Eve

6

On the dock, Tanner was complaining that Milo had taken forever wrapping us up. It was Milo's fault for wasting minutes flirting with Eve. I could've been taking that time to flirt with her instead. ...Awkwardly flirt with her.

The four of us hop into the canoe, which I didn't realize would be so uncomfortable until I completely shut up and sat in the back of their conversation. I didn't realize I was actually this socially awkward when it came to talking with others besides Eve. Eve made me feel so at ease when it was just the two of us. And watching Eve so comfortable in their presence, I felt suddenly invisible to her, and it reminded me that I was only just a newly met friend. Seeing Milo warm her up with his playful words and his close body to hers, I realized that it was already too late to think there was any chance I could be in his place instead, even though that's all I wished could happen.

At one side of a lagoon, which was only a bit away from the docks, there was a slightly slanted muddy shore that lead up to a thickly forested patch. 

"There won't be any alligators, right?" I asked, peaking around the murky water as Tanner bumped into shore.

Eve turned around in the canoe to face me, her face had a smirk. "Why? You scared?" she teased.

I shook my head, gulping down what fear had grown in myself, "I was just wondering that's all."

"I haven't seen any gators around here. At least not when I went earlier today. I think we'll be fine," Tanner began helping us out of boat. I watched as Milo and Eve got their old flipflops dirtied in the squishy mud. To hangout with them, my expensive sandals were a sacrifice I needed to make.

Tanner helped me out after, watching my face distort into a cringe as mud and water leaked on my feet and between my toes. It took a bit of force to unstick my sandals and walk forward, following behind Milo and Eve as they made it to solid dirt.

We waited for Tanner to secure the canoe and lead us forward. He adjusted his ballcap and wiped his dirtied hands on the backside of his cargo shorts, "The treehouse isn't that far. It has a really nice lookout onto the lagoon."

"Is it built high-up?" Milo asked, trying to look for it in the thick treetops.

"Kinda," Tanner said, "Just enough to see over the trees."

He led us forward along a thin path, bating away a few overgrown plants that wacked us in the legs sometimes. I had to check my bare legs under my dress a few times, paranoid bugs were starting to crawl up them.

"Is that is right there?" Eve stopped in front of me, making me bump into her as I was checking the tip of my dress for dirt. I looked up ahead where her hand was pointed to. A small wood planked box house was hidden behind branches of leave covered trees. It was perched on one of the biggest trees in the distance. 

Tanner nodded, motioning us to keep going until we approached the base of the tree. An old ladder began at the bottom, a few steps broken out of mold and old age. I started to wonder if this was going to be stable enough for the four of us.

"Ladies first?" Milo asked, mostly looking towards Eve. It's not like he really cared about my presence either. Probably Tanner's presence too. He probably just wanted it to be him and Eve.

Eve laughed, gently pushing his shoulder, "No way am I going up that crappy ladder first."

Tanner looked to me, chuckling a bit at the situation too, "Lena?"

I shook my head, "I'm wearing a dress, I can't go first." I said, lucky that I had a good excuse.

"Fine. Sense y'all are a bunch of pussies," Milo shrugged, already grabbing onto the first ledge. It was annoying that he offered. Show-off. And now I suddenly wanted to go first.

I watched as he slowly crept up the ladder, checking his weight on each step before firmly grabbing hold and going up to the next. Seeing how it supported his weight, I felt a bit more comfortable about its sturdiness. Neither of the three of us were near his height at about 6 feet. 

"You guys should be good to come up," Milo yelled when he reached the top and hoisted himself onto the platform. He looked over the edge, "It's pretty beat up up here."

Tanner went up next. Then Eve, then me. The top of the latter was near the tops of the other trees. It ended in the center of the tree house's balcony, overlooking the lagoon and the town. Then the actual house was small, with two open windows and a few thick branches sticking through the sides. The structure was great, it's age was the only thing that had ruined it. Moss covered almost every inch and it was easy to tell mold was on the brink of collapsing a few important planks of wood.

"The view is so nice up here," Eve went straight to the edge of the balcony, her ponytail was slightly lifted by the breeze. 

I stood beside her, looking over the small town that somehow looked even smaller from this view. And when my attention shifted to Eve, the view became so much more beautiful.

"Be careful. That railing might not be that sturdy." And here came Milo, ruining our chances to spend time just as the two of us. 

I turned away from them as the mood became ruined. Tanner was checking out the walls and I watched as he accidently pulled down a loose plank of wood. "This treehouse has become so beat up. I'm not even sure it could be fixed at this point."

"I'd be down to try and fix it. It's worth a shot, right? And the setting is so cool," Eve said, turning from the balcony.

"You really want to try with this piece of junk? It's beyond fixing," Milo chucked, flicking some old bark off the edge to prove his point.

Eve shrugged, "I want to try at least."

The boys were shaking their heads, already given up on the treehouse. But, this made an opportunity open up for me, just the one I needed. "I'll help you, Eve. I think it's worth a shot."

"Really, Lena?" Eve grabbed my hands, her beautiful face lighting up, "I know some great places we can get materials. We can make it a little club house." She looked to the boys, "Girls only."

I blushed at that and the feeling of her soft hands in mine, even if they were dirty I didn't mind. Anything I wouldn't mind as long as it made her happy. I had never built something before, nothing like a large tree house. But, there were always opportunities to try new things.

"Whatever," Milo scoffed, "suit yourself." 

"You guys can borrow the canoe whenever. It'll help a lot for transporting the materials you'll need," Tanner offered.

"That would be great, thanks," Eve nodded her head to him. "Yeah, thank you," I added in. 

He just shrugged like it was no big deal. 

After that, the boys seemed to get bored of it, so we all decided to head back to the mainland. Milo insisted on driving Eve home, probably so he could spend some romantic time with her alone. I was happy to inform him I lived right beside her, and I saw him become paranoid, which made me the happiest I could be.

So I was last to say goodbye to Eve that evening. And when I did, even though I was a bit sad to see her go, I became joyful as I looked forward to the time when we could work together on the treehouse.