Regret

Chapter Twenty Three- Terry Shaved His Eyebrows Off

A/N: Sorry about this update taking so long! I decided I didn't like the original chapter so I changed it, but then I had a bit of writers block. How is everyone though? Hope you enjoy :)

I woke up to the sound of soft snoring coming from beside me. It was then that I remembered Caleb coming into my room in the middle of the night and asking if he could sleep in here. Apparently, Xander kept talking in his sleep. Jake was still unsure about telling people they were dating, so Caleb came in here instead.

I checked the time on my phone and realised that it was already 11 am. I groaned before throwing the covers off my body and climbed out of bed. The movement caused Caleb to stir, but I knew I hadn't woken him up.

I had to wait for my eyes to adjust to the light when I stepped foot out of the room and began making my way to the kitchen.

The beach house was open plan downstairs, with an island separating the kitchen from the living room/ dining room. My first thought was to make a fresh pot of coffee, but then I found myself grabbing ingredients from out of the cupboards and fridge.

I enjoyed cooking. It made me feel good to know that I was eating homemade food, so I often cooked dinner for my dad and me. I walked over to the giant glass doors leading to the decking and beach and opened them wide to hear the waves crashing against the shore.

The sound calmed me instantly, and I began getting to work.

By the time people had started to wake up, I had a full spread prepared on the kitchen island. Fresh pancakes were plated up beside the scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage links. Chopped strawberries, grapes, and pineapple were in a giant bowl next to the jug of orange juice in the middle. At the end of the island were a pile of stacked plates, silverware, glasses, and condiments like maple syrup.

I leaned against the counter as I brought the steaming cup of hot coffee to my lips, staring at the masterpiece in front of me. It wasn't anything spectacular, but the way everything was laid out made it look fancier than it was.

"Breakfast!" I shouted loudly, hoping that the others could hear me from down here. It was nearing noon, and so far, the only person that had come down was Sarah, who helped me lay everything out.

The sound of the waves disappeared as heavy footsteps came running down the stairs in a hurry. I smiled at everyone when they came down in their sleepy states. Cass's hair was a mess and sticking up in all directions. None of the boys were wearing shirts, and it was quite amusing to watch Sarah get redder when she noticed Ben's body.

Chris was the first one to come forward, walking straight past the food and to my direction. "Taylor. Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I said, loud enough for the others to hear as he grabbed my face between his hands, squishing my cheeks. He placed a hard kiss on my cheek and emphasized the kiss by making a 'mwah' sound.

I laughed when he let me go and went straight to the food, shoving a pancake in his mouth before letting out a loud moan. "Fuck me, this is good. You've got a keeper here, Xander."

Everyone ignored his comment and began plating their food up, but I couldn't help the blush rising to my cheeks. Xander didn't reply to his friend but made a point of sending me a wink across the other side of the room when he noticed my red cheeks.

I quickly walked towards the food and made a plate for myself, and ignored the stare I could feel on my back as I sat down at the table in between the girls.

By the time I had finished my food, the guys had already eaten their seconds. It honestly amazed me with how much they could eat, especially Chris. I rinsed my plate off and loaded it in the dishwasher as the others stayed glued to the TV, watching the Big Bang Theory.

I was so emersed in trying to clean up that I didn't notice a figure standing behind me. I felt his arms wrap around my waist from behind, causing me to jump at the contact, but then I relaxed, moving my head slightly so he could place his head on my shoulder.

"Don't worry. They are all too busy watching TV." Xander whispered, answering the thoughts running through my head about our friends seeing us. That still didn't calm my nerves as all other questions ran through my head.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly. He was being far too affectionate for what we were. A part of me wanted to lean back into his touch, but the other part screamed at me to push him away, convinced that he was up to something.

My eyes drifted shut as he placed gentle kisses on my shoulder, slowly moving his lips upwards so that they were just below my ear. A shudder ran down my spine as his lips brushed against my ear. "I just wanted to thank you for breakfast." His voice was deeper than usual, probably because he had not long woken up.

"You could ha-" My words were caught in my throat when he tilted my chin with his index finger and placed his lips on mine. It was short. By the time I registered what was happening, he had already pulled away completely.

I turned around to face him, with my back against the countertop as he stepped away. His eyes flickered down my body, lingering on my bare legs where the oversized band t-shirt ended. I was wearing pajama shorts underneath, but he couldn't tell because the shirt covered them.

I let my eyes roam over his body, slowly taking in his toned abdomen and stopping briefly on his prominent v-line that dipped below the waistband of his basketball shorts. I was obvious with my staring, just like he had been moments before.

Then he cleared his throat. My blue eyes snapped back up to his heated ones instantly, but I didn't care that he had caught me blatantly staring at him. The smirk on his lips told me that he didn't mind either.

"I'll clean up down here. You should go get ready before everyone else goes into the bathroom." He suggested.

"Are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes at my question and walked over to one of the drawers to grab the plastic wrap and began covering up the fruit. "Go before I change my mind." He didn't have to tell me twice. I finished off the last of my coffee and placed the white mug in the sink before running up the stairs to my temporary bedroom.

The weather had cooled down by this time of the year, well as cool as it got for California, so I opted for some blue boyfriend jeans and a white crop top that complimented my skin tone. I brushed through my hair and wrapped it into a bun just above my neck, which gave me a sleek-looking appearance.

My makeup was basic. I added a little concealer on any dark spots, bronzed up my cheeks to add structure, added a little bit of liquid blush so that I didn't look washed out, and then put on some mascara. I had been trying to grow out my brows a little, so all I did to them was brush them into place.

I was the first one ready, which meant that I had time to watch a little bit of TV downstairs before everyone else was done. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Xander had kept true to his word and tidied up the place.

I was in the middle of watching an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine when a figure came walking down the stairs, distracting me from Terry screaming about his eyebrows being shaved off.

Xander smiled at me in greeting and walked over to the couch I was lying on. He lifted up my feet to move them out of the way and then sat down before placing them back on his lap. I thought he would have shoved them off the couch and told me to sit up properly, but he didn't.

It was a good thing I had socks on, or I would have freaked out. I hate when people are near my feet. Neither of us said anything to each other. We both sat there in silence, watching the TV as Xander had his warm hands resting on my legs.

I didn't want to admit that I had found myself looking away from the screen at times so that I could look at him.

His thumb moved softly against the skin above my ankle, tracing small circles. I looked towards him, and his focus was entirely on the TV. I don't even think he realised he was doing it.

That's how we stayed for another twenty minutes before the others started to emerge downstairs.

What did you guys think? It's a bit of a filler one but I think it's cute :)