AUTHORS NOTE: I apologize for the messed up version of this chapter that I uploaded! I transferred it from my writing app and didn't check to make sure it didn't get screwed up before posting it. My mistake! Please review and let me know what you think and where you want this story to go in the future! I'm going to try to get on a better schedule including updating my other stories regularly and maybe starting new one(s)!
"Lo, wake up." Miles whispered into Lola's ear, his breath a bit too warm for Lola's tastes, sending shivers down her spine. Lola's eyes shot open and she began to observe her surroundings. They had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie. Mamma Mia - Lola's pick, of course. It was her go-to comfort movie after all, and with all the drama that was making her head buzz, she needed a little bit of comfort.
"What time is it?" She spoke groggily, looking at the television screen which was now black. The movie was over, she guessed. She hadn't even made it to her favorite part, the song 'Slipping Through My Fingers'. The whole movie reminded her of her mom, though the two had never even shared the movie. With the drama surrounding Lola possibly having a new stepmom though, she would take any feeling of connection with her mom that she could get.
Miles stood up from the couch and scooped Lola up in his arms effortlessly. When did he get so strong? "It's about five in the morning."
Lola looked to the window where the blinds were drawn. She could just barely see the morning light peeking through the slits in the blinds. Lola was pretty used to getting up this early and seeing the sun rise. Most of her high school career was spent trying to make sure stupid high school dudes found her hot after all. That didn't just come naturally. Lola Pacini had spent many a morning slaving over her hair and makeup and clothes instead of getting well-needed sleep.
"Are you tired?" Lola questioned and he shook his head.
"Not really, honestly. We kind of took a power nap."
Lola leaned up and kissed Miles's jaw. "Then you and me are gonna go swim and enjoy the sunrise."
This statement made the muscles in Miles's face all work together to create the biggest, brightest smile Lola thought she had ever seen. He was so beautiful she could just implode. Or explode. She could never remember what the actual phrase was. Or if there was even a phrase to say correctly or incorrectly.
"You can't really get your foot wet, but I can set you up on a float. I'd say that doesn't require a swimsuit, but I'm not gonna miss an opportunity to see my smoking hot girlfriend with as little clothes as possible. Can you just borrow a swimsuit from Frankie?" Miles asked, setting Lola down for a moment. His original intent was to carry her to the bedroom immediately so there was no doubt that his arms were getting tired from holding Lola in his arms.
"Frankie…" Lola's voice got a little cautious. She hadn't even thought about how she was gonna deal with that drama yet. After all, Lola had stolen some sort of mysterious note from Frankie's belongings, letting Frankie know that whatever secret she had going on was no longer completely under wraps. Eventually she was gonna have to own up to swiping the note and figure out what the hell Frankie was hiding, but she didn't exactly want to do that now. There was way too much on Lola's mind right now. "I guess I can try to sneak in without her noticing or whatever." Miles's face fell a little as he remembered that there was something going on with his little sister. "Crap, I forgot. I'm…" He tried to begin an apology, but Lola cut him off.
"It's fine, really. Just grab my crutches?" Lola tried to cover up the anxiety that was inflating in her chest like a balloon. "I should probably get used to walking on my own, right? I'm not always gonna have an ultra-cutie around to carry me from place to place like some sort of princess." What an image though, Lola thought. She used to dream of being a princess when she was younger. The way she felt when she was around Miles was about as close as she could imagine getting. Which at this point felt pretty close.
Miles disappeared to retrieve Lola's crutches, which had been left in the driveway after their great escape from the Pacini family soap opera, and Lola checked her phone. No notifications. So weird. She couldn't think of the last time there had been zero notifications on her home screen. There was usually at least one or two people trying to get in contact with her. Not even a Hastygram notification graced her lock screen. She tried not to get too sucked in as she had been actively trying to be better about not caring about petty things like social media likes and followers, but the fact that it appeared nobody had thought of Lola or interacted with something she had posted was… weird.
"Got your crutches." Miles entered the room and Lola locked her phone and placed it in her lap. Much more important things to pay attention to, she thought. Like her thoughtful and smoking hot boyfriend. She reached up and grabbed the crutches from Miles and thanked him for retrieving them.
"Thank ya." Lola grinned, standing up with the help of the crutches. She was definitely in a decent bit of pain, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The doctor had offered up some pain pills but she had decided not to take them. She knew that pain pills weren't Miles's issue, but if she didn't need them, why even risk triggering a former addict? Miles had gotten so far from the addiction issues he had in the past. The last thing he needed was Lola shaking around pill containers like maracas in his face. "I'm gonna run up to Frankie's room and see if I can steal a bikini without waking her up. Meet you at the pool?"
Miles nodded and made his way to his bedroom to put on a pair of swim trunks. Lola picked her phone up off the couch and looked at it one more time. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off. She wasn't sure what, but it was something and she didn't like it.
Lola hobbled to Frankie's bedroom from the living room, a trek that she had made a million times before that had never seemed so hard. Having a broken toe was really slowing down her pace and harshing her mellow. It didn't matter though, because the moment she was floating in the pool looking at the sunrise she was sure the pain would melt away. Cautiously, Lola opened the door to Frankie's still-dark bedroom. She looked at her friend who was illuminated only by the bits of light that shone through her bedroom curtains. Asleep. Yes. Please stay that way, Lola thought. She creeped around as best as she could with her clunky crutches toward the dresser that held Frankie's bathing suits. Lola pulled open the drawer and grabbed a few options. She didn't really have time to study the sizes and fits of the bathing suits to see what would suit Lola's slightly more curvy physique. She had to just hope that whatever she grabbed would contain her bigger butt and boobs. Not that Miles would mind a little bit of cleavage spilling out.
"Lola?" Frankie's voice was quiet and sleepy. "What are you doing in my room? And why do you have… crutches?" Caught. Damn. Closing her eyes tightly and scrunching her nose, Lola slowly turned around. "I was just… grabbing a bathing suit. Miles and I were gonna go for an early swim." "Crutches?" Frankie repeated in her reply, now sitting up in her bed with her naturally curly hair stuck to her slightly sweaty forehead.
"Right… I dropped a bowling ball on my toe. Broke it. My toe, not the bowling ball." A clarification that probably didn't need to be stated.
"Broke it? Are you okay Lo?" Frankie's voice showed more concern than Lola was expecting. After all, the last interaction the two had included Frankie questioning Lola about the mysterious note. Lola figured Frankie would be a little peeved at her.
Her armpits getting a little sore, Lola placed herself at the end of Frankie's bed. If they were going to have a prolonged conversation, Lola wasn't going to be able to just stand there the whole time. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her voice was layered with a bit of surprise. She honestly didn't expect Frankie to approach her with kindness, even with her injury. She had known Frankie for years now and she usually wasn't really the type to drop petty stuff for the sake of a serious moment. Even now, when they were out of high school and entering adulthood.
"Is everything okay between us?" Frankie asked, reaching over and trying to place a hand on Lola's shoulder but barely being able to touch the tips of her fingers to Lola's body. She retreated back to her more comfortable sitting up position instead of trying to stretch herself across the bed to physically comfort Lola, which Lola was honestly okay with.
"Uh, I don't know… Is it?" Lola was extremely confused right now. She was expecting Frankie to go nuclear on her for snagging a personal note from Frankie's belongings, but right now Frankie was acting like she was the one who needed to apologize. Everything felt off this morning and Lola couldn't quite shake the uneasy feeling. "I hope so." Frankie seemed to conclude the conversation. So. Weird. "You know, you'd probably be better off borrowing that white cutout monokini I have. It always kinda sagged on my butt so it should fit yours perfectly."
Lola furrowed her brows. She was so confused by Frankie's kind demeanor, but if this meant she didn't have to deal with a dramatic confrontation, she was definitely fine with breezing past whatever the heck was going on with Frankie for now. She had way too much on her mind to worry about yet another thing, especially since whatever was going on with Frankie was honestly none of Lola's business. Eventually Lola would want the hot gossip and she was sure she'd start questioning her friend about the note she found if Frankie didn't spill the beans in the near future, but for now… Lola was okay just letting this drama be glossed over.
"Thanks?" Lola said, getting up from the bed and going back to Frankie's bathing suit drawer to grab the bathing suit Frankie had mentioned, which honestly seemed to be a great call. Now all she had to do was figure out an easy way to get dressed by herself and she was going to be off to a romantic sunrise swim sesh with the man of her dreams.