{River's Apartment} Malibu, California Friday Night
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Whenever River was back home she would have Autumn come over for a sleepover. It was a way for the two sisters to catch up with each other.
"You can put your things in the guest room Auttie." Patience said as she went to the kitchen.
"Okay," Autumn carried her bag to the room.
Patience opened the kitchen drawer taking out several takeout menus. "What do you want to eat?"
"Can we get Chinese? I want shrimp and broccoli!" Autumn shouted from the bedroom.
"Got it" She went over to the phone so she could place the order. Once she finished she sat on the couch picking yo the remote.
Autumn came into the living room. "So it's exciting that you and Michael are partners on the show." She plopped down on the sofa next to her.
"Yeah, he's picking up the choreography quickly. It's not surprising though. I'm happy that he's enjoying the experience."
"Is that the only thing he's excited about?" Autumn mentioned in a teasing tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean you two haven't seen each other in years before this. Now you're going to be spending a lot of time together."
"What are you insinuating?"
"I'm saying that there's probably still some feelings there."
"You've been watching too much TV." River shook her head.
"No, I'm serious Riv. You and Michael can reconnect." Autumn stated.
"Nothing's going to happen Auttie. Michael is partnered on the show with me and that's all." She tried to explain. "Besides he has a girlfriend that he is very happy with."
"She's a placeholder"
"Autumn"
"What?" Autumn shrugged her shoulders. "She is though."
"Don't say that it's rude. Michael told me he loved her. So you can stop trying to be a detective."
"You know I can't do that sis." She sighed. "You're in denial about this whole thing. Sebastian has been trying to get with you for so long but you keep turning him down."
"That's because I don't like him like that. He's a great guy but not for me."
Sebastian is a ballroom dancer River met at one of the competitions she was competing in. He ended up becoming a part of the Dancing With the Stars troupe. The two became good friends over time. Sebastian developed feelings for River but it wasn't mutual. River liked him as a friend and that was it. She knew he would find the right woman at some point.
"You're turning him down because you still have a thing for Michael," Autumn stated.
"Girl, how about you stop worrying about my love life? How is school going?" River changed the subject.
"School is good but there's this really cute guy in my chemistry class."
"Oww tell me more." This was going to be a good story.
"His name is Trevor and he's on the football team. He's smart and funny. We're partners in class."
"Has he tried to ask you out?"
"That's the thing I don't know if he likes me the same way or not. I noticed that he gets nervous around me sometimes. He's also really nice to me but I'm not sure if he does that for all the girls. He's popular and I don't know if I can compete with the cheerleaders." Autumn looked down at her hands. The cheerleaders were the prettiest girls in school. All of the guys would talk about them.
"You're beautiful too Autumn. If he's getting nervous around you means he likes you too."
"How do you know?"
"Because Michael was super nervous when talking to me. He would always knock something over. You don't know how many times I've seen him spill a cup of water." The two giggled. "Yeah, he likes you for sure. He's probably trying to work up the courage to ask you out."
"I hope he does but then we have to deal with Dad." Autumn got a headache thinking about it.
"If he can survive Dad that boy can survive anything."
"I know but Dad does a lot. Why does he have to stand on the balcony and watch us? I won't be able to get a guy to kiss me."
"It's the circle of life Auttie. That's all I can tell you. I had to go through it and now it's your turn." She patted Autumn's shoulder.
"It's not fair that daddy doesn't get to meddle in your love life anymore."
"Well, that's because I'm grown. He still wants me to bring my date to dinner so he can give him a going over."
"But I'm sixteen," Autumn whined.
"Exactly you're sixteen that ain't grown. You ain't grown until you move out and start paying bills." River pointed out. "You better enjoy freeloading while you can. And I can date a guy for a few months before dad can get within three feet of them."
"He's going to run in the opposite direction," Autumn muttered.
"If he likes you he'll be able to make it through Dad. Michael is still scared of him now and that was years ago. So I guess that proves his method is working. Mom will make sure he doesn't go too far though."
"I hope so because I would like him to come back for a second date if we make it to that point. But first, he needs to ask me out so I know what's going on."
"I have a good feeling that he will Autumn."
"I'm excited about you and Michael's first dance together!"
"I'm excited for everyone to see how hard he's working."
"You're going to get that mirrorball this season."
"It's not about winning but having one would be awesome. We'll see what happens throughout the coming weeks." She knew Michael was going to give his all each week. She hoped that fans would vote them through to the end. There was a knock at the door. "Looks like our food is here."
"Great because my stomach is empty." Autumn pointed to her stomach.
"Girl you do the most." River laughed as she got their dinner. The sisters continued to bond throughout the rest of the night.
