Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Of course, we were playing volleyball in the pool. It was Jenna, Ocean, and Sienna versus Twila, Bradyn, and I. Cyrus was the referee and enjoyed it a little too much. The man brought a whistle with him and everything. Like he calculated this whole thing. Now that I'm thinking about it, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Blowing the whistle, Sienna served the ball first and it was war from there on out. We were going up to seven points and whoever got there first won. It took a couple of tries to get the hang of it but once we did the competition was on! All of us were determined to not let the other team score no matter what. Especially Jenna and me. We were both so determined to beat the other it was maddening.

Jumping up to hit the ball back, Cyrus blew the whistle pointing at me.

"Out!" He yelled handing the ball back to the other team.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled even though he was right.

He shrugged, smiling at me. "Rules are rules A."

"Yeah, rules are rules, Autumn!" Jenna taunted me.

Getting over it, I frowned continuing with the game. Jenna serving the ball as Cyrus blew the whistle again. This time the penalty being against the other team.

"Seriously!" Jenna shouted agitatedly.

I stuck my tongue out taunting her right back. "Rules are rules, Jen-na!"

The game continued as we were ending. We were tied so this last round would determine the winner. It was their serve and without any hesitation, Sienna served the ball as hard as she could. Twila matched it, getting it over the net before it could even touch our side of the water. Jenna was quick to react, getting it back over the net. Bradyn tried to hit it and she did but not enough, so I stepped in making sure it didn't touch the water.

We were getting intense trying to make sure the other team didn't score. The concentration on all our faces said it all. I was determined to beat Jenna no matter the cost. This was my chance to shut her up even if just for a second. Though despite my competition with the bitch, I was having fun. This was the first time all of us girls were spending time together doing something. Apart from the things Farah had us attend to. It was nice getting to do something with all of us together. Something that wasn't an obligation. Just pure relaxation and fun.

A couple minutes passed with us going back and forth until Ocean spiked the ball at us. Twila, Bradyn, and I scrambled trying to get the ball all of us missing. Cyrus blew the whistle signaling the other girls winning. So much for beating her I suppose. It was still fun either way even if I couldn't stick it to her.

"Ha! We won!" Jenna jeered along with Sienna and Ocean.

Twila scoffed, getting out of the pool. "You got lucky." She joked drying herself off with the towel.

"Please, I'm just that good." Jenna boasted. "If you ever want a rematch, Autumn, I'll gladly give it to you. So long as you're prepared to lose to me again."

I ignored her comments because I didn't want to burst her bubble. Ocean was the one who scored the point for them. Had it not been for her they would have lost. Still, a win is a win, and I was going to let her have her little glory. I'm sure she needed it more than I did. Especially in front of Cyrus. That would've crushed her if I beat her in front of him. Her massive ego would have crumbled. Would that have been a terrible thing though?

We all got out of the pool and decided to grab some lunch now. All that jumping around definitely made my stomach growl. As we started heading for the kitchen, I was pulled back by surprise by the man himself. The girls were already far ahead while he pulled me into a room closing the door behind us. His eyes looking at me like he couldn't wait to get me alone.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked me like I wasn't supposed to go anywhere.

I looked at him confused. "Um, to eat."

Cyrus shook his head. "Can't that wait a minute?" He asked in a whining tone of voice.

"Why should I wait to eat? I'm starving!" I complained.

He walked up to me slowly placing his wet hands on the midst of my back. "Maybe because I missed you." He pushed me back against the locked door. "And I think we have some things to talk about."

There were things we needed to talk about but how could I think about that in a moment like this? He held me so close and so snuggly. The way his eyes looked at me with lust raging through them. His lips look so soft and inviting. My brain wanted me to plant my lips against his and get this sexual tension out of my system. However, the sensible part of my brain wises me up. Making me realize how wrong this was. It was just like when we were caught in the fountain. Only this time there was no way of getting caught. That scared me.

Snapping out of it, I pushed him back gently shaking my head at him. There was no way he was sucking me in like he always did. We needed to stop fooling around before somebody caught us. As much as I did want to be his friend, there were other unspoken things between us that I didn't want to get carried away in. It felt like I was leading him on in a way knowing that my mind couldn't decide what to do. One minute I want to sneak around with him and the next I want him to be as far away as possible. Right now, I wanted him as far away as possible.

I unlocked the door but before I could open it, he stopped me.

"At least meet me in an hour. Please?" He pleaded with me.

It was nice having a guy begging for my attention for once. We were still playing a dangerous game though.

I laughed amused by his commitment to not giving up on me. "If you let me eat first then maybe." I sparked a deal with him. Not that I planned to go through with it.

"Fine, but only because I really want to see you again." He caved.

I laughed some more, "I just saw you yesterday." I said not buying his bullshit.

He shrugged. "Your point being?" I hated it when he made sense.

Rolling my eyes, I opened the door not sparing him another glance. Of course, it was in a playful manner, and I assumed he knew that as he called out to me again.

"Remember in an hour!"

*******

We grabbed lunch and it was quite satisfying. A simple grilled cheese with tomato soup always brightened up my day. For being in the Hadid home it was a simple meal. But it brought a little bit of home to me and tasted just as good. The cheese melted perfectly between my two pieces of golden-brown wheat bread. The tomato soup tasted magnificent on its own but even better when I dipped a piece of my sandwich in it. It was heaven in my mouth I'll tell you that much.

Afterwards, we decided to take showers. I let the girls go first since it killed the hour for me. If I didn't show up to meet him, he'll forget about it. I never gave him a definite answer. If we keep the distance between us, I could get back on track to focus on why I was here. To have fun. This stupid competition wasn't going to get to this girl.

The hour passes and the girls are done with their showers. I decided to take mine now and enjoy rinsing off that chlorine from my body. The water was nice and steaming while I lathered my body in soap. The next thing was to wash my hair drenching it in water, shampoo, and conditioner. My scalp never felt better if I must say. It felt so good that I decided to blow dry it instead of air drying. That took a minute because of long and thick my hair was. But I always loved the results afterwards. Nice, fluffy, clean, soft hair. Perfect way to end my day.

Finishing in the bathroom, my eyes widened at the surprise that was waiting for me in my room. Cyrus was sitting on my bed looking at me visibly angry. It stunned me that he came into my room like this before even asking permission. Luckily, I didn't walk out of the bathroom naked because that would have been a disaster. Though it didn't change the fact that he was there, and I was furious.

Quickly locking the entry points to my room, I walked over to him furious that he showed up like this.

"Cyrus, what the hell?!" I whispered yelled, "what if someone had come in here?"

He stood up putting his hands in his pockets. "No one did and you just locked the doors. I think we're good." He took this as a joke when it wasn't.

This time I was the one frowning. "It doesn't matter, Cyrus, you can't just show up to my room unannounced!" I whispered yelled again. I didn't want the girls to hear me talking to him.

"I wouldn't have had you met me like I asked." He argued.

Dammit! How do I always end up shooting myself in the foot? I thought he'd forget about it if I didn't show up. Of course, the idiot would show up in my room risking us getting caught even more. The fight he was putting up against me was making it hard for me to stay away from him. Like fuck! Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? Things were confusing for me enough already. The more he fought to be around me, the more confusing things got.

Sighing, he sat back down and I next to him as silence took over us. I didn't know what to say because he was right. There was no way to get him to understand where I was coming from. He'll just say none of it mattered when in fact it did. We were from two different worlds, his mom already didn't like me, and I don't know the first thing about being from money. How were we supposed to mesh? Compared to everyone else, I stood no chance. Yet here he was seeking me out.

"Do you not want to continue what we agreed upon?" He broke the silence a little bit of hurt in his tone.

I sighed. "Yes. I mean...no... I mean...I don't know." My heart was racing. Was he going to understand me?

He looked at me even more confused than I was. "What?" He asked me, not understanding where I was going with that.

"We're too different. I don't know what it's like to be you and vice versa. How is that supposed to work? On top of that, we got caught the first time. Luckily, it was just Jeremy, but still. What happens when it's your mom next time?" I left my thoughts out on the table. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Staring at each other, I could tell with his eyes that he was trying to figure out what to say. It was hard considering that there wasn't a definite answer I could give to him. That and he doesn't know what his mom said to me was getting to me. How was I supposed to feel confident in this when I'm told I'm filling a role? I'm here to fill up a space and then go. There was never a chance of me winning and his interest in me didn't seem right. My paranoia took over, but could you blame me? I'm out of my element. Out of my league! My kind doesn't belong here.

Taking his hand, he gently squeezed my cheeks, shaking his head at me. "That's why we agreed to the distance thing, Autumn. I'm not going to peer pressure you into something you don't want. No matter how badly I want you. If you want to keep this simply platonic then fine. But that's not going to stop me from wanting to see you. So, if I have to deal with this moving slow shit then fuck it." He grabbed my hand, fitting perfectly in his. "You're worth the wait, A."

My heart began to race at his kind words. Knowing he meant everything he said made my stomach do somersaults. Therefore, everything started to get confusing. He was willing to be my friend before anything else. It meant the world to me that he was willing to wait until I was ready for him. Little did he know how badly I wanted him as well. Just the thought of feeling his hands all over me drove me mad. Like he said, it was worth the wait and for the better.

He smiled at me, and I smiled back and before we could get lost looking at each other, there was a knock on the door. Thankfully, it was the bathroom door that way he could get out without anyone seeing him. The panic that took over me sprung me into action letting go of his hand. We could not get caught no matter what!

"Autumn, since when do we lock doors around here?" Twila asked knocking on the door some more.

"One second!" I yelled walking Cyrus to the other door. "You have to go." I whispered.

He pouted, not liking this. "Aw man, I was hoping to stay in here with you." He whispered back.

I laughed. "I'm sorry, we can continue this later."

"Promise?"

"Autumn!" Twila yelled again.

"Coming!" I yelled back.

Before I let him go, I left him with a kiss on his cheek. Letting him know that I promise to keep up this charade we had going. It made him happy and honestly made me happy as well. My heart was telling me to continue to get to know him. If anything, bad were to happen I'd be leaving in a few weeks anyway. We'd never have to look back on it and be at peace. For now, I was going to enjoy this for real this time.

"Promise, now go!" I yelled at him to leave pushing him out the door and closing it quickly.

I took a few deep breaths before opening the door for Twila to calm my nerves.

That was a close one.