It's around half one before I've finally calmed down and started to get ready to see Ed's dad.

Giving me some needed space, Ed heads off to the Oasis for a bit, working a shift that he doesn't actually have.

Glaring up at the cloudy sky, I realise there's no point in trying to get my solar shower working now, so I drag a brush through my tangled, knotty, sea-tumbled hair, prior to massaging some leave-in shampoo (still Aussie, of course).

As I try and decide what to wear, butterflies are somersaulting in every part of my body, not just my stomach or my heart.

I finally decide on a floral mini skirt and a cute vest that (appropriately) has small butterfly printed onto it. Biting my lip and glancing at myself in a compact mirror, I grab a light cardigan as well.

I quickly drag some mascara over my eyes, but that's all I need, 'cos being in the sea does wonders for my skin.

I really want to make the right impression on Ed's dad, and I don't think he'll approve if I walk in not wearing a great amount of clothing, or too much makeup.

A car pulls up alongside Bessie and honks its horn loudly.

What the hell?

Frowning, I slide the side door open and glare at the pickup truck that's parked extremely close to me. But my frown melts and my glare glides away; it's Ed. He's come to pick me up to take me to his...his house.

"Hey, gorgeous." He grins, arm hanging out the window.

God, he looks so effortlessly cool.

"Hey." I blush, "Lemme grab a few things and then I'll lock up."

"Sure thing." He responds.

Throwing a small shoulder bag over my shoulder, I jump out of my van, sliding the door shut and locking Bessie up.

"I'll be back soon." I whisper to her, but I really don't know whether I will be or not.

"You ready?" Ed asks, as I hesitate before jumping into the truck.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I breathe out.

"He'll love you, don't worry." Ed responds as he pulls out of the parking lot, and heads towards the main road.

"Hmm." Is all I can trust myself to say.

The roads are surprisingly quiet, but then again, it is a Wednesday afternoon. The sea stays on our left for the entire journey, and Ed avoids Los Angeles, sticking to the narrow, coastal road, as we head on and on.

The journey is only an hour, but it feels like much longer, especially since I can't think of anything to say, sitting mute, watching the world go by outside the window.

"We're nearly there." Ed says after an eternity of silence.

"I'm nervous." I tell him, fiddling with the hem of my skirt.

"Hey, now. You don't have to be." He reaches over and takes my hand, linking our fingers together, and I look up at him.

"I know." I really don't know, all I know is that I want to make Ed smile, and I want to make him happy.

After a few more minutes of silence, I ask, "So, are we going to your house or to where your dad works?"

"Home." He nods, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

"Cool." I nod as well, biting my lip.

What if he doesn't like me? What if he thinks I'm not right for Ed? What if he thinks I'm just screwing around? What if, what if, what if?

It doesn't surprise me that the Reiley family lives in a fairly sizeable, contemporary townhouse, on Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica.

"Wow." I breathe as I step out of the pickup, taking in the beautiful view of the white walled mansion.

"Home sweet home." Ed sighs, slamming his door shut.

"Skye!" Sophie screams and runs out the door, before throwing her arms around me in a hug, "I'm so happy you're finally here!"

"Ah, Thaddeus." A deep voice says from the doorway as we walk up the drive, "This is the girl you've been spending all your time with?"

All his time? I think, but don't have time to process, because Thaddeus Reiley Senior is stood right in front of me, hand out.

I shake his big, warm hand, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Reiley."

"Nice to meet you too, you must be Skye Jameson?" He lets go of my hand and surveys me, "Call me Tod."

"Okay." I grin, surveying him as well.

He's tall, with grey-brown hair and tired, blue eyes. He looks like the sort of person that can get very angry very quickly. The dark grey suit he's wearing shows that he's literally just come from work.

It turns out that I'm here for late lunch as well, so it's a good thing that I haven't eaten anything yet today. For lunch, we have smoked salmon and blinis, which is quickly becoming a favourite of mine.

"So, Skye." Tod begins, after finishing a mouthful, "Where are you from again?"

"Miami, Florida." I tell him.

"Ah, so you're here on vacation then?" He raises an eyebrow.

Sophie looks uncomfortable as Ed says through gritted teeth, "Dad."

"Thaddeus." Tod responds, treating his 22-year-old son like a child, "You shouldn't interrupt."

"Yes. I'm, erm...taking a kind of gap year." That seems like the right thing to say, doesn't it?

"How much longer are you planning on staying in California?" My boyfriend's dad grills.

I swallow, "I haven't decided yet, I—"

"So, you are planning on leaving, eventually?"

"Well, I—" I glance across at Ed; this is rapidly turning into a disaster and I can't figure out how to save myself and Ed.

Right now, my worst fear is Ed's dad forcing him to break up with me, then kicking me to the curb.

"I was accepted to an Ivy League college." I try desperately pulling out everything I have.

"On what basis? The fact that you'd already signed a modelling contract?"

"No, on the basis that I got the best grades at my high school." I fire back.

"Ah. I see." Tod replies, but he really doesn't see—all he thinks I am is a self-centred, waste of his son's time and effort.

But I don't know how to prove to him that I'm not that.

I stare down at my plate; I'm not hungry anymore, and I know that if I did eat, it would all taste like cardboard anyway.

"Please may I be excused to go to the bathroom?" I ask.

"Of course." Tod says, but eyes Ed, "Sophie, show her the way."

Sophie leads me away from the table and up the beautiful dark-grey stone stairs.

"I'm so sorry about him." She whispers, "Ever since Mom died, he's never accepted anyone or anything new."

"It's okay." I fake a smile; it really isn't okay.

Sophie smiles sadly, before heading back downstairs.

Then, I go into the bathroom (which is just as beautiful as the rest of the house), look in the mirror and silently cry my eyes out.

Now I know I never should've come here.

Suddenly, I start hearing raised voices from downstairs.

"WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT HER?" Ed yells at his father.

And his father yells back, "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT WHO YOU ARE AND JOIN REILEY INCORPORATED?"

Ah, so that's what this little feud is about—Tod wants Ed to join the family company. Ed either a) doesn't believe in what the company does (he still hasn't told me what exactly the company does, which kinda speaks for itself) or b) he doesn't want anything to do with his dad.

To be honest, from the vibes I was getting with them, I reckon it's a) and b).

I hear a little more shouting, and then, abruptly, what sounds like a smashing plate.

I dry my tears and hurry downstairs, eager to see if Ed and Sophie are okay.

"I'm going back to work." Tod snarls to no one in particular, then storms out.

There's a broken plate on the floor, and I don't think I've ever seen Ed look so angry, or Sophie so upset.

"I should've known this would happen." Ed states calmly, despite his angry disposition, dropping down to his knees and starting to gather pieces of broken plate into a dustpan.

"Ed..." Sophie begins, "Are you okay if I leave for a bit? I need to clear my head."

"That's totally fine, Soph." He tells her, barely glancing up from the floor.

Sophie leaves, and I drop down onto the floor beside him.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, picking up fragments of plate.

Ed looks up at me, "It's not your fault."

"Oh my God, your eye!" I exclaim; there's an ugly looking cut on his cheekbone below his left eye.

"It's nothing." He waves me away, but I won't give up that easily. I won't give up on him.

"Let me clean it up for you." I'm not asking, so I grab his hands and pull him to his feet, before leading him upstairs to the bathroom, still holding his hand.

"Skye," He sighs, "You really don't have to..."

He sits down on the closed toilet lid, as I rifle through drawers to find some antiseptic wipes.

"You know it's a good thing this isn't deep." I tell him, as I wipe the blood off it, "It's also a good thing it isn't too close to your eye."

"Yeah, well." He shrugs, "My dad knows how to hurt me without rendering me blind in one eye."

"He's done this before?" My mouth drops open in shock.

"Only a couple of times." He doesn't make eye contact with me, "I'd rather it be me than Sophie."

I understand that; I'd do anything to protect my baby sister, Savannah.

We don't say anything else until I've fixed up his cut. By 'fixed up', I mean I've cleaned it and stuck a plaster over it.

It's a good thing I have no ambition to go into the medical industry.

"What does Reiley Incorporated do?" I ask as I sit down on a comfy, circular ottoman in his bedroom (yes, I'm in his BEDROOM! And there I go again, acting like I'm 16...).

"My mom set it up originally." He told me, sitting down on the edge of his bed, "She called it 'Clean Seas', and she wanted to reduce plastic in the ocean—starting with California and then moving further afield. After she died, my dad rebranded it as 'Reiley Incorporated', and started manufacturing plastic bottles."

"That's a bit ironic." I huff under my breath.

Ed grimaces, "Exactly. And that's precisely why I don't want to work there. Ever."

"What...what happened with—with your mom?" I ask hesitantly.

"My mom loved to surf," He explains, eyes sad, "One day she went out and nothing about the conditions were good—the waves were almost triple overhead due to a storm surge that had come the night before. Rain was lashing down and it was crazy windy. My mom...she insisted that the conditions were perfect, and that those were the waves she'd been waiting for her entire life."

He falls into silence, and I let him stay like that; I can only guess at how hard this is for him.

He eventually continues, "The waves that she'd been waiting for her entire life also ended her life. After that, my dad shut me and Sophie out, and he became the man you met today."

"How long ago was this?" I ask, voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Next month, it will have been five years ago." He tells me.

"I'm so sorry." I stand up and walk over to him, sitting down on the bed beside him.

I link my fingers through his and lean my head against his shoulder.

"She would've loved you." He tells me softly.

I bite my lip; I don't want Ed to tell me that he loves me as well.

But, thankfully, he doesn't.

"What do you wanna do with the rest of the day?" Ed wonders aloud, "I was supposed to be making up for ditching you yesterday afternoon, but I've failed a bit."

"Woah, woah, woah!" I sit up, moving away from him ever so slightly, "I freaking loved going out on dawn patrol with you this morning!"

Ed chuckles lightly, "It was pretty great."

I sigh heavily and roll my head back onto his shoulder, gazing up into his eyes, "I think I should go back to my van now."

I could see that Ed was hurting a little over everything that had gone down with his dad, and I wanted to care for him, but in a way that wasn't too controlling. So, instead of staying, I'm deciding to leave him alone for a little while.

"But I still don't feel like I've made up to you yet." He huffs and strokes some hair off my forehead.

Quickly, I sit up and turn around so that I'm facing him. Then I slowly press my lips against his, breathing in his sandalwood smell that has me swooning for him.

Our kiss increases as I slid my tongue inside his mouth, and then he flips us over so that he's on top.

His lips are still pressing strongly against mine, his tongue hungrily tasting my own tongue, but his hands are pressing strongly against other part of my body.

"Ah, Ed." I moan contentedly when he squeezes my boobs.

Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist, and pulls his body close against mine.

A strain of a song floats into my head as we continue to passionately kiss, sticking strictly to over-clothes groping.

Oh, you can wear it
Heart on your sleeve
And I'll protect it
Baby, believe

Oh, I'll take care, take care of you
Oh, I'll take care, take care of you
And I'll do the things that no one else will do
Yeah, I'll do the things that no one else will do
Like take care of you
Take care of you

It's 'Take Care of You', by Ella Henderson, and it's literally how I'm feeling about Ed; I want to take care of him and love him with all I have.

Oh shit. I just said 'love'.

What's wrong with me?

"I really like you, Skye." Ed tells me, kissing my neck as my body arches up to meet his.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go?" I check, and Ed abruptly pulls away from me, sighing heavily and shaking a hand through his tousled hair.

"Look, Skye, my dad can be difficult at times, and I don't really care if he doesn't like you." Ed shrugs, "But I like you, which is why I'm dating you. My dad hasn't approved of any of my girlfriends—"

"How many girlfriends have you had?" I jokingly question.

He rolls his eyes, "That's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter what my dad thinks about you; we're 22 years old, he's hardly going to dictate our lives like we're teenagers."

"That's true." I giggle. "At least Sophie and your friends like me."

"Even if they didn't," Ed looks at me, face suddenly serious, "It wouldn't matter. I make my own decisions."

"Yeah, but, still." I shrug a shoulder, "Whether your friends like your boy or girlfriend is important, and basically defines the entire relationship."

"What do you wanna do now?" Ed asks yet again.

"I think I need a late afternoon and evening lying in my van reading." I tell him, "But I have enjoyed today, I promise."

"Okay." He smiles and presses a kiss against my cheek.

*~*~*~*

An hour and a bit later, I'm back in my van, and Ed's driving off, waving out his window.

Feeling content and comfortable, I sigh a happy sigh as I collapse back onto my bed. It doesn't really matter that Ed's dad doesn't like me, I mean, sure, I'd love it if he did like me, but it's not like Ed and I are going to get engaged or anything.

I sit up abruptly, thinking, where is our relationship going to go if I leave?

When I leave.

When, because I will leave. At some point, in the not-too-distant future.

My life is waiting for me back in Miami, and at the University of Pennsylvania, if they'll still have me, that is, and with that modelling job I landed about five months ago.

I know I have to leave, and that I'm only postponing it, hanging around for the surf, and for my newfound friends, and for Ed. Mostly for Ed.

I've only been in California for six nights and six days, very nearly a week.

Biting my lip, I flop back down onto my bed, both my heart and head in turmoil.

Oh Skye, what are you going to do now?