Much love to everyone!

Chapter outfits: www dot polyvore dot com slash cgi slash set?id=207776315

NSFW WARNING. CHILEY GETS STEAMY. ;)

EIGHT: GIRL MEETS MAKEOUT COVE

Josh was surprised when Liv called him and invited him out to lunch a few days later. She said they needed to talk.

Which obviously had nothing do to with the events of three days prior.

After the dinner, Maya had hailed a cab and taken the first flight out back to New York City, claiming that she no longer wanted to stay there. Lance refused to get on the flight with her, claiming that it was too expensive to switch his plane tickets and he had booked the hotel room for the rest of the week. It was safe to say that they probably weren't going to stay together much longer.

Josh was a little confused, however. He did still love Maya. But ever since Riley had planted the idea into his head regarding Liv, he couldn't stop thinking about 'what if'. He arrived at the address Liv had texted him and walked inside. It was a small cafe, almost a cross between a pub and a club, with a vintage feel that could only be described as quaint. The dark wood panels ran throughout the walls and floor, and the surplus of windows brought enough light into the small room that no extra lights were needed.

Plus, every table could only seat two people, likely to maximize the number of parties they could seat, Josh guessed. He spotted Liv in the very back of the room, staring at her phone with an odd expression on her face. She was wearing a modest white dress, with a normal neckline and sleeves that went to her elbows. Josh couldn't help but feel relieved he wouldn't be staring at her breasts for the entire lunch. "Hey," he said once he got to the table.

"Hey," Liv said, looking up and giving him a small smile.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked, taking a seat.

"It's nothing," Liv said, putting her phone away.

"So why lunch?" Josh asked. "Why here?"

Liv shrugged. "When I was adopted by my sixth foster family, this was the first place they took me. It's just kind of...nostalgic."

Josh nodded. "Where are you actually from, Liv?"

"I was in a foster home in China when I was one and a half," Liv said. "I'm really not sure what happened to my parents or how I ended up there. I just kind of assume that with the one-child policy in place, they probably wanted a boy. The home housed, like, eighteen children, and I was the youngest. One of the older children ended up setting fire to the home and the people who owned the house died in the blaze, so it was closed down. There was a family in the States who wanted to take me in, so I got on a plane when I was three and they took me in. But they never fully adopted me, and I was back in a foster home when I was six. I bounced around different states, first I was in Utah, then Ohio, then Wyoming, Iowa, and then California. The couple who fostered me in Calabasas ended up adopting me when I was fifteen."

"Wow," Josh said.

Liv shrugged.

"Do you know what your birth name is?" Josh asked curiously.

Liv sighed, "Yeah, some unpronounceable Chinese words. When I arrived in Utah, the foster family I was with renamed me Liv. It's not short for Olivia, or anything. Just Liv."

"Is Conners your Utah family's name?"

"No, that's my parents," Liv replied. "I was so young when I was in Utah that I don't remember much of the time I spent there, and after that it was five years in three different states. It was to a point where I wasn't really sure if I was ever going to find a family, until I ended up in California. I love my adopted parents. They're the best." Liv smiled. "I love that they cared enough to do what they did, and I'll always be grateful."

Josh nodded.

Liv took a deep breath and held up her phone to Josh. "This is why I'm telling you all of this."

Josh took her phone and read the e-mail that appeared on the screen:

From: Joe Conners
To: Liv Conners

Liv,

Martha and I received an e-mail from the adoption agency who was in charge of your case twenty years ago. Apparently, your birth family in Guangzhou, China is coming to California next month and they want to meet you. They would like to arrange a meeting with you in Los Angeles when they are in town.

I know this will come across as shocking to you, sweetie, but it is completely up to you whether you want to meet them. Martha and I will support you no matter what you decide. I've put down their contact information below just in case.

We love you.

Joe.

Underneath Liv's father's name was a phone number, and it wasn't a Los Angeles number. Josh assumed it was the contact information. "Wow," he said, giving it back to her.

"Yeah," Liv admitted. "Wow."

"What are you thinking?" Josh asked.

"I really don't know what to think," Liv admitted. "But I asked you to meet me here because I need your advice."

"Why me?" Josh raised an eyebrow. "I don't know you well enough."

"Exactly," Liv sighed. "Shallon and Riley know me too well, they'd only be focused on keeping me away from them."

"Do you want to go?" Josh asked quietly.

"I do and I don't," Liv said. "I want to know who they are, and I want to know why they gave me up. But I don't know if I want to face them. I don't know if I can. I don't know if I'm ready to hear the truth. I struggled for so many years with abandonment problems, until Joe and Martha. They're the root of all my problems."

"Maybe you'll finally get some closure."

"Yeah," Liv said softly.

"Liv, it's like your parents said, you're the only one who can make this decision and I'm not going to pretend I know what's best for you," Josh said. "I think it'd be good for you to meet them. It might hurt. But maybe you'll finally understand, see their point of view. Maybe not forgive."

"See?" Liv cracked a smile. "This is why I need you."

Josh couldn't help but feel like there was a double meaning in her words, but he brushed it off. "Okay," he said, picking up a menu, "why don't you recommend something we can order for lunch."

With Maya out of town, and Josh having disappeared somewhere, Lance found himself following Chase around a lot that day. And because Chase was determined to see Riley as much as possible before they had to leave, they were sitting at a table two metres away from where Riley and Shallon were working at the Shack. Neither of them were serving food or taking orders that day, they were just supervising to make sure the Skate Shack didn't erupt into flames, because their boss had taken a sick day.

"So what's the deal with Maya?" Chase asked, snagging a fry from Lance's food.

Lance wasn't really eating, so he shrugged it off. "She's pissed off at me because I accused her of liking Josh more than me."

"So she left?" Chase asked in disbelief. "I would've thought you would've left."

Lance shrugged. "Maybe it's just not meant to be. You can see it from a mile away that she still loves him."

"How did you two end up together anyways?" Chase asked.

"I met Maya through a mutual friend. It was kind of a set-up, but we kind of hit it off right away." That was all Lance offered.

"Hey, boys," Shallon said, bounding over with a plate of nachos. "Eat up, service is slow so we're testing new recipes."

"What is on this?" Chase asked warily, staring at the nachos.

"Chilis, jalapenos, sriracha, sour cream, black olives, tomatoes, habaneros, monterrey jack, mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar, black beans, sausage, and bacon," Riley rattled off, appearing behind Chase. She set down a smaller plate. "With guac and salsa. We're calling it 'The Double Load'."

"Why?" Lance asked, laughing.

"Because the regular 'Loaded Nachos' are only half the toppings on here, we're just spicing it up," Shallon said with a grin. Both girls took a seat. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Lance's relationship problems," Chase replied, taking a nacho and piling it with as many toppings he could fit on the chip. "Damn, this is so good," he mumbled through a mouthful.

Riley laughed. "Good. And Lance, don't worry about Maya, there's a reason she hasn't made a move on Josh."

"That's because she doesn't know he's single, at least not until last night," Shallon said, laughing.

"Oh, shit, you're right!" Riley gasped. "Josh said that Charlotte dumped him!"

"Great, my life's the worst," Lance groaned.

"Don't think like that, it's not that bad," Riley said reassuringly. "Maya loves you."

"No, she loves him."

"Won't happen, that boy is way too loved up with Liv," Shallon said, swiping a nacho. "Damn, Riles, these are great."

Riley grinned.

"I wish I was so certain of that," Lance muttered.

"Eat a nacho, food makes you feel better," Shallon said.

Lance shook his head. "Not hungry."

"If you're not happy, then maybe you should end things," Chase said wisely.

"I think you need to have some fun," Shallon said suddenly. She grinned knowingly at Riley.

"Oh, no way," Riley said, shaking her head. "Count me out. I hate when we do that."

"Do what?" Chase asked.

"You don't want to know," Riley said, at the exact same moment Shallon yelled, "Cliff diving!"

"What?" Lance and Chase demanded.

"It's horrible," Riley said, pouting. "Once, Shallon shoved me off the cliff."

"How high is this cliff?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow, "because I am not a fan of heights."

"It's the only way to get to makeout cove," Shallon coaxed, waggling her eyebrows.

"What?" Chase demanded.

"We are not going to make out," Riley snapped.

"Isn't that what you did three days ago after dinner? And even before dinner?"

Riley buried her head into her arms. "We didn't make out! He dragged me off to a drive-in and we watched a movie. That's it."

Shallon clucked disappointedly. "That's a waste of a good drive-in. We get off in an hour, I'll call Josh and Liv and get them to join us."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Chase told Riley.

Riley shook her head. "Believe me, it's always bad."

Two hours later, after Riley and Shallon had gotten off of work and they'd all gotten dressed in their swim suits, Chase was staring down at the impossibly narrow opening and long drop below. "Oh yeah, Mini, you're right. It's bad."

"I know," Riley groaned. "I hate it."

"I don't know, it's kind of fun," Liv said, stepping up to them, with Josh not far behind her.

"How do your boobs even fit into that?" Riley asked warily, staring at her bikini top.

Liv shrugged. "You'd be surprised how malleable boobs can be."

Riley threw up her hands. "Well, excuse me for not having much experience in that department."

Everyone started to laugh.

"Okay, loverboy," Shallon ordered, pushing a very depressed-looking Lance towards the hole, "jump in."

"No fucking way," Lance said.

"Way," Shallon said, and the next thing everyone knew was that Lance had disappeared into the hole and was screaming bloody murder all the way down. Then they heard a splash.

"That's exactly what happened the last time I refused to go down," Riley said with a sigh.

"Get in, all of you, or the same thing's gonna happen to you," Shallon threatened with a grin.

Riley grabbed Chase's hands and said, "If I'm going to die, you're coming with me."

"That's reassuring," Chase muttered, who was pale beyond anything Riley had ever seen before. "And also super romantic."

Riley made a face before they both jumped down. Chase could be heard screaming before they hit the water. Riley surfaced, coughing up water, but laughing. Chase's arms were around her as he shook. "Hey," she said, grinning, "you did it."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I need a defibrillator," Chase muttered. "That was nuts."

"Yeah," Lance said, from a few feet away. "But at least you got some company on the way down."

Liv landed with an enormous splash, showering everyone. "I'm pretty sure your tits are responsible for at least ninety percent of the splash," Riley said when she swam over to them.

"Shut the fuck up," Liv retorted, just as Josh came down, and Shallon soon after.

"So," Chase said, "Now that I've regained my heartbeat, what was the point in all of that?"

Shallon grinned, "Come on." She took off swimming, further into the cove.

"How did you guys even discover this place?" Josh asked.

"I fell in when we were walking around the forest one day," Riley replied. "I thought I was going to die."

"I followed her in and we explored the area, turns out, it's a lagoon, and the first day we found at least ten couples making out in separate areas of the cove, so we just named it makeout cove," Shallon finished.

"California is weird," Liv admitted.

When they reached the large covern, which was brightly lit, oddly enough, despite no actual way for the sun to get in. "It's the reflection of the crystals in the walls," Riley said. "Or something like that."

Chase had to admit that despite the near cardiac arrest he'd experienced, the cavern was worth the health scare. But with no actual couples in their group, they all just looked at each other. "What now?" Riley asked.

"Uh, how do you actually get out of here if there's only one entrance?" Josh asked.

"There's an exit," Riley said, "but it's kind of like a giant water slide. It just, sucks you in and it's crazy dangerous. You've gotta make sure you don't bump your head on any of the walls or the top of the cove."

"That sounds crazy dangerous," Chase muttered.

"All right," Liv announced, "we came, we saw, we jumped, and now we're going."

"You're no fun," Shallon said, pouting.

"Why don't you and Lance stay down here and we'll all get going," Riley suggested, swimming off and tugging Chase along with her.

"Riley, come back!" Shallon shouted, but Riley ignored her and left the cavern.

"Where are we going?" Chase asked her.

"See, I actually love this place, I just hate the way to get here. So whenever I need some space, I come here, despite how much I hate getting in. I've had a ton of time to explore the place." Riley's dark eyes glittered mischievously. "You want to see a safer way to get out?" she whispered.

"Show me," Chase said, grinning.

They swam in silence for a bit, taking a different, much narrower path than they'd originally come from. It was so narrow Chase could barely squeeze his shoulders through, and was forced to swim sideways instead. They came at a dead end. "Uh, Riley," Chase said, confused.

"Yeah?" Riley asked, turning around.

"Are you sure this is the way out?"

"No," Riley said, pulling him closer to her. "We'll be going there after this."

"After what-" Chase was cut off by Riley's kiss. He pulled away immediately. "Uh, Mini?"

"So you don't want to kiss me," Riley said, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding me?" Chase demanded. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You pulled away."

"Because you're the one who said she didn't want a relationship."

"Did I ask you to be my boyfriend? I just wanted to kiss you."

"But that's weird," Chase said, making a face.

"Stop talking," Riley murmured. "Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten laid?" Chase groaned as she kissed him again, and this time, he let her. "It's been two years," Riley whispered between kisses. "Two, long, fucking years, and then you show up, looking even sexier than you did before, and a girl has needs, you know?"

"Tell me what you need," Chase breathed, his hands fumbling with the ties on her bikini.

"Just kiss me," Riley pleaded.

"I get the feeling that you want more."

"I do," Riley admitted, stopping the kiss and pressing her forehead to his. "I just don't want it here."

"Too exposed?" Chase teased.

"The rocks are going to break my back," Riley explained.

"So what was your plan, to get me as horny as you are in hopes that I'd follow you out and fuck you in the forest?" Chase asked, bewildered.

"Something like that, except definitely not in the forest," Riley said, giggling.

"I think this is a lot better than the forest," Chase said, smirking, "and there's no one who could possibly hear us for miles."

"The others are still in here," Riley whispered.

"Then you'll just have to keep quiet." Having kept her distracted, Chase had managed to undo both her bikini top and bottom without Riley noticing. He held both pieces out in front of her, grinning.

Riley then realized she was completely naked. "You're an ass," she hissed, but her eyes were heavy and lidded. "And I think it's completely unfair that I'm the only one not wearing anything."

A few minutes later, their swimsuits floated on top of the water, completely forgotten, as Riley and Chase were locked in a passionate embrace at the end of the narrow passage. Riley hadn't felt this way in years. Neither had Chase. It was perfect, and Riley almost regretted not taking him back when he asked her to. She missed him. She missed this. She longed for the comfort of his embrace and his presence.

Riley hoped it would never end.

Whew. It got a little hot there, eh?

I tried not to make it too graphic.

Let me know what you think! About Chiley, about Liv's story, and what should Liv do about her adoptive parents?

Lauren.