Chapter twenty
AVA
Iwakeupin my own bed, which is definitely not where I fell asleep. I can smell Stone, so I guess he brought me in. I should be mad, but for some reason, I’m not. Heading down to find some food, I’m surprised to see Reid in the kitchen already.
“Morning,” he says, too brightly for this time of day.
“Morning. Did you stay?”
“Yeah, we stay here a lot in the holidays.”
“We?”
Mason heads out of the pantry just as I ask.
“Morning, princess,” he grins. I roll my eyes at the nickname, but I guess it beats dirty little slut, or even little Highland. “Pancakes?” My sass is forgotten instantly, and I nod my head and beam at him, which makes them both laugh. “Becomes amenable with food. Noted.”
I’m finishing up my breakfast at the kitchen table when Stone walks in, rubbing his eyes. He looks over at me but doesn’t acknowledge I’m there in any other way, grabbing some leftover pancakes and sitting at the island bar instead.
“We’re not at school for a whole week,” I say to him. “I won’t tell anyone if you decide not to be a prick for at least a bit of it.” He doesn’t respond. Whatever. I turn to Mason and Reid. “Thanks for breakfast, guys. I will for sure return the favour.” I actually really like Mason and Reid; they’re chill and easy to be around. I wonder why they don’t have their heads right up their asses like most of the rich people in this town, but then remember Millie doesn’t either, so you can find diamonds in the rough sometimes.
I put my plate in the dishwasher and head upstairs to get washed up and change into a bikini. The sun is calling my name, and seeing as Millie is away, I’ll happily answer the call. The only positive to the storms at night is that we get glorious weather during the day. All three guys have disappeared when I get back downstairs, and I set myself up by the pool. It’s not long before I can hear them again from inside, and it’s quite nice to have the background noise. I’m not used to having people I don’t mind spending time with where I live.
A couple of hours later, I’ve run out of drink and head back in to raid the fridge.
“Ava, why don’t you join us?” Mason calls. They’re lounged on the sofas on the other side of the room, playing video games. Not really my thing, but Stone replies before I can anyway.
“I’m sure Ava has better things to do.”
“Like what?”
“Like putting some clothes on.”
“That wasn’t on my to-do list, actually.” I’d rather strip naked than follow his instructions anyway, but he did realise I was sunbathing, right? “But it’s pretty chilly in here,” I add pointedly. “I think I’ll head back out.”
The next time I go for a cold drink refill, Reid is grabbing beers from the fridge.
“Have you been relegated?”
“Winner stays on, and right now, I am not winning.” He lets out a dramatic sigh, and I chuckle.
“Who is?”
“For fucks sake,” Stone exclaims from the other side, which tells me who, but Reid confirms anyway.
“Mason, as usual.”
“I am the champion!” Mason shouts as he stands from his seat, spinning with his hands up in the air. He stops when he notices me with Reid. “Ava, come play. I need new people to beat.”
“Wow! Confident, aren’t we?”
“Scared?” he taunts, but it’s Mason. I’ve never seen him be anything but good-natured. I cock a brow at him, getting ready to take him down. Video games may not be my first choice of entertainment, but I am fiercely competitive. “Come on, I’ll make it fun. Whoever loses owes the other a favour.”
“A favour is very vague. I might need some time to think about this. Show me the game first.” I sit down next to him and feel Stone’s eyes on my bare skin. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet during this whole thing, but I need to keep my focus, so I don’t peek a look at him. I can do this. “Okay, I’ll do it.” We shake hands, and Mason gives me a basic crash course in the game, but soon figures out that it was unnecessary when I swoop in and beat his ass easily.
“What the fuck?” he cries as the other two laugh around us. “Did the princess just hustle me?”
“Like a fucking pro, man,” Reid says as he shakes my shoulders from behind the sofa.
“I quite like the feeling of you owing me,” I say smugly, as I put the controller down.
“Well, at least I finally have someone decent to play with,” he admits. “How are you so good?”
“Millie makes me play all the time.”
“Hmm. I need to meet this Millie,” he says eagerly.
“She’s the best,” I agree as I stand up from my seat.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to the sun.”
“No way, rematch!” He pulls me down by my wrist and I lose my footing, heading straight for Mason’s lap, when someone grabs me from behind before I can fall on him. Stone sets me right and then drops his hands like I’m contagious, but my skin is warm exactly where his hands were.
“Fucking hell, Ava, go put some fucking clothes on.”
“You don’t need clothes to tan, Stone, it kind of defeats the point,” I grit out. He’s really ruining my winner’s high.
“But you’re not tanning in here, you’re flaunting yourself.” He gestures at my body, his face a mask of disgust.
My mouth drops open. “What?!”
“Stone,” Reid says quietly, like a warning.
“Fuck this,” he mutters, then leaves the room. I watch him leave silently before turning to face the others.
“What the fuck just happened?” Reid and Mason look at each other but don’t answer my question.
“Come on, I think we could all do with some fresh air,” Reid offers.
“Tanning sounds good right now,” Mason agrees as he whips his top off with a flourish, revealing some very impressive muscles and breaking the tension in one swoop. He’s totally not my type, but damn, those are some nice abs. We head out to the garden and spend the afternoon chatting and relaxing, and I actually have a great time. They manage to cheer me up quickly, and I try unsuccessfully not to think about Stone all afternoon, but I am happy to get to know Reid and Mason better. We’re all suitably relaxed, laying on our backs on our loungers, when the talk moves to Oakview.
“How come you’re both so nice, but you’re both in the Elite?” They’ve already explained that they have five members in total, which is different to Highland’s equivalent—the Court—but that is also determined by family donations.
“We’re not official Elite, so we get away with not having giant rods up our asses,” Mason replies, and I laugh.
“How are you managing that?”
“Stone is like the ‘king’ at Oakview. Technically, the five members of the Elite rule together, but everyone knows the unofficial hierarchy due to family influence, and Stone is up there alone. Well, Cole’s pretty much on his level, but he doesn’t really go for that shit.” I already know this, but it’s nice to hear their version of it too.
“We’ve been friends forever. Our families are friends, but when Foster’s business took off, our families all started seeing each other less. We stuck together, though, and Stone basically told everyone we were Elite, and to get over it or deal with him.”
“Jeez, risky,” I say. They both shrug at the same time.
“I guess. Stone normally gets what he wants, though,” Mason says with a smirk.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” I roll my eyes, but it’s unnerving to think of Stone as a decent person. First he de-stormed the room for me yesterday, and now he’s apparently loyal. “How are you even friends? You two are so chill and friendly.” They both laugh at that.
“Everyone has different sides, Aves. You’ve only seen our good side, and for some reason, you bring out the asshole in Stone.” I shrug this time.
“I have no idea why, I’m a delight,” I say pretentiously before shivering slightly. The sun is on it’s way down and we’re still in swimwear, not having realised how late it’s getting.
“Mhmm,” Reid murmurs. “Let’s head in.”
As we walk in, the room smells delicious. My stomach rumbles loudly, having not had anything since pancakes for breakfast. Stone is putting food out on the table.
“Hey, man,” Mason says easily as him and Reid pull their tops from earlier back on.
“Hey. I got dinner.”
“Cool, thanks.”
They act as if earlier didn’t happen, so I do too. I can’t be bothered arguing anymore, and I’m about to go upstairs when Stone steps in my way. “I ordered you chow mein.” Is this an apology for flipping on me earlier?
“Thanks,” I say cautiously before stepping towards the stairs. A quick spontaneous game in my bikini is one thing, but I don’t fancy eating dinner in it, even if the house is toasty warm as usual. “I’m just—” Before I can finish, Stone pulls his T-shirt off and puts it over my head, keeping hold of the bottom until his knuckles graze my thighs. “You do realise the level of hypocrisy you’re drowning in right now?” I ask. Just checking.
“I can’t think straight when I’m around you, let alone when you look like that.”
I stare at him in shock as he walks back to the table casual as fuck, even though he just melted my brain with that honesty. The fact that he’s now bare on top does not help in the slightest. Stone is an apt name because he looks like he’s been sculpted from marble, although his tan skin looks anything but cold. He’s dark-haired like me, so you’d think he’d tan like I do, just a little to not look so pasty. But nope, his skin is a rich olive, and honestly looks quite lickable.
“You okay?” Mason asks, throwing a wink at me. I narrow my eyes at him, joining them at the table.
“I’m fine. This is weird, right?”
“Why don’t we all agree to live in this bubble for the week?” Reid says. “We can figure everything else out before we go back to school.” Reid looks pointedly at Stone when he says this, and I find myself wanting to agree. I like these guys, and it’s better than being alone for most of it whenever Cole is busy. Stone looks to me to see what my reaction is.
“Sounds good to me.” I shrug and he nods, carrying on with his food.
It’s weirdly intimate eating with Stone half naked and me in his clothes, even with the other two there, but we end up sitting there for hours, finishing off the mammoth amount of food Stone ordered and having a few drinks. My thoughts feel all jumbled after it, and Stone’s gaze feels heavy, so I excuse myself and take a bath. The rain starts just as I finish getting dressed and am jumping into bed, and I immediately tense. Should I go downstairs and see if anyone’s still up? Is that too pathetic? The decision is taken from me when the door creaks open.
“I’m still awake,” I say dumbly. It’s an open secret that I know he sneaks in here sometimes.
“You don’t like storms,” he replies simply.
“That’s not what I meant.” But what I meant goes from my brain as the first flash fills the room and my whole body jolts. He climbs in behind me and I instinctively scooch back into him as the crash happens. His arm wraps around my waist, and I feel his face in my hair. Neither of us mention this crazy switch from arguing to him comforting me in my bed, but if he’s happy to pretend it’s for the sake of the storm, then so am I.
“You’ve got the thinnest curtains,” he mumbles, and his warm breath lifts the hairs on my neck.
“They were already here.”
“You haven’t changed anything in here?”
“Thought that might be rude.”
He’s quiet after that, and I don’t realise I’ve fallen asleep until a huge thunderclap wakes me up.
“Go back to sleep, baby, it’s okay.” Was he crazy? I don’t sleep during storms. Even while my brain thinks this, I snuggle deeper against his warm body and my thoughts become cloudy. A quiet groan comes from behind me as I wriggle, getting comfy and enjoying his warmth.
“Sleep, Ava.” The commanding tone makes me shudder, but then sleep takes me under.