Page 29 of Barron's Second Chance
Ryan gave out a small laugh. "Yum. Will do."
"Right!" He gave another wave of his bottle before striding back towards the huddle of men.
"I ain't eating that fucking dip," Sofia snapped before tossing the magazine aside.
She laughed without humor; her good mood had vanished.
She felt a hand rub up and down her back. "You alright, hon?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, I'm good." She moved to an empty lounger that had just been vacated, and set aside her drink. "Let's just enjoy ourselves," she suggested, trying to salvage the atmosphere back to lightheartedness.
"If I have to do that, I need another margarita," Sofia said, hopping up. "I'll get you guys another cider."
She murmured her thanks and grabbed the abandoned magazine, needing something to do.
Once Sofia returned, the mood picked up. She laughed and gossiped with her friends, her spirits high once again. More people filtered through the backyard, with some approaching to join their conversation. Kelly, ever the doting hostess, flitted about bringing plates of food and asking for playlists so that she could change the music up to suit the various tastes.
Music, laughter, and chatter floated about the air. Everyone was in a good mood, excited for what the summer would bring.
As the afternoon wore on, Eden abandoned her post on the lounge and moved through the different groups, catching up with people she hadn't seen in a while. Pretty soon, the novelty of having a famous model in their presence wore off, and she was thankfully treated like an average person. The only people she avoided like the plague was the group of young guys by the pool; her ex was amongst them somewhere.
Despite that, Eden was actually having a really good time. The atmosphere was jovial, the food was excellent, and the drinks flowed. Seriously, it was like the five loaves and two fishes in Kelly's kitchen. Just when she thought they ran out of something, Kelly seemed to conjure up a new bottle or spread.
Eden was in the middle of a conversation with Gavin's brother and his wife when her bladder protested. She had ignored it as she was too distracted by the exchanges happening around her for it to bother her too much. But, if she wanted to avoid a urinary infection, she had to break the seal.
As Eden headed towards the downstairs bathroom, her mom called out. "That's occupied, and there's a line. Go upstairs, honey."
"Use our ensuite," Kelly chimed in, wine in hand and a glassy smile on her face. Yep, this was a familiar sight, except now she was tipsy along with the adults. "The upstairs bathroom is blocked, thanks to Gav." The two women broke out into uncontrollable giggles, so she took that as her cue to leave. Those two with alcohol were a dangerous mix.
She quickly walked through Gavin and Kelly's room towards their ensuite. She always felt uneasy entering anyone's private sleeping space, so she hurried through the process. She surveyed herself in the vanity mirror as she washed her hands. A few tendrils had strayed from her ponytail and were fringing her neck. Kelly had bottles of sunscreen scattered around the house, so she regularly applied them; however, her face was a little red from the sun. She was going to have a nice summer glow soon.
She exited the bathroom humming a random tune before stopping short and sucking her breath in a sharp gasp.
Barron was sitting on his parent's four-poster bed, elbows on his thighs and head bowed. He looked up as she exited and gave her a small smile.
She paused for a second before striding forward. She assumed, hoped rather, that he was waiting to use the bathroom.
Barron stood as she walked past and touched her elbow. "Eden, wait."
Like she had been burned, Eden immediately pulled her arm back. She stared at her former love dead in the face for the first time today - no crowd or sunglasses to shroud them. Hazel eyes, which appeared more green at the moment, stared into her own before roaming over her features. His face held a controlled hunger that she had never seen before.
"What are you doing?" She took a step back from him.
"Can we talk?" He softly asked. He took in her body language and stepped back to give her space.
"No," she firmly said. She moved around him, marching straight for the open door.
"Eden,please."
She whirled around, fury tightening her features as she fixed him with a murderous glare. "What are you doing? When I spoke with you on the phone, that wasn't an opening for you to try and corner me for a chit-chat."
"I know -"
"We don't have anything to say to each other in private, so I would appreciate it if you would do as you said you would when I spoke to you, which is respect my space."
Barron held his hands up, his eyes shifting to the side in defeat. "Okay, okay, fine. I'm sorry, Eden."
The last of his sentence was said to her retreating back as she hightailed it out of there. Her hands were sweaty, and she was shaking with the fervor of an enraged woman. The feeling was so intense that she stopped at the top of the stairs to take a breath and shake her tightly held hands out.
