One Hot Summer

Chapter 9: Small Crush

RILEY

My head pounded as sun steamed through the gap in the curtains. Regardless of the ache behind my eyes, my memory was entirely intact, making the pain of heartbreak ever prevalent.

As I slowly open my eyes I glance down at the fingers that are intertwined with mine.

I look over my shoulder at Bens sleeping face. His features are so defined. His dark eyelashes lay against his cheeks. My eyes fall to his lips that are parted ever so slightly. Those lips, I still remember how they felt against mine. Strong yet soft and persistent.

Before I can do anything my alarm goes off. I clench my eyes shut as I feel Ben jerk up.

“Goddamn, you and that stupid alarm” he grumbles reaching over me to shut it off. As he retreats to the other side of the bed our eyes meet. A smirk crossed his face and I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Morning” he says laying back.

“Morning” I say hopping out of bed.

“Do you feel any better today?” Ben asks.

“My head hurts but other than that…” I say getting out of bed. Looking down I realize I’m not wearing pants. My eyes go wide and I cover my sheer panties.

Ben laughs, his laugh is deep and makes me feel warmer inside.

“Why are you covering up? You were literally pressed against me all night” he says.

“Yeah but…” I start to say. He puts his hands up in surrender.

“I get it. I get it. I’m leaving” he says standing up. He looks over his shoulder one more time at me before disappearing into the bathroom.

I fall onto the bed and cover my face.

Walking downstairs I see Brynn sitting at the island in the kitchen. She sees me and races toward me, pulling me in for a hug.

“Hey babe. How are you?” She asks holding me tight. My heart squeezes in my chest.

“I’m okay..” I tell her. She nods but doesn’t keep pushing which I’m thankful for

“Has he tried to talk to you?” She asks. I give her a half smile and show her my phone.

“45 missed calls. 36 text messages” she reads, her eyebrows raise to the top of her head.

“He’s bordering stalker status” she says.

I sigh. My heart is shattered. The guys that I first loved broke my heart. What makes matters worse is that I don’t feel like I can talk to my best friend about it. She hated James so much. Why don’t I hate him? I feel like I’m wrong. I know that I am. I feel like it’s almost 2 years wasted.

I look down, trying to suppress the tears that beg to fall.

“You okay, Riles?” Brynn asks. I blink back my emotions.

“Yeah..I’m..I’m good, B. I have to go to work..see you tonight” I tell her grabbing an apple and heading for the door.

Pulling into the empty parking lot my mind feels a little more clear as I see the blue water beyond the fence. Water therapy is exactly what I need.

Stripping down to my bathing suit I make my way to the end of the high dive. I plunge into the cool water and it feels incredible.

When I was a kid I used to swim to the bottom of the deepest part of the pool and wiggle onto my stomach and stay there until I needed to come up for air. It was quiet and peaceful.

As I swam to the bottom I could already feel my body relax. My eyes looked around as I settled onto my stomach.

My peace is short lived when I hear a loud whoosh before feeling an arm wrap around my waist and pull me to the edge of the pools surface.

I take a deep breath and wipe the water from my face before my eyes settle on two angry hazel eyes.

“What the f**k were you thinking?” Ben says with a frustrated tone.

“I was swimming!” I yell realizing his arm is still locked around my waist.

“You were at the bottom of the pool!” Ben says firmly. After a moment I realize what it must’ve looked like.

“I was only down for there maybe 30 seconds..” I say. Ben let’s go and slicks his hair back.

“I heard someone jump in but no one surfaced” he says and guilt settles in my stomach.

We both pull ourselves onto the concrete.

“I’m sorry Ben. I didn’t realize anyone was here. I didn’t mean to worry you” I say.

“Is this because of James?” He asks and I laugh.

“No, I promise. I was just swimming. I find the bottom of the pool to be peaceful” I say sounding like a crazy person.

“You scared me, Jaxen. You’re my sisters best friend. She’d be a wreck if something happened to you” Ben says getting up. I chuckle.

“Yeah…” I say sitting there for a little longer.

“What are you doing here?”

Ben runs his towel over his hair.

“Getting ready for shift” he says. I nod and stare over the calm pool.

“Hey Ben..” I say looking up at him. He crouches down beside me, his eye contact is intense.

“Thanks.. for last night..” I start, “and for today…” I laugh a little.

He smiles, “like I said, you’re my little sisters best friend..gotta keep an eye out for ya” he says patting my head like a dog.

Ouch. Whatever small crush I was starting to have was suddenly snuffed out by that comment.

Thankfully, my shift was uneventful and I was happy when it was time to close. Olivia had done nothing but give me sorrowful eyes all day. Nick was off but had sent me a handful of texts, checking on me. I was thankful for the friends I had.

“For you” Olivia says with a smile. I look down as she hands me a hotdog.

I laugh, “you’re the best” I tell her taking a bite.

“The only wiener you need, girl” she says and I almost choke. We laugh and start getting equipment put away.

Thunder rumbles in the distance.

“Looks like we made it through just in time before the storm hits” Milo says as we stack chairs.

“Pizza and drinks at the house if you guys wanna join” Ben says.

I look over at Olivia, “see you there?” I ask.

She nods, “hell yeah!”

Just as we finish closing everything up the rain starts the pour followed by a loud thunderous clap.

Everyone races to their cars. I don’t think anyone expected a storm this big.