One Hot Summer

Chapter 10: The Storm

BENNETT

The rain did not let up once it started. It was a last minute decision to invite a group of people over after work. I also felt bad about ditching Sky last night so I decided to make it up to her by inviting her tonight.

Sleeping with Riley in my arms was a terrible decision. I could tell myself all day long that I was just trying to be protective of my little sisters best friend but it would be a lie.

That’s where Sky comes in. She’s hot and feisty and the perfect way to get a certain curvy blonde out of my head.

RILEY

I ran inside to find that a small handful of people from work were already at the house.

“Holy s**t! It’s really coming down out there” Brynn says looking through the back doors. Olivia runs into the house behind me.

“Damn! It’s bad out there” she say shivering.

“I’m gonna go shower. You can shower and use some of my clothes if you want” I tell her. She nods and follows me up to the bedroom.

Brynn sat on my bed as Olivia and I took turns showering. As I was finishing my shower I could hear shouting from Bens room.

Don’t do it girl. Walk away

My curiosity got the better of me and I moved in front of the sink mirror to hear better.

“Babe, why are you acting so jealous?” Ben spoke in an irritated voice.

“Because you invited me to your party last night and then ignored me. Then you made out with her in front of me!” A female voice yelled.

Was I the ‘her’ in this situation?

“Sky, come on. Her boyfriend cheated on her and she was out for revenge. That’s all. The kiss meant nothing” Ben says trying to calm her down.

“It was nothing? You stared at her all night. It was nothing? It sure didn’t look like nothing. Looked like you were enjoying it to me. Then you ditched me. I don’t even know why I’m here” Sky yelled back to him.

“Baby, she is my sisters best friend. I feel obligated to look out for her. Please, believe me. Don’t leave. I will make it up to you” Ben says.

Why do his words sting so much? I thought we were at least friends.

I moved away from Bens door and retreated back to my own room.

“You okay babe?” Olivia asks. I snap out of my daze and throw on a fake smile.

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking” I say getting dressed.

Thunder shook the house as we all piled into the living room. Sky, the girl who was now permanently glued to Bens hip glared daggers at me. I rolled my eyes. The group that now sat in the living room devouring pizza consisted of Ben, Sky, Brynn, Olivia, Nick, Milo, and Jade. A much smaller group than the night before but I liked this group minus Sky.

Brynn, Olivia, and I passed around a bottle of wine.

“Shall we make this night more interesting?” Ben says holding a deck of cards.

“We are not playing card games, Ben” Brynn says rolling her eyes.

“Suck and blow?” Ben says.

“How about we play truth, dare, or drink?” Brynn suggests instead. Everyone seems to agree with this game more.

Just as we get the drinks set up we hear a loud clap of thunder before the lights flicker and go out.

All the girls let out a scream.

“Uhhhm, should we call it a night?” Sky asks in an extremely annoying voice.

“No, no one’s leaving right now. If the storm is strong enough to knock out the power, I’m not letting anyone leave until it’s passed. Besides, if anyone is planning to drink you aren’t leaving tonight anyways” Ben says standing up.

“Exactly. We have candles and flashlights. I’ll go get some” Brynn says.

Everyone sat in a circle around the coffee table. Faces were illuminated by the flicker of candles.

“Now, back to our game. The rules are simple. We take turns going in a circle. You can ask a question or dare anyone in the circle. If you choose not to answer the question or fulfill your dare then you have to take a shot” Brynn says filling a line of shot glasses.

“I’ll go first. Nick, did you get your d**k pierced?” Olivia asks. The question made me almost spit my drink out. Everyone was totally thrown off.

Nick smirks at her and takes a shot.

“You suck!” Olivia says. Nick winks at her.

“If you’re that interested, I can show you later Liv” he says making us all chuckle. We move around the circle and thankfully I’m no one’s target, yet.

Now it was Nicks turn, “Ben. Blondes or Brunettes?” He asks.

Ben looks at me, the candlelight flickers in his gaze. He glances at Sky who has now crawled under his arm.

Clearing his throat he answers, “…brunettes” he says. I look away, not surprised.

We get to Ben. He smirks at me.

“Riley. I dare you..” he starts and my heart races.

“to choose someone in this room, the guy that you find most attractive and kiss him” he says. I narrow my eyes at him. What the hell does he think he’s doing? Why would he dare that? I start to reach for a shot glass. After hearing Bens conversation with Sky earlier I knew she’d be watching my every move.

Just as I touch the shot glass I change my mind. I stand up, my eyes fixed on Ben. I move in his direction and pull my hair out of my face.

His smile grows bigger as he watches me move around the coffee table in his direction. Sky is sitting with her mouth gaped open.

I crouch down in front of Ben but turn slightly. I pull Milo closer and press my lips against his.

Cheers erupt behind me as I straddle Milo’s lap kissing him hungrily. Milo is crazy attractive and while I may not think he’s the most attractive guy here, my choice to kiss him was an excellent one.

Pulling away I look over at Ben whose smile has turned back into a smirk. He watches as I make my way back to my spot.

“Damn, Milo. You lucky son of a b***h” Nick says high fiving him.

Milo smiles at me as I take a big gulp of wine.

Olivia and Brynn whisper to me about how cute we’d be together. I ignore them and look to sky whose still eyeing me.

“Riley. Have you slept with anyone here?” Sky asks blankly. Ben glances down at her. He and I know exactly what she’s getting at. She never specified her wording so the truth was, yes. I had slept with most of the people in this circle. s*x? No, but she never said that. I glance up at her.

“Yes” I say confidently. Her eyes ignite angrily. Bens head whips in my direction.

Instantly I regret my answer. Maybe Sky didn’t specify what she meant but everyone, including myself knew what she meant and now the whole group was wondering who I’d had s*x with.

I got up and walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and take a breather. As I turn to head back to the living room my body slams against a hard force.

“s**t!” I yell.

“Watch it” Sky shouts back.

“Oh, it’s you” I say. With a flashlight in hand I see her take a step closer.

“Listen, I don’t know who you think you are but the little looks between you and Ben need to stop” Sky says, her petite height practically 5 inches shorter than me.

I chuckle, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” I say trying to move around her.

“He’s not interested in your rejected ass” she says stepping in front of me. Part of me wants to throw down with her right there.

“Sky, you may be Bens guest but this is where I live so this is my home too and I’m not above throwing your ass out” I tell her.

She clicks her tongue, “Stay away from him..”she warns.

“Don’t worry, I’m not interested” I tell her storming out of the kitchen.

Once I make my way back to the living room the game has changed.

“Who wants to share first time stories?” Brynn asks.

“I’d say Jade has the worst first time story” Nick teases.

I shake my head at him.

“Do tell” Brynn says.

“She can’t. She’s still a virgin” Nick laughs.

“Shut up, nick!” Jade yells, shoving him.

“Leave her alone, Nicholas” Olivia scolds.

“I’d rather have no first time story than have Riley’s first time story” Brynn laughs.

“Brynn..” I say giving her a look. She placed her hand over her mouth and giggles through her teeth. A sign that she’s been drinking.

Everyone shared stories. Some good, some bad. I remain quiet.

“I have one!” Brynn says loudly.

“You already went” Olivia points out.

“No! This one isn’t mine. I have a friend *hiccup*…” Brynn starts. I shake my head at her as she continues.

She laughs trying to compose herself, “her jackass boyfriend finally convinced her to have s*x with him..” she laughs again. My heart beat quickens worried where she’s going with this.

“She was a virgin but he wasn’t. He f****d her dry. Didn’t lube up or anything. She cried the entire time because it hurt so bad and the asshole made her feel like s**t for crying. To this day, she hates having s*x” Brynn says and my heart squeezes in my chest. That was my story. My awful first time and I had shared it with her in confidence. I stare at Brynn.

A handful of hisses and sympathetic sounds escape everyone.

“That’s rough” Nick says.

“Poor girl” Olivia follows.

“What an asshole” Jade scoffs.

“I know right” Brynn says looking back at me, “thankfully he’s out of the picture now though, right Riles” she says patting my arm.

All eyes are on me now as they realize Brynn was talking about me. My eyes fill with tears that I quickly blink back.

“Oh my god” Sky laughs over the silence.

I shake my head and walk toward the kitchen.

“Wait! Riles. I’m sorry” Brynn says following after me, “you know how I get when I drink. I thought it’d be funny” she says.

“Brynn, that wasn’t just a story. That was my experience and it was traumatic. You’re the only person I’ve ever told and now the entire living room knows” I tell her.

“Well if it was so traumatic then why did you stay with the jackass?” She bites back.

I stop in my tracks, wounded by her words.

“Leave me alone, Brynn. I don’t want to talk to you right now” I say.

The storm had died down but it was raining hard. I went out back and sat on the picnic table under the awning. The wind was strong and the rain blew at me but I didn’t care.

I watched the rain make circles in the pool as drops hit the water.

“Why are you always seconds away from danger?” I hear a voice call out.

I giggle, “why are you out here, Ben?” I ask not looking up.

“Hadn’t seen you in a while so I thought I’d come check on you. You weren’t in your room and Brynn said you’d come this way” Ben says sitting on the picnic table beside me.

“Ben, you’re not my brother. I appreciate you feeling like you have to “keep an eye out for me” but you don’t” I say.

He laughs and tries to meet my eyes.

“I know that. You don’t think I know that?” He says bumping my shoulder.

His scent was undeniably heavenly. Like warm vanilla and sandalwood. Sky’s words rolled around in my head.

“Seriously, you don’t need to play protector over me. Besides, sky seems to be pretty possessive over you and I’ve been instructed to stay away from you” I say smirking at him.

Ben laughs, “Wow, she’s even feistier than I thought” he says looking back toward the house before turning toward me.

“You do something to me, Riley. I can’t explain it. The only explanation I can seem to make out of it is that maybe I just feel protective because you’re Brynns best friend. Ya know?” He says. My heart flips in my chest. What did he mean? What did I ‘do to him?’ How was I supposed to not develop a crush on him when he was saying s**t like this to me?

“You should go in, Ben. I appreciate it but I’m fine. You’re free to live your life without watching out for me” I tell him smiling.

He lingers for a moment before nodding and standing up.

“Be careful out here, Riley” Ben says before slipping back into the house.

I walk back into the living room and notice things have died down quite a bit. Everyone is sprawled out over the floor and couches. I notice that Ben and Sky are no longer in the living room. I decided it’d probably be best to stay down here for the night. Not sure I want to be next door if Sky and Ben decide to get frisky.

Olivia looks up at me and holds her hand out.

I take it and lay beside her.

“You okay?” She whispers pulling the blanket over me.

“Yeah, I’m fine” I whisper back.

“I’m sorry she told your story. I was going to come find you but Ben told us to let you have your time” Olivia whispers.

There it is again. He confuses me. Why would he keep anyone from checking on me.

“I appreciate babes” I say. Olivia hugs me and turns over.

“Anytime little Jax” she whispers.

I couldn’t stop thinking of Ben and his words. He couldn’t like me though. He’s made that clear multiple times. Besides, he was upstairs with Sky. I turned over and closed my eyes hoping that sleep would come soon.