The Boy Next Door (R5 fanfic)

Chapter 2

As we gather our luggage at the terminal, I check my phone to see if Rachel has arrived at the airport or not.  I raise my phone to my ear after noticing she has not yet texted me when I suddenly hear my name called from behind me.

“Elizabeth!” Rachel shouts again as she runs towards me, arms spread wide open.  She collides with me, wrapping her arms around my back, pulling me into a tight hug.  “You guys made it!” she exclaims as she pulls away from me. 

“Rachel, these are my friends Nicole and Mary”, I say, gesturing to the girls beside me. 

“It’s so nice to meet you”, Rachel gushes, showing off her pearly white teeth in a large grin.  “Okay, so as long as you ladies have everything, are you ready to go?”

“Definitely!” Mary answers as she grabs onto the handles of her two suitcases and tips them forward so that they balance on the wheels.  We make our way to Rachel’s car and pile in.  Rachel turns the air conditioning all the way up to cool down the leather seats that had already heated up.  The temperature was definitely something I was going to have to get used to after the eighteen Buffalo summers I have endured. 

We drive for about twenty minutes, keeping up simple chit-chat, until we pull into the driveway of a simple, cream colored, one story house. 

“I know it’s nothing fancy - ”, Rachel starts.

“But it doesn’t cost us any money so we are totally fine with it”, Nicole interrupts.

“Thanks again for letting us stay here”, I tell my cousin as we make our way to the front door. 

“It is no problem at all”, Rachel replies.  “It’s been pretty quiet around here since Josh and I broke up and it will be fun to have some girlfriends to hang out with.  I can show you all of the hot spots to go to, like the best stores and restaurants and beaches.  Especially the beaches because that is where you find all of the cute boys!”

We all giggle at Rachel’s last statement while we place our bags in the foyer.  After we walk through the glass front door we see an entryway that opens up to a living room painted a pale yellow with a brown leather wrap around couch placed in front of the flat screen television. 

Rachel gives us a brief tour of the house, telling us to make ourselves feel at home.  She gave us permission to eat whatever we want in the fridge and to feel free to even cook if we wanted.  I laughed at that, knowing I am not a very good cook, but glancing over at Mary who is smiling.  The kitchen is like her second bedroom.  She loves to cook and bake all day so I knew I would be well fed this summer with her help. 

“Great!  Now down the hall is my bedroom and three more.  You each get your own room, but I will warn you now, they are not all that big,” Rachel informs us.

“I’m fine with that”, Nicole says.  “I’m actually gonna set up my room now.”  She heads back down the hallway and grabs her luggage.  Mary and I follow suit, disappearing into our rooms to try and make them feel like home.