As He Watches

Disclaimer: I don't own anything anyone recognises so go figure.

Summary: There's just something about the way she wears a bikini.

Ric pulled the shirt over his head as he stood up and walked out his bedroom door, avoiding the banister from years of practice of doing just this. Getting up and dressed for a certain time in the morning had never been one of his strong points so he let his body run on automatic until his brain decided to wake up. He had no idea why the girls had insisted on an early start, it wasn't like the beach was going anywhere.

Sighing he wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking for any type of food that wouldn't involve effort for him to eat. Seeing nothing immediately leaping out at him, he grabbed the milk and shut the fridge door, opting for cereal. He saw that Sally hadn't touched the food he'd left out the night before so that he wouldn't forget to take it to the beach with him and kicked himself for not thinking of making up a breakfast as well. Pouring the cereal into a bowl he knew he was going to have to wake up at some point and the sooner the better as it was quite possible the girls were going to be in hyperactive mode as soon as they met up.

A soft tap on the door made Ric turn around and he grinned when he saw Lucas, motioning for him to come in.

"I'm not late already am I?"

Lucas smiled back and replied "No, you're good for another twenty. I just couldn't stay in the house. Cassie came over last night and she and Mattie have been up for about an hour deciding what to wear. I swear, I was starting to lose my mind."

"And they let you out?"

"I gave some excuse about helping you with the food so they let me go. Dad and Jack are still stuck there though."

Ric laughed softly at that, not wanting to wake Sally or Pippa "They're in hyperactive mode already aren't they?"

"And beyond." Lucas confirmed "I don't get why this day is so special. Even Belle's excited and you know how blaize she is about everything."

"Me neither. But it's important to them and that's all that matters."

"Yeah."

The two boys were silent for a moment as Ric finished his breakfast, both contemplating what they were most likely have to go through before the day was finished.

"This all the food?" Lucas asked after a few more minutes and Ric had cleaned and stacked his bowl.

"That's all my stuff yeah; Drew's suppose to be bringing most of it though."

"Well if that's it let's get going before we are late and our sisters do murder us."

"Sisters?" Ric asked, confused for a moment before realisation dawned "Oh, Cassie and Matilda."

"Who else were you thinking of?" Lucas joked.

Shaking his head Ric replied "You just threw me for a sec, that's all. I've never heard you call Mattie your sister before."

"She hasn't really been it before," Lucas replied "I mean we were friends whilst flirting, then dating and then ex's. We managed to get back to the friend stage again but since Dad and Beth are really serious about each other it's just kinda natural to think of her as my sister. We're close enough to be siblings. Just like you and Cassie."

"Yeah, I guess," Ric replied "So that means you're not into her in 'that way' anymore?"

"Nope. It'd be like you still being into Cassie."

"Right." Ric said forcing a grin. He had no idea why Lucas saying he didn't want to get back with Mattie was important to him, but somehow it was.

"So you ready?"

Looking up Ric grinned genuinely "Let's do this. The sooner it starts…"

"The sooner it's over with." Lucas finished, grabbing half the food and leading the way out of the door, Ric following behind.

"Where have you been? You're late!" Cassie's voice demanded as Ric and Lucas approached the waiting group outside the diner.

"Yes, where have you been?" Drew added forcefully, not looking at all happy.

"It was Ric's fault." Lucas said immediately.

"It was not. Besides we're not late, we're actually dead on time so there." Ric replied in Cassie's direction.

"Oh whatever, let's just go already!" Mattie said, almost skipping forwards and grabbing Cassie and Belle's hands to head off down the beach.

"No it's ok, you go on ahead. We've got this!" Drew called sarcastically after them, motioning to the pile of bags cluttered around his feet.

"Thanks!" Belle yelled over her shoulder, whilst Mattie and Cassie's giggles could be heard.

"Where the hell have you been?" Drew demanded as soon as the girls were out of earshot.

"They're that bad?" Ric asked "Already?"

"We're not going to make it through the day." Lucas said dramatically.

"Oh shut up." Drew said, rolling his eyes "But be warned, first chance I get you're being left alone with them and then I'd like to see you joke and dramatise it."

"Ok, ok, we're sorry. Let's just get down there before they come get us ok?" Ric said calmly "The only way we're getting through this day is together."

"Let's do it then." Drew sighed.

The three boys rearranged their bags so that they were carrying all the stuff fairly and headed down to the spot that the girls had claimed. As they approached Ric saw that Belle already was just in her bikini and they each were sprawled across a towel. They seemed to have picked a pretty good spot, out in the sunshine but with shade only a few yards back. Walking up to the shade area the boys laid out a ground sheet and then put the food on it, before grabbing their own towels and sitting next to the girls.

"Took you long enough." Belle said.

"Your help just made things go so much quicker." Drew replied, pulling off his shirt and settling down.

Ric ad Lucas shared a look and tried not to laugh whilst removing their own tops and sitting down on their towels. Cassie removed her top to reveal a red bikini, but kept her denim shorts on before lying down and closing her eyes.

Ric couldn't help it as his eyes made their way over to Matilda. Lucas had followed Cassie's example so there was no one watching him as he settled back and watched her. She was wearing a loose green strap top which clung to her shoulders and flowed out around her, pushing the material against her body whenever the wind blew. A short white skirt brought out her skin colour and showed off quite a bit off leg that would have rapidly gained Ric's attention if it wasn't for the fact that she was removing her top to reveal a brown and turquoise bikini. It was a halter-top one which again emphasised her shoulders. But it also showed off her neck and chest as it was slightly tight across her bust, and then a flat stomach. The skirt was low enough that he could see the brown lining of her bikini bottoms and suddenly Ric felt very hot for first thing in the morning.

As she lay down Ric forced his eyes out to the sea, not letting them follow her, and the subsequent movement of her body as she stretched before getting comfortable. Damn, she knew how to wear a bikini, he thought to himself. She looked way to good in them.

Letting out a quiet groan, Ric fell back onto his towel and hit himself in the forehead, just realising he'd fallen for one of his best friends.

If you'd like to know what happens next, if anything, review and tell me what you think! If you want more all you gotta do is ask…