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As I started up the gravel drive, the front door opened and Liam stepped out. He had obviously changed after work and was dressed in shorts that stopped mid-thigh and showed his toned, tanned legs wonderfully, and a close fitting grey t-shirt. I guessed he had either been for a swim in the huge pool they had in their back garden, or he planned to.
It was the hottest day I had experienced since I moved there, almost unbearably so, and a swim sounded amazing as I pulled at the thin cotton, floral summer dress I had put on, hoping the movement of the fabric would make some air magically appear from somewhere to stop the dress from sticking to my clammy body. I was not used to such heat and I wasn’t coping great with it. The dress I was wearing stopped mid-thigh and had tiny, thin straps, but still it just felt like too much clothing as the sun beat down on me.
“Hey,” Liam greeted as he took huge strides in my direction.
“Hi.”
“It’s so good to see you.” He told me, as he reached me and wrapped me in his arms. The smell of chlorine mixed with his usual fresh scent and I breathed it in happily. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I replied as we pulled apart. He held his hand out and I took it, then walked alongside him into the house.
“The guys are out back. We decided to take a dip and cool off,” he explained as we walked through the living areas and towards the sliding glass doors.
“That sounds good. I’m r-really not used to this weather,” I told him, feeling a little uncomfortable. It had only been a couple of days since we had last spoken, but it felt like so much longer. There was this awkward tension between us and I had no idea how to ease it.
“Do you have sun screen on? You’ll burn up quick if you’re not used to this sun,” he asked.
“Yeah. I have to wear f-factor f-fifty or I just frazzle,” I laughed.
“Let’s find you some shade. Can’t have that beautiful skin burning,” he told me as he led me out of the door and onto a huge, elevated patio.
I expected the guys to be laughing and messing around as they usually did, so I was surprised and taken aback when I looked down towards the pool and found all three of them had stopped and were just watching me.
Grey and Dec were in the pool, both of them propped at the edge, their head rested on their folded arms, watching me. Tom was sat on one of the loungers that lined the right side of the rectangular pool, a sketch pad and pencil held on his lap. He was bare chested like he just jumped out of the pool, his hair wet and slicked back.
“Blake!” Tom cried enthusiastically as he jumped to his feet, dropping the pad and pencil to the seat behind him, then hurried towards me as Liam and I started down the half dozen steps. When I stepped off the last stair, Tom was there, encircling me in a tight hug. “You’re here,” he sighed as he held me.
“I am,” I agreed as I hugged him back.
“You look beautiful.” He pulled back and took me in. I rolled my eyes, knowing I actually looked like crap. My skin was still far too pale and my eyes red and bloodshot. I still had dark smudges under my eyes, and my hair had merely been thrown up into a messy bun to keep it off of my neck in the heat. I should really have made more of an effort, but I simply hadn’t had the energy.
“How are you feeling?” Declan asked, his tone a little hard and annoyed sounding. I looked behind Tom and saw Dec and Grey were both now out of the pool. Dec was striding towards me, rubbing a towel over his wet hair. His eyes were lasered on me and I saw the annoyance I had heard in his tone, reflected on his face.
“A lot better,” I replied with a nod.
“I’ll grab some drinks,” Tom announced as he gave my hand a squeeze, then ran past me and back into the house.
“You don’t look better,” Dec ground out as he stopped a few feet opposite me.
“Thanks. So kind,” I snapped sarcastically.
“Dec, quit being a dick,” Grey ordered as he appeared at my side and wrapped an arm around my back, but didn’t pull me into his side as I expected. “What he means is you look pale. Are you up to this today?”
“I’m okay. Just tired. Stop f-fussing,” I looked to Dec and glared a little, hoping he’d back off. I really wasn’t sure I was feeling up to dealing with Declan being a complete knob with me.
“Come and sit down. Let’s all move into the shade,” Grey suggested as he pointed over to a smaller patio off to the left off the pool. There was a round table with eight chairs surrounding it, all in the shade of some tall trees that lined that side of the beautiful garden.
I thanked Grey as I sat in the chair he had pulled out for me. Liam and Declan sat opposite me and Grey took a seat beside them.
There was a really awkward silence between us all as we sat there waiting for Tom. I hated it, because it had never once been that way since I met them all. I knew it was on me, and the fact none of them knew what I wanted to discuss, and were worrying about it. I just didn’t know how to fix it.
Thankfully Tom arrived with a cool box filled with ice, cold beers, a couple of cans of pop, and bottles of water. He also held a tray filled with snacks, including a platter of fruit and some veg sticks with dips.
“Jees bro, we’re not having a party,” Liam sighed as he grabbed the cool box and placed it at his side.
“I didn’t know how long we’d be out here. Thought we should be prepared,” Tom shrugged as he started laying the snacks out across the table.
Liam held a bottle of water up to me and I nodded and held my hand out for it, but Dec took it first, and twisted the cap loose before handing it to me. It was sweet, but the glare on his face was far from that.
