Not Interested

MILES

I finished dressing up in my fresh clothes, grabbed my bag, and walked right out of the bathroom.

“Miles! Over here!” Chloe waved her hand wildly from a large table across the resort's outdoor dining patio.

I looked around the crowded space. Ava, Amora, and Riley were sitting together at a completely different table on the opposite side of the patio, already eating their lunch. I let out a soft sigh as I walked over to join Chloe and Millie instead.

“I keep forgetting you guys are even on this family trip with us,” I said sarcastically as I slid into an empty seat at their table.

“Well, you never actually come over to check up on us anyway. You're always trailing behind your sister and her bestie,” Millie said, taking a large bite of a fried chicken wing from her plate.

I scoffed loudly. “You guys are the ones who are constantly keeping to yourselves,” I said. Without even asking for permission, I reached over and snatched the other chicken wing right off her plate, popping it into my mouth.

“Well, we just don't have very much in common with your sister,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes.

“And her bestie,” Millie chipped in right on cue.

“What about Amora?” I asked, relaxing back into the plastic chair.

“Amora… she is just so incredibly quiet and scared all the time. Why does she always act so terrified?” Chloe asked, looking genuinely confused.

I stared across the patio toward Amora. She was the only cousin in this entire family tree that I could actually tolerate. And yeah, she was definitely timid.

“Hey, there’s a massive party happening next week,” Millie suddenly said, breaking my train of thought.

“Let me guess. I’m a thousand percent sure it’s not even taking place in the country you and I actually live in, am I right?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh my goodness, Miles, you are just so incredibly boring!” Millie laughed, shaking her head.

I honestly didn't see what was so funny about flying out of the country just to attend a random party. “I can't go anyway. I have major college exams approaching very soon. It's my final year, and I have too much shit to handle.”

“I know you are always down for a good party, Miles. Just admit that you simply don't want to come with us,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes dramatically.

“Wow, you really can read my mind,” I said in a heavily sarcastic tone, leaning forward and stealing another piece of food right from her tray.

But just as I looked back up across the crowded patio, my stomach dropped. I saw the bulky guy from the bathroom walking directly toward Riley and Ava’s table.

Fuck.

I wished our tables were closer together so I could actually hear what the hell he was saying to them. I watched intently as he stopped right at their table and started talking directly to Ava.

My jaw clenched as I watched him pull out a chair. Why the hell was he sitting down with them?

“Miles?!” Chloe’s voice suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah?” I replied blindly, not taking my eyes off their table for even a single second.

“I was thinking, are you actually planning to live in your parents' house after graduation?”

“Why do you ask?” I asked roughly, my chest tightening as I watched the guy lean closer to Ava.

“Because I have a friend who is a real estate agent—or, well, I don't really know what he officially does—but he is currently looking for buyers for some gorgeous luxury properties.”

“I’m not interested,” I said flatly, my voice completely cold.

Over at their table, I watched the guy lift his hand and point his finger directly over at me. The gesture made Ava turn her head, and her eyes instantly locked right onto mine across the busy patio. She held my gaze for a long, heavy second before she finally looked back at the guy. She nodded her head at whatever he said next, and then she let out a full-blown, beautiful laugh.

What the hell was so funny?

“Miles!” Chloe yelled.

“What?!” I snapped loudly, turning around to glare at her.

“I was literally talking to you! Why are you so…” Chloe trailed off, turning her head around to try and see exactly where my eyes had been glued this entire time.

A massive smirk instantly spread across Chloe's face. “I fucking knew it,” she grinned.

“Knew what?” I asked, trying to sound completely clueless.

“You have a crush on her, don't you?”

“Who?”

“Your sister's bestie.”

“She has an actual name,” I said, my voice dropping into a dangerous warning tone.

“Right, sorry. Ava,” Chloe said, using her fingers to make dramatic air-quotes in the air.

“I’m not even looking at her. I’m looking at the random guy who is currently trying to talk to my sister,” I lied, crossing my arms.

Chloe turned around to look at the table yet again. “He’s not even looking at Riles, Miles. He is literally deep in a conversation with Ava.”

“No, he wasn't. You just saw it too late,” I snapped. To stop her from talking, I reached over, grabbed her cold drink, and took a huge sip.

“Hey! Give me back my drink!” she snapped angrily.

“Go order another one. Aren't you guys supposed to be millionaires or something?” I said, desperately trying to change the subject.

She huffed in annoyance and snatched Millie’s drink instead, which caused Millie to give her the exact same angry reaction Chloe had just given me.

I completely ignored their bickering and forced my eyes back toward Ava's table. The asshole was still sitting there, completely comfortable in his chair. He leaned in even closer to tell her something in a low voice, and whatever it was made Ava laugh so hard she threw her head back.

Watching her smile at him, I don't think I had ever felt any more irritated in my entire life than I was at this exact moment.