Page 14

Sebastian let me down again. After all that crap that happened, he left me alone. He’s crazy in love with my mum, which should make me happy, but it doesn’t.
“Hello?” Someone called out to me from behind the door. I walked over and opened it, and I saw a young girl.
“Hi, you must be Lucia.” I held out my hand, and she quickly took it and smiled. I looked down at the clothes she had folded in her hands. “Thanks, Lucia.” I smiled softly.
“Call me if you need anything, Mrs. Devereux.” She smiles and walks away. I swear I was going to stop her and tell her I’m not his fiancée but his soon-to-be stepdaughter. Instead, I just let it happen and smiled back.
I put on the bikini, which was a two-piece in a light blue colour with white polka dots. It was cute. The bottom part was a little too small, and the top was tight around the breasts, but I don’t mind. There were also mom jeans shorts, which I put over my bikini bottoms. I shut the door behind me and walked back to the kitchen. Caleb was sitting in a chair with his back to me.
I said, “I’m ready,” with my arms crossed behind my back. Caleb looked at me for a long time, and I stood there awkwardly. “Are you just going to stare all day?” I asked in a sarcastic tone.
Caleb chuckles and gets up. “Come on.”
Caleb smiles and walks outside to the backyard, where there is a very big pool. He put the things he was carrying on the table next to the pool and then looked back at me as he took off his shirt. My eyes followed his strong body structure; I didn’t remember him being so buff. I bit my lip lightly when I saw his six-pack.
When I looked him in the eye, I felt my cheeks get hot and quickly moved my eyes to the floor while jumping over to my other leg and tucking a piece of blonde hair behind my ear.
“Can you spray me?” he asked, pointing to the sunscreen. I nodded and walked over to him. When I grabbed the bottle, his skin brushed against mine, which felt weird. Our eyes met.
I sprayed his back first, and after making sure it was covered in sunscreen, I moved over to his chest. I shook the bottle and kept spraying, trying not to look at anyone too much.
I said, “All done.”
“Turn around.” He takes the bottle from me.
“Why?” I ask stupidly.
Really Aria? Why? God, I’m such an idiot sometimes.
“So you won’t look more like a tomato than you already do.” Caleb laughs. “Am I that red?”
I shyly looked down to unbutton my shorts, and I could feel his heavy eyes on me. I put my hair up in a bun and he sprayed my back. The coldness of the liquid made me shiver. I turned around slowly to face him, and he started to spray my chest.
He says, “All done.”
We looked at each other for a while until I thought of something. I smiled at my naughty plan for revenge. Caleb broke my heart, but we were best friends long before this happened, so I felt safe with him. That doesn’t mean I forgive him; it just means I can act like a kid around him.
“What’s the smile—
I pushed Caleb into the pool before he could even finish saying what he was going to say. He fell backwards, and the water hit me all over, soaking me completely. I started to laugh hard right away, and my hand flew to my mouth as I did. He came out of the water, laughing and flipping his wet hair back.
Caleb laughs and says, “Real nice, Aria.” I looked at his clothes to see where the sound was coming from when a phone rang.
Caleb says, “Oh shit, can you give me my phone?”
I took his phone and walked to the edge of the pool, where Caleb was waiting. I bent down to give him his phone, but he also grabbed my arm and pulled me into the cold water.
I swam up to him and found him laughing. I said, “You idiot, I had your phone.” I looked around for his phone.
“I don’t care.” Caleb pushed me under the water, and I swam back up to the top.
We were best friends before we became intimate, so it was easy for us to get along.
“You’re going to get it.” I jumped on his back and tackled him into the water.
We swam and raced, but most of the time we just jumped on each other, and I forgot all about my problems and worries. Caleb is the best at making me smile when everything is going wrong, even if he’s the one who caused it.
Caleb asked out of the blue, “Do you think about what life would be like if I didn’t go to Louisiana?” We were both sitting on the steps inside the pool. I kicked my feet under the water to make it look like I didn’t hear him. “Aria.”
“I don’t like to think about things that can’t happen,” I said.
“I think about it every day.” Caleb moves a little closer to me, and I can see him getting closer through my eyelashes.
“You probably would have forgotten about me even if you still lived here,” I said quietly. His tattoo was on full display, and wet droplets ran down his jaw. His hair fell perfectly. He got really close to me, and I took a big breath.
“I could never forget about you, even if I tried.” His voice was soft, and I couldn’t stop looking at his pale green eyes. I’ve always been so drawn to them.
I looked down and decided to swim away from him, so I swam deeper into the middle to avoid him, but he quickly caught up with me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. My front hit him hard, and our faces were only a few inches apart. I looked into his eyes for something, anything, but all I saw was raw emotion.
My lips were getting closer, and so were his. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it might pop out of my chest at any moment. I wasn’t going to kiss him because he was engaged, but I wanted to see how far the bastard would go.
He got very close to my lips, ready to kiss them, but I backed away with an annoyed look on my face. This just proves my point that no matter how hard he tries, he will never grow up.