The Boy Next Door (R5 fanfic)

Chapter 8

“These?” Ross asks, lifting his hand, gesturing to the sweatpants.  “Well, I wasn’t sure if maybe you wanted to put them on over your, uh, bikini instead of your other clothes.  It might be a little bit warmer and more comfortable, but if you don’t want to I get it.”

“No!” I say, a bit too quickly.  “They look pretty comfy.”  I grab the sweatpants and shirt from his hand and throw them on, loving the scent of him that my nose catches as I pull his shirt over my head. I then plop down on the couch, grabbing my bowl of ice cream and resting my feet on the coffee table.  Ross sits down next to me and I press play on the remote, glancing over at him to catch a reaction when the movie title appears.  He smiles as he takes a large scoop of ice cream. 

I find myself paying more attention to the fact that Ross is sitting next to me than I do to the movie.  All I can think about is what happened between Ross and I in the pool.  Those eyes, those hands on my waist, those lips…that kiss; it truly was magical.  Will Ross kiss me again?  What did the kiss even mean?  What does this mean about…us?  I try to not focus too much on the situation, knowing all of my “what if’s” will drive me crazy.  I force my eyes to glue to the TV screen and pay attention to the movie and Ross’s arm that is slowly making its way to lay across my shoulders.  As Ross’s hand finally lays across my shoulder, I smile and lean into him.  I slowly begin to rest my head against him and eventually must have fallen asleep.

                                                _______________________________

I open my eyes and stretch my arms above my head, noticing sunlight shining through the glass doors that lead into the backyard.  I glance down to see a fluffy yellow blanket covering my body that is stretched out across the couch.  I smile to myself as I realize the blanket probably belongs to Ross.  I hold it up to my nose and get a big whiff of cologne, confirming that this is, in fact, Ross’s.  Suddenly I hear whispers coming from the kitchen.  I run my fingers through my hair in attempts to comb the mess and head towards the voices. 

I walk into the kitchen to find Ross digging in the fridge while Rocky stands by the chrome door, saying something that I cannot quite make out.  Ross quietly laughs at his brother’s comment before turning back around with a carton of orange juice in his hand. 

“Good morning”, he smiles. 

“Morning!” I reply as I lean up against the island in the middle of the kitchen. 

“Sleep well?” Ross asks as he walks over to me and quickly kisses me on the cheek. 

 My face grows pink as Rocky raises his eyebrows.  “Yeah”, I mumble. 

“Good”, he says, pushing a plate with a perfectly-made omelet and a couple slices of bacon in my direction.  I thank him and grab the bacon, about to take a bite when a hand grabs it away from me and someone standing behind me crunches into it. 

“Riker!” I scold as I turn around to watch the blonde boy eat my bacon.  He glances down at me, his hazel eyes teasing me through his black-framed glasses. 

“What?  I’m hungry”, he whines, “and this smelled sooo good.  And I’m guessing by the fact that you’re wearing Ross’s clothes you never went home last night after your midnight swim.” 

“Ooooo.  Did our baby brother have a little sleepover last night?” Rocky questions.

“We fell asleep on the couch watching a movie,” Ross says, aware that Rocky was assuming something less innocent had occurred.  Rocky just nods, as if he believes Ross but by the quick wink he sent my way, I can guess he thinks something happened between us.  Something did happen last night, but maybe Ross does not know what that kiss meant any more than I do.  I finish my breakfast and thank Ross for it before heading back to Rachel’s house, hoping no one has woken up yet and noticed the bed I did not sleep in.  I open the front door and shut it quietly behind me only to find all three girls waiting for me in the kitchen. 

“Where did you go so early this morning?” Mary asks, trying to hide her smile.

“And what are you wearing?” Rachel questions, her arms crossed and head tilted slightly.  I look down to see I am still wearing Ross’s clothes.  I try to think of a quick explanation off of the top of my head before they get suspicious of my hesitant answer, but decide it would be best to confess instead of having to make up a story.

“Well”, I begin and tell them about my night, from the phone call, to the kiss, to falling asleep and ending with the yummy breakfast I had recently finished.

“Oh, my gosh!” Mary squeals, jumping up and down.  She comes over and hugs me.  “I’m so happy for you!  Now all you need to do is talk me up to Rocky.”

“I’ll try”, I laugh.  Rachel just shakes her head back and forth and I can tell she is trying to play the role of the responsible, older cousin but her grin tugging at the corners of her lips quickly gives her away. 

“So do we get any more juicy details about the kiss?” she asks.  I playfully sigh and describe how soft his lips were and how passionately he ran his hands over my body.  While I am talking, I glance up to see that Nicole is no longer in the kitchen listening.  I quickly frown, hoping she is not upset with me before answering more questions.  She said it was okay if Ross liked me, but did she really mean it, I wonder.