Us

Chapter two

Light burned the back of my eyes and I groaned loudly. I opened my heavy eyelids slowly and found the once dark lounge, lit up by the sun shining through that massive floor to ceiling windows. The smell of coffee encouraged me to throw the blanket that I assume Camilla put over me when she arrived away from my body. I frowned in my sleepy state as I padded softly to the kitchen where Camilla was preparing breakfast. She only arrived at ten, what was she doing here so early? I took a sip of the blissful coffee and involuntarily looked at the clock. I choked, causing Camilla to come around the island I was sitting by and patted my back until the coughing slowed. I’d slept till eleven in the morning which meant I missed my first lecture, my favourite one. I nodded when Camilla asked if I was okay and she placed the pancakes she was busy with in front of me. “I thought ma’am would be hungry seeing as you slept in.” She said and I smiled, she was so sweet. “Thank you so much,” I said and she smiled. “You don’t have to call me ma’am Camilla. We went over this already.” I argued and she sent me a look that I’ve seen to many times. “In my culture, it is respectful to treat your boss correctly.” she said and I couldn’t argue with her, not when she made me a full plate of pancakes that made my stomach growl in hunger.

I munched down the food and thanked Camilla again before pouring another cup of coffee and sluggishly forced myself to climb the stairs. When I got to my room, the sound of unfamiliar male laughter made me frown. I hadn’t heard those voices before. I took myself to the window and watched the men from that house throwing a ball between the four of them. They were all well-built; I’d say they were bigger than Henry and me being short. I would feel even tinier if I stood in front of them. My whole plan of confronting them, I threw out the window that was in front of me and imagined it falling and breaking on the grass. I didn’t stand a chance against all those… those extremely good looking guys. I sipped my coffee, looking down at the grass at my imaginary plan lying scattered like my life. It was funny how I could amuse myself.

“Hey!” I heard one of them yell and I looked up and found four pairs of eyes watching me. I jumped and my coffee mug actually fell out of the window and I nearly fell out along with it, trying to catch it. I looked up and the one who’d said hi, waved enthusiastically and they were all looking very amused at my figure that was now half dangling out the window. Remembering that I was in a very revealing pyjama set, I scooted inside and out of sight. There were no trees to cover me, which meant they saw everything. I was blushing in embarrassment as I stalked to my bathroom, thinking about how they thought I was a peeping tom or something. Great, my new neighbours think I’m a creep. I breathed deeply and weighed my options on whether I should go to school for the rest of my classes or go outside at all. What are so many guys doing in one house anyway? I knew the houses around here had no less than eleven bedrooms or something. But still…Where they a frat house for grown dudes? I laughed softly and decided to get ready for the day. I put on some jeans, yes again, and a printed over-sized tee shirt. It was hot outside so I didn’t bother with any jackets and padded around in my socks till it was time to go. I could not miss school so close to the end of the year and decided I would just deal with whatever they shot at me.

I closed my curtains in a way that I hoped was not suspicious and resisted the urge to look out the window for air. At twelve I slipped on my sneakers and grabbed my bags before picking up a muffin from the kitchen that Camilla had baked. I said goodbye to her and walked down the steps, onto the pavement as I watched with beady eyes at the males lounging on the grass. This was not going to be easy. I took a bite of the blueberry muffin, then two, until I’d eaten the whole thing and swallowed fully before walking to the University. The breeze was nice and I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t embarrassed myself the way I did. They were watching me, I knew they were and I refused to look at them in return because that would be entertaining their small minds. I laughed to myself and internally applauded at the joke.

“So she smiles!” The tallest one of the four said as they stood to their feet. He was the one who’d waved and said hi. He was way bigger than Henry and had hazel brown hair that if I was in an alternative universe, I’d definitely crush on him. But I wasn’t and he wasn’t my type, as I if knew what my type was. I stopped and turned to them, I was now exactly across the street from them now. I gave him a sarcastic smile, “And you’re probably a douche.” I snapped, this made him laugh, causing my cheeks to flame up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so rude.” I said and his smile softened. “Don’t worry cute cheeks; I don’t take things like that personally. Well not all the time.” With that, he gave me a killer wink and I felt my cheeks being engulfed in more flames at the name he called me. What was happening today? “The name’s Bryce.” He said casually and I felt my cheeks go back to its normal colour before replying. “I’m Savannah.” I said back and gave me a nod.

“Better get used to this cute cheeks, you’ll be seeing a lot more of us.” With that he turned back to the massive house behind him and his friends started laughing at what had happened. I shook the feeling away and started walking again, shifting my laptop bag slightly. Bright red caught my eyes and I turned to the garage that was wide open, a cherry red mustang sitting there with its hood open and a man leaning forward into the engine. This was probably the car that raced down the street early hours of this morning and my curiosity urged me to wait and find out who I assumed was the driver.

I swore he must of sensed my prying eyes from across the street because the guy stood up straight from the hood and turned around, wiping his hands on a dirty cloth. When his eyes met mine I froze, my heart beat suddenly became very loud in my ears and his movements were in slow motion as he leaned his behind on the car. He was cleaning his hands as I looked him up and down. He wore boots and faded jeans that hung low on his hips with a navy blue T-shirt that pulled over all that muscle from his arms to his shoulder, to the broad chest. His eyes watched me, as if he was judging me and I suddenly felt very vulnerable. I felt dizzy and felt myself suck in a sharp breath before realising I must look like a freak staring at him like that. I felt a wave of heat creep into my cheeks and looked down.

Oh yes, this was definitely my type. I was cut from our stare down when I suddenly realised that I was going to be late if I stood here drooling any more than I already had. “Oh shit.” I mumbled, breaking the uneasy tension and hurried down the road, hoping I didn’t miss the class at all. My cheeks were on fire, I felt like an i***t and I embarrassed myself in front of some seriously good looking men. I felt my blood pumping in my veins when I sat in the lecture hall. This was what I wanted, something different and new but what stung was that what I wanted, I knew I couldn’t have. The guy I saw was way out of my league and he filled my heads with new, kinky thoughts that caused my already rosy cheeks to grow hotter even thinking about him. I needed to concentrate and looked down at the book in front of me, trying to get my mind off those dark eyes that would crowd my dreams for many more nights to come.

I was nervous on my way back from my last lecture. Would he be by his car, thinking about how I made a fool of myself as I stood there earlier staring at him? He must think of me as a creep and I was so used it, being treated like an outcast. This time, I didn’t want this person to look at me as one. I knew the minute his eyes had latched onto mine that I was going to have some serious trouble with him. And besides, guys like him didn’t want girls like me who were shy and an introvert. I mentally slapped myself for thinking up all that s**t about how good he looked or how it would feel to run my hand through those thick, chocolate brown locks that was sticking to his face with sweat. Oh god, I sounded like a fourteen year old girl who just found out what her c**t was. I stopped in my tracks and let out a loud, frustrated groan, hoping to let out that hot tension that had built up during the day.

I looked to the side and went pale. I just made a very unattractive noise in front of their house and he was by an open window on the second floor smoking what looked like a cigarette. I could see a small smile playing on his lips and I turned my head to the ground and practically jogged the last two houses before shoving myself through my door. I realised I was breathing heavily and decided that I was going to lock my room and never come out. I closed my eyes and his face came into few, the scene where his mouth slowly pulled into a small smile replaying itself over and over in my head and I bit my lip. It was unusual for me to do so and I liked the way it calmed my nerves to a bearable point. I rushed up the stairs and peeked out the window and watched the house that was silent.

Later on the evening, when the sun had set and darkness clouded the sky, I sat going over my notes when I heard shouting. I sat by the window as he pulled the mustang out of the garage. The engine rumbled lowly as he got out and spoke to the guy who I remembered as Bryce. I watched in fascination as they got into a heated argument and I heard Bryce’s voice over the engine. “f**k off, Adrian!” So that was what the handsome devils name was, suited him well. Both men looked at my window and caught me staring. Oh shoot fudgy biscuits. The mustang revved before I heard it reverse out of the driveway and sprint down the street. Wondering what they were talking about, I made my way to my bed and snuggled into my pillows. Insomnia would kick in soon and I wouldn’t be able to sleep again. I sighed and heard the distant sound of Camilla shutting the door downstairs. He was dangerous, I could see in the way he looked at me and how he stood with tense muscles. He was taller than Bryce and the other guys and I could see on his body that it was not gym that caused those pecks, it was hard labour.

I realised that it didn’t matter if I couldn’t sleep because it was going to be Saturday anyways and I was all alone for the weekend. Camilla didn’t work on weekends which left me all alone for the next two days. I hated being alone, but I was so used to the feeling that I knew how to shove the scary feelings down. I was surprised that no parties were thrown in house across the street and was grateful because my head was pounding. I sat up; sleep wasn’t making any appearances any time soon and decided to take a shower. I needed something to blank out the pain. The hot water hit the tiles steam covered the bathroom in a blanket as I stepped under the beating water. The droplets hit my back soothingly, massaging the aching muscles and I grabbed a scented scrub that I rubbed onto my soft skin. I had relatively medium sized breasts, the same like my butt and I was actually happy with my body. I shampooed my hair and closed my eyes to stop any soap from going into my eyes.

I massaged my head and my brain went on an imaginary spree of how Adrian would look without that shirt and all the things those big hands could do. My eyes shot open and I pressed my hands against the cool walls for balance, my breathing was heavy. I needed to keep my head out of the gutter and needed to keep my distance from the beautiful double-story, it was the only way I would be able to cope. If it meant that I would have to force myself to get up sooner to pass them unnoticed, I had to do it. I’d never experienced these feelings before, they were so foreign to me and I took a shaky breath in before grabbing a towel and going to my closet to slip on something to wear. I could smell the rain from my open window and decided to put on some yoga pants and a tank top.

I walked to my dresser; it was still dark outside and turned my lights on to a dim before drying my hair with a hairdryer. I clasped my hair in on top of my head and sat, crossed-legged on my bed. I picked up the book from my side table and replaced the dimmed lights with my side lamp. The lighting was enough for me to read and my eyes darted swiftly over the typed words on the page. I needed to do something and reading wasn’t it. I groaned and put the book down and lay back on my bed. I thought about Darren’s dark eyes before I got that all too familiar twitch in my hand. I knew what I needed and padded to a room on the furthest side of the house before turning the handle and switching the light on. My mother’s old art room lit up and I took a step on the cool plastic sheeting that was laid down on the floor to protect it from paint. I walked to an open canvas and found a pencil laying amongst so much art supplies that were piling on a huge table that spread across the full length of the wall. I squared my shoulders before playing some music on the surround sound, house system that played the music throughout the house. I swayed my hips to the beat, beginning with the outline of my drawing. My mom had taught me the basic steps of art and I too had a hand for art, I just didn’t do it often.

The sun started to rise, causing gold streaks to shine through the studio. I was almost done with the drawing before I could start with painting and placed the canvas in front of the window to gain better lighting, opening the curtains I watched as the sun reflected against the crystal blue pool, causing it to shine beautifully. The clouds had moved away and the sun was beaming brightly, promising warmth. A swim sounded good for when I was done with the painting and smiled, turning back to my canvas. I collected all the paints I thought I needed and placed them on a stool beside me with some paintbrushes in a jar of water. The paintbrushes were new and I dampened them slightly before squeezing the first lot of paint out onto a pallet. I brush glided along the canvas in smooth strokes and I took a step back to admire my work progress before squeezing a second colour out. I was using a lot of browns and blacks in the painting, but something was missing. I went back to the table and searched for a specific tube of paint. I found the gold colour almost at the bottom and took it back to the painting.

I took a thinner brush and lightly stroked the shiny colour onto the painting. It was convenient that my floor to ceiling windows gave me a great view of the house I was supposed to be staying away from. Except right now, while I was painting to my heart’s content, it didn’t matter at that moment. The red mustang was parked neatly in the garage and a certain someone’s backside was poking through the open garage door. I looked away and continued to use the gold on my canvas. It felt like hours later when I finally stepped away from the painting to admire my beautiful work. The doorbell ringed throughout the house and I took my apron off and jogged down the steps, paint streaks covering my shirt and pants. I swung the door open and before me stood Bryce with what looked like a gift basket in his hand and a lopsided grin. His eyes held amusement when he saw my paint covered clothes and handed me the basket. “This is for the other night when the music was so loud and for whatever shouting you heard last night.” He said, looking behind him and I caught Adrian watching from the under the hood of his car. I looked back at him with a smile. “It is not a problem.” I said shyly and he nodded before turning away and winking. “Have a good weekend further.” He yelled from the pavement and I blushed slightly at his wink. I yelled for him to have a good one too before closing the door and latching it.