Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Chrissy
T he best thing about summer break is doing absolutely nothing. The last couple of days, I’ve been crashing the Waylens’ pool. I was able to keep my dorm back at Castle Brook because I’ll be participating in a psychology mentorship next week, but it gets boring when I’m there alone.
I managed to talk Max into letting us have a mini pool party today. He said that as long as no one fucks in the pool or trashes his house, he’s cool with it. The only problem is a certain cat can’t help but be the center of attention and create chaos in the midst of it.
“Here comes trouble,” I warn Gwen as she opens the sliding glass door from the kitchen to the backyard.
With a brief squeal, she hurries outside and closes the door before Pickles can make a run for it. Pickles almost runs face-first into the door, and I can’t help but chuckle at his attempt to join the party before it even starts.
“Shall I grab your floaties, Your Majesty?” I tease.
Pickles turns around and squints his lime-green eyes at me, like he’s responding to my comment.
“Oh no, did I walk in on a Pickles versus Chrissy standoff?” Ash halts when he catches the two of us in the act.
“He started it,” I say without looking away from this maniac.
The door slides open, but Pickles doesn’t dare break our eye contact.
“Not again,” Gwen sighs. “Come here, crazy boy.” She picks him up, and he literally melts in her arms. “I’m going to put him in our room so he doesn’t try to run away.”
“Mama’s boy,” I snark while Gwen passes by, and that asshole tries to swat his paw at me.
I purse my lips together, and Ash chuckles when he catches the face I’m making.
“It shouldn’t surprise me that the cat is your nemesis, but somehow, it does.” He grabs a carrot stick and munches on it. “How many people should we expect today?”
“Yeah, about that.” I throw a charming smile his way, hoping it’ll ease the blow.
“Chrissy...” he chastises. “How many people did you invite?”
“Not that many, I swear!”
“How many?” He drops his tone to convey his seriousness.
“The usual suspects. Zack, Rome, most of the football team, and twenty-some of my friends,” I mumble, hoping he doesn’t hear me, but this is Ash we’re talking about. This man hears everything.
“You better hope Max doesn’t find out. And you better pray this house doesn’t get trashed.”
“I will take full responsibility. I can keep everyone in line, trust me.”
Ash’s eyes wrinkle behind his glasses, and as he finishes the carrot, he grabs the tray to bring it outside.
“I’m watching you, Willows.”
“Don’t worry, Waylen!” I throw him a thumbs-up when he manages to slide the door closed.
“Don’t worry about what?” Gwen asks when she returns.
Smiling as innocently as I can, Gwen sighs in defeat, already knowing I’m about to recruit her for something crazy.
“All right, tell me what I have to do.”
Convincing Gwen was easy. Implementing the plan? Not so much. I’m starting to second-guess my idea of inviting nearly the entire football team, but Rome wanted to get to know some of his new teammates before practice starts next week. And we all know I’m a sucker when it comes to Rome. When Zack strolls through the front door, the backyard is booming with music and chatter. His deep ocean eyes gloss over in confusion when he walks into the kitchen.
“I thought this was supposed to be a small gathering.” My brother’s accusatory tone makes an entrance.
“It was, but Chrissy pulled a Chrissy,” Gwen says while peeking outside and pointing. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
With a bottle of water in hand, I peer over her shoulder and scoff at Ash.
“That dick gave me shit for inviting all these people. Look at him now.” I throw my hands up in the air.
Gwen rests her hand over her forehead as we observe the Ash Waylen in action. A group of guys and a few random girls huddle around him. He’s talking with his hands and grinning ear to ear as he tells whatever crazy tale he’s sharing.
Gwen’s cheeks flush red as she fixes her bathing suit strap. She’s growing self-conscious, and that one nervous tick is too familiar.
I drape my arm over her shoulder and rest my head on hers. “Do you want me to get him for you?” I whisper so Zack doesn’t hear me.
With a gentle shake of her head, I nod and kiss her temple.
“Zack, will you go out there and make sure no one fucks in the pool or trashes Mr. Lawyer Man’s property?” I ask while secretly gesturing to a nervous Gwen.
Zack recognizes my protective stance over Gwen and agrees.
“Anything for my two favorite people in the world.” Zack offers Gwen a smile before going outside.
We watch as he charges Ash, pulling him into one of his famous bear hugs. Gwen doesn’t have anything to worry about regarding Ash. This is her anxiety over crowds creeping in. She wants to be with Ash, but her fear is stopping her.
“You can go outside and have fun. I’ll manage the fort from here.” She pulls away and puts on a strong front.
“I promised Rome I would wait for him. He should be here any minute. Speaking of which. . .”
“Oh no,” Gwen mutters.
“What do you mean, oh no ?”
“What master plan do you have up your sleeve today?” She chuckles, and I grin.
I remove my black tank top, adjust my bright red bikini top, and then ruffle my hair to give it volume.
“No trick today, my Gwen.” I wink at my best friend as her jaw drops to the floor.
“Zack is going to murder you,” she chuckles breathlessly.
“Zack can suck on a donkey’s tail. I have a blond football player who needs wooing.”
I haven’t seen Rome since the fancy pancakes incident; it’s been nothing but casual texts. I almost got him to spill a tidbit from his past, but Zack ruined the moment, and Rome shut down. He wore a brave face and acted like his usual, light-hearted self. Which only makes me wonder, how much of his pain is he hiding? And how often does he hide that trauma with a charming grin?
My feelings toward Rome are becoming overwhelming. I think about him nonstop, waiting for my phone to buzz, hoping he’ll text or call me. Or that he’ll show up at Ash’s while I’m there. Being around him fills a void in my chest that I didn’t know was there, and I’m tired of waiting for him to make the first move.
“How do I look?” I do a tiny twirl, and when I face her, her eyes are still wide.
“Like your boobs are going to fall out.”
“Perfect.”
Unlike Gwen, I don’t have gorgeous curves or a nice set of tits. My body curves to a point, and my breasts aren’t small, but they’re not big either. I was made fun of a lot in middle school for having small boobs and no ass. I grew since then, and with a lot of self-affirmations, I learned to love my body. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have my bad days.
“Hey, Gwen!” A familiar voice sounds behind me, but it’s not from the man I’m looking for.
“Hey! How are you?” she asks as Miles pulls her in for a hug.
Patting his back, Gwen keeps her eyes on me, unsure how this scenario will play out. I haven’t seen Miles since we ended things last winter. As far as I know, we left on good terms.
“I’m good. How are you?” Gwen asks as they pull apart.
“Great. I haven’t seen you or Ash in a while. Let me guess—he’s outside?” Miles looks outside and nods his head. “Yep, that makes total sense.” He turns around, finally noticing me, and he smiles at me.
“Hey, Chrissy. How are you?” His caramel eyes shine as he looks at me.
“Fine, thank you for asking. I thought you were headed back home after graduation.”
“I’m leaving on Monday, just wanted to stop by and see everyone one last time.”
“I’m glad you could make it,” I tell him with a soft smile, and he matches it before grinning ear to ear.
“Look who it is!” Rome’s hypnotic voice enthralls me.
Walking right past me, he and Miles hug one another and pat each other’s backs rather aggressively.
“Where have you been, man?” Rome asks while beaming his flawless smile.
“I’ve been around. Last semester was busy.” Miles goes on about his classes, quickly sucking Rome into a black hole.
Blowing a stray curl away from my face, I glance over at Gwen and catch the moment Ash opens the door. He notices Miles and Rome, but his eyes land on a rather antsy-looking Gwen.
“There you are,” Ash says.
Gwen turns around, and relief washes over her expression. Pressing her face into his chest, he runs his fingers up and down her spine and kisses the crown of her head. Ash catches my gaze, and I offer him a sweet grin.
They’ve been together for almost a year now, and they seem to know when each other needs them the most. It must be nice to have someone like that.
“Hey, guys.” Ash speaks up, quickly earning the attention of his friends.
Ash keeps Gwen close as he and Miles start to catch up, but Rome tilts his head in my direction.
“Hey, blondie.” Rome’s voice is deep yet soft.
His cheeks flush as his lips tug into a smile. He’s wearing black swim trunks and a red Castle Brook Knights football tee. His blond hair is a tad messy today, like he just got out of bed and drove here without looking in the mirror. And it’s painfully hot.
“Hi, Rome.” I stutter, and I want to smack my forehead.
When the hell did I start acting shy? It’s like I absorbed Gwen’s personality, and it’s confusing my brain.
His eyes linger over me, but they don’t inch down my body like I was hoping they would. He’s observing my face, and my blushed cheeks.
He opens his mouth to say something, but Miles interrupts him.
“Come on, Rome! We’ve got places to be and girls to see.” Miles guides Rome outside.
My attention doesn’t waver from the football player who manages to confuse me on a daily basis. With a brief glance over his shoulder, he jogs toward his teammates, who are congregated around the drink cooler.
“Coming, ladies?” Ash asks while opening the door again.
“Just give us a moment,” Gwen says in a sweet tone.
With a nod, Ash heads outside, leaving Gwen and me alone in the kitchen.
“What the hell was that?” she whispers.
“I don’t know,” I mutter back.
“You totally fumbled over your words. And you blushed! You never blush!”
“I know!” I groan while raking my hands through my curls. “That boy’s got me under some spell. And did you see him? He didn’t even look at my boobs. I wore my skimpiest swimsuit for nothing.” I slump against the kitchen island in defeat.
“Listen, if Rome likes you, I know a surefire way to get him to react. He’s a stupid boy, and you know what stupid boys respond to?”
Lifting my head, I smirk at Gwen. “You’re a genius.”