Silly Of Me

Chapter 1: Teasing

Elyse flops down the bench beside her brother, drinking the Gatorade bottle she brought from home. He pats her back, taking a deep breath so he can try and regain his regular breathing pattern.

“Good job Elyse,” he compliments her. “Always know how to show me just how old I am.”

“You shouldn’t use age as an excuse for your lack of abilities in basketball.” Elyse teases her brother, before taking a drink.

“I’ll let that go,” he playfully elbows her. “I don’t smell chlorine, where’s Gator boy?”

Elyse laughs at Jake’s nickname for Ryan. She’s not really sure where he is, but she’s pretty sure he’s swimming or causing havoc somewhere.

Ryan Lochte has been Elyse’s best friend for as long as she can remember. They met in pre-school, thanks to Ryan’s uncanny ability of accidentally kicking sand on people’s faces. Elyse punched him on the face, thanks to her older brother’s influence, and let’s just say their friendship, oddly enough, started from there.

“I think he’s at practice.” Elyse shrugs.

“On a Saturday morning?”

“Swimmers never rest,”

“Yeah, if you’re Michael Phelps’, but this is Ryan we’re talking about.”

Elyse smacks her brother. “Hey, no insults. Ryan works as hard, maybe even harder than Mr. Phelps.”

“Yeah, alright,” the two siblings stand up and make their way inside the home that they share. Their parents no longer live with them since they decided to move to Los Angeles after their father got a promotion that required for them to move across the country. The two siblings decided to stay at their family home in Florida since they were old enough to stay there and make their own decision. It’s definitely a blessing for them to have a big enough backyard to have a half-court basketball court.

Elyse sits by the island counter, her eyes drifting towards the microwave clock and sighs. “It’s so early.” It’s ten in the morning and she’s been up since seven, playing basketball with her brother. It’s been a ritual of there’s since they were younger to play basketball every Saturday morning. Before they would play with their father, but as they grew older, it was only the two of them going one on one.

As her brother cooks breakfast, Elyse goes to her room down the hall to check her phone out. She comes back to the kitchen, sitting at the place she just left, unlocking her phone. She has a few phone calls and text messages, all from Ryan. At times she wonders what he would do if she didn’t return any of his calls or texts for a whole day. She tried that once, but within four hours, Ryan was banging on her front door, panicking. Besides, if she did this trick today, he wouldn’t really worry, especially since he knows about her morning ritual with her older brother.

Hey, are you still playing basketball? I just got out of practice. I’m starving!!!!!

Elyse smiles, shaking her head. She replies to his text message, the smile never leaving her face. Her brother turns around, raising an eyebrow at his younger sister’s smile.

“Who you texting? You got a boyfriend I don’t know about?” Jake questions. “Dare I ask, a boyfriend Ryan doesn’t know about?”

Elyse has always wondered why Jake and Ryan never became as close as she and Ryan. Maybe it was because Jake and Ryan never really had anything in common or maybe she became Ryan’s friend first. It’s not like the two disliked one another, they got along well, they’re friends, just not close friends.

“It’s just Ryan, the crocodile in his stomach is acting up.” Elyse replies, her brother lets out a laugh.

“Yeah, not sure why I even asked if you have a boyfriend.” He shakes his head. “Not that I’m complaining, but you’ve never been interested in a guy before. Do you like women?”

Elyse rolls her eyes. She's used to getting that question - even from a couple of her friends. Obviously, there have been men who had caught her attention, but she never really bothered with any of them. Living in the small town of Gainesville, everyone knows one another. It didn't help that she was known as Ryan Lochte's tomboyish best friend. To the guys in town, she was just another one of the guys. She really didn't mind much. She rarely became friends with girls because they were always trying to change her. It wasn't the idea of wearing dresses, skirts and heels that repulsed her. She enjoyed dressing up occasionally. But she was more comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans. It didn't help that majority of the girls only wanted to become friends with her just to get to Ryan.

Girls were way too picky and full of drama. Guys on the other hand were straight forward. She preferred the bluntness over beating around the bush any time.

“No, I like guys, I just don’t bother telling any of you about it.” Elyse shrugs. “You and Ryan are too much to handle. I don’t want any guy going through your, um, so-called, initiation.”

“I just think if you were to date a guy, we need to make sure he pasts the test.” Jake responds. “Besides, you’re my only sister, I’m not going to let you date a douchebag.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Elyse sticks out her tongue.

Her phone vibrates. She unlocks it and it’s a message from Ryan. She told him that Jake’s making her breakfast.

Save a plate for me, I’m like five minutes away from your house.

Of course, don’t I always save you a plate?

“Ryan’s having breakfast with us.” Elyse announces.

“Of course he is,” Jake chuckles. “He should just live here, he’s always over anyway.”

“It’s okay Jake, you can admit your undying love for Ryan. You just want him to move in so he can be closer to you.” Elyse teases him.

“Definitely, I can’t go on another day without having my baby by my side.” Jake plays along.

Elyse shakes her head. “Okay, we can draw the line right there.”

Jake laughs, as he flips a pancake. “So come on, spill, what’s going on in your love life? I promise, no judgments or threats.”

“Are you capable of that?”

“Elyse, is there someone special in your life right now?” He turns around, crossing his arms over his chest. His sister is a beautiful girl, he’s scared off a couple of guys in the past without her knowledge. At times he felt bad about doing what he did, but those guys were obviously not worth her time if they were going to let him scare them off.

Before Elyse could even say another word, the front door opens and she hears someone call out. “Baby! I’m home!”

“In the kitchen, boo!” Jake replies causing Elyse to laugh.

Ryan walks in the kitchen, nodding his head at Jake, as he wraps his arms around Elyse. “Hey brat,” he greets her, kissing the top of her head.

“Hey,” she replies, patting his arm.

“What are you guys talking about?” He sits beside Elyse, feeling the tense atmosphere between the two siblings.

"About Elyse's love life.” Jake quickly responds.

Ryan frowns and turns to her. "You have a boyfriend I don't know about?"

"No!" Elyse denies and rolls her eyes.

“Are you even interested in guys?” Ryan will never admit it, but he breathes a sigh of relief upon hearing that Elyse doesn’t have a boyfriend. It’s not like he likes her or something, but he’s not good with sharing Elyse with other people, not even his own friends who get along well with Elyse.

“Of course I like guys,” she tries her best not to hit her lovely best friend. “Speaking of guys. Do you think I can get Phelps’ number?"

Ryan’s face quickly drops, while Jake bursts out in laughter, shaking his head. It’s not like Ryan hates Michael, but everyone who knows about swimming knows about the rivalry between the two swimmers. The fact that Elyse, his best friend, would even ask such a thing completely infuriates him. Of all the guys she’s going to be interested it, it’s going to be Michael Phelps? How dare she!

Elyse bursts out in laughter as well, seeing the look on Ryan’s face is simply priceless. “Oh man, you should have seen your face,” Elyse holds her stomach, trying to suppress her laughter.

“It’s not funny, Elyse,” Ryan glares at her, slightly pouting.

“Aww, I’m sorry Ryan,” she leans her head on his shoulder, hooking their arms together.

“Nope,” he moves away from her, turning his chair away.

Jake sees this and laughs. He continues to cook while the two friends try to move on from Elyse’s trick.

“Come on Ry, it was a joke. You know I’m not interested in Phelps.” That’s a big lie. A secret that she’s only told a selected few is her slight crush on Michael Phelps. It’s obviously not the fact he’s a celebrity, Ryan Lochte is her best friend. But there’s something about Michael Phelps she admires. He’s an amazing competitor and he’s a good looking guy. That’s not something she’ll deny.

Ryan turns towards her and narrows his eyes. “Yeah, you better not be.”

“I don’t understand why it would bother you if I was. It’s not like you hate the guy. Aren’t you two friends?” Elyse questions.

“We are, but I know how he is. If this is going to be the first guy you’re interested in, I want him to be worth your time.” Ryan reasons with her.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve been interested in guys before.” She knows it’s a bit wrong, but Elyse has been interested in other guys before. But they weren’t from Gainesville, the only guys she’s actually had something with was a summer fling back in California when she was visiting her parents. Her brother obviously knew about the guy, but she made a pact with him to never tell Ryan. It’s not like she was scared to tell her best friend, but it was something she wanted to keep to herself.

“From Gainesville?” Ryan raises an eyebrow.

“Some,” she shrugs. “Mostly like celebrities.”

Ryan laughs. “Ah yes, Ryan Gosling fanatic.”

“Hey, hey, hey, do not hate on Ryan Gosling just because he actually brings pride to the name Ryan unlike some people I know.” She pokes his cheek, turning her attention back to her brother. “I’m starving, are you almost done?”

“Yes brat, here are the pancakes,” Jake presents the two with stacks of pancakes. “Go get some plates and set the table.” He tells Elyse.

She turns to Ryan and pouts. He rolls his eyes and stands up.

“I’m the one who just came from practice, yet I’m the one who has to set the table?” Ryan takes three plates from the cabinet, grabbing the utensils as well from the drawer. He sets the table, while Elyse sits down by the table. He sits across from her and shakes his head. “Lazy ass.”

“Yeah, this lazy ass feeds you,” she replies.

“Correction, I feed both of you,” Jake interrupts, placing the pancakes, bacons, eggs, and toast on the table. “Ryan, please, don’t be selfish and actually let us have some of the food I cooked.”

Elyse and Ryan laugh as they pass the food around the table. Maybe you can call them a small family, but this is their Saturday routine. After practice, Ryan comes over, has breakfast with the two siblings and their day goes on from there. More often than not, they end up spending the rest of the day together.

“What are the plans for today?” Elyse asks the two men before her as they continue to stuff their faces.

Ryan shrugs, while Jake holds up his hand so she can give him a moment to chew and swallow his meal.

“I have to buy Jen a present, you can come with if you like.” Jake offers once his food is safely down his throat.

“Eww, mall,” Elyse cringes making Jake and Ryan laugh.

“How can you hate the mall? Women love the mall.” Ryan tells her.

“No wonder that’s your favorite place in the world.” She remarks, making Jake laugh, while Ryan rolls his eyes, but a smile still appears on his lips.

“Maybe you should come with me man, I need some advice.” Jake suggests.

“Sure, I got nothing else to do today.” Ryan shrugs. “How about you?” He turns to Elyse.

“Hold on, are you really going to ask advice from Mr. Lucky Charm’s shoes over here?” Elyse is obviously referring to Ryan’s lime green self-designed shoes. She has never let this specific topic go. How can she? The shoes itself is just completely horrendous. She has no idea what possessed her best friend to make such things and to add more to it, he puts his name on the bottom of the shoes.

Jake looks down at his plate, he bites his lips to refrain himself from laughing. He’s had his fair share of snide remarks towards Ryan about his shoes, but he’s moved on from that fashion choice of his. But Elyse just couldn’t let it go. Deep down, it was a nice pair of shoes; that you can have on display, not to wear for daily activities.

“Elyse, that’s really mean.” Ryan narrows his eyes at her causing laughter to come out of her mouth.

“I’m sorry Ry,” Elyse tells him. “If it makes you feel better, you definitely have a fashion style.”

“Yeah, it’s called fifty shades of green.” Jake adds on to the bag on Ryan train causing Ryan to roll his eyes at the two siblings. They can be a bit much at times, but he loves being around them more than some of his other friends. Maybe it’s the fact Elyse here, actually, he’s pretty sure it’s the fact Elyse is there.

“Jake! That’s mean!” Elyse defends Ryan, a slight smile appearing on Ryan’s face. He loves it when Elyse protects him. No matter what, this woman who is sitting in front of him will fight tooth and nail to protect him and he would do the same for her. “In fairness to Ryan, that shoe only has three shades of green.”

“Elyse,” Ryan whines. “My side, you’re on my side.”

“I am, I just said your shoes is only three shades of green.” Elyse picks up her plate, placing it on the sink before sitting back down. “You’re welcome.”

“Oh yes, definitely, thank you.” Ryan takes two more pancakes, four pieces of bacon and some scrambled eggs. “I don’t know why I put up with you two.” He says before stuffing his face with some pancakes.

Elyse laughs. “Cause no one else will put up with you.”

“Agreed,” Jake takes another pancake.

“Whatever,” Ryan shakes his head as he continues to eat.

“Back to serious matters now, Ryan is amazing when it comes to the women’s department, you should know that,” Jake tells Elyse, “which is why I want him to come with me to pick out a present for Jen.”

Elyse couldn’t argue with that. Ryan is amazing when it comes to women. It’s not like he even has to try. As much as she hates to say it, Ryan’s a good looking guy, though she’s not sure as to what everyone sees in him. He just winks at a girl, smiles, it usually does the trick. And when it comes to giving presents, Ryan is simply an expert.

“You would win endless of gold medals if hitting on girls is a sport,” Elyse says to Ryan.

Ryan laughs. “I know, I would stomp on Phelps if that was a sport.” Elyse laughs, shaking her head at her best friend. Michael Phelps is not a bad looking guy, she’s not sure why Ryan thinks that he would stomp Michael when it comes to girls. She’s certain that Michael Phelps has had his fair share of women.

“Michael’s a good looking guy, I don’t know why you always bag on him.” Elyse tells him.

“What’s up with the whole defending Phelps thing today?” Ryan looks over at her, her brother’s eyes on her as well. “You have a crush on him?”

Elyse feels her cheeks heating up as she clears her throat. “No, of course not, I’m just saying that you shouldn’t insult him as if he’s an ugly guy. He’s attractive, that’s all.”

“Elyse has a crush on Michael!” Ryan announces, pointing at her in a childish manner. “I knew there’s a reason you always want to come to my meets when you know he’s going to be there.”

“What? No!” A flustered Elyse exclaims, shaking her head. “I come to support you! I didn’t even notice Phelps till his name was plastered everywhere after Beijing.” Big lie, but Ryan didn’t have to know she had a small crush on Michael Phelps. She came to his meets to support him, not to check out his fellow swimmers. It’s just a plus that they were all attractive.

“Okay, I’ll drop this for now,” Ryan finally finished his food, standing up to place his plate in the sink. “What time are we going to head out?”

“Around two? I have a few errands to run and I know you want to get some sleep before going out.” Jake stands up as well, placing his plate in the sink. “Elyse, clean this up, I’m going to shower and get ready. Be ready by two.”

“I’m going too?” Elyse questions.

“Of course you are.” Jake walks out of the kitchen, leaving Ryan and Elyse to themselves. Ryan sits by the island counter as Elyse begins to clean up the table and wash the dishes.

As she washes the dishes, she slightly turns her head and finds Ryan playing with his phone.

“Aren’t you heading home?” Elyse asks.

Ryan shakes his head. “No, I was going to ask you if I can crash here.”

“You ask now? When did you become so polite?” She teases.

“Shut up, so can I sleep at the guest room?” Ryan questions.

“It’s practically your room, so, go right ahead.”

“Thanks Ely,” Ryan leaves the kitchen making his way to the guest room down the hall across from Elyse’s room.

Once Elyse finishes the dishes, she dries off her hands. A yawn escapes her mouth, fatigue finally hitting her. She makes her way to her room, opens the door, and lies down on her bed, but instead of feeling the softness of her mattress, she hits a rock.

“Ouch!” She yells out, rubbing her face, standing up.

She looks down and finds Ryan sleeping on her bed. He stirs, looking up at her.

“Why’d you attack me?” He questions sleepily.

“I didn’t attack you, I’m trying to lie down on my bed, but instead I was met by the floor.” She narrows her eyes at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the guest room?”

“Yeah, but I remember how much I like your bed better.” Ryan smiles before turning away from her so he can find a comfortable position.

Elyse rolls her eyes and makes her way over to her door to close it. Before she can, Jake appears, looking in her room.

“Is everything okay?” He asks her.

“Yeah, Ryan just decided to take over my bed.” She replies.

Jake nods. “I see, are you going to take a nap on the same bed?”

“I guess, I don’t like the guest room, creeps me out.”

“Should I be worried? You two sleeping on the same bed?”

“Jake, come on, this isn’t the first time we’ve slept on the same bed.”

“Yeah, well you’re no longer ten years old. Things are different now.” Jake cringes, not wanting to think of Ryan and his sister doing extracurricular activities on her bed.

“Eww, Jake, that’s disgusting. Ryan’s like my brother.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Elyse closes the door behind her, pushing Ryan as far as she can before slipping under her blanket. Ryan can be such a pain, but she’s lucky to have a best friend like him. Even though their friendship can be questionable at times, she knows where they stand. They’re best friends, nothing more, nothing less.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Amelia walks out of her room in the apartment she’s currently sharing with her older brother. She finds him sprawled out on the couch, watching television. Her eyes roll as she pushes his legs away so she can sit on the couch, once she’s settled, he places his legs on her lap.

“I’m starving,” she announces.

“Makes the both of us,” he replies. “But Aaron said he’s bring over some food so, we should be eating soon.”

Amelia nods her head. Aaron Peirsol is Chris, her older brother’s, best friend. They’ve been friends ever since sophomore year of high school. Amelia can’t say she’s surprised that the two have remained friends after all these years. Once they graduated, Amelia thought that their friendship would eventually fade away. Aaron opted to go to the University of Texas at Austin, while Chris chose to stay in California, attending UC Irvine. As soon as Chris graduated, he transferred to Aaron’s school for his Master’s in Architecture.

She was a bit bitter when her brother decided to continue his studies in another state. Amelia and Chris has always been close, at that time she felt like he was abandoning her, but she eventually got over it, especially since she decided to go to Texas for college. It may seem like she went to be near her brother again, but it’s just a plus her brother is there. Once she stepped foot on the campus, it just felt right. She didn’t want to leave, she wanted to explore every building, to hear every detail about the school.

Amelia is four years younger than her brother. She’s currently majoring in Government and is set to graduate in 2013. She’s plans to continue attending the University of Texas since she couldn’t leave the place. It’s her second home. Unless she gets in UCLA or Berkeley, she’s staying put in Texas.

“How was your last final?” Chris questions.

“Calculus is ridiculous,” she answers making Chris laugh.

“Remember, you wanted this challenge,” he annoyingly reminds her.

“Whatever mathematician,” she smacks his calf, making Chris laugh.

Mathematics is Chris’ field, that’s what he excels in, while Amelia excels in almost everything else but mathematics.

“I offered you some help,” he reminds her.

Amelia narrows her eyes, smacking her brother’s calf once again. “You’re a horrible teacher.”

“The teacher is never to blame,” Chris scoffs. “It’s usually the student who is incompetent.”

“Admit it, you’re a genius, but you’re just a horrible teacher.”

“And you’re a brat,”

“Great comeback,”

Chris rolls his eyes and focuses his attention to the television again. Someone knocks on the door, catching the attention of the two, but no one moved to get up.

“Go get the door,” Chris orders.

“I would, but I’m trapped under Godzilla.”

“So overdramatic,” he moves his legs, sitting up in the process.

Amelia stands up and answers the door, finding Aaron standing on the other side holding two bags. “Well hello there Mr. Peirsol, nice for you to visit us.”

“Always a pleasure,” he flashes her that irresistible smile.

He walks in the apartment, greeting Chris as he makes his way to the kitchen. Chris stands up, turning the television off, following both Aaron and Amelia to the kitchen. He finds Amelia getting some paper plates, while Aaron is taking the food out from the plastic bags. Chris sits on the north side of the table, Aaron on the east side of the table, and Amelia on the west side of the table.

"Took you long enough Peirsol," Chris comments as he takes some chow mien from the container.

"Well if you hadn't been such an indecisive little pansy, I wouldn't have taken so long," Aaron snaps back

"Pansy? I'll show you pansy after I eat."

"Sure you will. I'll be old and grey before you show me anything and if you had gone with me, I wouldn't have had to read off the menu six times before placing the order."

"It wasn't six times."

"No you're right. It was more like eight. And while I had to listen to you go back and forth between Chow Mien and Sweet and Sour Chicken and which you were more in the mood for. I watched two families be seated, eat and leave. Four people come in and place their orders and leave. Also I think Mr. Lee thinks you're my boyfriend."

“He’s not far from the truth.”

"Sometimes, I think you two are dating," Amelia pipes in as she grabbed a container. "I mean with all the butt slapping you guys do."

"B-butt slapping?" Aaron questions.

"During your basketball games? I mean, I know it's to be encouraging and all, but you guys seem to do it more than the other players." Amelia explains. “Nothing against it, just mere observation.”

"We do?" Chris chokes out in the middle of eating his food.

"Yeah, it really is okay with me. I mean, you guys should just admit to it then you guys don't have to tip toe around now." Amelia gives them a supportive smile. “I love you both, just the way you are.”

"Don't think I don't notice the way you guys are always texting each other and giggling into your phones when talking to each other," Amelia teases. She's fighting back the need to laugh as she watched Chris' face pale and Aaron stare intently into his plate of food. “Oh come on, I’m just kidding you two, jeez, it’s a haha joke.”

“You know like haha?” She restates, silence still hovering over the room.

"Yeah, you're hilarious Amelia," Chris replies dryly.

"So this would be a horrible time to suggest a game of basketball?" Amelia quietly states.

“Yes, brat.” Chris narrows his eyes at his younger sister.

“Oh come on, you’ve done worst to me.” Amelia retorts.

Aaron chuckles, joining in the conversation, “I can actually attest to that.”

“Aaron, my side, she was just bagging on us and as soon as she says I’ve done worst, you switch sides?” Chris asks his best friend.

“It’s not like she’s lying, you’ve done some pretty horrible things to her.” Aaron replies. “I should know, I was a part of most of your ridiculous ideas.”

Amelia laughs at the banter between the two men before her. She loves hanging out with them, there’s never a dull day with the two of them around. Then you add Ian and Brendan, the day just gets even better, especially when they bring their significant others with them.

“Amelia, did you happen to have the notes from the lecture last Wednesday? I missed class and I’ve been meaning to as you for them.” Aaron says to her as places some food on her table.

“Yeah, I’ll give them to you after dinner.” She replies.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, the three continuously giving a new conversation topic. Amelia feels blessed to have these two men in her life. Her older brother has obviously been a humongous part of her life, especially since her parents were rarely home, their busy work schedule isn’t exactly flexible. In her opinion, her older brother raised her. Their parents never had difficulty with the two siblings. Chris has always taken care of his sister, letting her tag along wherever he went, unless it was on a date or could place her in danger. It’s the main reason Aaron became much closer to Amelia, since Chris always brought her along. Because of this, Aaron brought along his younger sister Hayley and miraculously enough, the two girls hit it off. As soon as the two girls got into the groove of having the other around, it’s like their brothers cease to exist.

But the two boys absolutely hated taking their sisters to the mall. Exact details do not need to be given, but two words sums it up, teenage boys. For Aaron and Chris, the teenage boys can get a bit too “ballsy” as they say. When they thought they weren’t looking, when they were far enough from their younger sisters, some guys would come up to them, horrible at being subtle about it. The two didn’t usually intervene till they see one of the guys taking out their phones.

No number giving is going to happen under their watch.

Of course, there were some who got by their watchful eyes, but they couldn’t exactly protect their younger sisters all the time, they do try to make sure they’re always safe. For them, the further the boys are from their sisters, the better. But of course, everything changes when they get into relationships. Aaron and Chris didn’t forget about their sisters, but of course they had another woman to take care of.

Though, there’s only one guy that Chris has actually let through his defenses when it came to his sister, Aaron Peirsol. Cliché, but Aaron didn’t start liking Amelia till well into the friendship. At first, he saw her like how most friends of Chris saw Amelia, which is Chris’ younger sister. But as the years passed, he got much closer to Amelia and he became fond of her. He became much closer to her, thanks to his relationship with Amelia’s friend, Eva.

However, everything changed in Beijing. He can’t exactly pinpoint what happened, but it was after one of his races, Amelia was in the stands with his younger sister Hayley. As she stood there cheering him on, clapping wildly along with his younger sister, he saw her in a different light. Seeing her there, cheering him on immediately put a smile on his face, making his heart swell. The way he sees her changed from then on. Every time he was around her, he felt like a teenager, butterflies and all was there.

But of course, he’s never told her. Why? At first, Chris told him to stay away, saying his swimming career is what he should focus on for now. His sister deserves a relationship where she doesn’t have to play second fiddle to swimming. But in the long run, Chris has no problem with his best friend dating his sister, if anything, he thought it would be great. Problem is, Amelia believes in “girl code” meaning, she would never even try dating Aaron because he dated Eva.

After dinner, Amelia gets her notes for Aaron, bring it to him as he watches television with her older brother. She sets the notebook on the table, sitting on the arm chair beside the couch.

“Amelia, did mom tell you they’re going to Europe for the summer? They’re leaving next week, so obviously we can’t go with them. So I was talking to Aaron and he was saying that we should all go to London and watch the Olympics.” Chris suggests to his sister.

“Sure, are we going to trials as well?” Amelia questions.

“Yeah, if you want,” Aaron replies.

“It’s always fun when it’s an Olympic year,” Amelia smiles. “Is Hayley coming as well?”

“Of course,”

“Sounds good,” Amelia looks over at her brother. “Can I borrow five bucks? I want some ice cream and we’re all out.”

Chris laughs. “My wallet’s on my drawer in my room, get a ten and buy a couple of pints so we can all share. You know what we want.”

Amelia laughs, leaving the two friends alone.

“You’re not going with her?” Aaron asks.

“No?” Chris looks over at him. “Do I have to? Amelia is just going to the grocery store, she should be fine.”

“Chris, it’s late at night, I highly doubt it’s safe for Amelia to go out on her own.” Aaron argues.

Chris rolls his eyes, chuckling at his best friend. “Look, love boy, if you want to go with my sister, go right ahead. But I can assure you Amelia will make it home safely.”

Amelia walks in the room, slipping on her sweater. “I’ll be back, you guys want any specific flavor?”

The two men shake their heads, waving goodbye to her as she walks out the door.

“If something happens to her, it’ll be your fault.” Aaron warns him.

“I can live with myself I’m sure,” Chris laughs. “Aaron, I swear, you make me look like a horrible brother at times. You’re much more overprotective of her than I am. Can you imagine what would happen if you were dating her?”

“I would hardly see you then,” Aaron smirks.

“A sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Chris places a hand over his heart, taking a deep breath. “I’ll be happy as long as you’re happy with my sister.”

“Shut up, man.” Aaron smacks his friend across the chest, bringing laughter out from the both of them.

“Tell me, when are you going to ask my sister out? She’s not getting any younger and I honestly don’t want to have another guy come around dating her because you’re unbearable to be around when she’s dating another guy.” Chris says to him. “She’s not going to be single forever.”

“I know that,” Aaron sighs. “But the fact is, I dated Eva and your sister believes in girl code, so I’m pretty sure she won’t date me.”

“Girl code? What is she in middle school?” Chris rolls his eyes. “I’m telling you, just take a risk man. If she rejects you at least you don’t live your life full of what ifs.”

“I know, we’ll see. Maybe in London.”

“That’s too late, man up Peirsol!” Chris tells him. “You should take her to that swimming event next week, the auction?”

“Why would I take your sister? She wouldn’t place a bid on me.” Aaron replies.

“How are you so sure? Just take her man, I’ll have Elyse take care of everything.”

“Ryan Lochte’s best friend, Elyse? What is she going to do?”

“Would you just trust me?” Chris sighs, shaking his head. “Can’t believe I’m trying to hook my sister up, what has come to this world.”

Aaron laughs. He appreciates Chris’ help, but he’s certain Amelia isn’t interested in him. Well, he’s not sure and he hasn’t exactly been dropping hints to her. Maybe the charity event will help push things towards the right direction. If not, there’s always London.