Flirting With Fire

Chapter Ten: A little bit of forgiveness

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'Thanks,' Lila muttered climbing out of Riley's red truck quickly and turning to help Whitney down. The five-minute drive home was spent in utter silence with the odd sniffle from Whitney who was still shook up.

Their fun, drunken night out had taken quite the turn and neither of them was in the mood to talk when they got inside Whitney's house. Lila really wasn't sure what to make of the whole night at all, but she was definitely surprised at Riley's gentleness with Whitney. The two girls snuggled into Whitney's bed leaving the fairy lights on, the mixture of the alcohol and excitement from the night pulling them quickly into a deep sleep.

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The next morning when Whitney woke up the bed was empty and she vaguely recalled Lila skipping out earlier saying something about work. She felt the headache kick in, generally a sign from a big night and shuffled into the kitchen to find some Panadol and water. She found a piece of paper and sat at the kitchen table trying desperately not to think about the previous night and focusing on how she could shorten her stay in Willow.

To do:

- Paint the living room

- Paint my bedroom

- Fix leak in roof (Hire someone??)

- Furniture into storage

- Massive clean up (Boo!)

She re read the list a few times, they had partly finished the living room, just needed to do a second coat. She sighed heavily, basically she was going to have a lot of work on her hands the next few days. A sound in the living room caught her attention and she frowned opening the door and peering in, surprised to see Riley there painting away on the second coat. Dressed in his normal attire, a pair of board shorts and nothing else, she saw the muscles in his back straining as he reached for the higher parts of the wall.

'What are you doing?'

Riley paused and turned to her, his face briefly searched hers almost worried, then snapped back quickly to his infamous smirk. So quickly in fact Whitney thought she had imagined the flitting concern on his face. 'What do you think Blondie? You really aren't that bright are you?'

She flushed angrily, 'Shut up, you know what I meant, how did you get in?'

'Your back door was open, not a smart move after last night by the way,' he retorted turning back to the wall.

She frowned at him, 'What the hell was last night by the way? I somehow don't think those guys wanted me for a bit of fun.'

'They're idiots,' Riley dismissed her questions. 'It was unfortunate you got caught up in it, not a big deal.'

'It kind of is a big deal actually,' Whitney was furious at him, stalking over to the side of the room and practically demanding he stop painting and look at her. 'I want to know why you guys were fighting yesterday morning, and last night because it seems I'm involved now doesn't it?'

Riley stared at her surprised and smiled, 'Relax, I've taken care of it. You have nothing to worry about. Those guys won't bother you ever again.'

Whitney was sceptical but he seemed so sure, 'I just want to know why though?'

Riley sighed and rolled his eyes at her, 'You're so nosy!' He wasn't angry though he sounded almost affectionate. 'It's really nothing, Warren had some issues with Charlie a few months ago, and they've never seemed to let it go. We're always having run ins with them.'