sunkissed

ten

HII!! happy 4th of july!! hope you're all doing good today!

soooo along with this chapter update, i also posted a july fourth rini one shot for y'all if you wanna read it!!

HOPE U ENJOY!!!

it's the next day and tonight is when the storm is supposed to make its way onto land. last night ricky and i played like...fifty games of monopoly. we were playing all night. and i beat him most of the time. today we were just staying inside again...preparing for the storm.

i shrug my shoulders, "i don't know—i just...i feel conflicted."

"about your feelings?", ashlyn asks to which i nod, "well when you're with him...how do you feel?"

i sigh, "i feel happy. i have fun with him...i mean last night we played monopoly for hours!"

ashlyn chuckles and smiles at me, "do you feel like...attracted towards him?"

i blow air out of my mouth, "honestly yeah.", i breath out, "if i'm being honest, he got cuter and...just overall better. and- and now i get this weird feeling in my stomach and my heart races when i'm around him and—"

i stop talking, leaving my mouth slightly open with realization. my eyes glance side to side as thoughts come forward in my brain.

"and...?", ashlyn repeats, bringing my head to reality.

"and—and i think i'm still in love with him?!", i whisper-shout, with my brows furrowing.

a big smile grows on ashlyn's face and she claps her hands, "i knew it! i knew it! i knew it!"

"b-but what do i do? how do i know if he's still interested or not? i mean—"

"just take it slow...don't rush things. first things first, you gotta get close with him again. luckily you're gonna be locked up in this house with him for a long time!", she grins.

i chuckle before turning to my door, hearing knocking, "i gotta run, don't tell the others yet. i'll call you later!"

she smiles and hangs up. i drop my phone on the bed and hop off, opening my bedroom door.

i let out a breath, "hey"

"hey uh—do you wanna keep this in here just in case?", he asks, holding up a flashlight.

i nod, taking it from him, "thanks."

i set it on the dresser and follow him into the kitchen. there are supplies scattered across the counters and packs of batteries are piling up.

"i was just putting batteries in all these things.", he mentions.

"need some help?"

he nods with a shrug and i take a couple lanterns and flashlights, putting the batteries in their spots.

"so uh—where'd you move to after college?", i ask, attempting to start a conversation.

"florida actually.", he responds, "found a house on the coast...good for work."

i nod, "where'd everyone else go?"

"they all kinda- ended up in or near florida actually.", he chuckles, "seb is working on his family farm further north...gina opened a dance studio in alabama...kourtney is my neighbor now too, she's become a makeup artist. but i think i told you that already?"

i nod my head with interest, "yeah, that's cool."

he nods again and the room falls to silence.

"what about the others? i've kinda seen them around in socials but...how're they doing?", he asks, looking up at me.

i meet his eyes and my heart begins to beat faster.

i clear my throat, "they're really good. i mean—ej's playing for the lakers...red has his own pizza shop...ashlyn is a florist...carlos is an incredible male model—"

ricky chuckles, nodding in agreement, "seb's shown me some photos. he's amazing."

i laugh along with him, nodding. a couple minutes later we finish putting batteries in everything. the lanterns and flashlights are placed all around the counter along with the packaging from the batteries.

i begin to reach for the trash, same as ricky. there's one left and we both reach for it, my hand ending up on top of his.

i suck in a breath, quickly moving my hand. with no words we walk to the trash can and throw it all away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

its dinner time now and ricky and i just finished plating our food. we sit down at his dining table in silence and begin to eat the food.

soon, we hear the wind rustling around outside. i grab food on my fork, bringing up to my mouth. before i can eat it, there's a loud bang and both ricky and i look up at each other. i drop my fork and we stand up, walking to the front door.

he cautiously opens it, peeking his head outside. he walks just out onto the deck and i follow him.

we see an entire tree limb sitting on the front porch. i widen my eyes and we both rush back inside. he locks the door and we let out breaths.

"looks like it's here.", he chuckles.

i sit back down at the table while ricky turns the news channel on. we finish our dinner while listening for any updates on the storm.

after eating the last bite, he kindly takes my plate, putting it in the sink to be washed. ricky moves around in the kitchen, working to clean up from dinner. i walk over to the sink and begin washing the dishes in it.

"what're you doing?", he asks.

i turn around, "washing the dishes?"

"you—you really don't have to. i mean you're technically the guest."

i slightly roll my eyes at him, "just let me help."

i hear him chuckle a little and before i know it, he's standing right next to me, leaning his back against the counter. his arms are crossed along his chest and his gaze is staying on me.

"you're still sassy, you know that right?", he comments and i look over at him.

"is that a compliment or—", i chuckle, "i was born with it and it ain't ever goin away."

he smiles and laughs. i continue scrubbing the dishes with the soapy sponge and about five minutes later i place the last dish on the drying rack.

i wipe my hands together, putting the towel on the counter.

"all done.", i say, "i think i might shower before the storm gets too bad."

he nods his head and i grab my phone from the table, walking into the bedroom. i shut the door and find my hoodie and pajama shorts, taking them into the bathroom.

i place them on the bathroom counter and lean my hands on the edge. i look up at myself in the mirror, biting my lip in attempt to prevent a smile.