Reece
Rolling over in my bed, I groaned, my tongue feeling like cotton. Whatever was in that joint Yara and I had last night had me goofing off for the entire evening. I needed water urgently. I threw on a t-shirt and shorts, checking my watch—10:40 AM.
Making my way down stairs, the enticing smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee filling the air. Dad was there, sitting at the island, sipping coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper. He looked a bit worse for wear, but the man never failed to make breakfast for Lance and me, even when he was hungover. He was a saint, truly. Cooking was a skill he learned from my mom, and he loved it. Despite having the means, she never let him hire a chef. She preferred to do it herself, unless it was a special occasion. We did have cleaners, of course, since our house was quite large.
"Morning," I greeted him, and he replied similarly. "Eggs and bacon are in the food warmer. Pancakes are on the counter—help yourself. Coffee has just been made, so it should still be hot."
"Thanks, Dad," I said as I downed some water first. I grabbed my food, and we chatted. Dad told me about Heather, Lorna's mom, who had to be carried home last night, totally drunk. We chuckled about it. Speaking of Lorna, he mentioned that she left early, claiming she had a headache. I told him I already knew.
When I asked her why she didn't ask me to drop her home.She said she thought I seemed busy and didn't want to disturb me, so Austin brought her home. I asked what she meant, but I didn't get much out of her, just that she was tired and needed sleep. I was too high to press Austin for more information when he came back.
My dad's voice brought me back. "So, you know Yara will be starting at your school tomorrow."
I had totally forgotten about that. "I hope you can introduce her to the rest of your friends and make her feel welcome," he said.
I groaned. "So you want me to babysit her?"
Dad chuckled. "No, not at all. Just help her settle in. I'm sure Lorna will help you."
I muttered to myself, "Not so sure about that."
Sipping my coffee..
Lance walked in. He greeted my dad, but he ignored me and sent me a dirty look instead. "Okay, someone's grumpy," I remarked.
He grunted, "Yeah, and someone's an idiot."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He just shook his head, grabbed his breakfast, and walked away to the other side of the island.
Dad looked between us and sighed. "I don't have the head for you two this morning, so please don't start."
Frustrated, I ground out, "I don't even know what I did."
Lance retorted, "Yeah, you never do."
Dad's authoritative voice intervened. "Please stop... NOW."
Both of us fell silent. For an older man, he was still in great shape, his body ripped as ever. Sometimes he'd attract more attention than Lance and me when we were out, but he'd never be interested. Even after all these years, Mom was still the love of his life. I think he felt it would be a betrayal if he pursued anyone else.
It's quite possible that he's had a few one-night stands, being human and all. Men do have needs, after all. But regardless, my dad's heart has always belonged to my mom. Their connection is something truly special.
Dad informed me that Yara would be dropped off in the morning for a ride to school with me. Lance scoffed, "I'm sure she's looking for more than a ride."
Something seemed off with him. Dad raised an eyebrow at Lance and asked, "Something on your mind, Lance?"
Lance shook his head, replying, "Not at all, Dad. I just hope that since Reece's 'girlfriend'—" he air-quoted the term— "is back, he doesn't forget about his other friends."
I furrowed my brows, confused. "Why would I do that?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Considering she wouldn't let you out of her sight yesterday."
"She didn't know anyone, that's why she was hanging out with me," I defended.
"So, she's not your girlfriend then?" Lance prodded.
"No, we're friends," I spat, my annoyance growing.
Lance's smug grin was infuriating as he said, "Are you sure? It sure looked that way when you were walking upstairs last night with her."
My dad's gaze turned to me, his concern evident. "I hope you weren't doing anything up there with her."
"No, I wasn't," I replied, my frustration mounting. "We're just friends. She wanted to talk to me about something."
Dad chimed in, his tone questionable , "Well, her father seems to think there's something more to it."
I responded, my tone firm, "Well, there's not."
I knew why Yara's dad had that impression, but I couldn't reveal it to my dad or Lance. I had promised Yara not to share it. "Yeah, she told me why she said she was my girlfriend,I felt bad for her. "So I didn't say anything to her, We smoked a joint and got high, but the only thing was when I came back down, Lorna was gone."
I think I'll drop her a text and check if she's up for meeting today. Hopefully she'll be up for it.I feel like we haven't really spent much time together on our own.
Lance's attitude towards me was puzzling. While we often exchanged mockeries and teasing, today felt distinct. There seemed to be an underlying urge to confront me about something, yet he refrained and resorted to name-calling, referring to me as a fool and an idiot. His sentiments towards Yara were also quite evident.
Yes she was undoubtedly more assertive and upfront in her interactions, unlike Lorna, who was reserved and laid-back. With most guys preferring that demeanor—well, at least most of the guys I knew. Don't get me wrong, Lorna could be quite feisty when she chose to be, but it was rather cute.
After a quick shower and change, I picked up my phone, hoping to find a message from her. However, there was nothing.
Shooting her a text . I type."Hey you, hope the headache has cleared up. I was wondering if you'd be up for meeting up later? Maybe we could grab some ice cream or sushi. You know how much you love sushi 😋 Let me know if you're interested."
I hoped that the mention of sushi might entice her to come out and meet me. Her text from last night seemed a bit off, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was still upset about me not telling her about Yara.
As I waited, the absence of a reply started to nag at me. She had seen the message, so why wasn't she texting back? It was evident that she was annoyed.
"F*ck this," muttering to myself. Running down the stairs and out the door,I hopped into my Jeep and headed to her house. Knocking on the door, her dad answered. "Oh, hey Reece," he greeted me. "Are you looking for Lorna?"
"Hey, Mr. Devine," I replied. "Yeah, I texted her a while ago but she hasn't replied. I just wanted to check on her see how she is after her migraine."
He explained, "Well, she's gone out. Said she was meeting the girls at the sushi bar downtown. She left about five minutes ago. Her phone's here; she said her battery died, so she's charging it. Maybe you can take it to her if you're meeting up." I don't really like the thought of her without her phone, he conveyed.
I accepted the it, thanking him, and thought, "Perfect excuse to meet up with her." Although I would have preferred it if we were alone, I quickly texted Connor and Austin to meet me at the sushi bar in 20 minutes.
When I arrived, I saw the girls inside. Sarah and Samia were seated on one side, while Lorna sat on the other. This arrangement worked well—I could slide in next to her. Just as I was about to walk in, her phone buzzed in my hand. Tempted by curiosity, I glanced at the message. It was from Nick. I couldn't open it without her knowing, but I caught a glimpse of the text: "Hey beautiful, looking forward to seeing you." The rest of the message remained hidden, and I felt a surge of jealousy creep up me. I wanted to throw her phone away to prevent her from reading the rest.
We entered the sushi bar, and I took a seat beside her, putting on my best poker face. She looked surprised to see me. I smiled and greeted her. "Hi,
"Uh, hey. What are you doing here?" Her welcome wasn't what I hoped for, and it was clear that something was off between us. I explained, "I texted you earlier, but you never texted back. So, I called to your house, and your dad told me you were here. He asked me to give you this," I said, handing her the phone.
She looked at it, clearly seeing the message from Nick but refraining from opening it in front of me. "Um, thanks," she mumbled.
I inquired about how she was feeling, but her brief responses indicated she wasn't in the mood to talk. So I decided not to press further, figuring that maybe she was on her period or something as Lorna is only really ever moody when she has them .Plus, I didn't want to make a scene in front of the others, as they would surely pick up on something being amiss..
We placed our orders and engaged in some conversation while waiting for our food. Lorna's responses remained confined to small talk, but at least she was engaging to some extent. I chalked it up to her possibly just having an off day.
After finishing our meal, we opted to go for ice cream. Lorna seemed to be warming up a bit, but that progress abruptly halted when we unexpectedly ran into Yara and her cousin. I couldn't recall his name, but I vaguely remembered that he had visited her in Spain. I had only met him briefly before.
"Hey, babe!" Yara exclaimed, enveloping me in a hug. She then greeted Austin and Connor before noticing Lorna. "Oh, I didn't see you there, Lorna," Yara said with a smirk.
Lorna responded with a sarcastic smile that clearly communicated she didn't find Yara's comment amusing.
I shot Yara a questioning look, She giggled in response, saying, "I'm just joking with her. Of course, I saw her." Her words were accompanied by a snarky tone that didn't go unnoticed.
Lorna didn't engage further and simply walked away to find a seat.
Samia chimed in, introducing herself and making it clear that she was Lorna's best friend. She greeted Yara with a firm handshake, which seemed to convey a subtle warning not to mess with her friend. Samia then introduced Sarah. I couldn't help but notice Yara's surprised reaction upon seeing Sarah.
Sarah simply nodded and walked over to where Lorna was sitting. It was an odd exchange that left me feeling a bit perplexed.
Yara asks if they can join us, not wanting to be a dick and say no,I respond if you like.. "great she beamed,nodding to her cousin to follow..
We followed them over to where Lorna was seated. I saw an empty spot beside her and intended to sit there, but Yara intervened, pulling me down to sit beside her instead. Connor took the opportunity to claim the spot next to Lorna. I exchanged a look with Connor, who shrugged and smirked in response.
Samia, always curious, inquired about how Yara and I got together. Yara looked at me with a silent plea, urging me to play along. Though I didn't really want to, I foolishly allowed her to explain. As Yara spoke, I stole a glance at Lorna. She seemed disinterested, gazing out the window. Sarah appeared to be equally quiet, occasionally throwing subtle glances in Yara's direction.
"Weird ...
We placed our orders for ice cream and engaged in conversation. Yara introduced her cousin, Miguel, to us. He appeared friendly, but I couldn't help but notice the way his glances occasionally drifted toward Lorna. Something about it didn't sit right with me—I didn't like it. Or maybe I just didn't like anyone looking at her..
Yara pointed her spoon at Lorna's untouched ice cream and asked, "You not hungry, Lorna?"
Lorna's eyes flickered up, and she replied with a sly tone, "Lost my appetite." She then shot me a significant look.
Making it evident that she didn't approve of Yara..
Yara seems to be popping up everywhere !! 😬😬
And why is Reece such a pussy ?...
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