Summer Forever

16.

The next morning, I sat at the kitchen counter, picking apart an old croissant while revising my notes. In high school, revising notes was simple. I'd re-read my old notes, flick through a textbook, answer some questions. Sure, there'd be topics I didn't understand but a few hours of studying normally sorted that out.

Now that I was in university, revising notes only reminded me what I didn't know—which was everything. It felt like I was getting nowhere. It seemed like I'd just filled pages and pages with nonsense; words that blurred together for me, and no one else.

Sighing, I flicked to the next page of my lab manual, frowning at yet another page that I barely understood.

Behind me, a door clicked.

"Morning, Isla."

"Moning, Riv—" I cut myself off, realising it hadn't been River's voice that spoke. I spun, my eyes widening to find Connor walking out of River's room.

Shirtless.

My face must have shown the pure shock I was feeling because Connor smirked, leaning against the back of the couch as he pulled a shirt over his head—the same one he'd worn yesterday.

"Connor," I corrected myself after a moment. "Morning."

River was out next, except unlike Connor, he was fully clothed.

"Don't go walking around shirtless like you own the place," River scolded. He smacked Connor's chest with a wrinkled shirt and Connor laughed, grabbing it from him.

"Oh, so Alistair can, but I can't?" He cocked his head before leaning towards River, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'll do what I want."

River pushed him away, fleeing to the other end of the kitchen and filling the kettle. He turned towards the sink, yet I could still see the pink at the top of his ears. Whatever had happened last night—and I was pretty sure I could guess what that whatever was—it had really knocked River down a peg.

He'd gone from his arrogant, confident self into a blushing mess overnight. Only Connor could ever do that to him.

Beside me, Connor pulled the shirt over his head. He yawned, mussing up his hair and glancing over my shoulder at my notes.

"What the fuck is an osmosis?" he muttered.

"You tell me," I replied with a groan. I leaned forward until my head was resting on the counter and Connor laughed, reaching over to ruffle my hair this time.

"I take it uni isn't going so well?" he asked.

"I don't understand anything," I mumbled, my face smushed against the table. "I hate not knowing things."

"It'll come to you," he said easily. "It always does. You were my tutor for a reason."

"We were nine and you didn't know your two times tables," I droned. "It was hardly tutoring."

"Yeah, but now I know that two times twelve is twenty-six."

"It's literally not."

"Twenty-five?"

"One more."

"Twenty-four?"

"Got it."

"See!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I never would have gotten that without you!"

I couldn't help but laugh, sitting back up to match Connor's smile. "Thanks for the confidence boost, Connor."

"Was it a confidence boost?" River's sarcastic voice came from the kitchen.