Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

66 | Symbol of urgency

How fun is this Player Next Door mock poster by @narimanabuzeid?  Thank you <3

Chapter 66: Symbol of urgency

Passed out on the couch, on the floor, on the carpet. None of us had made it to bed. We all lay sprawled across Chad's living room when the world came to life around us.

The sun shone brightly over us, creating a glow on the little puddle of drool beside Chad's mouth.

His housekeeper and chef tried to work quietly around our sleeping bodies. I woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. Bianca was lying on Cearra's purse and kicked it over to Cearra so she could stop the noise.

Cearra went from tired to panicked when she saw the Caller ID. She clambered to her feet and answered the phone, "Mom?!"

I'd fallen asleep next to Luke. I rolled over so that I faced him. His eyelids opened slowly and drowsily. I saw his bright blue eyes sparkling in the sunlit room. He slowly sat up on one arm and his other hand gently rested on my hip.

His touch was sending shivers through me, though he didn't realize it.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked him, finding myself smiling simply because he was.

"Because she's f*cked," he said, glancing at Cearra pacing the hallway, lying to her mom again.

"Don't say that," I answered, putting my arm over him. I wanted to hide from the sun in his arms. "How do you look so fresh in the morning?"

I dropped my head against his chest and groaned. I wanted to know the secret. My limbs don't function naturally without coffee.

*15.05*

Coconut water, electrolyte drinks and green smoothies were all over the place. Everyone had their own hangover cure.

Eventually, we had all gotten off the floor. Bianca was lathered in tanning lotion on a sunbed. Austin was skateboarding around the pool area.

I was sitting under a giant parasol doing some math. Joe had emailed me some math puzzles for practice, so I figured I could dabble in it while everyone was doing their own thing.

And if I thought that was weird, I reminded myself that my boyfriend was working out on January 1st.

Austin skated into the pool, diving off his skateboard and into the water. The splash he made caused Bianca to freak out, sit up and throw a magazine at him in the pool.

"Everyone!" Chad's dad yelled out through the open glass door, "Gather in the living room!"

I put my pen down and obeyed. Oma was already in the living room and Cearra came out of her bedroom. One by one, we gathered in the living room. We were missing Luke, so Chad went down to the gym to get him.

I watched Austin sit next to Bianca on the couch. She exclaimed, "Ugh, you're so wet, Austin!"

He smirked, "That's what she said."

That's when Lara walked in, sucking a lollipop. She didn't have a change of clothes here, but she'd borrowed a boy's shirt. I had a feeling it was Austin's.

"She's killing that look," Cearra muttered, pointing out the obvious.

The white button-down shirt was large on her. She'd rolled the sleeves up to her elbows and left the first few buttons undone, revealing her gold necklace. She may have been wearing shorts under the shirt, but they weren't visible. She'd even borrowed Oma's brown belt which she'd wrapped around her waist, to bring shape to the shirt.