| scones and maple syrup

I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober, and you will still be ugly.

-Winston Churchill-

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Three more chapters 😭 (including bonus chapter). And negl, I'm so attached to this story. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck with me for the whole year it's taken me to write Smooth Sailing, I appreciate every single vote and read because without you I wouldn't be nearing 100K or be in the top 20. (The message on the last chapter will be longer than this lmao).

Alsooo, there are some Scandal references because I started watching it (don't speak about s6 because I'm nearly finished s5 :) Jake and Olivia belong together, who is Fitz??

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- L I L A -

Matthew's arms enclosed around my body, a euphoric grin plastered on his face as he dug his face into the crook of my neck and situated a ghost of a kiss on my skin. "I love you," he reiterated, pulling me closer until I could feel every contour of his body. He smelt so strongly of shower gel, but the scent was faint as his skin tasted slightly salty.

Running my hands through his damp hair, I grinned widely and sighed against his ear. "I love you too."

The sky had been bathed in darker colours and the increasing wind caused us to put our clothes on. We had finished all the food and we were leaning against my car.

"I want to stay with you," he smiled against my cheek, nuzzling his nose into the space beneath my ear. I laughed into him, my arms wrapping around his neck. "My bed is big enough for the both of us."

Kissing him tenderly, I leaned my forehead on his. "As much as I'd love to take you up on that offer, I'm really tired."

He nodded solemnly and gave me a small smirk. "Did I tire you out that much?" he prodded, leaving kisses across my face. "I wouldn't mind doing that again."

Slapping his arm, I couldn't help but laugh again. "Is this going to become a thing? You making sexual innuendos because we've slept together?"

He nodded truthfully, leaning back to meet my eyes. "You're forgetting that this is my first time sleeping with a girl I'm in love with. I don't think I'm going to be able to keep my hands off you."

Blushing at his statement, I opened the car door, extracting his arms from around my body. "I don't think I want you to."

---

The morning after, I felt the sunlight stream in between my blinds, rendering me with a slight pain. My door was opened as Yasmine was perched on the threshold, a wide, sly grin etched on her face.

"Well you've got this glow about you and it's certainly not the sun. What were you up to yesterday?" she questioned, setting her school bag and wavering her eyebrows coquettishly.

A heat seared through my cheeks that wasn't due to the sun, a laugh falling from my lips. "I'm not going to answer that, Yas."

She slotted herself in the gap between my feet, wringing her hands and placing it under her chin as her elbows leaned on my bed. "Yes you will." She affirmed, her brown eyes glistening in the sunlight. "Maybe that was answer enough."

Sighing, I wet my bottom lip momentarily. "Maybe it was."

She covered her face and squealed, watching me with excited eyes. "You totally—"

My dad stuck his head in my room, and raised his eyebrows suspiciously. Without missing a beat, Yasmine acted as if she hadn't noticed his presence and continued. "Got a good partner for this project."

I nearly choked on my own spit, speaking through my laughter. "That A+ is coming my way."

Glancing at my dad, he looked satisfied with our conversation, and carried on with his journey to the bathroom. Getting up, I shut my door with shaky hands, unable to control the laughter that slipped through my lips. "That was a close one, Yasmine." I whispered.

Yasmine shrugged with a laugh. "You've got to make it seem academic. Your dad wouldn't have asked what subject it was."

Shaking my head at her antics, I did a double take at her when her eyes widened and a squeak emitted from her. I furrowed my eyebrows and parted my lips. "What?"

Her face contorted in disbelief and she began laughing loudly, covering her mouth when she realised she couldn't control her laughter. Burying her head in my sheet, her shoulders shook violently as I stared at her in bewilderment.

"Matthew is an animal," she giggled once she composed herself, wiping the corner of her eyes. "Look at your neck."

Walking to my mirror, my jaw dropped as I saw the copious amount of hickeys spread across my neck, slightly dipping into my collarbone. "No way."

Yasmine chortled. "Yes way."

Untying my hair from its band, I allowed it to fall over my shoulders, seeing if it would hide the marks. Huffing tiredly, I retrieved my makeup bag and threw a desperate glance at Yasmine. "Help me."

Before long, we were on the road as Yasmine played music from her phone. My hickeys had gone unnoticed by my parents since we were successful in covering it up with makeup.

My cheeks flamed at the reminder of last night, a smile playing at the corner of my lips. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, sinking my bottom row of teeth into my lip. I was so in love with him it was unbelievable.

"Can we pick Greg up?" Yasmine questioned, lifting her head from her phone.

I was silent for a moment, nodding and turning the other way. The pads of my fingertips drummed against the wheel, Greg's house soon coming into view.

He was leaning against his front door, his hands wedged in the pockets of his black sweatpants. He walked towards my car, a small, barely-there, smile conquering his features.

"Morning," he mumbled quietly, nestling into the seat and avoiding our gazes.

I smiled silently, examining his features. His blue eyes were a pale colour, and his cheeks had been washed of any vibrant colour. He practically emitted sadness, and I couldn't help but frown at his state.

Without a word, Yasmine unbuckled her seatbelt, climbed into the back seat before leaning into him and draping an arm over his torso as he tentatively moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders. He stared down at her with sunken eyes, hugging her to his body silently.

Yasmine closed her eyes and missed the trace of my smile on my face. At first, I thought Yasmine was only getting close to Greg because she felt sorry for him, but it was just all her feelings coming back for him tenfold.

She cared, and was done trying to act like she didn't.

Starting up the car, it wasn't long before we reached school. Matthew greeted me at my locker, an irresistible, rakish grin etched on his face.

His arms draped around my shoulders as he gave me a hug, pausing to position a delicate kiss to my forehead. "Hello," he softly murmured against my lips, tasting slightly like lemonade.

"Hi." I responded, closing my eyes and pressing my lips to his for a brief moment. He moved to intertwine our fingers, Toby leading him with me to homeroom. I glanced up at him, chewing the corner of my lip. "How come you brought Toby today?"

Matthew slowly grinned, crouching before rubbing Toby between the shoulders. "Since the accident, he never wants to leave my side."

Toby's jowls separate into a wolffish smile and he nuzzled against Matthew. Crouching beside him, I placed my hand on Matthew's shoulder, seeing him smile softly in my direction.

"Do you want to try stroke him again?"

Humming in lieu of a spoken response, I felt his hand reach for mine, his fingers curling with mine. With his other hand, he soothed Toby, placing our joined hands on his back.

Toby's eyes connected with mine, and I almost felt myself dying in the inside. It helped knowing Toby wasn't like a normal dog, and wouldn't be full of surprises, but my slight fear of dogs didn't disappear in his presence.

Matthew chuckled, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. "He can sense your fear. Relax."

He loosened my hand, letting go as Toby's soft fur threaded through my fingers. After a couple moments, I stood up and smiled softly in Matthew's direction.

He bit his lip and reached for my hand. "I love you."

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Roses spread across the garden floor, the copious amount of sweet letters I held in my hand giving me a hunch as to what this was about. Over the course of the day, many guys from the football team approached me with handwritten notes; I could easily tell that it was Matthew, despite the fact that he couldn't have written them.

They were all pickup lines.

Following the trail of rose petals, I sighed softly as my eyes met a serene Matthew.

"Romantic gestures go a long way, huh?" he had his hands in his jacket pockets, a lazy smile etched onto his features. The affection didn't ebb away from him, and warmed my heart immensely.

"Yes," I breathed, gravitating towards him with a bout of love for him. "Is this for what I think it is?"

He slowly grinned. "Prom?" He ducked his head and let out a little laugh that had anxious undertones. "Yes."

His arms reached out for me, and stepping forward, I entered his warm embrace. "I was thinking it'd go without saying that we'd go together, but I know I never officially asked you to be my girlfriend."

My hand ran through the shorter sides of his hair, his grey eyes staring directly into mine. "I thought it went without saying that we were together."

He caressed my cheek softly, shaking his head infinitesimally. "I want to have a label," he wet his bottom lip. "This is the last day in counting up to."

Rising onto my tiptoes, I briefly kissed his lips delicately. "Fine. Ask me."

"To prom or to be my girlfriend?" he questioned, painting a grin on my face.

"Both." I whispered against his lips.

He tilted his body to the left slightly, and gathered a bouquet of red roses. In the midst of it, it had a small white card, and after picking it up, I smiled at what it said.

Would you make me the luckiest guy and be my girlfriend? If you accept, know that I can't wait to dance with you on the boat.

He waited patiently whilst anxiously chewing on the corner of his lip. "So, will you go to prom with me?"