The hike was only a couple of days ago, but the relaxation and calm I felt while taking in the view haven’t gone away. The tiny voice in my head screaming “you’re going to be murdered on this trip” has finally faded. The days are now filled with birds chirping, water splashing, or Theo laughing. I swear I could record Theo’s laughter and listen to it on repeat. I’m starting to unravel, and it feels nice to take a small break.
I’d be lying if I said my relaxed state due to the lake house wasn’t a big factor in acing my interview yesterday. As I watch Theo help his brothers, the email offer I received this morning burns a hole in my pocket. I haven’t told Theo about the job yet, and I’m not sure why I’ve been so hesitant.
As the awkward tension between Theo and me has started to fade, I believe our fake relationship has become more convincing to the others. We’ve been sure to hold hands anytime we’re near one another, and he’s been performing basic chivalrous acts the past few days as well. Holding the door open for me, pulling out my chair, basic boyfriend tasks that have his brothers not looking twice in our direction out of suspicion. Behind closed doors, we keep the wall of pillows between us at night and have kept a comfortable emotional distancefrom one another. We’ve handled ourselves as the adults we are, and the others seem to be buying our ruse.
Whenever we are lounging by the water, Theo’s arms are usually wrapped around my waist or thrown over my shoulders. We’ve been spoiled with delicious food, and Theo even fed me a strawberry at one point in the middle of a board game with Alex and Beth. Convincing the others has been successful, but sometimes when Theo looks at me, I forget that we aren’t in a real relationship.
I’m happy to call Theo a friend, a fact I must remind myself every night as I crawl into bed next to the stack of pillows. Some nights we stay up, talking to get to know each other a bit better, in an effort to make our connection feel more real.
I’ve learned that his favorite color is blue, which wasn’t hard to guess, given his Mustang’s color. His favorite food is a cheeseburger, he definitely believes in aliens, and like me, he isn’t much of a reader and prefers movies instead.
“I’m still struggling to picture it,” Beth says, sitting beside me. “Grown men who look like them, having a water balloon fight.” She turns to me with a smile that I return, still unable to believe it myself.
“Something tells me Roman isn’t too fond of breaking tradition,” I reply.
“It’s impressive, considering his advanced age.”
“Beth, he’s only in his early thirties. I wouldn’t really call that ‘advanced age.’”
“Yeah, and I read the aging process starts at twenty-five, so he already has like, a decade’s worth of agingunder his belt. I’d consider that advanced compared to us.”
“You read too much.” I chuckle.
She lets out a gasp, clutching her invisible pearls. “There is no such thing!”
We’re mid-laugh when Theo joins us on the porch steps. He stands in front of us, resting his right foot on one of the steps. The shorts he’s wearing ride up slightly from the angle, revealing just how toned his thighs are. His knee is only inches from my face. It wouldn’t take much for me to reach out and take a bite.
“What’d I miss?” I’m grateful when Theo’s question pulls me from my inappropriate thoughts.
That’s certainly no way to think about yourfriend,Sienna.
“Nothing,” I respond. “Just discussing how seriously you guys take your water balloon fights.”
Theo glances behind him, looking at the setup he and his brothers just completed. From the looks of the yard, I’d guess it was one of those training obstacle courses you’d find in boot camp or a mock war zone that they use for paintball fights. I’m starting to think the storage closet attached to the house is less a storage closet and more a Mary Poppins bag of never-ending supplies.
He turns back to us, rubbing the spot on the back of his neck, perfectly accentuating the vein running through his bicep as he flexes. My tongue darts out to wet my lips instinctively, and I mentally kick myself for it.
“I guess we go a little overboard, but it’s worth it. We’ve added bits here and there every year, making the setup more challenging as we’ve gotten older.”
“How exactly does scoring work?” Beth asks.
“We’ll split into teams. Whichever team gets the most hits, each player on that team gets a point toward their final score.” Beth and I stay silent, waiting for him to continue. “We figured you’d both be on a team with Alex and me. Roman and Leo seem to be pretty confident they can take all four of us.” He rolls his eyes at the idea.
“I can join their team. I don’t mind,” Beth says with a little more enthusiasm than necessary.
“Are you sure? We figured you’d want to be on the same team as Sienna,” Theo responds.
“Why, because girls always have to team up? We can be feminist and still enjoy a fun competition against each other, Theo. Besides, pelting Alex with a balloon sounds like fun.” Theo laughs at her response. That’s Beth for you. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, and definitely not attracted to Alex.
As the laughter dies off, Theo looks at me. “Have you heard back about the job yet?”
I glance at Beth, who widens her eyes at me, in a nudge to tell him the truth. “Yeah, actually. They offered me the job,” I say it with more hesitation than I mean to.
Leaning down, Theo moves to hug me. “That’s great, Sienna. I’m so happy for you.” Once he pulls back, he continues, “Are you going to accept?”
That’s the one question I was hoping he wouldn’t ask me. The one question I haven’t been able to answer since I received the email.
“I’m not sure yet. They gave me a few days to decide.”
