The living room was in the middle of the open space and it was just as colorful as the kitchen with wood walls, colorful decorations, and accents. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the Hawkins genes, Leo had an eye for building like his father, grandfather, and great grandfather before him. He came from a long line of carpenters. A flat-screen TV was above the gas fireplace and the couch was a day bed that converted into a queen-sized mattress with a coffee table in between the couch and television.
To the right of the front door, there was a bathroom and a bedroom next to it that had its own flat screen TV and queen-sized bed which would be the hook-up room I was sure. This place would definitely be a party pad.
One of my favorite spots in the treehouse was the ladder that was to the right of the television. There was a small nook area above with a bed and window that overlooked the forest that engulfed the cabin. The glass doors that led to the porch, hot tub, and lower deck was another one of my favorite places. It was smack dab in between the bedroom and living room, you could once again see the woods that were just as scenic as the treehouse itself.
Leo built a firepit with five green lounge chairs to host bonfires and make s’mores. It felt like you were camping when you went outside. Beside it was a swing he said was for me. I had a jungle gym we grew up playing on, built off my back porch, and Leo spent hours pushing me on those swings.
It was our thing.
“His parents are getting a divorce, Lala. That’s like a swift kick in the balls.”
He’d been calling me Lala since we were in diapers together. He couldn’t pronounce Mila when we were babies and Lala stuck.
“Yeah…” I sighed. “I feel bad for him.”
“We’ll get him laid tonight, it’ll help smooth it over.” He jolted to the left, hitting the button on his controller for more ammunition to blow on the television screen.
I shook my head. “So, sex solves everything?”
“For a minute it does.”
“A minute? That’s all you can hold out, Leo?” I shook my head again, smiling wide. I could see him looking at me through the corner of his eyes with amusement in his gaze.
This was how we were with each other. No one at our school understood our friendship. Everyone thought we were hooking up behind closed doors, but it wasn’t like that for us. We were neighbors and grew up together. Our moms were pregnant at the same time and bonded over that fact. Since then, we’d spent most of our time together. I didn’t know a life without Leo in it.
We were best friends.
“A minute is about the average time it takes for a male to think of something sexual, so yeah. That sounds about right.” He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes.
“I honestly don’t know who’s worse out of the four of you.”
“Well…” he hesitated, concentrating on his task at hand. Shooting three opponents in the face before he continued on, “It depends on who you ask. If you ask any female in this region of Tennessee? It’s definitely me.” He paused again, muttering under his breath, “Cocksucking bitches,” referring to his game. “Now if you ask guys from our opposing high school, then it’s Cain, because everyone knows he fucks anything that walks.”
“Bro,” Cain interrupted, walking into the cabin with Ashton and Sawyer right behind him. “I resent that. I don’t fuck freshman girls. They get too clingy for my liking.” He grabbed a soda from the fridge.
While Sawyer called him out, “What about that freshman Laura you screwed last month?”
Cain looked up at the ceiling, narrowing his eyes like he was thinking about something. “Laura… hmmm… Laura…” he accentuated, shaking his head. “Nope. Name doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t know a Laura.”
“And you just proved my point,” Leo chimed in, making me chuckle.
“Oh! Do me next, Mr. Know It All,” Ashton insisted, grabbing the other controller off the coffee table and hitting the button to request in the game.
Leo approved his request, adding, “A guy who’s still trying to find his dick.”
I choked on my drink.
“Mila.” Ashton glanced over at me. “Why don’t we go into the other room and you can tell Leo how easy it was to find my cock because it’s so fucking huge.”
“Uhhh…” I mocked. “I can think of a hundred other things I’d rather do than see your dick.”
“A hundred? Damn,” Ashton scoffed out. “My dick is offended. It might be hiding now.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. These guys were hilarious with their constant smartass banter. This was how they’d always treated me, like one of the guys. However, Ashton, Sawyer, and Cain weren’t my best friends, they were Leo’s, and they constantly questioned our friendship as well.