FLAWED

Chapter Three

"Hey!" I yelled walking through the front door of my sister and best friend's place that Saturday carrying a case of beer and a bag of ice.

"In here!" I heard Gwen shout. Following the voice to the kitchen, I found Sam, Gwen, and Faith gathered together and my heart skipped a beat as Faith met my gaze with a bashful smile. She was seated next to Gwen at the island fawning over Ryan as Sam prepped food.

"I see the gang's all here," I proclaimed.

"Indeed." Sam answered as I placed the beer down and the ice in the freezer before reaching over and stealing a carrot off of his cutting board.

"Is the food ready yet?" I asked and he snatched the carrot back from me as I began to protest.

"No, and if you didn't bring a dish, you don't get food."

"I brought the beer." I reminded making Sam scoff.

"Yeah, from my bar that I asked you to bring over."

"Which means technically, I brought it with me." I grabbed another carrot and popped it into my mouth with a grin before washing my hands and making my way over to the girls. "Alright, it's nephew time." I held my hands out and Gwen gave me her seat, handing Ryan over as he looked up at me calmly. With a smile, I tucked him in my arms in the way I had already gotten used to in just a few days. "What's up little dude? What's it like having the two most gorgeous girls in Cape Charles gushing over you all day?" Gwen laughed, giving me a light tap on the arm as she walked by.

"Hush you."

Faith smiled as she moved in slightly closer, holding Ryan's tiny hand in her own. "You're really good with him."

This made Sam laugh. "Yeah, you should've seen him the first time he held him. You would've thought our child was a ticking time bomb."

"Shut up, it just took some getting used to, now I'm basically a pro. Isn't that right little one?" I rocked Ryan back and forth and he cooed happily. Faith leaned in even closer, her hair brushing against my shoulder and I couldn't help inhaling her familiar honeysuckle scent, a rush of heat washing over me.

"Aww look at him, he's smiling. He's so cute."

A playful grin crossed my lips. "He's a Chase, cuteness runs in our blood."

Faith looked up at me with a small smile, her eyes telling me she agreed.

"Except he's a Parker." Sam disrupted our moment and we both turned to stare at Sam wearily.

"He's a Chase-Parker, technically. Double the cuteness in my opinion." Gwen corrected, pinching Sam's cheek as he swatted her away playfully before turning to back us.

"You know, it's gonna be a while before I get the food on. Why don't you two go for a swim in the lake?" He said with a subtle nod to me, then to Faith as Gwen smiled brightly.

"That's a good idea babe. You brought a suit, right Faith?"

"Yeah, but what about you? I wouldn't feel right getting in when you can't yet." Faith answered since Gwen was still healing from giving birth and wouldn't be able to swim for a while.

"Don't worry about me, a couple of more weeks and I'll be good as new." My sister shrugged nonchalantly, walking back over to take Ryan from me and motioning for us to leave.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice, do we?" I mumbled as Faith and I stood. I opened the back door and motioned to outside. "Shall we?"

Faith grabbed a couple of towels from a chair and I followed her out of the house then down the back patio. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those two were trying to get us alone."