One Hot Summer

Chapter 4: Ben or Bennett

RILEY

“Ben? That’s Bennett, babe. My big brother” Brynn says excitedly. My eyes travel between Ben and Brynn.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Bennett” Ben says sticking out his hand. He seems pretty amused by my confusion. I take his hand lightly, still looking unsure.

“This is my best friend, Riley. The one I was telling you about” Brynn says walking over and grabbing my arm.

“We’ve met” Ben says. Now its Brynns turn to look confused.

“She’s my boss this summer, sis” he says walking past us to the living room.

“Seriously? That’s awesome” Brynn says.

I however, am still shaken up by todays events.

“I’m..I’m gonna go shower” I say turning to go up the stairs.

“Okay. You okay?” Brynn asks. I nod and keep going.

How the hell am I going to survive this summer? Ben or Bennett or whatever the hell his name is has already gotten under my skin. How am I going to survive with him knowing that he’s under my skin.

I may not be his type but he sure seems to love to bug the s**t out of me. Gets some sort of pleasure out of making me feel uncomfortable. I keep reminding myself to relax. He’s just a guy and my best friends brother. Shouldn’t be too hard. I can do this.

I sit on the edge of my bed and try to call James. After my long day I just want to hear his voice. Voicemail. Of course.

I sigh and toss my phone down.

Walking into the bathroom I set my towels on the sink and pull back the curtain that sits around the huge claw foot tub. The hot water cascades down my body, washing away the smell of the chlorine. I scrub my hair and body.

Suddenly I hear the door open.

“Brynn?” I call out. I hear no response. I peak around the curtain and see the backside of Ben standing over the toilet.

“Do you f*****g mind?” I ask making sure my body is covered by the curtain. Without glancing back, he continues to pee.

“This is my bathroom, boss” he says.

“Yeah, well it’s also mine and I’m currently using it” I shout. He chuckles and turns to the sink that sits beside the tub. I move back and keep covered.

“If you have a problem, lock my side before you get in” he says drying his hands and turning to leave. I am shaking with anger at this point.

After rinsing off, I quickly jump out of the shower and dry off. I throw on my night shorts and t-shirt before barging through the bathroom into Bens room. He’s sitting on his bed in nothing but his boxers, reading

“Whose bedroom is this?” He asks sarcastically.

“If you have a problem, lock the door next time” I tell him crossing my arms.

He smirks at me and gets off the bed closing the distance between us.

“Who said I have a problem with you being in my bedroom?” He says, his face close to mine. I take a step back.

“Listen, Ben or Bennett or whoever the hell you are. I’m not playing games with you all summer. I live here too. We are just going to have to learn how to co-exist” I say, clearing my throat.

“It’s Ben to you, boss. And, I like games” he says smiling before turning around. I walk past him quickly and take one of his pillows.

“I’m taking this!” I say walking back to my room. I bring him back one of the pillows off my bed.

“Your pillows are more comfortable” I say throwing my pillow at him.

Before he can say anything else I walk away, slamming the door behind me.

I spend the next few hours reading and scrolling my phone. It’s only 8:30 but I just want to sleep. Snuggling under the covers, I pull bens pillow under my head and realize his scent is all over it. For some reason it calms me enough to let me fall asleep within minutes.

My alarms sounds at 8am. Snooze. 5 minutes later. Snooze. 5 more minutes pass. Snooze. When my alarm goes off again I hear footsteps shuffling across the hardwood. My alarm stops and my eyes shoot open. Ben is standing over me.

“Seriously?” I ask, my eyes half asleep.

“Do you snooze that damn thing like this every morning?” He asks. I scowl at him, my eyes still half closed.

I grab my phone and pull it under the blanket before disappearing underneath it all together.

His footsteps now retreat. Thank goodness!

A few hours later I brush my teeth and make my way down stairs. Brynn is sitting at the kitchen island eating cereal.

“Good morning, sunshine” she says taking a bite.

“Morning, B” I smile then yawn and reach for the coffee pot. As I pour a cup Ben walks passed me.

“Morning Bennett” Brynn says in her normal chipper mood. Resting my elbows on the island I take a sip of the dark magic liquid.

“Morning” he says blunt. I roll my eyes and turn to the fridge. Grabbing a yogurt and a spoon and I start to eat before tapping my phone to see if I had gotten any texts or calls.

“James?” Brynn asks. I shake my head and eat my yogurt.

“What an asshole. He does this to you all the time” she says. I roll my eyes at her and walk out of the kitchen. While I know that Brynn is protective over me and just trying to help, the last thing I need is to be lectured in front of her brother.

“Riley, I’m serious” Brynn says. I give her a thumbs up and exit through the sliding glass door.

BENNETT

It hadn’t even been 48 hours since I’d gotten home and I was already ready to leave. Since graduating Daytona State I didn’t really have a reason to stay down there. Yet, any place had to be better than being home. Don’t get me wrong, I love my mom and sister but Sam could take a flying leap for all I care.

I’ve never liked him and he knows it. s**t, everyone in the house knows it. However, I knew I could live at home for free so that was a plus.

Being home meant I’d have to get a job so I decided to call in a favor to Ann, the owner of the local pool. I used to life guard Daytona beach throughout college. It was familiar I was good at it.

I knew Brynns friend would be staying with us and couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of her. When I first saw her at the pool I had no idea who she was but I was instantly attracted to her. Who wouldn’t be?

She’s tall and curvy with long legs and an ass I’d like to take a bite out of. If that wasn’t enough to get my c**k stirring she has these gorgeous blue green eyes and full lips that look luscious and sweet.

As per usual, I instantly start laying on the charm but she isn’t going for it. When she finally introduced herself I couldn’t believe my luck. The name immediately stuck out to me. This was my little sisters best friend. This was the girl I’d be sharing a house with all summer.

I wasn’t lying when I said she wasn’t my type. I adore all women no matter the size, shape, or color but I do tend to gravitate toward girls who look like Olivia, one of the lifeguards at the pool. Petite, dark hair, tan skin.

Probably why I was so surprised at how attracted I am to Riley and her spitfire attitude.

Her reaction to my sister in the kitchen this morning intrigued me.

“James?” I ask sitting at the counter.

Brynn growls, “Riley’s asshole boyfriend. I swear I’d like to rip his balls straight off of his body and shove them down his throat” she says stabbing her spoon into her bowl.

“That’s..grossly specific” I chuckle.

“If you met him you’d understand” she says getting up and going upstairs.

I take my bowl of cereal and walk out the back door. Riley is sitting indian style on one of the deck chairs. She’s staring at her phone.

“So James is the reason you’re immune to my charm, huh?” I say trying to lighten the mood.

She looks straight ahead, clearly ignoring me.

I sit in the deck chair next to her.

“My sister seems to hate him” I say again.

Riley shakes her head, “I’m not really interested in hearing what you have to say about the situation. No offense” she says.

“I wasn’t offering anything. Just making observations” I say.

“Noted” she says getting up and going inside.

Damn, she’s a hard nut to crack. This summer will be fun.