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Warm air engulfs Melina the second she steps outside the Bearman residence. It was hotter than usual and the teens were spending the day by the pool, which was a quick relief from the heat while still being outside. With five smoothies in her arms, Melina carefully walks outside, taking tiny steps as she makes her way toward her friends.
Terri had made them all a "cool down" drink with flavors of their choosing. Melina and Nadia chose strawberry smoothies and the boys got various other fruit flavors. Making her way around to their seats, Melina had them take their own drinks so she didn't drop them all.
After handing them all off, she rubs her stomach, which was so cold it'd turned red. She was really regretting wearing her bikini inside when she grabbed the drinks rather than a shirt.
"It's bloody hot out." Ollie complains, sipping his strawberry-banana smoothie.
Beside him, Nadia quirks an eyebrow. "Really? Bloody? Could you be any more British?"
"I'm going to start saying that." Melina declares, sticking her index finger into the air. "Bloody brilliant!"
"You're annoying." The British boy scowls, earning a "booing" noise from Melina.
Sitting alongside Kimi, the girl turns her head to face him. He'd hardly talked to her the past couple of days, except for a small joke here and there. His eyebrows were knit together, his eyes clamped shut, and his pink lips pulled into a thin line. Either he was angry, or he was just really deep in thought.
Lost in her own examination, Melina doesn't notice when Kimi turns his head to face her. "May I help you...?"
Blinking back her embarrassment, she puts on a bored expression. "You're oddly quiet lately." She points out, shuffling around on her lounge chair so she was on her back.
"Am not." Kimi argues, although he knew she was right. He couldn't figure out how to act around her anymore.
"Are too." The girl grumbles, closing her eyes as she soaks in the sun. With a scoff from Kimi, the two go back into silence.
After another hour of basking in the sunlight, Melina finds her way inside to clean herself up from the tanning oil and sweat. A cool shower bad her body finally at ease.
Sitting on her bed with damp hair and a towel around her body, Melina scrolls through TikTok. Her smile falters as she scrolls onto an edit of her and Kimi. She wasn't quite sure how they came across certain clips of them, but either way, the edit was cute. Unfortunately, it reminded her of their current predicament.
She knew very well Kimi had put the pieces together. He could hardly look at her now and when he did, it wasn't in a way he ever had before. Things were changing and she wasn't sure how to fix it.
"Lina?" A soft voice calls on the other side of the bedroom door.
"Come in!" Melina yells back. The door opening soon after, her best friend entering soon after.
