The Boy Next Door

ｎｉｎｅｔｅｅｎ

Rachel

"Hey Colton! You didn't tell any of us you were going to be in town this week. It is so good to see you." One of the people I didn't recognize said.

Colton let out a big sigh. He seemed a bit stressed out and overwhelmed. "I know I didn't. But what I don't know is why you are all here." Colton complained.

"Justin said that you wanted us all to come over." He explained.

Colton ran his hands through his hair. I was still out of sight behind him on the stairs.

"I never told him that. He was just supposed to watch the house. I guess I shouldn't have trusted him with that." Justin smirked. "Since you are all here, I guess you can stay." They all cheered in unison. "But you have to eat whatever I decide to make for dinner." He explained. "Oh, where is Sam?"

I figured Sam was one of his many cousins. I guessed that every one of the people in the living room was one of his cousins.

A few of them pointed to a boy running down the long hallway. When he reached Colton, he tackled him to the ground, revealing me. "Get off of me, Sam." Colton begged. He lifted himself off the ground.

"Hey Colton, can we invite a few people over?" Sam asked. "I'm sure they would want to hang with you again."

Everyone said no all at once. This kid was crazy. He looked to be about the same age as Colton, but sure acted much younger. "You guys suck. Can I go home then?" Sam asked.

"Come on Sam. Think about it. How often do we get to see Colton? Don't you want to stay for dinner at least?" Kayla said.

"He's making food! In that case, I'm staying!" Sam said, hopping over the back of the couch. The rest of Colton's cousins laughed.

"I've got to admit, Colton makes some killer food." Michael said.

They nodded in agreement. "I'm going to go get dinner started. We are working with the groceries you guys have provided me." Colton took me by the hand and quickly led me into the kitchen. I didn't even look at or acknowledge any of his cousins. He leaned against the countertop. "I'm so sorry about all of them. I didn't realize they were going to be here. I shouldn't have let Justin have access to the house. I just-"

I cut him off from his little rant.

"Colton, it's fine. Don't worry; I think it will be fun to have them here."

"Are you sure? I can get them to leave." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed very stressed and worried about them.

"I'm positive." I pecked his cheek, but he turned his head, catching my lips by surprise. "Sneaky." I said against his lips. He pulled away from my lips.

"I love you, Rachel." I felt my heart skip a beat. He said that he loved me. I let a breath I didn't know I was holding out. Those three words, those eight letters were something that we hadn't said to each other yet before. I've said those words before to other people, but it was a lie all those other times. Before, I did not feel how I feel now.

"I love you too, Colton." I replied. He smiled.

"I should probably start making dinner. You can go out there and talk with them if you want." He said, taking a box out of the cabinet.

"I think I'm going to go out there, introduce myself. Not that I don't want to be with you, it's just that I want to meet them."

"Oh no, I understand. I pulled you away before you had the chance to do that. I will check on you soon." He said.

I pushed the door open with a smile on my face. "Hey Rachel, sit here." Kayla said, patting the seat next to her. I sat down. The other cousins talked amongst themselves. "How was skiing?" She asked.