Chapter 9
Aurora stood at her front door nervously. She could only wonder at what her new friends would think of her house. It wasn't flash or fancy like Trey's home, it had simply been the Matthews family home for a few generations.
She was thankful to have changed out of her swimmers at Trey's, and put on the spare clothes that she had taken with her. A shower could wait for later when she had her friends settled.
"C'mon in." She stepped back and allowed them to enter with bags in tow.
"What exactly is there to clean in this house of yours?" Laura looked carefully around with narrowed eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"It seems to be completely spotless." Laura trailed her finger along the glass cabinet only to show a dust free digit.
"Mum's a bit of a clean freak, but we'll wipe everything down just so it smells nice and fresh." Aurora informed her.
"Where should we put our stuff?" Trey asked, gesturing to the pile that he carried.
"If you leave it tidily here next to the couches it should be alright," Aurora pointed to an unused area. "Did you want to stay in Kiri's room?" she looked to Laura, who shuddered and quickly shook her head.
"No, I'd rather sleep on your floor." Laura declared.
"You don't like my sister much, do you?"
"Sorry, but not particularly. I never saw her do anything... well... nice." Laura winced, feeling bad for admitting the truth.
"I know what that's like; she was never really that great to me either." Aurora admitted.
"Could I put my stuff in your room?" Laura asked hopefully.
"Sure, I'll show you where it is." Aurora turned to leave, only then remembering the boys.
"I'd stay in Kiri's room." Mick sounded lascivious.
"Ugh, I have such a pervert for a brother." Laura rolled her eyes.
"I don't think that would be allowed." Aurora told them feeling uncomfortable.
"It's a shame." Nathan tutted, as he patted his brother's shoulder consolingly.
"I could always sneak up there later." Mick said with a wiggle of his brows.
"You had better not ruin this for me! You promised to be on your best behaviour." Laura turned to confront her brother.
"Chill, Tiny, I'm only teasing."
"Promise not to go near Kiri's room, or I'm ringing mum to come and pick you up before they leave." Laura pulled out her phone, appearing determined.
"Damn, Tiny, I won't do anything." Mick grumbled.
"Good. Lead the way, Rory." Laura called out.
Aurora walked to the stairs and up to her room, with everyone trailing along behind her. She frantically tried to recall if she had left her room tidy this morning, as she hadn't expected to have visitors. With a deep breath, she pushed the door open and felt relieved when nothing looked too messy.
"It looks like the clean theme carries on in here." Laura stated dryly.
"It's better than I thought it was going to be." Aurora agreed.
"We don't have a single room this clean in our whole house." Laura waved an arm around.
"Trey's was clean." Aurora replied defensively, making her friend grin slyly.
"I think we'll leave the discussion of when you've been in Trey's room for later," she raised her brows at her friend. "Trey is a neat freak too. I have a feeling that maybe it's only my family." She looked towards her brothers in amusement.
"Speak for yourself, Tiny." Nathan grouched at her.
"Before an argument starts, you can put your stuff in here and we should see to cleaning." Aurora interrupted.
"Great we have a cleaning slave driver, I never would've guessed." Laura teased, and when everyone but Trey laughed, Aurora noticed how quiet he had seemed.
"You know it! Now downstairs so I can pull out all of my tortuous cleaning stuff," Aurora rubbed her hands together and chuckled darkly. She let the triplets race each other down the stairs and she turned to face Trey. "What's wrong?"
"I feel kind of bad." Trey admitted sounding guilty, as he dared a quick glance into her bedroom.
"Why?"
"You've had us dumped on you and you've barely known us for a few days." He looked her in the eye, and their emerald green beauty shone at her.
"So? You've all been nice and accepting to me. Why wouldn't I offer you to stay?"
"It just feels like we're taking advantage of you." He confessed.
"Once I make you start cleaning you can bet that it'll feel the other way around." She grinned at him.
"That bad, huh?"
"Yep, c'mon." she waved a hand downstairs, and he followed behind her feeling more relaxed.
Aurora laid out all of the cleaning things and gave each person a specific task. They worked together refreshing her home until it gleamed, and her parents arrived home from work.
"I should let you have your friends over more often!" Judy exclaimed, as she entered the house.
"Hey, Mum." Aurora answered, while throwing her dirty cloth in the bin.
"You should probably introduce me." Judy sounded amused, as she looked between the teenagers.
"Thanks for agreeing to have us stay." Trey said politely.
"That's okay, Trey. Your parents weren't exactly enthusiastic, but I assured them that you would be fine." Judy raised her brows.
"Sorry, Mrs Matthews." Laura piped up.
"Oh, hon, call me Judy."
"My parent's reluctance was my brother's fault."
"You must be Laura, Rory's talked about you." Judy smiled at the girl.
"Yes, and these are my brother's, Mick and Nathan, who promise to be on their best behaviour." Laura looked firmly at her brother's aghast faces.
"Tiny!" Mick protested.
"Hello, boys and welcome." Judy smiled at them, before turning to the door where her husband stood with a fierce glare on his face.
"Rory, kitchen now!" Dan didn't even spare a glance to their guests, as he marched determinedly into the kitchen. "Explain to me why there are three boys in my living room." He demanded, turning on his daughter.
"Dad, didn't mum tell you that I was having friends over?" Aurora tried to calm down the situation with the desperate hope that her friends wouldn't hear a word.
"I expected girls!" Dan exclaimed.
"Did you even see Laura? The other two guys are her brothers," she tried to clarify, but her father's face only turned redder. "I'm not Kiri, and you need to stop treating me as if I'm her. These are my friends, who are staying over tonight. Nothing's going to happen, at least along the lines that you're thinking of." Aurora's anger grew at how embarrassed she felt to have this argument.
"Don, stop this." Judy chided, as she came into the room.
"I'm not going through this again!' he defended his argument.
"And you won't," Judy stated before Aurora could say anything. "Rory's friends are staying and it doesn't matter whether they are boys or girls."
Don went to open his mouth, but Judy shushed him with a fierce glare. She waved Aurora out of the room, so she scurried out and left her mum to it, not wanting to be involved anymore.
"Yep, Trey's right, your dad's scary." Nathan stated, once she rejoiced her friends.
"He keeps thinking that I'll start acting like Kiri did." Aurora shook her head and flopped down onto the couch.
"Really? Has he ever realised how different you are?" Laura frowned.
"Apparently not," she snorted, making everyone relax with a laugh. "Sorry that he's being impossible."
"I think that we can safely blame your sister for this situation." Laura added in, as voices raised in the kitchen making Aurora wince.
"True, so what do you want to do now?" Aurora looked at each of her friends.
"Let's go swimming." Mick said quickly.
"Give me a minute," Trey raised a finger and they went quiet. "I'll be back and we'll decide then."
"Where are you going?" Nathan asked, as he sat down next to Aurora.
"No, no, no, that's not a good plan." Aurora leapt to her feet, as Trey made his way towards the kitchen.
"Mr and Mrs Matthews." His voice interrupted the arguing adults with ease.
"Hello, Trey, don't mind our nonsense." Judy appeared flustered, but managed a smile.
"I know that we've become a sudden burden to you and for that I apologise. I was hoping that by going out to dinner tonight, you could get to know us a little better." Trey sounded both eloquent and remorseful.
"That would be very nice, Trey, but I don't expect you to buy dinner." Judy replied.
"My parents insisted. They felt terrible for saddling you with us." Trey persuaded.
Aurora's mouth popped open at how quickly Trey had managed to calm the situation down. Even her father had smiled briefly, before his expression settled into a stern look.
"Are you sure?" Judy asked him.
"Absolutely. You can ring my parents to check if you like. I'm not sure if their flight would have arrived yet, but if not it will soon." Trey assured them.
"That's most gracious of you and your family." Judy gushed.
"They appreciate that you've taken all of us in at such short notice." Trey's winning smile was enough to convince them.
Her parents left the room and Aurora could only stare at Trey. How had he managed to make everything perfectly fine?
"Wow, how in the heck did you do that?" Aurora asked once they were the only ones in the kitchen.
"I'm naturally skilled." He blew on his fingers.
"Trey's captain of the debate team at his school." Laura answered when she walked in the doorway.
"Is it safe to enter?" Mick asked, as he poked his head around the door.
"Yes, you wuss." Laura huffed out a laugh.
"So, your mum and dad didn't offer dinner?" Aurora enquired.
"No, but feeding these two takes a lot." Trey pointed to Mick and Nathan.
"Great friend you are." Mick huffed.
"And like you can talk, Trey." Nathan's brow furrowed, as he finished his brothers sentence.
"Whatever." Trey laughed heartily. "I've made a reservation, so we'd better get ready."
"Okay, you guys can use the bathroom down here, which you conveniently cleaned." Aurora smirked and pointed to the bathroom.
"You have remembered that I'm going on a date." Laura affirmed and her brother's sighed.
"Here comes another disaster." Mick whined.
"It's one date." Laura glared at her siblings.
"Yeah, we've heard that before." Nathan growled.
"Go and have your dinner, I'll have my date and everything will be good." Laura wiggled her fingers in the air.
"Fine." They all agreed finally, and Aurora led Laura back to her room.
"You can use the bathroom down the hallway."
"Thanks, Rory, I'll try not to take too long." Laura grabbed her things and rushed out excitedly.
The organisation for dinner took far longer than Aurora liked. Laura was at least a fast showering type, but unfortunately, she was very methodical about her makeup. Aurora would have compared her to Kiri, except that Laura included her in everything that she did.
Walking downstairs in another of Queenie's dresses left her feeling great. She felt ready for dinner, until she saw Trey. He looked picture perfect in dark jeans and a button down shirt. She had to wonder whether she should have dressed up more.
"It looks like were all ready." Judy gushed at the group.
"Not all of us." Mick had crossed his arms while his eyes pierced his sister.
"You're not going on a date dressed like that." Nathan's eyes narrowed.
"This is fine." Laura spun around in her tight skirt and barely there top.
"Who said anything about a date?" Dan looked between everyone, as he strolled down the stairs.
"Um, I hope you don't mind, but I had a date set up for tonight, so I won't be coming to dinner with all of you." Laura put on her best smile, but she seemed to forget that Dan had dealt with Kiri for many years.
"Do you really expect boys to treat you respectfully when you dress so obviously?" Dan asked, crossing his arms and appearing intimidating.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Laura asked perplexed.
"Your brother's aren't happy to see you barely dressed, have you ever wondered why?" Dan continued.
"Because they're my annoying brother's."
"No, it's because they know how a male mind works. This outfit makes you seem easy and to the male mind, easy doesn't necessarily go along with treating you with respect." Dan stated clearly, while the brothers slapped each other a high five.
"Dad!" Aurora sounded mortified, as Laura looked at her outfit with wide eyes.
"If you want to be allowed on a date, then I suggest you change, or you'll be coming to dinner with us." Dan firmed his voice.
"Dad, she's our guest." Aurora complained.
"Rory, if a parent puts a child in my care, I will see to it that they are cared for, and this get up says that I don't give a damn about your friend's welfare." Dan continued sternly.
"I'll go and change." Laura's voice normally filled with confidence, sounded downtrodden.
"Thank you."
"Mum." Aurora looked to her mother for support.
"If I disagreed with him then I would have said so." Judy told her daughter.
As the brothers began gushing over Dan, Aurora followed her friend upstairs. She felt horribly embarrassed that her dad had acted in such a Kiri lecturing manner towards Laura.
"I'm so sorry about that, Laura." Aurora expressed her regret at her dad's actions.
"He might have a point." Laura looked in the mirror at her outfit.
"No, he's just used to Kiri." Aurora justified his actions.
"Thinking that I'm dressing anything like your sister makes me want to change." Laura shuddered, as she went through her suitcase for clothes.
"She always liked to dress either trashy or fashionable. I remember dad yelled at her once for her clothes. He actually told her that she had nicer clothes in her wardrobe." Aurora shook her head.
"I'm sure that I only ever saw the trashy Kiri, and God help me if I looked that cheap," Laura huffed, before realising what she said and flinching. "Sorry, but..."
"It's alright; I know what she's like." Aurora shrugged off her comments.
"Let's see if this is more to your dads liking."
Laura grabbed her clothes and ducked into the bathroom. She returned in a pair of skinny jeans, and a soft top that covered her modestly, but showed off her shape.
"He'll be fine with that." Aurora assured her.
They went back downstairs to find the boys all caught up in watching the rugby league. Aurora rolled her eyes, before marching in front of the television and blocking their view.
"That looks much better. You can go on your date now, but I expect you back here by eleven." Dan declared.
"Wow, I've never had a curfew before." Laura laughed softly.
"Just make sure that your back, or he'll give you the other lecture." Aurora warned her.
"Rory." Dan chided his daughter.
"Well it's true." Rory stated cheekily, and a reluctant smile spread on Dan's face.
They left the house in a more jovial mood. Laura set off in her car for her date, while Aurora piled into Trey's car with Mick and Nathan. The brothers were still celebrating what they saw as the victory of the night, Laura changing outfits, but Trey stayed silent.
"Where are we going?" she turned to look at Trey.
"Out to Terrigal, they have some great restaurants." Trey told her.
"They do, but finding parking is impossible." Aurora warned him.
"I know," he winked at her, before returning his attention to the road. "But I have that sorted."
He reached over the console and squeezed her fingers in his. Gone were any thoughts, as sensations captured her. Butterflies in her chest took flight, as he ran one finger over the back of her knuckles before releasing her.
"You, uh, do?" she asked softly.
"Yes, I most certainly do." He agreed with a mischievous grin.
"Okay." She replied with no idea of what they had discussed.
Trey pulled up outside the exclusive resort that Aurora had only ever seen at a distance. He was out of the car and handing his key to the valet, before she registered anything. He opened her door for her, as her parents drove up.
"Thanks." She said softly, as she met those wonderful eyes of his.
"No problem."
"I've never had valet parking before." Dan interrupted their quiet moment.
"It's the best way to make sure that you have a spot to park." Trey grinned at him.
"Well thought out." Dan nodded at him in approval.
"I try my best."
Aurora realised that Trey had won her father over with ease. She had to wonder if he was trying to impress her dad or thank him for being able to stay. She looked between them and decided that it didn't really matter, she felt glad that they could get along better.
The restaurant overlooked the beach, which captured Aurora's attention. The waiter seated them at a table against the floor to ceiling windows that had the best view. She was too busy taking in the view to spare the menu a glance.
"Do you like it?" Trey asked from beside her.
"It's beautiful." She admitted with a happy sigh.
"What may I offer in the way of beverages?" the waiter asked politely, making Aurora pull the menu towards her.
"It seems that I'm always eating out when you're around." She said with a smile.
"I did warn you that I have no idea of how to cook," he replied ruefully. "Order whatever you feel like." He told the rest of the table.
"You asked for that." Mick clapped his hands together, licked his lips, and stared at the menu eagerly.
"This makes me wish that I had a boy." Judy said wistfully.
"Thanks Mum." Aurora stated dryly.
"No offence meant, Honey." Judy replied quickly.
"We'll see how you feel tomorrow, Mrs Matthews." Trey smirked at his friends.
"Are you trying to imply that there's something wrong with us?" Mick placed an offended look on his face.
"You're called the noise boys for a good reason." Aurora added in, making them laugh.
"What a surprise seeing you here, Trey." A familiar and much unwelcome voice said coolly, making all eyes turn to Roth and his parents.
"Hello, Roth." Trey sounded equally cool, while Aurora stiffened at his side.
"Trey, is that Trey Arlington?" Roth's mother, a perfectly groomed beauty exclaimed.
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Forster." Trey answered politely
"We must have you and your parents over to dinner before the end of summer." She gushed.
"They're away for the weekend." Trey sounded relieved, but nobody took any notice.
"Oh, that's a shame. You're welcome to stay with us if you like." She placed a firm hand on Trey's shoulder.
"That's okay. I'm staying with Aurora's family." Trey tried to shrug off her grip, while pointing to Dan and Judy.
"Hello, I'm Dan Matthews and this is my wife, Judy." Dan stood politely, but Roth's parents went still and a coldness enveloped them.
"I see. Come on, Roth, let's find our table." His father pointed a firm finger away from the table.
"At least we can have some peace and quiet now." Mick filled the silence, as he glanced to Trey questioningly, but he shrugged.
"That was awfully strange." Judy frowned at where the Forster's had walked away.
The waiter came over to ask for their order, which distracted them from their previous conversation. Aurora's curiosity was piqued and she looked to where Roth's parents were now glaring towards their table. She could only wonder why Roth had told them to cause such a bizarre reaction. She sighed and looked away; she just couldn't understand that guy.
"Don't worry about him." Trey insisted from beside her.
"I try not to." She told him, as she once again looked at Roth.
Beneath the table, Trey hooked his pinkie finger around hers and she felt herself relax. With Trey beside her, she felt that she could win any battle, even against Roth.