One Hot Summer

Chapter 11: Unwelcome

RILEY

As I woke up on the floor of the living room all the lights were on. My eyes find the nearest clock. It says 3am so we must’ve gotten power back 5 hours ago.

My stomach grumbles loudly.

“Damn are you starving?” Olivia whispers. Her eyes still closed. I chuckle.

“Yeah, actually. Wanna go make breakfast with me?” I ask. Her eyes shoot open.

“Yes!” She says. I’m assuming she’s equally hungry.

We walk into the kitchen and I search through cabinets.

“Think everyone likes pancakes?” I ask.

Olivia walks over to the coffee pot.

“Of course and if not they can starve” she says turning the pot on.

“Absolutely true” I say pulling down the batter mix.

“So, you okay after last night?” Olivia asks. I take a sip of coffee.

“I’m fine..” I lie flipping the last of the batter.

Olivia and I cut up some fruit and set it on the island.

“Oh my gosh! I have an idea!” She say grabbing a plate of pancakes and retreating into the living room. She frisbees one of the fluffy round disks in nicks direction. It lands on his face and he grumbles.

We start tossing pancakes at everyone to wake them up.

“Liv! Breakfast in bed? You shouldn’t have” Nick says taking a bite of the pancake. Everyone laughs as pick up our mess.

We all move into the dining room. I still haven’t seen Brynn, Ben, or Sky but before I can consider myself lucky I walk into the kitchen and see Sky plucking a piece of fruit off of the island.

We eye each other carefully. I sigh and go to refill my coffee.

“Sorry if we were too loud last night. I told Ben we should be quieter but that just made him go even faster” Sky says and I roll my eyes.

I turn around to face her with my mug in hand.

“Didn’t notice. Slept in the living room” I say trying to hand her a coffee mug. My lack of response irritates her and she shakes her head no before crossing her arms.

As much as I don’t want to be the bigger person right now I bite back my desire to scowl.

“There are pancakes and syrup in the dining room if you’re hungry” I say.

Skys face confronts into a evil grin.

“Uhm, no. Unlike you, I have a figure to maintain and actually care about my weight” she says.

I chuckle and look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Your mother must be so proud..” I mumble. She takes a step closer to me.

“Excuse me?” She asks, her hands flying to her hips.

“You heard me. I may have extra curves but at least I’m not rude. I’m happy. Can you say the same?” I spout off.

Before she can say another word, Ben appears behind her. His eyes find mine for a moment before Sky wraps her arms around his waist.

“Baby, let’s go out to eat…I don’t feel welcome here” she says shooting me a glance.

Shaking my head, I disappear into the dining room before subjecting myself to another moment around that crazy.

BENNETT

After I left Riley outside Sky was itching to get upstairs. However, when we got up to the room I was suddenly not in the mood to mess around.

“I think I drank too much. I think we should just go to sleep” I tell her.

“Let me help you relax” she says crawling over to me. She rubs her hands down my chest and begins pressing kisses down my neck.

I gently peel her off of me. The last thing I want to do is insult her or make her feel unwanted but tonight I’m just not feeling it.

“I appreciate it but I’m seriously just going to crash” I say standing up. I toss her one of my shirts which she reluctantly changes into.

Sliding into bed, Sky crawls into my arms. She really is cute as hell but for some reason holding her in my arms feels forced.

I kiss her lips gently before switching off the light and trying to fall asleep.

The next morning we got dressed.

“I’ll meet you downstairs” I tell sky giving her an encouraging push toward the door.

She reaches up on her tip toes and kisses me.

“Okay babe, I’ll see you down there” she says turning to head downstairs.

When she’s out of view I turn on my heels and barge into Brynns room.

She jumps when I knock on her door.

“What the hell, Bennett?!” She scolds, holding her head.

“Feeling a little under the weather?” I ask. Brynn looks like hell and I guarantee she doesn’t remember most of last night.

“My head. My throat. My stomach” she complains. I laugh, “you went hard last night and left no survivors in your path.” I tell her leaning against her door frame.

She groans and lays back against the pillow.

“What happened?” She asks.

“Well, you outed a personal piece of your best friends past and proceeded to insult her when she confronted you” I say sitting on her bed.

“What? We were..” she starts but stops as though she suddenly remembers.

“First time stories ring any bells?” I say. Her face contorts as she realizes what she’s done.

“Oh no. I’m the worst” she says covering her face.

“You owe her a big apology” I tell her.

“When did you turn into such a dad?” She scoffs.

“When did you turn into such a spoiled brat?” I spit back at her. Her face falls and I feel a pang of guilt.

“You don’t get to come back after almost four years of no contact and try to act like you’re dad. I have Sam thank you very much.” She says and I shake my head.

“Sam is not your father and he sure as hell will never be mine” I say standing up.

“What the hell is your deal with Sam? Why do you hate him so much?” Brynn asks getting heated.

“It’s not important right now. But your best friend is and you owe her an apology” I say turning to leave.

As I make my way downstairs I hear Sky talking to Riley.

“Uhm, no. Unlike you, I have a figure to maintain and actually care about my weight” Sky tells her.

Last night when Riley told me the comment Sky had made telling Riley to stay away from me, I honestly found her possessiveness cute but today she’s not sitting right with me. Before I can walk in to defend Riley I hear her respond.

“Your mother must be so proud..” Riley says.

“Excuse me?” Sky snaps back at her.

“You heard me. I may have extra curves but at least I’m not rude. I’m happy. Can you say the same?” Riley tells her. A small grin of pride forms on my face.

Before anything else can be said I make my presence known. My eyes fall between the two of them. Sky walks up to me pulling me against her.

“Baby, let’s go out to eat…I don’t feel welcome here” Sky says looking back at Riley who turns and leaves the kitchen.

She’s absolutely right about one thing. She’s not welcome here. I take her hand and pull her toward the front door.

“She was so rude to me, babe” Sky says pouting.

“I doubt that” I say handing her back her shoes.

“What do you mean? You didn’t..” she try’s to argue. I hold my hand up to her.

“Sky, I think it’s best if you go home” I tell her. Her mouth falls open.

“You’re kidding? Is this because of her” she asks.

“I overheard your conversation, Sky. You were right. You’re not welcome here” I tell her opening the front door.

She storms out and I don’t hesitate to shut the door right after her.

Laughter fills the house as I make my way to the dining room.

“Thanks for breakfast” I say grabbing a stack of pancakes.

“Riley’s idea” Olivia says.

“Whose on today?” Nick asks putting his fork down on his plate.

“I am” Riley says.

“I am too” Olivia adds.

Part of me wishes I was working today. My eyes move across the table and I find myself staring at Riley. Her hair is swept into a high bun. So much for using Sky to suppress these feelings. She glances at me and I quickly look away.

“We should probably get going” Olivia says standing up.

“s**t! The time. I have to run home and get my suit” Nick says running out of the house.

“Can I get a ride home?” Jade asks Olivia who nods.

“See you guys” Riley says putting her dishes on the counter

“I’ll get these later” she says motioning to the sink.

“I’ll get them” I tell her.

She smiles, “Thank you, Ben. Bye Milo” she says.

“So last night was..” Milo starts. I laugh.

“A f*****g circus” I say pushing my plate away.

“No s**t” he laughs.

I swirl the coffee in my mug before sitting back.

“So you and Riley?” I ask shamelessly. I won’t lie. I thought for sure that Riley was going to kiss me again last night. As conceited as it sounds, I know Riley is attracted to me. She surprised the hell out of me when she kissed Milo. Then when she answered yes to Sky’s question about sleeping with someone there I know it definitely wasn’t me so I could only assume it was Milo. Nick doesn’t seem like her type at all. Besides, he seems to have a huge crush on Olivia.

“I’m interested but I just met her when the pool opened” he says and I give him a confused look.

“So you guys have never…slept together?” I ask. He shakes his head.

“Nope, I thought she was referring to you..” he says. I shake my head at him.

“Nick” we both say together.

“So you like her though?” I ask taking a sip of coffee. He nods.

Before the conversation can go any further Brynn trudges into the dining room.

“Where is everyone?” She asks.

“Work” I say.

Milo stands up, “I should probably go” he says giving us a small wave.

Brynn glares at me, “so when are you going to tell me why you hate Sam so much?” She asks. I shake my head at her.

“I don’t think you can handle the truth Brynn” I tell her.

“Try me” she says.