We had all come back from the beach and were supposed to shower and have lunch then leave at around 3 pm. But judging from the chaos, the boys were causing I doubt we will be able to leave on time.

Ashley and Ryan were in the kitchen fixing the lunch. Erick was sitting and reading a book in the corner, all showered and ready. Jace and Tyler were loading our bags in the car.

"Get the hell out of the bathroom already Neil!" Avi yelled from the room downstairs.

"You can take a shower in my room, I'm all done," I called out to him and made my way to the room he was in.

"My clothes are in there. I was in the bathroom first, but I forgot my towel, so I walked out to get it. But by the time I came in Neil was already in the shower. And now he refuses to come out or give me my clothes, " Avi said and kicked the door.

I just laughed and plopped down on the bed. After a few moments, Jace and Tyler came inside the room and saw Avi leaning by the bathroom door and chuckled.

"Hey, do you have Sam in there? Is that why you're taking so long?" Jace called out to Neil and sat down beside me.

"Hey! I'm right here," we heard Sam yell from the living room and I giggled.

"Guys the lunch is ready, come on," Ryan said as he came inside the room.

"Did someone say lunch?" Neil said and opened the door dressed in a pair of shorts while drying his hair with a towel.

"Finally!" Avi exclaimed throwing his hand in the air dramatically.

"All yours, " Neil gave a slight bow to Avi and walked out of the bathroom.

"Butthead, " Avi mumbled as he got inside the bathroom and slammed the door shut in a dramatic exit.

"Hey, you forgot your towel again!" Neil called out to him and laughed.

After a few seconds, Avi slowly opened the door and walked over to Neil and snatched the towel from his outstretched hand then walked back to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him, again.

We all burst out laughing and walked over to the kitchen, where Ashley and Sam were.

"Isn't there any other bathroom available?" Tyler asked.

"You can use mine, upstairs," I offered.

"Thanks," he said and left.

There was quite a nice spread laid out for lunch. Scrambled eggs, cheese omelets, sandwiches, garlic bread, salad, and freshly cut fruits. Jace let out a low whistle as we took our seats.

"Ryan, you continue to surprise me. All of this smells so good," I said.

"Thanks. We had to finish all the food we had brought with us before leaving today. So I used up everything. I had a lot of help though," he said and looked at Ashley, who was already smiling at him.

"Thank you, to both of you, " Erick said piling up his plate.

We were halfway through the lunch, and I said, "This is really good, I could never be able to cook so well."

"You could if you tried," Ash grinned from across the table.

"I did. And I was a disaster, so I gave up," I shrugged.

"Maybe you should join a cooking class. Cooking is an admirable and necessary quality in a woman, " Neil said wearing a stupid smile.

"Excuse me?" Sam said.

"That's a big plate of NO. With a side of, fuck that!" I said with a smile, that had everyone laughing.

"I was kidding, " Neil said, "But you do bake a mean cake."

"That I do, " I proudly answered.

The conversation veered off in a different direction, while my mind drifted off to Julian. He still hadn't called me back. Or texted me and I was getting worried by the minute. The fact that he was in some sort of trouble and it might remotely involve Max, didn't help my paranoia either. I couldn't even go and check up on him later, because I didn't know where he stayed.

"Hey!" I heard four voices call out in unison and I looked up from my plate to see all of my friends staring at me.

"Where were you? We called you a couple of times, " Avi asked who had now joined us after his shower.

"Sorry. I just zoned out. What's up?" I said.

"Could you go and call Tyler for lunch, before all the food vanishes," Ryan said.

Why me? I thought, but looking at the expression on Ashley and Jace's face I decided to act nonchalant as I got up from the table grabbing the remainder of my sandwich and made my way upstairs.

As I got closer to my room, I heard him talking on the phone with someone. "I know, but you should have told me. I was so worried. I'll take care of it. I promise. He will pay for it, alright? I'll be back in the evening."

He stopped talking, and I figured that he had hung up. As I reached the door, I gave it a courtesy knock and he opened it for me.

"Hey, you gotta come down fo- " I abruptly stop talking because he still had his phone pressed to his ear. But I mainly lost my voice because Tyler was standing in front of me in all of his bare-chested glory, in nothing but a towel.

His hair was still wet from the shower and so was his chest. He opened the door wider for me to come inside and walked back in, listening to whatever the other person on the phone was saying to him.

And I just awkwardly stood there, by the door staring at him. My God, please tell me I am not drooling.

Get a grip, Veronica. What the hell!

I walked inside the room, my eyes trained on the floor and made my way to the bed. I sat down on the bed and started finishing up my sandwich.

"Make sure this doesn't happen again. I won't stay calm the next time, junior," he said with a smile. God, he had a great smile.

No wonder all the girls practically swoon at the mention of his name.

Stop ogling him! I mentally slapped myself and concentrated on my sandwich.

Yes, he's got a great body.

Yes, he looked good enough to eat.

No, I didn't imagine what's under his towel. Because that would make me a pervert. Which I am not.

"Wow, I wish I could read your mind right now, " Tyler suddenly said interrupting my thoughts, "You look like you are trying to solve world peace."

Close.

"Umm, who was it?" I asked trying to change the topic.

"Family, " he vaguely answered.

"Okaaaaay, " I said narrowing my eyes at him. "I came here to call you down for lunch. You better hurry, if you want some."

He went inside the bathroom and came back a minute later in a pair of jeans. Doesn't this guy own a t-shirt!?

As he was going through his bag, probably looking for a t-shirt, I couldn't help but check out his back muscles. He wasn't too buffed up or had too many muscles that made him look inhuman. But instead was lean and fit. Every part of his body, that I could see, were toned.

"Let's go," he said and I forced my head up to look him in the eye so fast, I probably gave myself whiplash.

"Yep, " I said and got up from the bed and walked out of the door, slightly faster than I normally would have.

"You okay?" he asked from behind me, as we walked down the stairs in silence.

"Yeah. I'm great." I said.

Avi and I locked all the doors and windows everywhere except the front door, while Ashley and Sam tidied up the kitchen. At 4 pm, we locked up the house and got inside the cars. As expected we hit the road an hour late than planned. I sent a quick text to my mom, that I'll be home in an hour or two.

I looked out the window towards the passing view of the sea, and drank in the scene one last time. I slumped down in my seat with a contended sigh and whispered, Until we meet again.

A/n - How do you like it so far?
A lot of exciting things are about to happen in the chapters ahead, and I hope you are pumped! Don't forget to comment and vote.

Love, Vidi❤