Chapter 5- Moving In?

-Veronica Langford-

It had been three days since I last heard from him—my sext buddy. Ever since the video call where we both masturbated watching each other, he hasn’t replied to any of my text messages. I had spent my time waiting for a response, staring at my phone, refreshing the app like a desperate, horny teenager. Every time my screen lit up, my heart would skip a beat, only to sink when it wasn’t him.

I had now become attached to someone I didn’t even know. The way he made me feel so good from just texts made me crave and look forward to his messages

But now, nothing. I felt pathetic, realizing I had spent the better part of three days waiting around just for the chance to hear from him so I could—what? Masturbate?

I groaned in frustration, tossing my phone onto my bed. This wasn’t healthy. I couldn’t keep living my life like this, trapped in my room, waiting for some stranger’s validation. I had to get out of here. See people.

I took a shower and got dressed in something casual– a simple tank top and short before heading downstairs.

When I headed downstairs, my mom was lying on the couch, watching N*****x with a cozy blanket wrapped around her legs. As soon as she heard footsteps, she perked up.

“Honey, come watch TV with me” she said when she saw me, patting the cushion next to her. “I’m watching this cute romantic comedy. You’ll love it.”

“Actually, I think I’m going to head out for a bit,” I said. “Maybe hit the beach.”

She raised her brows in surprise “The beach? You? Since when do you want to go outside?”

“Since now,” I said, forcing a smile. “I just need some fresh air.”

“Well, alright. Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, standing up. She looked really eager to come

“Nah, I’ll be okay. You should continue your movie.” I said, hoping she wouldn’t press further as I walked to the door

“Okay. Don’t stay out too late, okay? And don’t forget to put on sunscreen.” she said, sinking back into her seat

“I won’t,” I assured her, and then stepped outside into the warm afternoon sun.

That was so easy. I didn’t think she would let me go alone. My dad would never have agreed to even let me out of the house without following me or having someone follow me

The beach wasn't far away from the beach house, it was just a few minutes' walk. I finally arrived at the beach and it was a bustle of activities. People were everywhere surfing, some were dancing and most were just sunbathing.

I was particularly intrigued by the surfers and how they seemed to move so easily on water with their boards. I watched a particular

girl as she surfed, and she noticed I was staring at her and waved when she reached the shore. I smiled and waved back as she made her way to me

“Hi, I’m Adrianna” the girl said when she approached me. Her body was wet and her blonde hair was dripping with water. She switched her surfboard from her right hand to her left and then extended her right hand to me for a hand shake

“Hey” I replied, taking her hand. I was surprised by how quickly she noticed me and came over. “I'm Veronica”

“Nice to meet you, Veronica” she smiled widely. “You seem to be very absorbed in watching me, do you surf?”

I let out a light nervous laugh. Was this how fast people made conversation with others here?

“No. Oh no. I’m not a surfer. I'm more of a beach towel, sunscreen type of girl. I just love the way you moved in the water. It was fascinating”

“Awnnn, thanks. I have to say that you're missing out. There's nothing like riding those waves” she said, gesturing to the ocean.

I lifted my brows slightly, a small smile playing on my face, and she immediately knew why

“Erhhh, I didn't mean riding like..sexual.. I meant riding the waves with a board” she struggled to explain, her face slightly flushed

“Adrianna, I get it” I said with an amused expression and we both laughed

“But seriously, I think you should give surfing a try” she suggested

“Me. Hell no. I don't even know the first thing about surfing” I said, instantly rejecting her offer

“Don't worry, that'll be no problem” she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her

I have to admit, she made me feel comfortable, and I didn't hesitate, I just followed her

She stopped at a shade with numerous boards and a pretty boy in just shorts. He kind of looked like Adrianna

“Meet my twin brother, Adrian. He's the best surf teacher I know, and he'll be able to teach you everything you need to know to help you ride those waves” she said, giving me a knowing look when she said ‘ride’ and we both smiled to each other

“Is there an inside joke I’m missing here” Adrian asked when he saw both of us smile at each other, his eyes lingering on me

“Adrian, this is Veronica. She’s my new friend” she introduced me. Wow. That was fast. I was already her friend. Maybe I should be coming out more

“Hi, Adrian”, I waved, and he threw a nod my way

“Could you please teach her to surf?” she pleaded with him, holding his arm

“Okay sure. Any friend of Adrianna is a friend of mine. Common grab a board, rookie” he said, pointing to the piles of boards staked by the shed “meet me by the shore”

He picked a board and started walking towards the ocean

“Yesssssss!!” Adrianna exclaimed “You’re about to have the time of your life” she squealed

“Hey Adrianna. I don't really have a swim trunk. I didn't bring any. I didn't know I was going to surf" I whispered to her

“Ohhh. okay, just take off your clothes and surf in your underwear, and after we’re done you could take off your underwear and wear just your clothes back home. Problem solved”

That sounded okay to me. She stood infront of me, covering me as I took of my top and then my shorts, leaving me in just my bra and my panties

“Here, let me keep that safe for you” she offered and took my clothes from my hands, putting them in her bag

“Are you guys coming or what?” Adrian shouted across from us.

“Coming” I yelled back, super excited as I grabbed a board and followed Adrianna, running to meet him

Adrian thought me all I needed to know about surfing, but I couldn't learn everything in one day. It didn't matter because I was having so much fun with both of them, it took my mind off of my sext buddy

“Guys, I would really love to stay, but I have to be home by sunset” I told them after they begged me to stay till sundown

Adrianna pouted dramatically, crossing her arms. "Aww, come on, Veronica! You’re bailing right when you're getting the hang of it."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I promise I'll be back soon."

Adrian grinned, tossing his wet hair out of his eyes. "We’ll hold you to that. You still need to master standing up without falling over."

"Hey, I did stand up… for a whole three seconds!" I defended myself, laughing.

Adrianna pulled me into a quick hug after we exchanged numbers. "We’ll surf again soon, yeah? And maybe grab some ice cream afterward."

"Deal." I nodded, genuinely looking forward to hanging out with them again. I hadn’t felt this relaxed or normal in a long time.

Adrianna and Adrian had this infectious energy that made me feel like I could let go and just enjoy the moment, something I hadn't done in what felt like forever.

I quickly threw my clothes back on, waving goodbye to the twins before making my way off the beach. As I walked back to the beach house, I felt lighter, my earlier frustrations with my sext buddy fading into the background. For the first time in days, I wasn’t obsessing over my phone or waiting for a message. I had fun—real, tangible fun.

I still had a smile on my face when I opened the front door. I walked in to see a shirtless man with his back faced to me standing in the kitchen. The person turned around to face me when I shut the front door

It was Joshua

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes landed on his bare chest. My eyes swept across his broad shoulders and ohh, those biceps and abs. It was impossible to look away, even though I knew I should. I had to breathe—God, breathe, Veronica—but my body wasn’t listening. It was like my lungs forgot how to work in his presence. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like to run my hands on those abs

“See something you like, veronica?” he said in that low, teasing voice that made me weak at the knees

My cheeks turned red and i swallowed hard, trying to keep myself composed, but my body had other plans as I felt the heat in between my thighs

He leaned casually against the counter, the corner of his lips curling into that maddening smirk. "You're staring, Veronica."

I forced myself to blink, snapping back to reality. "I... I wasn't staring," I stammered, though the way my voice wavered probably didn’t sell the lie very well.

Joshua chuckled, his voice deep and rough. He walked into the living room and suddenly the living room felt smaller "Try not to stare too much. It might give you ideas.”

Ideas? Oh, I had plenty of those already. And none of them were good.

I scoffed and looked away, trying to focus on anything but his body. I looked around the living room and I saw boxes. I hadn’t noticed them previously because I was caught up with Joshua’s body

“Why are there boxes in the living room?”

“Sorry about that. I was supposed to take my boxes upstairs. I got hungry and decided to make something”, he said carefree and walked over to the living room

“Take your boxes upstairs? Why are your boxes here?” I asked

“I’m moving in or rather I’ve moved in” he laughed, “Didn’t your mom inform you?”

“What??!!” I shouted wide-eyed, my mouth agape

My heart raced as I stared at Joshua, trying to wrap my head around his casual announcement. He’s moving in? I repeated it over and over in my head like a broken record.

This was bad. Really bad. It was already hard enough to keep my hormones in check with him just stopping by every now and then. But now... now he was going to be here every day? Under the same roof? Sharing the same space? How the hell was I supposed to survive? I had to talk to my mom