Hunter blinked as she ran toward the water. A small smile spread across his face as she finally hit the water. She was so carefree. So fun-loving. He was both happy for her and jealous of her. He finally sighed and studied the ground before going back to the bags. He hauled them up to the porch and walked into the house. It smelled of saltwater and sea breeze. As he walked he could feel a thin layer of sand beneath his shoes. He took a few steps in and slipped off his shoes and socks. He put the socks into his shoes and set them neatly by the door. He dug around in one of the bags and pulled out a pair of flip-flops. HE cut the tag with his pocket knife and tossed them on the ground. He quickly shoved his feet in and set out to explore the house.
The floorboards creaked quietly under his feet. He glanced around the weathered interior of the building. “Needs paint. Should probably sand the floor.” He said quietly. He walked around the first floor and found the kitchen. He cleaned out the fridge and went back to where he put all the bags. He grabbed the ones with food and brought them into the kitchen. He put away all of the food and put the bags in a drawer in the kitchen. He walked out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs carefully. “Sand the stairs and replace…this board.” He said as he climbed. “And this one.” He said with a sigh as he took a mental note of what needed to be done. Hunter took a deep breath and continued to explore the second floor. He followed the wall until he found a bedroom.
He walked in and looked around. There was a large bed with a canopy, accented by white and gold etching on the bed posts and frame. There were Greek characters on the wall that, after a little bit of translation, he recognized as the characters that spelled out ‘Arabella.’ Next to the window there was a picture of a beach. He took a step closer and read the caption. “’Aphrodite’s Rock.’ This is definitely her room.” He said quietly. He smiled gently at the appearance of the room before exiting. He went down the stairs and grabbed the bags with her clothes in them and brought them back up to her room. He walked out again and turned to follow the wall again. He opened the door and found a bathroom and a master bedroom. He finally walked to the last room and found it similar to Arabella’s, but the décor was different. It was definitely male. “Must be her brother’s.” He said quietly as he examined the room. ‘Tyler’ was posted on the wall in big lettering. There was a twin bed with blue sheets covered in a thin layer of dust. There was a desk in the corner and a stereo on a dresser up against one of the walls.
He slowly climbed down the stairs and grabbed the remaining bags of clothing. He turned toward the stairs just as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned just as Arabella leaped. “Arabella, wai-OOF!” The clothes flew out of his hands as she tackled him to the ground.
“I told you. FIVE minutes.” She said, looking down at him from her position on top of him. “You’re not even in your swim trunks.” She said with a sigh.
“Uhh…” was all he could manage from his current situation. A wet, bikinied Arabella had just tackled him and was currently straddling his stomach. His cheeks were so red; he thought they might burn his face. “Would you mind not getting me wet? I liked this shirt.” He said quietly. She giggled and proceeded to wring out her hair on his chest. He sighed. “I moved your clothes up to your room and I figured I could sleep in Tyler’s room. Is that okay?” Arabella shrugged and patted his chest casually.
“Yeah, sure. As long as you don’t mind sleeping on Star Wars or…Star Trek sheets. I can’t tell the difference.” She said with a giggle. Hunter blinked up at her.
“They were blue.” He said gesturing toward the room. Arabella cocked her head at him.
“I was being…Never mind. Come on.” She said as she stood up and reached out a hand. Hunter took it and stood up with a thanks. “Come on. Get in your trunks.” She said, reaching down and tossing him a pair of trunks. Hunter caught them and cleared his throat. He stared at her for a minute before gathering up his clothes and walking back up the stairs. “You have two minutes!” She shouted up at him with a grin. Hunter rolled his eyes and made his way to his temporary room. He quickly switched into the swim trunks she had thrown at him and left the room again.
“You know, this house needs a lot of work.” Hunter said taking a quick glance at everything. Arabella smiled up at him and grabbed his hand as he stepped off the bottom step.
“Come on!” She said as she dragged him out of the house.