The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 13

The next day, I woke up to the smell of sweet, warm blueberries. I knew it had to be either muffins or pancakes for breakfast, which also told me that Mom was feeling guilty about leaving us alone a lot. I slid my feet out from under my warm comforter, letting them dangle down my toes, brushing across the plush fibers of my area rug.

"Chelsi, you awake? Breakfast is ready," Sam said through my closed door.

"Thanks. I'll be down there in a few minutes," I said, walking over to my vanity table. I brushed my hair, then put it up in a ponytail. I grabbed a pair of fuzzy socks. I quickly went downstairs to get a muffin before Sam took her fair share of them.

"Morning, Chelsi." Mom handed me a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, and a blueberry muffin.

"Thanks, Mom. It smells amazing." I held the plate up to my nose and closed my eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of warm blueberries. "What's the occasion?" I asked, walking around to sit at the island next to Sam.

"Nothing. I wanted to fix breakfast for my girls." She smiled, walking over to the table to join Dad.

Dad was sitting at the end of the table, flipping through a stack of papers while taking a few bites in between. I didn't want to tell him, but I could see a few grays mixed in his dark brown hair. He looked over at Sam and me, not saying a word. Not a hi, good morning, or anything. Sam glanced over at me, whispering what that was about. I shrugged my shoulders. I was getting quite used to him ignoring me anymore. I could see the hurt in Sam's eyes as we sat there, finishing our breakfast in awkward silence.

"What are you girls going to do today?" Mom asked, cupping her coffee mug with both hands.

Sam said she might be hanging out with friends at the beach but wasn't positive. The moment beach escaped her lips, the thought of Easton yesterday on the beach popped into my mind. I closed my eyes, trying to get the image out of my head, but it was still there.

"Chelsi, what are you going to do today?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. Probably get some homework done before tomorrow." I said, popping the last bite of muffin in my mouth. I got up, put my plate in the sink, and made a mad upstairs to take a shower before I did anything else.

I wasn't planning on going anywhere, so I put on a pair of dark grey leggings and a burgundy short-sleeved shirt. I dried my hair in record time, throwing it up in a messy bun. I did a natural look for my makeup in case I decided to go anywhere later. I did one last look at my hair, then grabbed my phone to check the time. It was noon, and I sat there staring at my phone, contemplating if I should text Easton or wait a little longer. I didn't want to come off as needy, so I put my phone over on my bed and grabbed my books from my book bag. I propped my pillow up, then ran downstairs real quick for a drink to take back up with me. I was trying to keep myself busy so I wouldn't be tempted to text him. I was on my way through the living room when the doorbell rang. I started yelling; I had the door, not realizing I was opening it at the same time.

I peeked around the door. "Easton..." The corners of my mouth started to curl up in a smile. "How did you know I lived here?" I asked.

"I ran into Blakely at Lilli's this morning, and she gave me your address. I hope you don't mind me stopping by. I figured we could talk face-to-face about what you need me to do at school, " he said, standing there in tight blue jeans and a black polo with Lilli's logo on the left side.

"No, I don't mind." I found myself starting to stare at him like some creepy girl.

"Can I come in?" He asked, pointing past me toward the living room.

Warmth flooded my cheeks. "Yes, I'm sorry." I opened the door wider for him.

"Chelsi, who was at the door?" Mom said, walking into the foyer.

"Mom, this is my friend, Easton. Easton, this is my mom, Diane." I said, glancing between them.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Brock," Easton said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too. Please come in."

We followed behind Mom into the living room. She motioned Easton to have a seat, then asked if she could get him anything to drink. While she was gone to get drinks, I hurried up and apologized about my mother. She brought two sweet teas back, asking if we needed anything else before disappearing upstairs. I listened for a few minutes to make sure no one else was going to disturb us.

"Sorry about all of that." I glanced toward the stairs.

"It's fine. Your mom seems nice. Blakely was filling me in about them this morning." His voice was barely above a whisper.

I started biting the corner of my lip. "What did she say?" I peered over toward the stairs again.

"Just that they leave you and your sister alone a lot." He smiled. "I hate to be rude, but what do you need me to do tomorrow?"

I straightened up, wide-eyed by the abruptness in his voice. "We can start with something simple, like coming up and talking to me at lunch for the first few days. Who knows, maybe after that, he will back off."

"I didn't mean to sound so rude. Sorry. It's just I promised my mom I would be home today. At my house, I'm the one that's gone all the time." His jaw tightened, not affecting his smile.

"No, it's fine. I could've texted you later."

"I wanted to see you." He smiled, getting up off the couch. "You put me in the mind of my little sister."

Little sister? Wow, I put him in the mind of his little sister. That's the kiss of death. Not that I liked him that way, but a girl never wants to hear that from a hot guy. 

"Let me walk you to the door," I said, getting up off the couch. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye, Chelsi." Easton said, walking down the front steps. I closed the door, stood off to the side of the small window on the right, and watched him walk to his car. He paused for a brief minute before getting in it. His head started to raise like he was going to look toward the house, but he quickly opened his car door and got in. Without even thinking, I backed away from the window so he wouldn't see me in case he looked back at the house. He sat in his car for a brief minute, except this time, he did look back toward the house before he drove away. 

Author's Notes:

Wow...It seems Blakely is trying really hard to get Chelsi and Easton together. 

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