Chapter Forty

Coasting Down Memory Lane;
Chapter Forty

Riley awoke to the large sliding glass doors letting in the pale sunlight. From the big white bed she could see the deck and the beautiful blue water. As she stretched, she turned, and noticed that she lay alone in the large bed. Trying to find Sidney in this house would be impossible, she knew. So Riley took a few minutes to herself and stared out at the picture-perfect scenery that Sidney called a backyard.

He hummed a tune as he made his way up the steps of his summer home. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and walked barefoot through the house. He had all ready taken his dog out for her morning walk while Riley was still asleep. Before he had left, Sidney had opened the curtains and watched her sleep with the sun pouring out over her.

Now, half an hour later, he assumed that she was still asleep – though it was rare for her to sleep in – since he hadn’t seen her downstairs. He walked down the hallway and stopped dead in his tracks at the threshold of the master bedroom. For a few seconds he just watched his girlfriend sit cross-legged on the bed peering out the window. He looked closer and noticed something about her that he hadn’t truly seen before; she looked relaxed, completely at ease.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, not taking her eyes off the water and the boats that whizzed by. She hadn’t heard or seen him, but she sensed him. Her system was attuned to him. “Now, I see why you love it so much.”

“It’s captivating, isn’t it?” He walked over to the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

“Yes,” she murmured, “it’s very captivating.”

“It’s really nice out today. If you want we could go for a swim.”

“You’ve all ready been outside?” He was an early bird, she thought.

“Yeah,” he said as she stretched out on the bed. “I had to take the dog for a walk.”

“You have a dog?” Riley asked as he climbed on top of her, straddled her.

“Yes, she stays with me when I’m home for the summer and with my parents when I’m not. My dad just dropped her off this morning.” He kissed her on the lips once, twice, and lingered on the third.

“I look forward to meeting her,” she said with a smile. “But I have to take a shower.”

“Can I join you?”

She lifted a brow. “But you’re already dressed and I assume you’ve already showered, why would you need another?”

“I can think of many reasons. Besides, it’s just water and—” he broke off when the doorbell rang. “Crap. That’s probably my parents. My dad said they’d be stopping over sometime but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” He looked at her, at her horrified expression. “Relax; I’ll keep them busy while you shower.”

“Owe you,” she said quickly as she rummaged around for clothes.

Sidney went downstairs to greet his family. He jogged down the steps towards the front door. When he opened it he saw his mom, dad and younger sister Taylor. They all wore bright smiles on their faces.

“Hi Mom, Dad,” he said as he hugged them. “Hi Tay,” he said as he picked her up. Even though she was a teenager now, at 13, she was still his baby sister. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“We just had to come over right away. We’re so glad you’re home.” Trina, his mom said sweetly. “We brought you some casserole,” she said as she walked past him an into the kitchen.

“Thanks,” Sidney replied.

“So, it’s a shame about the playoffs,” Troy, his dad started.

“Yeah, but I don’t really want to think about it, you know? It still kind of hurts to think about it.”

Troy opened his mouth and was just about to speak when the sounds of girly squeals were heard in the kitchen. Both men walked quickly towards the squeals. When they got to the kitchen Sidney’s smile widened and Troy stood there caught off guard.

“You’re here! I didn’t know you were coming, Sidney never told me you were.” Trina said in a high tone as she rushed over to embrace Riley in a tight hug. “How long are you staying?”

“I actually have the entire summer off, so I guess I’ll be here until he gets sick of me.” Riley pulled Taylor in for a hug as well. “Oh, and before you go and condemn your son I’ll let you know that it was a last minute decision for me to come.”

“That’s wonderful, dear. We have plenty of time for Taylor and me to show you around. Although I’m sure Sidney all ready has or is planning to show you around, you need a woman’s perspective.” Trina said as she played with Riley’s hair. “You’ve changed your hair.”

Riley laughed. Trina had always been like a mother to her. “Yes. I cut it just before we left. Didn’t get too much off, but enough, you know? I also decided to change the colour a bit, lighten it up for the summer.”

“It looks great. The blonde highlights really show off the beautiful light brown you have as a natural colour. I like this cut; it shows off the cheekbones well. Your eyes look as green as ever.”

“Thank you. I liked this cut because it’s the perfect length for my face shape. They say that if you have a longer face you should have your hair to about your shoulders or higher. So I chose for the shoulders. I’m too scared to get it cut any shorter.”

“Why did you take the entire summer off?” Troy asked, speaking for the first time. His voice held no real emotion which was odd for when he spoke to Riley. “I thought you had a job.”

“I do have a job.” She tried to keep the tone light but the ending came out in a clipped tone. She was slightly offended with how he’d phrased it. “As for the holiday, I got a promotion so they gave me the entire summer off.”

Something flashed in his eyes. It was quick but Riley caught it. It looked like anger, just without the heat.