The presentation went well. I think we’ll get a perfect score for it. Wyatt was nervous about public speaking, but he did amazing since he knew the topic so well and he managed to relax as he gets kind of excited when talking about something that interests him, which I think is adorable. I was also once again hit by how attractive a man can be when he knows his stuff. I’ve never had any problems with presenting in front of the class so I just focused on remembering my parts of the presentation and I think I did really well, since I didn’t make any mistakes and studying with Wyatt made me more prepared overall. 

I just have one exam left, which I’ve already studied enough for, and then I’ll be done for the semester. So, I’m booking accommodation for the beach trip as I’m on the phone with Eve, who is coming along with us. Other people coming on the trip are; Irene, Camilla and Noah. 

“What about this one? It seems…cute.”, Eve suggests as she sends me a link to a small beach house. I can tell she doesn’t actually think it’s cute from her tone. She’s just trying to be considerate since I told her Wyatt’s budget isn’t like ours. 

“Ugh… Why is it so hard to find something that’s actually cute, but affordable?”, I complain as I look at the horrendous house she suggested. “It’s, like, it’s either affordable or cute, never both.”. 

“I know right. Sucks.”, Eve sighs. 

“Oh my gosh, look at this one! It’s my dream villa!”, I exclaim as I send over a villa that is way too expensive for Wyatt’s budget, but that I would normally book without a second thought. 

“I love it! But it’s probably too expensive, right?”, Eve says.

“Yeah…”, I sigh, but I really want to book it. “Should I just book it?”

“What? But didn’t you say the budget was really important to you this time?”, Eve sounds confused.

“Yes, but… what if, and this is just an idea, hear me out… what if I just book it and pay for it for everyone? Do you think the other’s would be okay with that?”, I ask Eve. 

“Hmm… honestly, from what you’ve told me about Camilla, I think she might be okay with that, but I think you already know that Wyatt won’t like it.”, Eve answers after a bit of contemplating.

“You’re right.”, I let out a sigh. I’m not ready to give up on the villa, though, it’s too perfect. “Okay, what if… I pay for it all, but I tell everyone it wasn’t as expensive as it was, so then everyone still pays a reasonable price and no one is the wiser? A win-win situation. I get the villa I want and no one else has to pay too much.”. 

“I guess, what they don’t know can’t hurt them.”, Eve says, “And let’s split it so that you and I pay the most and then split the rest evenly for everyone else. Then if they do find out, let’s take the blame together.”. 

“Good thinking! It’s a plan!”, I say, knowing that there’s no way Eve would hear me out if I tried paying for it all myself. I would do the same for her. That’s how we’ve always been, taking the blame for stuff together. 

I book my dream villa and let everyone know the (fake) price in our groupchat. It’s still a bit pricey, but I thought it would be more believable if I didn’t cut the price too much. I mean it is still a luxury beach villa, so it’s bound to be expensive. If it’s too cheap, they would surely get suspicious. 

.

Exams are over! I’m feeling relieved that the semester is over and I’m almost giddy with anticipation for the beach trip. The sun is shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky as I walk out of the exam hall. I can’t help but smile brightly as I stand outside chit chatting with some classmates about how our exams went and what we’re planning to do to celebrate that the semester is over. 

“Awh! I’m so jealous, I also want to go to the beach!”, one of them says as a response to me sharing my plans. 

“I know right! Me too!”, someone else chimes in. 

“Ugh, my parents are expecting me to spend a week at our lake house”, a third person complains, “I would much rather go on a trip with my friends.”

“That sucks! Yeah, mine want me to fly home for some charity event or something.”, the first person replies.

My mind is wandering, it has become harder and harder for me to pretend like I care about mindless small talk like this, and as they keep complaining and soon move on to other topics I spot Wyatt stepping outside. I quickly excuse myself from the group as I excitedly make my way over to him so that we can walk home together. We just need to pack today and then tomorrow we’re taking my car and making a small road trip to our beach villa. I’ll be picking up Wyatt, Noah and Camilla and driving them there as none of them have cars apparently. Wyatt tried to say that I didn’t have to come pick him up, that he would meet me at my place, but I insisted since in all the time we’ve been together I’ve never been to his house. So, I’ll pick him up first tomorrow and then Camilla and lastly Noah, who lives the furthest away. Eve and Irene are flying in tomorrow and will rent a car to get to the villa.