Redemption

Chapter Seven

Song: Leave It to the Sky- Muddy Magnolias

"Wake up, beautiful!" I heard someone say, but I buried my head further into my pillow. They shook my arm and I shoved them away, grunting. I hated mornings, more than I hated drinking orange juice after brushing my teeth. I cringed at the thought and kicked my feet.

    "Leave me alone." I mumbled. I realized it was Elliot who was bugging me so early, his chuckle giving it away.

    "No can do, babe. Everyone wants to go to the beach today and that includes you. I just want to see you in a bikini," I knew he was smirking without even looking at him. I tossed my pillow at him and I knew he dodged it, I could hear it hit the floor. "I have food for you." My eyes opened and I noticed Elliot wasn't wearing anything but a pair of boxers. I unconsciously licked my lips and I felt my cheeks heat up.

    "Okay, okay. I'm getting up. Will you put some clothes on?" I said, grabbing the tray of food from him. "Thanks for this." I added.

    "Of course, anything for my beautiful girlfriend," He winked and walked towards his luggage, pulling a pair of black swim trunks out of his bag. He slipped them over his muscular legs and tied them once they were on his waist. I took a bite out of my waffle, enjoying the breakfast in bed. It had been a long time since I've been served a meal in bed and it felt nice. "Okay, Daryl wants help with his laptop, he needs help with some new software. I'll be downstairs whenever you're ready." He grabbed the fork from my hand and took a bite of my cut up waffle. He raised his eyebrows and walked out of the bedroom. I watched him go, my eyes glued to how nice his ass looked in his swim trunks.

I shook my head and finished my waffle and coffee before climbing out of bed. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and grabbed my gray, high-neck bikini and quickly slipped into it. I decided against a shower, knowing I would be covered in sand by the end of the day. I grabbed one of Elliot's white button-down shirts and threw it on over my bathing suit. I made sure to grab my phone before I exited the bedroom, running into Karen.

    "Good morning, Karen. Your hair looks lovely!" I said, admiring her blonde hair. She had it pulled up in a pony tail with her bang falling onto her forehead.

    "Oh, thank you, sweetheart! You look great, are you ready to spend a day at the beach?" She smiled weakly, pulling her beach bag further up her arm.

    "Oh yeah, spending the day with my lovely family, what could go wrong?" I rolled my eyes and laughed, following Karen down the stairs. Everyone was in the living room, conversations flowing throughout the room. Elliot and Daryl were laughing about something, Mark and my mother seemed to be fighting, and Lucas and Aleah were talking quietly.

    "Finally, I thought we were going to have to drag you out of bed!" Aleah said, smiling sweetly. Everyone turned to look at me and Elliot's mouth dropped open, finally noticing I was in his shirt.

    "Everyone ready to go?" My mother asked, a fake smile plastered on her face. Elliot slowly started walking over to me, scooping me up before I could protest.

    "Yep, let's go!" Aleah grabbed Lucas' hand and pulled him out the door. I smacked Elliot's back, but it didn't faze him; he was too strong to even feel it.

    "Oh, behave. I have towels for us in the car. Nice shirt, by the way." He slapped my butt and I yelped, my eyes widened. I watched as everyone exited the house behind us, Daryl and Karen laughing at Elliot and I.

    We were on the road in five minutes, my mother and Mark leading the way. We followed, Elliot just had to be second in the line. Aleah suggested that her and Lucas ride with us, not allowing me to protest. So Daryl and Karen rode with my mother. I was dreading the drive there, knowing it was going to be miserable. We were listening to music, Elliot's fingers tapped against the steering wheel. He seemed relaxed, happy even. He was usually always happy, but something was different. I wasn't complaining, seeing him in a good mood put me in a good mood for some reason. His hand was rubbing my thigh, his long fingers drawing patterns on my skin. I held back the shiver and bit my lip.