Page 22 of Entwined with My Best Friend's Brother

Gwen and Cale shriek in their own little world, "Yes!"

I smile, watching Cale so happy, while Ryan whispers, "So, are you saying I'll finally be able to see you in a swimsuit as you saw me in mine this morning?"

Snapping my eyes to his teasing ones, I hurriedly snap back to the other two to see if they heard anything. Thank God they are still focused on each other, "Are you crazy? How can you say that?"

Ryan is smug, " Gwen's pushing us closer to each other. Does it even matter at this point?"

I don't expect him to be so blunt, but I ignore him, changing the topic, "I don't have a swimsuit."

Ryan seems to know my intentions but doesn't question them, "So, what will you wear?"

I point out, "What am I wearing now?"

It is acceptable to wear shorts and a shirt. They don't drag me down and don't overexpose my skin as well.

When I look at Ryan, he seems a little breathless, "You will wear that?"

I nod, confused, "What?"

Ryan shakes his head, his voice low and hoarse, making me uncomfortable, "Oh no. Nothing. That will be just fine."

I have only been in the pool for ten minutes – my hair is a mess as it falls out of the bun, framing my face; my clothes are completely soaked through, my shorts sticking tightly to my butt, irritating my skin, and my oversized shirt slipping off my right shoulder. When I turn around to ask Ryan for a towel, he is nowhere to be seen, "Where's Ryan?"

Gwen snickers, making me look at her confused, but she shrugs.

The following day, I woke up to my cell ringing. The screen flashes with Charles' name. The tune disturbs the peaceful early morning and is also about to disturb Cale's sleep. So, I go to the balcony in my flannel tank top and pajamas, the early morning cold biting at my naked arms. Glancing at the still dark blue sky, I realize it is 6am. I answer the call yawning, "What's up, Charles?"

Charles's unusually cheerful voice comes through, "Hey, Hart. I thought I would remind a certain someone about something."

Annoyed, I lean against the veranda railing, "Get straight to the point, Charles."

"You were supposed to take my night shift, remember?"

I had completely forgotten about that. But I behave as though I remembered, "So? It's at night, right?"

"I know you didn't remember. And that's fine. You're going through something right now, so it's fine if you can't take my shift. It's just; I needed to talk to you about something else."

Now that was new. If anything, Charles would rush to get off from work any day. I could talk to him, "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

Charles' voice comes in whispers this time, "There are some things I couldn't tell you last time because of that Hale security guard. And I can't talk about this on call either. Meet me at my house alone. Don't bring anyone. Don't even tell anyone."

Now I am apprehensive, "What's going on, Charles?"

I can hear a sigh, "Just get here."

And the line gets cut off.

I make preparations because Charles clearly has something essential to say about my case.

Ryan and Gwen are going to be suspicious if I go out all of a sudden, leaving Cale, so I make a quick decision and even get Cale up and ready for school.

Cale is incredibly grumpy today, "Mom, I thought we were on vacation. Why are you sending me to school today?"

I can't help smiling at his sleep-induced squint, "Ms. Hanna called and said she and your friends miss you. Don't you miss them too?"

Snapping out of his sleep-induced daze, he jumps, "I do. I miss Gina and Harry, and Ms. Hanna. I'll go."

I remember having no car, so I sneak into Gwen's room and ensure she's still sleeping as I take the car keys from her bag.

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