I decided on plain black bottoms and a light pink top that had black straps. I pulled on a white cover up dress and tiptoed across the hall to Luke's room. I pressed my head against the door and heard silence, so I assumed he was downstairs already. I skipped down the stairs and found my mom sitting in the same spot as before, her head in her hand and she looked tired. I climbed up the tall stools and sat next to her. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open. She was asleep.
I tapped her shoulder lightly and her eyes bolted open, startling me a little.
"Mom, if you're still sleepy, go back to bed."
She nodded and yawned, kissing my forehead and walking to her room.
I looked through the window and saw Luke outside, pulling his shirt off.
I sighed and pulled my eyes away, jumping off the stool and walking outside.
Luke looked up and smiled. "Hey, sunshine," he said, sounding like a dad.
I scrunched up my face and sat down on one of the pool chairs. I shook my head and laughed slightly. "Don't do that," I laughed.
Luke looked up and walked over to me, his hands on his hips.
"Do what?" He laughed.
"Call me that," I said, crossing my legs and looking up at him.
"What-sunshine?" He started cracking up and I raised my eyebrows, rolling my eyes and standing up.
He turned back to me and sighed. "So uh-take your clothes off so I can throw you in." He said nonchalantly.
My eyebrows raised and I was about to say something, when he ran forwards at me and picked me up over his shoulder.
I squealed and held onto his shoulders for dear life, yelling at him to put me down.
"Take your dress off!" He laughed, setting me down. He started counting backwards from ten, and I squirmed out of my dress, throwing it on my chair and making a bolt for the pool stairs.
I could hear him running behind me and I let out an almost scream, feeling his arm coil around my waist.
He pulled me backwards and spun me around, his hands holding tight on my waist.
We stared at each other for a few moments before I brought up my hand and jabbed him in the stomach, not too hard, but hard enough for him to let go of me. I took off running into the pool, only making sure he was okay once I was safe.
"Aw, fuck-Cali, what the fuck," he said, laughing slightly.
I covered my mouth and giggled slightly. "Are you okay?" I laughed, hanging onto the edge of the pool.
He sighed and walked over to me, sitting on the ledge and sliding into the pool next to me.
"Just peachy." He said, leaning his back against the pool wall and putting his arms behind him on the ledge.
I got a great view of his arms. Fantastic.
"So where's your dad?" I asked, realizing I didn't see him this morning.
He opened his eyes and leaned his head up, looking at me. "I'm not really sure, actually." He said, turning around so he was facing me.
We were standing too close together, so I had to look up at him.
His hand found my hip and he ran his thumb over my swimsuit bottom, staring into my eyes.
I pursed my lips and shifted my eyes away from him, using two fingers to pluck his hand off my hip.
Right then, the sliding glass door opened and out came Josh.
He waved at us and trotted over. "Is your mum home?" He asked, leaning over the pool.
I nodded. "Yeah, she was super tired and went back to bed."
"Back to bed? It's already twelve." He laughed, shaking his head. "Well, I need to talk to you about something later when you two are done in the pool." He stared at me for a few seconds until I nodded.
"Okay, you can talk to me now-"
"No, we're in the pool." Luke interrupted me, making me look at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"It'll only take a minute, Luke." Josh said, standing up. "Meet me in the kitchen, yeah?"
I nodded and he went back inside. I looked at Luke and bit my lip slightly. "I'll be right back, okay?" I said.
He furrowed his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. "Yeah-whatever." He turned around and started swimming around.
I climbed out of the pool and dried myself off. Right before I went back inside, I turned around and our eyes met.
"I'll let you throw me in the pool!" Then I ran inside the house, looking around for Josh.
I found him leaning over the table with a beer in his hand.
"Hey what's up." I said, leaning on the counter next to him.
"So I have a question for ya." He said, setting his beer down and bringing out a tiny box.
My eyes widened and he opened it. Inside, there was a small ring with a beautiful, rosy pink diamond on the center.
I got extremely confused and I brought my hand up to my head, scratching it.
"Can I propose to your mother?"
The wheels turned in my head, and feeling like a complete idiot, I nervously laughed. My eyebrows furrowed and I closed my eyes, covering my forehead with my hand.
I felt like a complete dumb ass and I nodded.
I took a deep breathe and sighed, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess-I don't really care." I laughed at my stupid voice and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. "Yes. Marry my mom." I said.
He laughed and closed the box, setting it on the counter and pulling me in for a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around his back and laughed.
I looked through the window to see Luke with an angry look on his face. He looked slightly hurt, like somebody just called him ugly or something.
My eyebrows furrowed and I pulled away from the hug, folding my arms.
"When do you plan on doing it." I asked, clearing my throat.
"Tonight. I'm taking her out to dinner at a fancy restaurant she loves." He said.
"You're just gonna bend down and ask or do something cheesy like putting it in her wine?" I laughed, feeling uneasy.
"I'm just going to bend down," he laughed. "Well...thank you, California. Go back to Luke," he said, patting my back on my way back outside.
I walked over to Luke, who was drying himself off.
"Why're you dryin-"
"I don't wanna be in the pool anymore." He huffed.
I folded my arms and bit my lip. "Why not?"
"I just don't." He said, shoving past me and going inside.
I felt my stomach drop and a knot in my throat. I felt like crying.
Why did I feel like crying? I don't know.
I left the pool patio to the back yard after putting my dress back on. I sat on the hammock and leaning backwards.
So my mom is probably going to say yes, since she's so in love with him. And I'll probably have to visit a lot more, or maybe even move in with them. Or, I could get my own apartment!
That happy thought bounced into my head, but left as soon as it came. I can't live on my own, the only food I can make is macaroni and pancakes. And I don't know how to work a washing machine.
I sighed and the thought of Luke entered my head.
He seemed pretty upset earlier. He's so bipolar, like one second he's an adorable puppy, and the next he's some grumpy old man who's dog just passed away.
This is all so fucking confusing.
