•skip to the next morning•
Zoey's POV
I wake up to see a sleeping Emery holding me. Last night was... intense. I know I can't lose him as a friend, but I just need him in a more than a friendly way. And he doesn't seem to mind. I start tracing his abs and all of a sudden I feel him shutter.
He pulls me closer to him and says, "Good morning beautiful."
"Someone's happy today," I say.
"Yep," he says.
"So what are we doing today?" he then asks me.
"I don't know. How about we-" I get cut off by a knock on the door, which makes Emery and I immediately separate.
The door opens and we see Ricky, who I may add looks very tired. He approaches my bed and lays down at the foot of it.
"Ricky, would you mind telling me why you're lying at the foot of my bed?" I ask him.
"We need to go clean up," he says.
"Okay," I say, getting out of bed.
"Woah! What the hell are you wearing?" Ricky screams, standing up.
"Pajamas," I say dumbfounded.
"Where's the rest of them?" he says.
"Ricky, I'm wearing a tank top and shorts. I wear clothes like this all summer. What's the difference if I wear it to bed?" I say.
"Well, I'm sorry that I don't want someone having his hands all over my little sister," he says, turning around to face away from us.
Emery gets up, walks over to Ricky, and says, "Bro, you know Zoey's like my little sister too. It's not like that."
Ricky looks down, takes a breath, and says, "I know. I'm sorry man. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just overprotective."
I walk over to them and to lighten the mood I say, "Wait, when did I become the 'little sister'? I was born 3 minutes before you, Ricky, and we're both a few months older than you, Em."
Emery rests his arm on my head and says, "Yea, but you're shorter than the both of us."
Ricky just nods his head.
"Ugh whatever, let's go clean up," I say.
"Zoey, change first," Ricky says seriously.
"Ricky, don't push it," I say, also seriously.
"Okay, but, Emery, put on a shirt," Ricky then says.
"Really Ricky?" Emery and I both yell.
"Jesus, I was kidding," Ricky says, laughing and heading downstairs.
We all get downstairs and all I can say is... woah. What the hell happened here? It looks like a bomb blew up in the middle of our living room.
"Okay, Ricky, go get some garbage bags and start in the kitchen. Emery, you and I will start in the living room," I tell the boys.
They both nod and we start cleaning up.
Ricky gets the garbage bags and gives Emery and I a few of them.
We start picking up the garbage on the ground. After cleaning up for awhile, we both go to pickup the same empty, crushed can. Our hands touch. I lift my head and smile, stifling a laugh. Then I take the can and put it in the garbage bag he's holding.
We continue cleaning until he speaks up.
"So I saw you were talking to Clare last night," he says.
"Yea, I was really surprised to see her," I respond.
He just nods and continues cleaning, until he speaks up a few minutes later again.
"You know, I'm still sorry about what happened," he says, whispering so low that only I could hear what he was saying.
I over at him and sigh. I put the garbage bag that I was holding down and walk over to where he was standing. I come face to face with him and grab his hands in mine.
I look into his eyes and say, "There's nothing more you could've done, and I'm so grateful for what you did."
He just looks down and pouts.
I lean in and kiss his cheek. Then I say, "Come on let's finish cleaning up."
About an hour and a half later, we're done cleaning.
"Finally!" Ricky says, coming back inside from bringing out the garbage bags.
"I'm so beat," I say, falling onto the couch.
"Me too," Emery says, lying on the ground next to the couch.
"I think it's time for a well-deserved nap," Ricky says, "I'll be in my room."
"M'kay," I say, closing my eyes.
I hear Ricky go up the stairs and feel a presence beside me. I open my eyes to see Emery laying next to me. I wrap my arms around him and doze off with my head on his chest, listening to the pulsing sound of his heartbeat.
Chapter 12 Author's Note:
Sorry this was a filler. I just wanted to update for you guys.
Thanks so much for reading. Please comment your favorite line, leave your overall comments below, vote, recommend, and follow for updates. Thank you, again. ❤