Just For the Summer {Cashton}

( III. ) : COUSIN'S

Take my hand, take my whole life too...
For I can't help, falling in love with you...

It was that damn fish alarm again. Of course, out of all the days that thing could sing that certain song, it had to be today. My eyes slowly opened to the light—grumbling a bit in annoyance.

I actually remembered my dream last night. For some weird reason I found myself wearing a fancy tuxedo, being dragged down an insanely long hallway by Jacey. After what seemed to be eternity, there was a wooden door on the other end and she opened it. When going in, we were in a room with loads of people including my family. There was a red carpet that led to a small staircase with someone standing on it at the end. Jacey gave me a shove, and I walked over to see who was there, completely oblivious of the entire thing. And that was when I found out it was Calum.

To cut it short, he asked my little brother if he had 'the ring' and I knew well what the fuck was going on. 

I rolled off the bed and fell face flat on the floor thinking about it. Last night shouldn't have ended the way it should. It was stupid of me to even bring it back. 

Peeking over on the bed, I thought Calum would've waken up from the loud thud. But he was still sound asleep. I stood up to sit on the edge of the bed, sighing softly. Calum's cheeks were still rosy from the alcohol. I reached out and brushed a thumb over them—and they were warm.

My heart began to race. There was that weird feeling in the pit of my stomach again. To refrain myself from anymore, I quickly pulled my arm back and sprinted out the bedroom. I needed a distraction of some sort. Maybe I should go out for a jog along the shore. Perhaps a nice bike ride? Something.

Ruffling my messed up curls, I went down the stairs to prepare breakfast. Today was Saturday, so Calum didn't have work and I wasn't in a rush. But I was definitely a mess.

"You seem jacked up."

I almost forgot I had people sleep over last night. Sneaking a glance, I spotted Luke sitting casually on a stool behind the kitchen counter, phone in his hand. I waved awkwardly at him. "I was just thinking."

"Ah," he nodded, pursing his lips. The lad was onto me I bet.

"Nothing tragic, I swear," I smiled to lighten up the mood and took a seat on the stool next to him. Letting out a forced cough, I changed the topic. "So, did you sleep well? The beds are pretty old—so I apologize if it's no hotel material."

He shook his head at me in dismissal. "No, it's fine. I slept comfortably, actually. The atmosphere here is a lot better than some hotel."

That made me feel much better inside. I patted his shoulder. "I guess we'll just wait for the rest to wake up, and we'll take in from there in what they want for breakfast and stuff."

"Um," Luke soon trailed, chewing on his bottom lip. He tapped his phone on the counter. "The guy and the girl actually left about an hour ago to get the work? Jacey and Will Jay—I think that's what their names were."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Already?"

"Yep. I spoke to them briefly. Nice people. They ate some of your cereal... if that's alright."

"I'm glad they ate something on the way out," I chuckled dryly, wiping my forehead from the beads of sweat trickling down. It was incredibly hot this morning, and even though I was only in my underwear, I felt like I was going to pass out from a heat stroke. "But what about you, mate? Did you eat already?"

Luke used an arm to wipe his sweat off as well. I felt bad for him, because he was wearing a rolled up flannel with ripped jet-black jeans. He was probably dying in there. "Nope, I was actually going to wait until I get back to the hotel. Maybe they'll recommend some places to eat in," he replied.