GRANITE

010

CHAPTER TEN
REDEMPTION NIGHT

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FREYA WAS SO GRATEFUL FOR CAMREN'S PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING.

The pair had sat on the porch for about thirty minutes, some time spent in silence while just enjoying each other's company and the rest being Freya opening up a bit about her foul day. Camren sat with undivided attention on her as she spoke, his crystal eyes never once leaving her face. He didn't even flinch when she subconsciously began to play with his fingertips as a nervous fidget, he just let her maneuver them in whatever way she'd liked.

Once she finally felt at ease, he led the way into the home.  She wasn't sure what she expected as they made their way into the living room. It was clear the boys hadn't fully settled in yet, but were definitely starting to find their groove in the new home. There were scattered decorations lining the walls, not in a particularly aesthetic way, more or less like someone putting things up just to try to make it feel a little more homey. Luggage, instruments and amps were still scattered around the house haphazardly.

Desmond was sitting in an armchair in the corner, a pen and paper in his lap as he scribbled away and paid no mind to Camren and Freya as they entered the living room. Liam walked into the living room shortly after Camren and Freya, holding a bottle of beer in one hand and typing something onto his phone with the other. Freya was still scanning the room and taking in her surroundings when he let out a loud belch, effectively startling the girl. "Liam." Camren scolded with a disappointed look.

"What?" He asked, looking up with a cheeky smile. It was then that he noticed Freya's presence. "Hello love." He winked at her as she stared at him like a deer in headlights.

Is this for real what's happening right now? She thought to herself. He's standing there shirtless, with all the marks he'd earned from her the previous day on full display. And after the lack of a goodbye this morning and ignoring her text all day, he still has the audacity to greet her like everything was fine and normal.

"Uh, hi." She sputters out, eyebrows scrunched with confusion.

"If you like what you see so much, you can take a picture. Just, no flash photography please." She rolls her eyes, turning to Camren.

"May I have a drink, please?" He nods, nodding his head in the direction of the kitchen for her to follow. He makes his way to the fridge and does a grand gesture with his arm at the array of bottles and cans that fill the shelves as he opens it. Her mouth falls open in shock. "What did you guys do, buy out the store's entire supply?"

He laughs at this, "we should have, but no. We just weren't sure what you ladies would like so we got a little of just about everything to play it safe."

"That's ridiculous!" She laughs, gripping his shoulder. "You could've texted and asked. Would've loved to save you guys the trouble and money on this." Camren shrugs. Freya reaches for a bottle of strawberry pineapple mike's hard, figuring she'll start the night off lightly to not rerun the hotel incident.

They make their way back to the living room where Liam has booted up Call of Duty onto the television. He immediately turns to them with an extra controller in hand and raised brows. "Who wants to be on the winning team in the first round?"

"I'll bite." Freya is quick to grab the controller from his outstretched palm, plopping herself down next to him on the couch. He watches her with a smirk. "You gonna load it up or gawk at me all night?" He shakes his head with a chuckle, setting up the custom lobby as Camren grabs the other extra controller from Desmond.