-Chapter Twenty-

“Lexi, wake up,” A soft voice whispered next to my ear. Something heavy was on my back, but I didn’t know what it was, so I just ignored it.

“Just a few more minutes,” I replied, my voice coming out a bit hoarse from sleeping.

“But, it’s twelve in the afternoon already!” The voice said. I recognized it as a little girl. It was Avery.

“But, I’m tired. . .” I dozed off as I nuzzled my head farther into my soft, plush baby blue pillow. “. . . So soft. . .” I mumbled.

Avery chuckled. “Alex, I have no one to play with!” she whined.

I gave in, and smiled. “Avery, why in the world are you on my back?” I mused.

“Because I thought it would wake you up!” she replied cheerily. “Did you know that your back is really bony?”

I rolled my eyes at her, smiling. “Yes, I’m pretty sure most backs are like that.”

“And your hair . . . It looks like a rat nest.”

“Hey!”

She burst out into giggles. “Ah!” I rolled to the right, making Avery tumble off to the side of the bed, landing on the floor with an ‘oomph’. “Ouch. That hurt!”

“You know that you’re perfectly fine, Ave. And you never say something bad about a girl’s hair, kay?” She nodded firmly. “Good girl.”

I sat up in my bed and yawned before standing up. I stretched, reaching my hands up into the air. “I’m going to get ready, okay? Erm, wait for me down here, I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“Okay, Lexi!” Avery turned on the TV that was in my bedroom, and began flipping through the channels. Trust me, she won’t be going anywhere. . . Especially with her eyes glued to the TV like that.

I entered my ensuite and turned on the water in the shower. Walking over to the sink, I looked in the mirror. Wow, Avery wasn’t kidding when she said my hair looked like a rat’s nest. After I ran a brush through my hair, I stripped naked and stepped into the steamy shower.

Roughly an hour later, I was out of the shower and dressed. Now, my hair looked a lot better (thank goodness). I was wearing a pair of shorts and a white, slightly see-through tank top. The top had a smiley face on it. Ah, who doesn’t love smiley faces?

I hadn’t seen Avery since I had gotten out of the shower. Did she go upstairs? I told her to wait for me! She’s probably with Danielle or something.

Humming to myself, I pressed the up button on the elevator. It made a ‘ding’ before the doors opened up. Stepping in, I saw the backyard’s landscape through the glass wall. My eyes focused on the large, crystal clear swimming pool.

Hum. I should go swimming later. Maybe I can invite Jake over? More eye candy for me. The familiar ‘ding’ went off, and I could hear the elevator doors open again.

“Woo!!!” Avery’s scream sounded through the house. “This is so fun! Faster, Boo-Bear, faster!”

I walked out of the elevator, curiosity etched on my face. What the heck was she doing? And why did she say Boo-Bear?

Then, I saw Jake come into view with a giggling Avery on his back. He was running all around the house with Ave on his back. I stopped where I was when I saw him.

They went down a nearby hall, none of them even glancing at me. Less than thirty seconds later, they were zooming back around.

Well, okay then.

“Jake!” I called. Ave’s laughter died down, and Jake’s head popped out from a doorway.

“Yes?”

“Why do you have my little cousin on your back?”

“Because I wanted to have fun!” Avery answered for him.

I rolled my eyes at her. “I said I would have fun with you, but you left!”

“I left because you took so long to get ready!”

 “Whatever.” I scowled at the little girl. “So Jake! Why are you here?”

“What, you don’t what me here?” he asked, feigning sadness.

“No! I mean, no, I don’t want you to not be here. . .?” Okay, I just confused myself. “Erm. I mean, I didn’t expect you, I guess. Why’d you decide to come?”

“To see you.” He smirked at me, shifting Avery up higher on his back.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, my cheeks light pink. “O-okay. . .” I trailed off. Yeah, lame reply. I didn’t know what else to say!  “How long have you been here?”

“About two hours.”

“Really?”

“Yep!”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I questioned.

“Because I was playing with Avery!”

“Wanna know who else is here?” Avery asked, intervening on the conversation that was going on between me and Jake.

“Who? London?” I asked her.

“No. Lily!” Avery responded.

“Oh, cool.” I smiled. “Where is she? And has anyone seen Danielle?”

“They’re both in the living room playing checker,” Jake explained. “They’re lame.”

I chuckled. “I know.” I turned on my heels and began my journey down the hall in the direction of the living room.

“Oh, and nice tank top!” Jake called out to me.

My eyes widened a fraction as I realized what I was wearing. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Remember that slightly see-through tee shirt? Yeah, awkward. . .

I walked into the living room. Lily and Danielle were indeed, playing checkers. The two of them were lying on the floor looking bored out of their minds. Dan was lying on her stomach, her chin propped up on her hands. Lily was doing the same. Well, that is until she saw me.

Lily gasped loudly, springing up from the floor into a standing position, all in a matter of seconds. “Alex!” she squealed, running over to me. She wrapped her arms around me, engulfing me with a large hug. “You’re so much prettier in person!”

Well, that’s one way to make a first impression!

“So are you. . .?” I told her, turning it into a question. I patted her back awkwardly.

“Aw, thank you!”

“So, I see sleeping beauty finally woke up!” my best friend mused. “Hey, Alex.”

“How come no one woke me up?”

“Because we were too lazy to do so,” Lily explained. She was still smiling at me.

“Oh. Well, I’m hungry. Where’s Vicky?” I questioned.

“Right here, Hon!” Vicky called from the next room over, which was the kitchen. “I made you some breakfast.”

My face brightened, and I jogged to the kitchen. My stomach growled, begging for some food. “What do you have for me?” I sat down at one of the bar stools.

“Pancakes and bacon,” she replied, a bright smile on her face.

I beamed as Vicky slid the plate over to me. She made mouth-watering pancakes that were to die for. Using my fork and knife, I cut into the pancakes and took my first bite.

Delicious, just the way I like it.

* * *

“Are you ready yet?” Danielle grunted from my bed.

Raking my eyes over my body for the millionth time, I nodded. I ran my hand through my hair again, knowing perfectly well that it will get messed up.

Since I only had four bathing suits, I decided to wear one of Danielle’s. Most of mine were either worn out, or too small. That is, except for the one I wore when Jake took me surfing. But he saw me in that one already. I didn’t want to look the same every time. I decided on a ruby read one with a floral pattern. It looked quite nice, actually.  

“Well then come on!” Dan linked her arm with mine and dragged me alongside her and out of my bedroom. She opened the door that led out into the backyard.

“I hope you know I can walk!” I told here.

“Oh yeah, sorry.” She smiled at me and let me go. I walked next to her to the pool. I just want to jump into it and swim.

Once again, it was a hot day. It was probably around eight-five degrees today. It’s too hot, too sunny.

Jake and Lily had gone back to their homes a little while ago to acquire their bathing suits. They should be here pretty soon.

I dipped my toe in the pool, seeing what the temperature of it was like. It was pretty warm, not too bad. I spread my towel out on the nearest pool chair I could find before putting a layer of waterproof sunscreen on.

The pool was an awkward looking one. The shape of it was pretty much indescribable.

“Wanna dive in with me?” Danielle asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Sure, why not.” I smiled at her. The two of us backed up a good ten feet away from the pool, and ran towards it. We dived through the surface.

It felt so nice in the water, away from the sun. I opened my eyes and saw tiny bubbles surrounding me. They cleared away, revealing my best friend. She made a funny face at me, which I returned with one of my own.

Dan pointed upwards, signaling she needed more air. We both went up simultaneously. My hair was slicked back when I came up.

“Hey, guys!” I heard a voice call from somewhere behind me. It was Lily. I craned my neck to the side to see the two.

“Hello, ladies,” Jake greeted. “We’re back!”

“Finally!” Danielle said, hauling herself up out of the pool. “What took so long?”

Jake sighed, looking down at Lily. “Lily had to make sure she looked perfect.”

“She did a good job!” I chimed in, also coming out of the warm water. I shivered as the wind came in contact with my skin.

“Why thank you, madam!” Lily did a little spin, ending it with a curtsy. She was wearing a light blue strapless bikini with polka dots on it.

Jake was wearing a pair of blue and white swimming trunks, his shirt and towel slung over his shoulder. A pair of sunglasses was propped up on the top of his head. I tried my best not to drool over him. . .

That sounds more awkward then it should.

Okay, next subject. “So now what?” I asked.

“We swim!” Lily chirped. She dropped her towel on the floor, mumbling for Jake to put it somewhere for her, and made a large splash as she cannon-balled in.

I shrugged and walked back over to my chair that was placed in the shade. Nope, no sun for me.

I watched as Danielle splashed Lily as she jumped in again. It’s been, what three days since I first got here, and I’ve already met Jake.

Jake, the mysterious texter. It seems like that text message happened years ago now, even though in reality, it was only about two months.

Speaking of Jake, where is that handsome lad?

He was literally nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was underwater. Or maybe he went to go get a snack? I pursed my lips at the thought.

I could really go for a snack right now. Some chocolate chip cookies would satisfy me. . . Or maybe even brownies?  Or—

“Ah!” I yelled as suddenly was being picked up. “What the heck!?” I turned towards my attacker. Squealing, I realized it was Jake. He was covered in water, getting me a bit wet. I was almost dry, too! “Jake! Put me down this instant!”

“Why should I?”

“Put me down!” I repeated.

“Okay, well if you really want me to. . .”

The next thing I know, I was being tossed in the air like a rag doll. My back began to sting as I broke through the surface of the water.

My eyes were wide in surprise. I went back up for air. “Jake!” I called, swimming to the nearest pool wall so I could punch the boy’s face in.

“Yes, Alex?” he asked, towering over me.

I looked up at him. “I am going to kill you.”

“Oh, I’m so scared,” he replied in a falsetto voice.

“Dude, you don’t wanna see her when she’s mad. Ya better run!” Dani called.

He mumbled a curse before backing away slowly. I clambered out of the pool and ran at him. His walking away turned into a sprint as he saw me chasing after him.

Oh, this boy was so going to get it. 

ELLO! I love you guys oh so much. 15,000+ reads, and 1,000+ votes! =) Thank you guys for commenting, voting, and just reading! I will try to upload as soon as I can for you guys :D And do you guys like the cover to the side? I'm thinking about using that as the cover. What do you think?

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