Summer Love✔️

When You Know...

Sorry for taking so long to update, hope y'all enjoy!! <33

Chapter Sixteen: When You Know

"Alright Hal, tell me what boy I have to beat up that just left you out here to sleep on the beach alone." I heard a low familiar voice from behind me say. Instantly, every bit of drowsiness left my body as I shot up from the sand straight into the arms of my younger big brother, Cal.

"Cal! I didn't know you were coming home so soon!" I cried in excitement as he spun me around.

"I know, I wanted to surprise you, but seriously, who do I have to beat up? You're not hanging around that Connor kid again, are you?" Cal responded half seriously, half jokingly.

"No, I haven't!" I exclaimed maybe a bit too quickly, but truth be told, I didn't want it getting around to anyone in the house about Connor and my midnight rendezvous. "I just came out here to think and must have fallen asleep."

"Sure..." Cal replied looking skeptical, "So tell me how you've been, kid." He said, dropping the previous topic.

"Great! Guarding is the best, obviously. I've been having lots of fun with Miles and the gang. Mitchell's getting along pretty well with them too. I've really just been enjoying the long summer days of freedom before college in the fall." I told him honestly, "And what about you?"

"I've been alright, a bit overwhelmed, but good." Cal replied, but the blush creeping up the side of his neck told me there was something he was withholding. I dismissed it, however. He would probably tell me when we were inside with the rest of the family.

I stretched a bit, rolling my neck from side to side before letting out a yawn. "What time is it?" I asked Cal and he glanced down at the watch on his wrist.

"Oh, it's six in the morning. I had planned to sneak in through the back door and be waiting in the kitchen when the first of you guys woke up, but then I saw you on the beach." Cal grinned.

If it was six am, that meant I had gotten a good five hours of sleep, and that was being generous. Internally, I groaned, but it didn't matter, I could just take a nap after my shift which started in about three hours. "Well we might as well go inside then," I sighed.

Cal turned to walk toward the door, and I followed him, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I ran into him when he stopped abruptly though.

"Oh, and before we go inside... you might want to take that hoodie off." Cal turned around to wink.

"I-"

"C'mon baby sis, give me some credit." Cal said jokingly.

And with that, he left me standing on the beach, embarrassed. I forgot how perceptive Cal was, but honestly, it didn't take a genius to realize that the hoodie wasn't mine. Especially for Cal, who had delivered a box of stuff, including this hoodie, to its owner after the breakup.

+++

Later that day I found myself up in the tower, talking to Miles once again.

His jaw was currently in a constant and perpetual state of open as I reviewed the events of last night with him. "Hallie, I- I literally don't even know where to start with this."

Thankfully it was a slow day, like, really slow.

There was hardly anyone on the beach, and Wes and Mitchell assured us they had it covered so though still keeping an eye out, Miles and I were pretty much free to gossip.

"I know right!" I replied, then sighed loudly, "I don't know what's going on."

"I can't believe you just let Connor leave." Miles said shocked as if it had just hit him.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" I asked genuinely, hoping that maybe next time, if there was a next time... I would know what to do.

"Run after his sexy ass and kiss him, obviously. Tell him he's the one you want." Miles replied.

"But what if I want Mitchell?" I asked quietly.

"Then go kiss his sexy ass." Miles replied as if it were obvious. "Hallie, you've got two guys that are obviously pining after you, you just have to decide which one you like more."

"But they might not actually like me, what if I'm just looking into things too much?"

"Well, for the purpose of this conversation, we're going to assume they do like you, and i personally think they do." Miles replied.

"But how do I know which one I like more?" I whined. It was all so difficult, especially since both boys had equal flaws.

"Well which one gives you more butterflies?" Miles asked.

"I get butterflies with both of them." I replied with a sigh.

"Which one makes you more nervous?" Miles continued.

"Well Mitchell, but only because I'm more used to hanging around Connor than him." I answered.

"Who's hotter?" Miles asked.

"...Connor, but not by much, he's just more chiseled." I justified.

"Who makes you laugh more?" Miles asked.

"I don't know, I feel like I laugh equally with both of them."

"Most importantly though, which one could you not imagine your life without?" Miles asked.

I thought about it hard. In all honesty, I couldn't imagine what life would be like without either one of them, though I knew I didn't have much longer to make a decision.

"You don't have to answer, just think about it. And when you figure it out, you'll know." Miles said with a wink.

Mitchell or Connor... Connor or Mitchell... I had yet to decided, I guess I would just have to go with the flow and trust that if it's meant to be, it'll be.