I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. We never got to see Eli and his girlfriend last night. Ben said they were tired and just went to bed right away. Eli didn't even introduce himself. Of course, Tess started complaining about it and started telling Ben, once again, that he needs new friends. Looking at my phone, I see it's already 9 am. My stomach growls and I decide to wake up Tess to eat breakfast. I walk into our bathroom, which connects our two rooms. Grabbing my toothbrush, I start brushing my teeth and make my way into Tess's room. She is sound asleep and I crawl onto her bed and start jumping up and down on it. She groans, tosses and turns and tries to kick me off her bed.

"Stop it, Romy! You are the worst best friend in the world, let me sleep!"

"Aw, come on, Tess. That hurt," I try to say with my toothbrush in my mouth.

"I have no idea what you're saying. Get out of my bed!"

I jump off of her bed and go back into the bathroom to finish brushing my teeth. Back in my room, I put on some cotton shorts and a crop top and walk back into Tess's room. She's awake and on her phone.

"Come on, I'm hungry." I tug her covers from her body and she glares at me.

"Fine, fine. Go ahead, I'll be down in 10 minutes."

The kitchen is empty and as I walk to the fridge, I notice a note stuck to it.

Good morning, girls! I'm working on Saturdays so I won't be home until 5. Feel free to eat whatever you can find and if the weather is good, have a dip in the lake. See you later!

I wish I had a brother like him. Opening the fridge, I take out everything I need to make pancakes. They even have almond milk. I guess Tess told them to buy it because I'm lactose intolerant. I would've been fine with oat milk, though. It's cheaper. I have to remember to tell Tess or Ben that. Hearing footsteps walking into the kitchen, a smile graces my lips. Finally, Tess is up too. I don't turn around because I'm still looking for a large enough bowl.

"Welcome to the pancake party! I was waiting for you, what took you so long?"

"I'm sure you were," a male voice answers.

I let out a shriek and hastily turn around. Tommy is standing in the doorway, sporting a fat grin.

"You scared me," I say, hand on my heart.

"Sorry, princess, you don't have to be scared of me. I don't bite. I mean, I do but you know what I mean."

"Uh uh, sure. Well, I was waiting for Tess, not you."

"Ouch, you're hurting me, princess."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not, princess?"

I roll my eyes and turn around, resuming my search for a bowl. "Is the princess giving me the silent treatment?" Tommy teases and walks further into the kitchen.

"TESS! HELP ME PLEASE, NOW!" I scream from the top of my lungs, not sparing a glance at Tommy.

"Are you always this loud, princess?" he asks, raising his eyebrows and winking again when I turn to look at him.

"You know what? Maybe you should go and let a doctor take a look at your eye. Something seems to be really wrong with it."

"I'M COMING, JESUS! DO YOU HAVE TO YELL LIKE THAT?" Tess yells, stomping into the kitchen.

"You are yelling, too."

"Morning, Tessie." Tommy greets her.

"Could you leave? You are annoying me and my friend. This is girls time. Are you a girl?" Tess asks Tommy.

"Do I look like a girl?"

"I don't know, girls can look a lot of ways. Anyhow, it was a simple yes or no question."

"No, I'm not a girl."

"See, that wasn't so hard. Now, shoo shoo, there's the door."

"Your brother should teach you some manners," he angrily says but leaves anyway.

"Finally," I breathe a sigh of relief. "You're so badass! I love you," I say and give Tess a big hug.

"Alright, alright! Let's just make pancakes, I'm starving."

Later that day, Tess and I are making our way towards the lake. Towel in hand two layers of sunscreen on, I can't wait to finally lay down in the sun and cool down in the lake water. Luckily, Tommy didn't come back and we were left in peace. I don't know what his deal his. Choosing not to think about him anymore, I look up and see the lake in front of me. It shimmers in the beaming sunlight, faint ripples grazing the surface. A light breeze is flowing through the trees and the grass surrounding the lake looks soft and bright green.

"Come on!" Tess yells at me from the shore, already laying out her towel.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming!"

I lay down on my towel next to Tess and let the sun warm my skin. I could stay here forever if I wouldn't get a sunburn that easily. Every couple minutes, Tess's alarm on her phone goes off, reminding her to turn in order to get the perfect tan.

"Your alarm is really annoying."

"You are annoying."

"Okay, Tess. Great comeback."

"Don't you have to go into the shadows soon anyways, my little vampire?" She grins at me and pokes her tongue out.

"I'm not a vampire! Stop being mean to me."

"Then stop being mean to my alarm."

"Yeah, because your alarm has so many feelings. Poor little thing," I coo, leaning close to her phone, "do you want me to kiss it better?"

Tess snatches her phone away and turns around, right as her alarm starts blaring again.

"I'm gonna take a walk around the lake," I inform Tess before getting up and throwing a cover up over my bikini-clad body.

"Do that, but don't attack any squirrels for their blood."

"Not gonna dignify that with a response."

"You just did."

I slap her butt before walking away, along the shore of the lake. Birds are chirping, the wind plays with my hair and I know now why Tess enjoys coming here so much. This feels like paradise. Closing my eyes, I just let the serenity of nature sink into my whole being and I slowly follow the outline of the lake, my toes dipping into the water with every step.

"Watch out!" Someone suddenly yells, making me stop in my steps and open my eyes abruptly. I look towards the source of the voice and see Eli walking towards me from between the trees.

"You almost stepped in glass," he explains, stopping two arm's length before me. I look down and indeed see a shattered glass bottle right in front of me.

"Oh, thank you," I say and faintly smile up at him. For the first time, I can fully see his face. His lips are full and still surrounded by light stubble. His face structures are sharp and defined. Thick eyebrows framing his face and strikingly dark green eyes are looking right at me. His gaze is intense and I quickly avert my eyes from his, feeling intimidated.

"You're Tess's friend, right?" He asks.

"Uh, yes. Romy."

"I'm Eli."

"I know," I mumble before realizing how creepy that must've sounded and slap my hand over my mouth. "Uuh, I mean, um, Bennett told us your name." I'm so embarrassed and sure enough, I can feel my face sporting a bright red blush.

He furrows his eyebrows before saying, "It's fine. Do you always walk around with your eyes closed? 'Cause that could get you in a lot of trouble."

"Uh, no. I was just... enjoying the weather and nature. I don't know, I just got sucked into it... I guess." Ugh, I'm making a total fool out of myself. What's worse, I don't even know why I care. I mean, he is a grown-ass man and I never was fazed by older guys. Not that I've ever dated anyone but still. It's just something about him and his aura. He is compelling in a certain way and I feel like I just have to get to know him. Not to mention, he is very handsome for his age, whatever that may be. Okay, Romy, get your shit together. You're just confused because he is very good-looking, that's it. Due to my inexperience when it comes to guys, dating, sex and the likes of it, I just get shy when attractive men are in my vicinity. Don't blame me, I don't know what else to do.

"I see. Well, you should keep your eyes open, it would be a shame if no one got to see them."

With that, he just walked away, leaving me standing there, wondering what he meant with that.