Page 27 of Forever Summer

“Cool, beer garden at twelve?”

“Sounds good.” She nodded, her light-brown ponytail swinging across her shoulder.

Chris leant in the alcove of the kitchen, his arms crossed over his bare chest, seemingly not in the least bit inhibited in his boxers, not that there was anything to be ashamed of. Hot damn, these Henderson men were built well. I tried to keep my eyes affixed to Chris’s face, despite his near-naked attire; the last thing I wanted was for my eyes to drag inappropriately. I am sure Tammy would not appreciate that.

“Are boys allowed?”

“NO,” Tammy and I answered in unison, causing Chris’s brows to raise in surprise.

“Geez, okay, I can take a hint.”

Tammy pouted. “Sorry, girls only.”

Chris smirked. “Subtle you were not.”

And then there I was, stuck between the goo-goo eyes of a newly loved-up couple, where cutesy little looks were locked on one another and I felt like a third wheel; furthermore, they were delaying my mission. Time to break it up.

“Hey, Chris, can I borrow your hotel keys for a sec?”

Chris’s attention snapped sceptically toward me. “Why?” he asked, uncertain.

“I’ll hand them straight back, I just need to do something in the main bathroom.”

Okay, saying it like that really didn’t sound great, and seriously, what was with me and bathrooms?

Chris must have thought the exact same thing as he kind of looked at me like I was crazy. He went to the front door, unhooking the set and handing them over to me with a dark stare.

“These are a boomerang,” he said, ensuring he said it before actually setting them into my palm.

“Promise; actually, wait on the landing and I’ll chuck them right back,” I said, making my way out the door. Tammy and Chris followed, lured by curiosity.

Never was I more pleased to hear the joyous, muffled sound of Max’s song under the shower as I neared the door. I flipped through the keys, holding up the one that looked like the best fit. I showed Chris with raised brows. He simply nodded, a deep frown pinched on his brow as he looked on, half disturbed with what I was about to do. Tammy simply stood, mouth agape.

I slotted the key into the lock, clicking it until I heard the magical unlocking sound. I wasn’t the only one that seemed to hear, as Max’s singing abruptly cut off.

“Hey, I’m in here,” he shouted in a panic.

I ignored him, simply barging through, taking no notice of the soapy, flesh-coloured blur scrambling in my peripheral vision.

“Ellie, what the fuck?” he yelled.

“Oops, sorry,” I sing-songed, grabbing for my makeup bag and ensuring to flush the toilet on the way out. I slammed the bathroom door just enough to muffle the pained screams of Max’s shower being plunged into cold water induced by the toilet.

“I’m going to get you for this, Parker!”

I threw my keys across the landing where Tammy managed to catch them much more successfully than Chris could have, seeing as he was laughing hysterically.

“Thanks, guys.”

Chris shook his head. “Anytime. Any. Time.”

Thirteen

Revenge was a dish best served cold. Seeing Adam lying there defenceless, so peaceful, I recalled my vow for revenge. He probably thought I wouldn’t recall yesterday’s tickling torture session. Well, now the opportunity was presenting itself to me. There, right next to his bed was a nice big glass of water. It was singing out to me, calling my name, begging to be an accomplice in my scheme. I tiptoed over to Adam’s bedside, carefully clutching the cool glass and lifting it in a firm hold to my chest. My head tilted to the side as I studied what would be the best approach with this. Tentative little drips between the eyes or full-on deluge? Hmm, the decisions were all so delicious to choose from. I think I would combine the two, drips then …

Oh shit.

Adam opened his eyes; like a Ninja sensing someone lurking in the shadows his sleepy eyes opened, and then, locking onto me hovering above him, they widened, stilling me.

---