Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 15 ]

Rebecca frantically grabbed her things and rushed out of the house, faster than her own brain could comprehend.

She rushed down the apartment halls with books in hand, her jacket halfway on, and her hair dishevelled. It was only when she had to wait in the elevator that she fixed herself up properly.

She hurried to Colby's apartment, cursing the far distance from her apartment to his. When she reached his door, she knocked on it quietly but quickly, trying to be mindful of the other rooms.

A disoriented Colby opened it as he rubbed his eyes, confused. "C'mon, wake up sleepyhead!"

Colby winced at the sudden noise and frowned, watching Rebecca walk into his apartment. "Why exactly?"

"Colby." Rebecca turned and looked at him unimpressed. "It's round one."

"Of?" Colby questioned, closing the door slowly, evidently not a quick thinker in the morning.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the thing we've been studying for? You know for the past month?" She placed her books on his counter and saw him nodding back off on his couch. "The thing we discussed literally yesterday..."

She looked around and couldn't see Riley, so she knew she must've still been asleep. "Exams."

Her whisper yelling wasn't the thing that made him jolt up, but that word definitely did. Within two seconds, he was standing by the counter, opening up textbooks and scanning the pages.

"How could you have possibly forgotten?! We studied yesterday." Rebecca questioned, placing her bag down.

"It's six in the morning, Rebecca." He hissed slowly, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Trust me, I know. I slept in." She responded with a laugh. "It's okay, we'll be fine." 

Rebecca felt Colby move close behind her. "We're prepared."

She shivered, feeling Colby's hand move to her back, as he rested it there. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"Dad!" Riley yelled, zooming down the hall. "You didn't tell me Becca was gonna be here!"

"I didn't know she was gonna show up right now." Colby watched his daughter run to Rebecca and squeeze her legs. "Why are you up so early?"

"Because I sensed that Becca was here." The little girl raised her hands eagerly, waiting for Rebecca to lift her up.

"I'm sorry, you sensed she was here?" Colby chuckled, "You have a Becky radar?"

"Yes." Riley rolled her eyes and dropped her head on Rebecca's shoulder. "Don't question me, it's too early!"

"That's what I think, but apparently your favourite Becca has other plans." Colby murmured, and Rebecca rolled her eyes.

"Please." Rebecca laughed, "Is there a better way to be woken up?"

"Well, yeah." He nodded, "I'd say breakfast in bed after some nice morning-"

"Okay!" Rebecca cut him off, "I don't need to know where you were going with that."

Colby smiled as she carried Riley to the couch with her. "Cuddles Rebecca! Cuddles!"

"Yeah, sure." She shook her head, stroking Riley's hair.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't that kid-friendly." His smirk grew, "I'd be happy to show you what I mean."

Rebecca felt Riley's grip on her loosen, so she could tell the little girl was nodding back off. "I don't think that's the best idea. You need a clear mind for an exam."

"Now that you mention it, it is a little fuzzy." Colby sat down in front of her, on top of his table. "I think some early exercise is exactly what I need."

"Perfect." She stood up slowly, and his eyes widened, "Slow your roll, Lopez. I was gonna say I know for a fact your apartment has a gym downstairs, so you can go burn some energy there."

He frowned, "Well, that way is no fun."

"It can be." She grinned, "Who knows? You might run into a half-naked social media model, posing in front of the mirrors instead of working out.

"Not interested." He followed her through the halls as she gently placed Riley back in bed.

"Why not?" She closed the door gently, "She might be super hot."

"What if I didn't need to go to the gym to be around a beautiful woman." He took the textbooks she had just picked up out of her hands and placed them back down. "What if she was already standing right in front of me?"

"Well... I'd say you may need to invest in some glasses." She laughed, turning to grab her books again before Colby stopped her and held her upper arms.

She looked up at him, trying to ignore her rising temperature and racing heartbeat. Rebecca felt Colby's fingers loosen his grip and travel down to her sides, stopping at her waist. "Colby-"

"Why'd you put me back in bed?!" Riley whined loudly, as she stomped back into the kitchen.

"You fell asleep." Rebecca replied, as tried to move away from Colby, only to feel his grip tighten. She looked up at him with panicked eyes, and he just watched her with a smirk.

"Go back to bed Ri." He kept his eyes on Rebecca, watching hers dart around. "You need more rest."

"That's not fair I'm not even sleepy!" She crossed her arms, staring at her father's back upset.

"Your attitude says otherwise." He pulled Rebecca closer slightly, watching her shake her head ever so slightly.

Before anything else was said, they heard the front door open. "Grandma!"

He sighed, begrudgingly aware that his small window of opportunity was gone, and Rebecca quietly chuckled, seeing the disappointment on his face. "Hey, Holly."

"Oh, Rebecca! I didn't know you'd be here so early!" Holly replied as Colby let go so Rebecca could go to greet her. "I came to make sure Colby actually woke up on time."

"Just going back over everything before exams." Rebecca gave Holly a big hug, "I have to keep you boy on his toes and make sure not everything I said went in one ear and out the other."