Hey, people! Thanks for all of the reviews! I know some of you have been DYING for this! (And even if you haven't… whatever.)
Disclaimer- Why should I waste my energy? See chapter one!
Troy gave a low whistle. "Wow." He had to tilt his head all the way back to see the artwork on the ceilings. "So, you live here?" he invited himself in, trailing wet sand on the marble floor. Rhoda, Ashlyn's family's live-in-housekeeper would kill me or Troy, whoever she could reach first.
"Just for the summer." I raised a curious eyebrow. "Ashlyn's dad owns a chain of hotels on the beach." I shrugged.
Silence enveloped us, as Troy spun in a slow circle, looking over all of the expensive things draped everywhere. I looked him up and down, noticing that he was also dripping water on the floor.
"Is… is there a reason you came? Because Ashlyn isn't here and…" I started, hoping he wasn't there to see Ashlyn…
"She told me to follow you. She said she was worried you were going to jump off of a bridge." Troy shrugged, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
"What?" my brown eyes widened. This girl was serious about humiliating me! It's hard to believe she told Troy that with all seriousness.
Troy began laughing and tipped his head back slightly. "Don't worry, she didn't tell me why you would throw yourself off of a bridge. But you could tell me." A grin forming on his face, "You know, if you wanted to."
Did he know? "I think I'll pass on that." I shyly smiled, making my way to the kitchen. He followed close behind, sliding onto a stool at the counter.
"If I guess, will you tell me?" he smiled, turning on the television under the cup cupboards. He used the tiny remote and flipped to ESPN. "Yes!" he pumped his fists in the air. "The Mavericks vs. the Heat game 5 just started. That was lucky." (A/N: My dad's watching that game right now upstairs, so it just came to me!)
"You officially lost me." I shook my head, leaving the kitchen, past the dining room and out to the balcony. Ashlyn's house had a view of the jet skiing area, and since it was dark, the air was still and quiet. I looked out to the water. There wasn't much of a view, and the moon was out front.
"We all know the Heat is bound to lose." Troy was behind me. "So why not?" he leaned against the cement railings. He looked down, where a couple sandcastles stood, destroyed.
"We should go jet skiing sometime." I offered. "How long are you here?" I asked, jumping up and settling on the railing, kicking off my sandals.
"You mean, like a date?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Whoever thought that the Ice Queen…"
"What do you mean? I'm talking about a date as in, the date that you're leaving. And what the… or should I say who the hell is the Ice Queen?"
Troy's face fell a little. "You… you don't know about that?" he looked a little concerned. "I mean… it doesn't matter anymore so…" he was turning red.
It suddenly all made sense. The fake shivering whenever I walked (more like stormed) by, the constant "Brrrrrrrrrs" behind my back… that was my nickname? The Ice Queen?
"It's kinda clever." I shrugged. "Was I seriously that… attitudinal?" I asked, knitting my brows together. "I never knew…"
"Well, you've gotten better." Troy smiled. "In fact, you're a pretty cool person." He shrugged, looking back over the water.
My heart fluttered. Cool? No one had ever called me cool before. I mean, except for Ryan, but he's a butt-kisser.
"What?" Troy was smiling up at me. I hadn't realized that I was gazing at him.
"Huh?" I vigorously shook my head. "I mean… nothing."
Silence filled the atmosphere again. We were grinning at each other, staring headlong into each other's eyes and…
"Hey, Shar? You in here?" Ashlyn called from the foyer. "Oh. Mygosh, Rhoda's gonna wring your neck!" she screeched.
"Guess she saw your mess." I shrugged. "Of sand and water." I grinned.
"Yeah…" he nervously scratched the back of his head. Suddenly, bursts of laughter could be heard. And a scream.
"Better see what all of the commotion is about." I looked down at my dangling feet. And before I could process anything, Troy grabbed me around the bare waist and pulled me down from the railing. He was still clamped to me when my feet were on the ground.
I smiled and slipped away from his grasp. He smiled like a kid who had found hidden Christmas presents.
"Zeke!" Ashlyn screamed from the house.
"Looks like the whole team is here." Troy murmured behind me as we made our way back into the foyer.
Just as we came into view, Ashlyn ran past us, her arms crossed over her chest, giggling. "Hey!" I called to her back. "Put some clothes on!"
All of the guys had their necks craned up to the chandelier. On one of the bulbs, Ashlyn's bikini was daring to slip off of the glass and onto the floor. "Zeke did it." Jason pointed to a laughing Zeke.
"What, you untied her top?" I rolled my eyes. "How juvenile." I turned around to see Troy doubled over in hysterics. "How is this funny? She's half-naked!"
"She didn't seem to mind." Zeke shrugged, deliberately giving me that 'That's what you get' kind of look.
I rolled my eyes. "Nice seeing you guys." I smiled, ushering them to the door. "We'll have our people call your people." I shoved Jason out the door. The rest followed. "Hey, tell Ashlyn I said good night." Zeke smirked under a streetlamp a few yards down our front sidewalk.
"What. Ever." I waved, slamming the door shut.
"You really seem to be over him." I heard a voice.
I jumped. "Gosh, what are you still doing here?" I put my hand to my wildly beating heart. "I thought I kicked you out ages ago." I grabbed Troy's wrist, leading him to the door.
"Good night." I sang. He leaned against the doorframe, smiling at me. His blue met my brown. I playfully pushed him away. "See ya later." And slammed the door in his face.
Ashlyn came out of hiding. "Now that. That was fun." She giggled. She was wearing a huge T-Shirt with a wet stain on the front. "Looks like you a Troy really hit it off."
"You're the one who likes him." I denied Ashlyn's hypothesis. Which, by the way, was probably correct. "But it looks like you and Zeke hit it off even harder."
"Naw," she slapped the air with her palm. "He's hot and all and he makes a really mean chocolate chip cookie…"
"Oh, believe me, I know first hand." I rolled my eyes, thinking back to the championship games, when I finally realized that I love Zeke. And especially his baked goods.
"But he's a fruit-cuppy as you spelled him out to be." Ashlyn sighed, dramatically falling to the floor. "I'm beat. So, what did you and Troy do? Since you had the whole house to yourself, and you're both still in your bathing suits for easy access…" she giggled.
"Ew, perv." I laughed, crawling next to her on the floor. "I'm tired too." I said, changing the subject.
"Are you gonna tell me?" she rolled onto her stomach.
I jumped up again, making my way back to our room. "Good night, Ash." I said.
"Hey! We share a room! You know I'm gonna squeeze it out of you!" she followed me.
I inwardly smiled and fell onto my bed. I sighed happily.
"That sigh," Ashlyn fell on top of me, "Explained everything."
Hooray! Another chapter! PLEASE read and review! I think I'm gonna go join my Dad on the couch, as it IS Father's Day! GO DALLAS!