Chapter eighteen

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When I wake up the next morning I'm on my back porch wearing a shirt that's way too big. I sit up to get a better look at my surroundings and I notice a shirtless figure next to me. Oh my god... did I sleep with Jarell? I start to freak out inside my head, yea...yea you did. My subconscious pipes up. The body next to me stirs and I sit there like an idiot, when hits up he groans.

"My head is killing me." He finally looks at me and immediately my body heats up. "Why the hell didn't we go inside?" I don't fight the smile that spreads across my face. "That's a good question Romeo." He stands and that's when I notice he's still naked. Everything muscle on his body is toned to perfection, he slips on his underwear and I'm finally able to look away. I stand and wait for him to gather our clothes before leasing him inside, praying that nobody was up yet. As we tiptoe through the kitchen I think about what Tia would say, I didn't have to wait for long to find out though. The pantry door closes and Tia appears in front of us.

"Stormy i-" she stops mid sentence and I groan to myself. "Shut up and let's go." I tell her before continuing my journey upstairs. She silently follows us but I know she has that stupid smug smile on her face. We enter my room and I tell Jarell to wait on the bed while I shower and he obliges. Tia follows me into the bathroom and I turn on the shower so he can't hear her big mouth. "Did you two have sex!?" My cheeks turn red and she squeals, "Was it everything and then some? Was it big?" I let out a giggle. "Oh yea, even on soft it's big." She shakes me by the shoulders and I let out a laugh.

As I showered Tia kept asking me questions about last night and I allowed the memories to flood my mind as I told her everything. When I was finished I put my robe on and made my way to my closet. "You can get in now, I think I have a old sweatsuit here from my dad." Jarells arms wrapped around me encasing me in warmth. He kisses my neck and I smile before pushing him off me. He walks past Tia who smirks at him, the bathroom door closes and I turn around before she can tease me about the redness in my cheeks.

I throw on my Tom & Jerry sweats and a white t shirt I stole from my dads clothes. I slip on some socks and then my slides, I leave Tia on my bed as I walk down the hall to the room that was supposed to be my parents. As I open the door the fresh pine smell that always fills the room hit me full force, I stand there, in the doorway, for what seems like forever. I slowly approach the dresser like a child trying to not get caught snooping. The gold watch I bought my dad shines back at me causing a sad smile to cover my face.

Running my fingers over the watch I remember the look on his face when I gave it to him. I shake off the sadness and open the drawer where he kept his sweats and stuff. Without thinking I grab the brown Nike sweatsuit, and a new pair of boxers then quickly make my way back to my room. Jarell is on my bed and Tia is nowhere to be seen. "She's in the shower. She grabbed a pair of leggings and a white sweater." His voice sends shivers down my back. "Oh.. I hope it wasn't my Nike leggings."
As if on cue Tia emerges from my bathroom wearing my Nike leggings. "So I didn't realize I was grabbing these ones... I'll give them back along with two new pairs." She smiles sheepishly at me and I can't help but roll my eyes. "Fine." She hugs me then disappears down the hallway.

I turn to Jarell and hand him the clothes. He accepts them and stands to get dressed although I wish he would stay in the towel. He drops the towel like nothing and quickly gets dressed. "Hailey... you didn't get me any socks." He smiles at me and I shake my head, snapping back to reality. "I'll grab some, you can go wait down in the kitchen." He kisses my forehead and then heads downstairs.

What the hell are we doing? My subconscious pipes up and I have no answer. He's definitely hot but we just met him HAILEY! "Don't you think I know that?!" I aggressively whisper to the air. With a huff I grab a pair of Nike socks out of my drawer and then quickly do my hair in two braids. When I get to the kitchen everyone is talking very loudly. "OH FINALLY! Storm please tell mr. shnoozefest over there that the best way to deal with a blackout hangover is to take three shots of tequila!" Sophia places an arm around my shoulder and I can't help but laugh. "She's right Rell. It's become a tradition in this house, shouldn't have came back with us if you couldn't handle it." I tease Jarell and he slowly nods.

"Whewwww!" The third shot definitely burned going down. Tia high fives me and I let out a laugh cause she almost falls off the counter doing so. "So where are we going to pig out on good food at this time?" Sophia excitedly asked from her seat. "Honestly I have to say this is the most fun I've had in my life." Stan says and I do a little dance. He laughs then joins me, pretty soon it's a full on dance party with no music. We all fall into the dinning room chairs and catch our breath. I notice Jarell looking at me with this far away look and I look away because the nerves in my stomach threaten to release the three shots we just took. "I have a idea for lunch guys."

30 minutes later the five of us are pulling into the parking lot of Poppa Pastrami, a hidden Italian restaurant that allows you to eat in a botanical garden. "This place is amazing." Tia says as we look at the scenery in front of us. The front of the restaurant is covered in ivy and these giant leaves, the building itself is made out of red brick so the colors together pop. We all exit my car in awe, we let Rell lead us inside. The air inside the restaurant smells like fresh flowers mixed with whatever is cooking. The twins and Stanley walk around exploring the restaurant while I stay behind with Jarell.

"This place is amazing!" I let my eyes wonder over the pictures lining the wall. His hand wraps around mine and I allow myself to let go of all my worries for now. "Hi! Welcome to papa pastrami's! How many?" A young girl asks us, I look at Rell who's smiling down at the girl. "And hello to you too Myra." The girl who's name is Myra, tries to fight the smile taking over her face. Jarell squats down so the pair are eye level. "Come on your still mad at me?" He frowns and Myra gives in and hugs him. "I'll go get my mom." She skips to the back and is replaced by a woman who looks exactly like her. "I'm sorry about Myra, at 10 she is full of energy all the time." I let out a small laugh, "Trust me I know." The woman introduces herself as Kim then leads us outside to the garden.

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