Afflicted

"Well... yeah," I laughed. "He's gotten insanely fit. Like he must have spent the last six years lifting weights and he was always stupidly good looking so

, yeah."

"I want to see him," Lacey said excitedly.

"Well why don't you come over later then?" I offered.

"He's coming to your house later?"

"No, I just thought we could... look out the window at him or something." I laughed as I realised I was suggesting spying.

"Okay then, I'll come and join your perving club. But only because you said he's insanely hot."

"I didn't say insanely hot! And you're the one who wants to get a better look," I laughed.

"Are you talking about me?"

I twisted around and spotted Spencer leaning on the playground railings.

"What makes you think that?" I asked as I stopped swinging and stood up.

"I'm pretty sure I heard you saying the words 'insanely hot' and I can't imagine that was about anyone else." Spencer smiled broadly as he flexed his muscles. His fair hair looked golden in the sunlight and he'd pushed it back in a new style which made him look older than usual.

"Who's insanely hot?" Ryan asked as he joined Spencer at the fence.

"Kaitlyn's next door neighbour," Lacey said as she hopped off of her swing too. "Or so she says - I've yet to check him out for myself."

"That guy who was lurking outside last night?" Ryan asked, his face falling slightly. "He's old though, You prefer men your own age, don't you Kaitlyn?"

"Are you boys calling yourselves men now then?" I joked as we made our way out of the playground. "I must have missed the memo."

"If Ryan hasn't managed to prove his manhood to you yet then I'm sure I could convince you." Spencer winked at me and I laughed.

"I'll bear it in mind. Have you heard anything about Devlin?”

“I'm waiting for his brother to text me with another update. They've said he's stable but that's about it.” Spencer frowned worriedly.

“I'm sure he'll be alright,” Lacey said warmly, squeezing Spencer’s arm.

We started to walk across the park towards the lake and Ryan pulled me close as he pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Where's Reese?" Spencer asked. "I thought he'd have walked down with you?"

I suppressed a groan at the mention of my brother's name. I hated that we hung out in the same social group now. I never got five minutes away from him anymore.

"He's got a huge thing for Ms Seymore and he couldn't bear the idea of missing her class so he went into school," I said with a smirk.

"Isn't she the one with the moustache?" Ryan laughed.

"Well he still can't grow one for himself so I think he likes it," I said.

Spencer laughed loudly enough to startle a duck that was sleeping nearby. It quacked angrily as it headed down to the lake and I couldn't help but laugh too.

"How long do you think the water will be out?" Lacey asked. "We could head into Harbour City tomorrow if school's still shut. Last time I was there they were finishing work on this insane looking mall. One whole skyscraper dedicated to shopping."

"Sounds good, I'm up for it," I said.

"The commute to the city sucks now, I don't think I can handle it," Spencer said. "Especially for a shopping trip."