Shortly after the boys have returned to the house, Annika, Emi, Tess, and Connor join us in the kitchen. Ali, Robin, and I take on unloading the groceries. Emi, Noel, and Annika make patties out of ground meat while Luke cooks them. Tess, Connor, and Soren team up to make some sort of drink. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it seems to involve an entire bottle of vodka and a lot of laughing. Someone must've busted out their fake ID at the grocery store. I see Ali shoot a look to Luke and gesture towards the trio with the punch bowl. Luke looks over and sighs.
"Anyone who drinks even a little bit of that punch is not allowed to swim until the morning," Luke announces. "And morning means after a full nights sleep. Not just when the sun comes up."
"And that order comes from the top," Ali adds.
"Anything to appease Dan and Lydia," Noel says. Dan and Lydia are Ali and Luke's parents. They tend to be favorites of our group because they have an open door policy at their home and obviously because they let us highjack their beach house every summer.
I turn and put a carton of eggs in the fridge and think about the countless all nighters we've all pulled here. Well, almost all of us.
"Sounds like a fair trade to me," Connor says before ladling himself a big cup. He takes a big chug and then pours Tess a cup. Tess takes a sip and makes a face. Ali watches, amused, while piling snack boxes and bags of chips into a cupboard.
"That definitely needs more cool-aide," Tess states. I guess we're drinking jungle juice tonight, then. I turn back to the grocery bags and realize we've finished unloading.
"Guess were done," Robin says hopefully.
"Nuh-uh, you don't get to relax, come join the patty squad," Emi says. Robin groans but i pick up a chunk of beef. I'm glad to have something to do. Ali and Robin pick up their own chunks and we begin to roll and flatten out patties. Conversation fills the air. I follow along loosely and laugh at the parts I'm supposed to while letting my mind unfocus. I occasionally glance over to Soren to see if he's laughing, too.
After what feels like forever, every patty is cooked and everyone has a cooked burger (or two) with various toppings. We sit at the dining table, a long, rectangular structure made of worn wood that's been painted a worn turquoise. I sit between Ali and Luke with my paper plate and burger in front of me, keeping my promise to Annika and saving her a seat. In the center of the table, someone has put the punch bowl along side a stack of cups and a ladle. People are pouring themselves drinks all around. I look across the table to see who I'm sitting face to face with and see Tess with Connor on one side and Soren on the other. I smile politely at Soren and he grins back. Suddenly, Robin slides a solo cup over to me from the other side of Ali. The cup is nearly overflowing. I look up and he's smirking.
"Drink up, Mariella. Your alcohol police is miles away tonight," Robin encourages with a wink. I blush and Ali nudges him disapprovingly. I know Robin thinks it's just a silly joke, but I'm embarrassed that anyone even noticed how much Noah restricts my alcohol intake. He never even lets me get tipsy. As if I'm the one in the relationship who tends to make drunken mistakes. Ali looks at me with a clear "sorry" on her face. I pick up the cup, give her a winning smile, telling her I'm not sorry at all, and chug the whole thing.
"That's our girl," Luke says which starts a chorus of laughter.
"Everyone chug," Tess says excitedly. I pass my cup back to Robin who refills it and hands it back. I look back to Soren, this time with unwavering eye contact.
YOU ARE READING
The Beach House
Romance--completed- Mariella looks forward to going to the beach house every single year. She's gone with her friends for as long as she can remember. The same people, the same house, the same summer feeling. But this year something's different: her boyfri...
