story.

*flashbacks*

"he just said stuff about how not to date stupid boys, you know? and he was all like, blah blah blah, stupid boys like... jere." stella mocked her best friend's voice.

jeremiah's lips parted slightly. with his eyebrows raised, he said, "really? i'm a stupid boy?"

"maybe that's just my type," she said, not even realizing that could potentially mean. she was too drunk to think before speaking. or acting.

he smirked. "does that mean i'm your type?"

*flashback ends*

jeremiah thought that this might be a good time to bring this up. maybe it would lead to something else. "i thought you didn't remember that night."

stella's lips parted slightly, not knowing what to say. "uh- um..."

"do you remember... what happened then?"

she nodded, covering up the guilty look that was appearing on her face. "yeah."

"why did you lie?" he asked her, furrowing his eyebrows.

"i was scared you didn't actually..." she stopped herself before she could say it. i was scared you didn't actually like me, she thought, finishing her own sentence.

jeremiah stood up from his spot and approached stella's side of the hot tub. "i wanted to," he assured her. "but you were just kind of drunk-"

stella stood up, feeling awkward still sitting down. they stood in the middle of the hot tub. she waited for jeremiah to finish what he was going to say. after a few seconds, she was nervous that he wasn't going to say anything.

he scrunched his face up, just sending it. "i... i like you, stel. like actually like you."

stella sighed of relief before stepping closer to him. "i like you too, j."

it was jeremiah's turn to sigh of relief. his shoulders relaxed. they both felt like a big weight had been taken off their chests.

jeremiah raised his eyebrows. "does this mean i can kiss you?" he smirked.

"yes," she chuckled softly.

"and you're not drunk this time?" he teased her.

"yes." 

she rolled her eyes and pulled him down by the back of his neck impatiently. he was quick to catch on and grab her by the waist, pulling her closer. without disconnecting their lips, he guided her back to one of the underwater ledges.

he sat against the wall and pulled her on top of his lap. her legs were on either side of him. the kiss continued breathlessly. just like in her dreams, she pulled at the back of his hair, making him tilt his head back with a soft breath. their lips reconnected, making the butterflies in her stomach erupt again. 

one of her hands was resting between his neck and his shoulder and the other hand was playing with the ends of his hair. his hands stayed on her waist, softening their grip once in a while.

the sound of their quick breaths only made the butterflies in their stomachs move faster. "you have no idea... how long... i've wanted to do this," jeremiah muttered in between breaths.

stella mumbled a quiet "me too" before returning to his lips.

this was just as she had imagined it. maybe even better. all of her daydreams couldn't have prepared her enough for this euphoric moment. it was the same for jeremiah. none of his dreams made him feel the way that he felt right now.

they pulled apart, but jeremiah couldn't tear his eyes away from her. "stop looking at me like that," she laughed softly, pushing him gently.

"like what?" he teased her, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

she rolled her eyes. "you're stupid."

he smiled downwardly at her. "you love it."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

author's note

i feel like this didn't turn out as cool as i thought it was going to. i started writing it then i had to rewrite a lot of it because i didn't like it but anyways... if this was boring, pls let me know :) also i'm veryyy sorry that this took me so long. i've been even busier like i forgot that my life could get this busy, but anyways... i hope you guys like this chapter more than i do lmfaoo

pls vote, comment, etc. if you want :) THANK YOUU

if you guys have any ideas, please let me know in the comments :))

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