In Need of a Distraction

Cheyenne Morris laid in her bed staring at her ceiling trying to think of anything to do to get her out of the house. She should still be in Austin, she should be having fun this summer, not stuck at home with her parents. It was her own misdeeds that had her parents demanding she come back home. Finally free from her parent's strict thumb she had gone a little wild her freshman year of college. Too many parties, too many drinks, well that had been a recipe for disaster.

The once straight-A student found herself passing her first semester by the skin of her teeth. The second semester was no better. A continuous combination of late nights and skipping class had resulted in her being dropped from two of her four classes. There had been no amount of explaining that could talk her way out of that one.

Ed Morris, Cheyenne’s dad had always been pretty lenient on his daughter. She had come into their life after several failed pregnancies by his wife Rachel. Rachel however had always been the more stern parent out of the two. It was her that demanded Cheyenne come back home. As if her grades hadn’t been bad enough Cheyenne had gotten arrested with a minor in possession charge and if it wasn’t for her dad and his high-priced lawyer who knew how to look for loopholes she would have that on her record. Ed had chalked it up to kids being kids but Rachel wasn’t having it.

Sighing she rolled over onto her stomach looking at the mirror in front of her. Her long brown hair was wild and desperately needed a brush drug through it. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she had brushed her hair in the two weeks she had been home. Day after day she had twisted it into a messy bun. What was the use of getting dressed when there was nothing to do?

Cheyenne might have been raised in a small town but it had only taken a year of living in Austin to make her crave the hustle and bustle of the city. Now back in her hometown, she was bored out of her mind. None of her friends had come home this summer, and the ones that were would only be down a week or so. They had a few restaurants and a small convenience store but the closest retail store was a good 30-minute drive. Their small town literally consisted of a block, called the square, everything else was country.

Sure she could get up and ride her horse, maybe even go layout in the pool but she wasn’t interested in any of that. She needed something to help her pass the time. It hadn’t taken long for people to find out she was back in town and she had already had more than a few guys in her inbox. None of them had even remotely interested her. Half the guys she knew were still immature and annoying as hell. The other half just wasn’t up to her standards.

Getting up she decided she might as well get out of her leggings and T-shirt, put some real clothes on, maybe even do her hair and makeup and go anywhere but here. Right now her Aunt’s house was looking pretty good. That and she was pretty sure her cousin Tatum would be home. She wasn’t sure exactly what her punishment was supposed to be but she was leaning toward being bored to death.

June in Texas was already hot, hot enough that she forgo wearing jeans and put on her favorite pair of ripped shorts and a black tank top. After debating about whether or not to put on makeup she decided she might as well, there was a slight possibility that she might run into someone she would want to look good for. A quick run-through of her hair with a brush put it nicely back in place.

Sliding into her black flip-flops Cheyenne put her phone in her back pocket and exited her room. Her mom Rachel was in the kitchen. “It’s about time you finally came out of there.”

Cheyenne looked up at her mom as she opened the cabinet grabbing a glass. “It’s not like there is anything to do.”

Rachel watched her daughter pour a glass of tea. “You can always take Mr. Grubbs up on his offer and work at the shop a couple of days a week. Or your dad has told you I don’t know how many times you can help out in the office.”

Taking a seat at the bar Cheyenne rolled her eyes. She had worked with Mr. Grubbs while she was in high school. It was possibly even more boring than staying home, at least at home she could sleep. Grubbs owned a small antique shop that she had no idea how was still in business. Some days she wouldn’t see anyone, most of the people who did stop in came from out of town and just happened to see the sign while passing through.

Working with her dad was another story. At his office, you were secluded in a small space. Sure you would get some calls and have to relay them but her dad and his business partner only came in sporadically. It wasn’t her idea of a good time either.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to work. She had waitressed in Austin and had a pretty good stash of money in her savings from it. She just couldn’t think of anywhere she wanted to work now she was back home. She refused to work at the local fast-food restaurants. Wasn’t trying to work at the gas station, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to work at the flower shop.

“You can’t just sleep your whole summer away,” Rachel said. “You need to get your act together.”

Closing her eyes Cheyenne let out a sigh. She had heard this spill a thousand times since she got back home. Get your life together, get your priorities straight. Shit what she would do for a shot of whiskey right now.

“I know mom.” It was her reply every single time. She tried to remind herself that she was 19, she didn’t have to listen to her parents anymore. The problem was if she wanted to keep going to college she did. School wasn’t cheap, she had looked into it. Even if she went to the local community college like her mom had threatened she would have to pray for some kind of financial aid.

If she could just get through the summer without any problems she could go back to Austin in August with no problems. She needed to find something to do and find it quick. Anything to keep her mind off of everything else.

Hearing the back door open she saw her mom look up and smile. “Well, how did it go?”

“I told you I wasn’t worried about getting the contract. We had it in the bag.” Ed’s voice rang out. Cheyenne’s dad was part owner of the construction company in town. His best friend Nick owned the other half. They worked well together. Ed knew how to build anything you put in front of him. And Nick, well he was the brains behind the business and kept them afloat.

“Don’t let him lie, he was sweating bullets all day”, a voice Cheyenne hadn’t heard in a long time said.

Cheyenne turned around on her stool to see Nick Griffin leaning against the door frame. She had the biggest crush on him when she was younger and seeing him now she remembered exactly why. It had been almost two years since she had seen him. Her senior year he had been out of town working on a project and she had missed him every single time she had come home during the holidays.

Cheyenne found herself wondering if he couldn’t be the distraction that she needed. Seeing her looking at him Nick grinned, “you can’t tell anyone hi?”

Smiling back at him Cheyenne shrugged, “I was waiting on you.”

Rachel started talking again catching both Ed and Nick's attention but Cheyenne had her eyes on Nick. She knew he was younger than her dad, if he wasn’t forty yet he was close to it. It didn’t matter he was still handsome as hell with his brown eyes and sun-kissed skin.

She was still studying him when he looked back over at her. He tilted his head raising his eyebrow but Cheyenne just gave him a wink as she turned around to finish her tea. She had just found her distraction for the summer, now she just needed to get him on board.