Chapter Text
"Lia, are you sure we should be doing this?" Cassie hissed from beside her.
"Relax, Cassie, it's fine. You worry too much," Lia insisted. "Now, pass me the ice cream."
Cassie let out a sharp exhale but handed over the carton of rainbow sherbet regardless. Lia took a long scoop. Just when she thought she could finally watch in peace, Cassie opened her mouth once again.
"What if they catch us?" Cassie pressed.
With a roll of her eyes, Lia wagged her spoon near Cassie's face. "If they catch us, they catch us. Dean's your boyfriend and I'm sure you've seen him in much more compromising positions so I doubt he'll say anything. And Michael would honestly be flattered. So, really, there's no harm."
"What do we even say if they notice, though?"
"They're not going to notice. You of all people should know that my roof is a perfect hiding spot. People from below can't see up here."
"It's not your roof," Cassie pointed out. "Besides—"
"Do you enjoy watching or not?" Lia cut in.
"It's not about that. It's the fact that I'm invading his privacy," Cassie mumbled. Her cheeks flamed, a deeper red than the afternoon sun could account for.
"Which, as I told you, Dean wouldn't care about. If they wanted privacy so badly, they shouldn't leave the garage door wide open," Lia countered, scooping another spoonful of ice cream. "It's not like they're naked. They'll be fine."
"It just s—"
Lia silenced her by shoving the spoonful of ice cream directly into her mouth. "Cassie, seriously, shut up and watch the show or leave. Doesn't matter to me either way."
Frowning, Cassie pulled the spoon free, swallowed the ice cream, and shoved the utensil back into the carton. She didn't leave, however, which only confirmed Lia's theory: Cassie absolutely wanted to stay.
With their shoulders brushing against each other on the warm shingles, they peered down into the open garage. Dean always exercised here, which wasn't a sight Lia particularly cared about. Instead, her gaze was fixed on Michael, who was currently curling a weight next to him. They were technically "on" right now, but even if they weren't, Lia would still be up on this roof, silently ogling him.
It was hard to make out the exact details from their vantage point, but it was a good enough view. Michael reached down, tugging his black t-shirt up to wipe a bead of sweat from his forehead and offering a brief flash of abs. He had always been lean, but lately, Lia could tell what two weeks of working out with Dean had achieved. Every time they kissed and her hands trailed under his shirt or gripped his bicep, she could feel the cords of muscle tightening beneath her fingers.
When Michael first declared that he was going to start working out with Dean, she didn't quite believe him. Even Dean seemed a bit hesitant to join, but every day for the past two weeks, the two of them exercised exactly from five to six thirty in the afternoon.
Lia and Cassie didn't mean to spy on them at first. They simply noticed on one of their rooftop and ice cream talks, which turned into Lia proceeding to watch the next day and inviting Cassie to join her a couple days after. Sometimes she watched, sometimes she just got bored and slinked back inside. Officially, it was their third time spying, and though it seemed Cassie had some reservations, she still showed up each time.
Lia leaned closer, pulling her knees to her chest and propping her elbows on them. The carton of rainbow sherbet sat wedged between her shins, the only truly cool thing in the middle of the blazing afternoon. As the hot summer sun beat down, rapidly melting the sweet edges of the ice cream into a sugary syrup, the heavy contrast of the freezing cardboard against the humid air caused a layer of cold condensation to bead up, trickling slowly down Lia's bare legs.
"Do you and Dean ever go at it after his workouts?" Lia mused.
Cassie's gaze snapped up from where Dean was benching to gape at her. "You can't just ask someone that!"
Lia glanced sideways at her. "Is that a no?"
"It's an I'm not telling you," Cassie countered.
"Boring," Lia yawned. Personally, she thinks watching Michael has made him just a tad bit more attractive. "You know, seeing Michael like this might be doing things for me."
"I don't need to know," Cassie mumbled, looking back at the garage instead, trying to ignore her. Lia was fully prepared to ignore that comment and persist, though, especially if it made her uncomfortable.
"I think they're fighting," Cassie commented instead, successfully diverting Lia's attention back to the garage. Michael, eyes narrowed, was saying something to Dean, though his words were imperceptible given the distance.
"Seems like Michael's picking a fight and Dean's just listening," Lia corrected, leaning in. "Have a hunch as to why, Miss Profiler?"
Cassie observed them for a second. "I think Dean corrected his form."
Down in the driveway, the silent movie continued. Michael dropped the dumbbells onto the rubber mat with a heavy, deliberate thud that echoed up to the roof. He said something else, gesturing sharply with his hand, before turning his back on Dean to grab a towel. Dean didn't move an inch. He just crossed his arms, his expression unreadable from a distance, though both girls knew he was likely sporting that blank, infuriatingly stoic look of his.
"He's going to walk out," Cassie predicted softly.
"Five bucks says he doesn't," Lia countered instantly. "He'll stay just to prove a point."
As if on cue, Michael wiped his face with the towel, threw it over his shoulder, and stepped right back into Dean's space. He picked up a heavier set of weights, locking eyes with Dean as he started a fresh set of repetitions with an aggressive amount of eye contact.
Lia let out a low whistle. "Look at that. You owe me five dollars."
"I didn't shake on it," Cassie muttered, though a small, relieved smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She leaned back slightly against the shingles, the tension leaving her shoulders as she watched Dean nod once in approval before returning to his own workout.
After a few more minutes, the show was officially winding down. Dean tossed his towel into a gym bag and started wiping down the bench with a Clorox sheet. Michael was already heading inside, clicking on the garage door button, not bothering to help Dean with the clean-up.
As the motorized garage door began its slow, heavy descent, cutting off their view section by section, Cassie let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding the entire afternoon.
"Well, the curtain's closed," Lia sighed dramatically, dusting off her shorts and shifting her weight to stand up.
Cassie looked down at the now empty ice cream carton Lia had pushed into her lap, then up at the golden light of the sky. "Hey, Lia?" Cassie called before the other girl could climb back through the window.
Lia paused, looking back over her shoulder with an amused arch of her brow. "Yeah?"
"Same time tomorrow?"
Lia’s smirk widened, proud and entirely unrepentant. "Obviously."