Eli went to work and Tess and I went into town to do some shopping and get groceries.

Now, we are laying at the lake, our skin still wet from just being in the water. There are many clouds scattered in the sky today so it's easier for me to tan out in the open and not under a tree. Eli asked me earlier if I would like to go to dinner with him tomorrow. I said yes. Surprise.

"Do you know where he is taking you?" Tess asks.

"You mean which restaurant?"

"Yup."

"Nope, no idea. Not that I would know any of the restaurants here anyway."

She laughs a little. "Right, that's true."

"I'm sure he will pick a nice one."

"Are you excited? Nervous?"

"A little. I haven't been on a real date in a while. Even though I would count some of our outings as dates, I guess."

"You seem happy when you're with him."

"I am," I admit with a smile.

"Has your family contacted you lately?" she inquires with a frown. Tess knows about my complicated or rather nonexistent relationship with my parents.

"Not my parents. My sister sent me a few messages a couple days ago, asking how my summer is going. She went to Barbados over the summer with our parents, living the dream, according to her," I tell her.

"They didn't think to invite you? Did they know you had plans with me then?" she asks with a bewildered look on her face.

"No and no."

"God, your parents suck."

"Yeah, tell me about it," I mutter while picking at the grass on the ground.

After a few moments of silence, Tess speaks again. "You know who's coming back today, right?"

"Who?"

"Tommy."

I grimace. "Ugh, please no."

Tess and I are preparing a nice dinner for when Bennett and Eli come back from work. We're making different salads, spreads, and finger food and we bake homemade baguettes from scratch. It smells heavenly in the kitchen and I can't wait to dig in later. We are blasting some pop song that Tess likes and dance around the kitchen without a care.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. We look at each other in confusion before the bell rings again. And again.

"Yes, yes we're coming. Fucking calm down!" Tess yells while she moves over to the stereo to turn off the music. I hurry to the door and open it just as my bestie joins me in the hallway. On the other side of the door is someone I wish I wouldn't have to see again. Ever.

"Hey ladies," Tommy smirks, looking us up and down. "Missed me?"

"Fuck no," I quietly say and visibly shudder.

"Why the hell are you ringing the doorbell, you live here," Tess deadpans at him.

"I forgot my keys, feisty lady." He shoulders his way past us and into the house.

"Smells amazing in here, I guess you are good at what women do best, huh?"

I wish I could wipe that shit-eating grin off his damn face. "If you won't be able to talk like a decent human being, you won't get any food."

"We'll see about that," he murmurs. "Where are the guys?"

"At work," I state.

"They should be home in an hour, then we'll eat," Tess adds, slapping Tommy's hand that goes to grab a piece of bread.

"Great, I will get a nap in, then." And with that, he disappears upstairs with his luggage.

Tess and I look at each other and roll our eyes.

We just finished setting up the table when the guys come home. They stroll past the kitchen and into the bathroom to freshen up after work. A few minutes later, they appear in the doorway, Eli looking a little tense, as always, and Bennett taking a deep breath.

"Ahhh, this smells amazing," he comments and goes to the fridge to grab a beer. On the way there, he passes Tess and ruffles her hair. She flips him off.

My handsome, brooding giant enters the kitchen as well and walks over to me.

"Hey," I breathe. "How was wo-" Before I could finish the sentence, his hands cup my face and he kisses me deeply. All too quickly, he breaks the kiss while one of his hands goes to grab my butt. He gives it a little squeeze before he backs up and places his hands on the backrest of the chair in front of him.

"Work was good," he tells me.

"Glad to hear that," I mumble, trying to hide my blush behind my hair. That was a bold display of affection that I have yet to get used to.

"Would you like something to drink?" I ask him.

"Water, please."

I nod and grab some water from the fridge before sitting down at the table. Tess and Bennett are already seated and Eli follows my actions and takes a seat as well.

"Seriously, that guy is such a jerk," Tess exclaims. She's been talking to Ben.

Eli throws me a questioning look and I mouth 'Tommy'. He opens his mouth to say something but Bennett beats him to it.

"Speak of the devil!" He gets up and gives Tommy a bro hug. "Hey man, you had a nice trip?"

"Well, it was work but yeah, it was good." He shrugs and sits down next to me. "Hey." He directs his greeting at Eli who just nods once in return. I can't blame him for being cold toward Tommy.

Dinner passes rather quickly in awkward silence. Tess and I try to spark up a conversation a couple of times but it doesn't stick. As soon as Eli finishes his food, he puts his plate and cutlery into the dishwasher and walks out into the backyard.

"Everything okay with him?" I direct my question at Bennett.

He heaves a sigh before answering. "I don't know. I guess it's his wife but I'm not sure."

"His ex-wife, you mean?" I ask with a frown.

"Yeah, technically she is still his wife, the divorce is not through yet."

I nod in understanding, but still not liking the thought of it.

"This is getting too sappy for me. Eli's a pussy and needs to grow the fuck up. I'll go start a fire out back." Tommy snarks and gets up but Bennett glares at him.

"Shut up, asshole. You have no idea what he's going through. Maybe try and tell those things to his face if you really feel the need to say them."

Tommy lets out a scoff before heading outside.

"Go and join them, we'll clean up," Tess tells her brother and he thanks us before leaving the kitchen.

"Men are so annoying," she comments.

"Yeah, they really can be," I laugh.

"You really had to choose one with a lot of baggage, huh?" Tess nudges my shoulder with hers.

"Everyone carries something, I can look past that."

"For your sake, I really hope so."

"Don't get all mushy on me now. Better tell me if you are talking to Simon, still."

A smile appears on her face and she slightly shakes her head, her light brown curls bouncing around. "Yeah, we started texting more. I guess you were right, I really like him. I just don't know how this will work out in the long run. We live so far apart and I'm not sure what he is looking for currently."

I hadn't even thought about Eli and I living far apart, and I don't want to.

"Well, how about you ask him?" I suggest.

"I probably should," she sighs,

"You definitely should." I counter.

The backyard is illuminated by the flames of the fire. The three men are seated around it, Bennet and Tommy nursing beers and Eli drinking a bottle of water. Tess plops down on the grass and I go to follow but Eli grasps the back of my thigh and slightly pulls on it. I look down at him and raise my eyebrows. He cocks one of his in return. I playfully roll my eyes but comply with his silent request, or rather demand, and settle into his lap. He wraps one strong arm around my waist and pulls me close, his chin coming to rest on my shoulder.

A loud laugh makes us all look toward Tommy.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" he bellows, pointing over at Eli and me.

"I know right, they're soooo cute," Tess swoons, purposely trying to piss of Tommy.

He then looks at me. "So you're willing to fuck this brute but refuse a gentleman like me? That's real bitch behavior right there. Are you that desperate?"

My mouth falls open and I am too shocked to say anything. Tess makes a move to jump up, looking ready to defend my honor but Ben clasps his hand onto her shoulder and keeps her on the ground.

"Cut it out, Tommy," he sternly says. "You're way out of line."

I finally start to recover from my shock and notice how tense Eli is under me. The bottle of water he is holding is crushed in his hand, however, his breathing is calm and calculated and his eyes focused on Tommy.

"Get up," Eli says to me, his voice has a dangerous edge to it.

"No, it's fine Eli. He's not worth it."

"I said get up." He's still not looking at me, his eyes fixated on the blonde asshole across from us.

"Please don't," I plead with him. "This is exactly what he wants, to get a rise out of you. Just ignore him."

Tommy's still sporting an arrogant smirk. I notice the many empty bottles of beer next to his chair. I guess the alcohol gives him more confidence than what's good for him.

"Come on, let's just go inside," I whisper to Eli. He ignores my words.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again, Romy."

"Tess, take Romy and go inside, okay," Bennett orders, and Tess nods.

"Come on, babe." She holds her hand out to me and I take one more look at Eli's face. His jaw is tense, his brows furrowed and his eyes dark and hooded. He still doesn't look at me so I give up and take Tess's hand.

Inside the house, I can barely hold back my tears.

"Shhh, don't worry. I'm sure they're just gonna talk, okay. And Tommy's a fucking asshole for what he said about you." She takes my face in her hands and wipes away a few tears that managed to escape.

I nod and will myself to believe her words.

"Can't he just leave, he's obviously not very welcome here," I sniffle.

"He and Ben bought the house together, so I guess not."

"Eli didn't buy it with them?"

"No, I don't think so. If I understood Ben correctly, he needed somewhere to stay after he split with his wife and since the two are best friends, he offered him to stay here. Since half the house is Ben's, Tommy can't say anything against it, I guess."

"Great," I sarcastically drawl. "It would be so much easier if Eli and Bennett had bought the house instead."

"I agree, but at the time Eli was still living with his wife."

"Okay, can we stop talking about her? And can we start calling her his ex-wife, please?"

"Oh, someone's jelly," Tess teases.

"Shut up, I'm not jealous." I scrunch my nose at her. She knowingly smirks at me.

The back door suddenly slams open and Tommy storms inside, followed by an annoyed-looking Bennett and a fuming Eli. Tommy stops in front of me and Tess, both of us glaring at him, and goes to say something but Eli speaks first.

"If you say one word to her..." he trails off in warning. Tommy scoffs and walks out the front door. His jaw is sporting a bruise. I look at Eli's knuckles. They appear only slightly red.

"Where's he going?" Tess asks.

"To a bar or club, I guess." Bennet shrugs.

I expect Eli to come to me but he doesn't move from where he stands.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, slightly worried.

"Can I have a word with Romy, please?" He asks Tess and Bennett and they all but scramble into the kitchen. Eli stalks over to me, his large frame towering over my smaller one. His eyes look stormy, restless. His jaw is still tense and he's breathing a little harsher now.

"You hit him," I state.

"I did," he confirms. His face softens for a moment. "You know it's bullshit what he said about you, right?"

I nod.

"Good." His expression hardens again. "Now, next time I tell you to get up, you get up, understood?"

"I was just trying to de-escalate the situation. I didn't want you guys to fight, as I said he's not worth it. And you really fell for what he did, he wanted you to get angry and do something stupid and-"

"Romy," he cuts me off.

"What?"

He takes a deep breath as if to calm himself. "If I tell you to get up, you get up. Is. that. understood?" He's crouched down a little, his face directly in front of mine, our noses almost touching. His voice slightly raised now and I swallow thickly. He's so damn intimidating when he's mad. It's kinda hot, no? No, stop it, Romy.

I nod in defeat, accepting that I won't get anywhere with him when he's all worked up.

"Use your words," he barks out and I jump the slightest bit.

"Understood," I say in a clear voice, looking straight into his eyes, not willing to submit to him completely.

He opens his mouth to say something but the doorbell rings, effectively stopping him from speaking.

"I'll get it," I say in a pissed voice and walk toward the front door.