Summer Sun // Hero Fiennes Tiffin

Eight

"I'd give it a..." Ezra scratches his chin and poses as if he's deep in thought, "a solid seven out of ten." His lips stretch into a grin, his pearly white teeth glimmering.

I notice Hero's jaw drop in surprise and he mocks being offended, earning a giggle from Eden and I and a snicker from Ezra.

"Ok Gordon Ramsay, I'd like to see you do better," Hero teases in rebuttal, yet we all know that the food was actually really good... surprisingly.

We've just had dinner (or what we could salvage), and now the four of us are sitting outside on the deck of Ezra and Hero's cabin. They've got a comfy picnic table set up outside, with a perfect view of the lake that glimmers with the moon light. With us girls seated on one side of the table and the boys on the other, I sit directly across from Hero. When we first sat down, his long legs kept kicking out at my shins. At first I didn't mind the "sorry" every time he tried to stretch his legs out, but now I've just resorted to sitting with my legs criss-cross up on the picnic bench. This man has too much... limb.

After catching us making a mess of the kitchen, Ezra and Eden tried to play it off as if nothing happened - but I could see the glimmer in Eden's eye. Not to mention she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively every time I laughed at something Hero said. Thankfully Ezra didn't say anything, he was too distracted by the food.

Hero stands up from his seat across from me, towering over the table. Damn this man is tall. My eyes trail upon his torso, noticing the remnants of flour dusted across his black t-shirt - I feel my cheeks start to heat up.

"Can I grab your plate?" His London accent questions me, a large hand extended towards my empty dish. I nod with a small smile and hand him my plate and cutlery. Ezra follows suit as Hero clears the table and heads inside to the kitchen, leaving Eden and I under the stars of the summer night sky.

"So..." Eden tries to start, "what happened between you two?" She bites her lip in anticipation, a wide smile pushing through.

"Nothing really, I just helped cook. Sort of..." I answer back, trying to avoid eye contact while scratching the back of my head.

Edens scoffs, "sis, when I walked in, that did not look like cooking. Y'all made a mess!" She laughs at her own joke and I start to feel blood rush to my cheeks. Eden nudges my shoulder to spill my secrets.

"I'm serious, nothing really happened. You know I would tell you if something did."

Eden nods in agreement, knowing that I'm telling the truth. My sister and I share all our secrets; whether that's a good thing I'm still not too sure, but either way, both of us are taking shit to the grave.

"Well, if I were you and a hot six foot London boy was eyeing me like there's no tomorrow, I'd take him to the cove," Eden suggests, her classic plotting smirk re-emerging.

Her words send both excitement and nerves through me and my eyes go wide.

"Nope, no cove," I state matter of factly, shaking my head.

"Oh c'mon! The cove is like the most adorable spot in this place!" She pouts while throwing her arms up in protest. She's right; the cove is a hidden sanctuary near the lake. Only accessible by kayak or boat, it's a beautiful beach tucked into the tree line right on the water's edge. If you time it perfectly, it's the best spot for sunset views during the summer. Every summer we sneak away to the cove to swim, cliff jump, and hangout.

It used to be my favourite spot.

I swat the air, as if to dismiss her. "I don't wanna be pushy, I've only known him for like two days."