I decide to use a little more makeup than usual to cover up the slight sunburn on my cheeks in nose. Foundation, setting powder, brow gel, mascara, done. I brush out my hair and pull two pieces into a half up half down. Ali left out some vanilla perfume which i use with my apple scented deodorant. Walking out of the bathroom, i make my way to my bag and pull out some light wash jean shorts to wear over a white, high waisted bikini. I throw a white, long sleeved shirt on, too, before slipping into my flip flops and heading downstairs.
As i move down the stairs, the many voices from the kitchen and dining table area become steadily louder. When everyone comes into my line of sight, it's clear to see that I'm the last one down.
"There she is!" Emi says which prompts many head turns into my direction. The attention makes me blush.
"You guys should've woken me up when you got up," I stutter. My embarrassment is increased as I think about how long i took with my makeup this morning. Was everyone just waiting around for me?
"Hey, be grateful we sent Soren to get you before we left. Didn't he find you?" Robin chimes in.
At the reminder, I look up and meet Soren's shy eyes. I cringe inwardly and mumble an affirmation, breaking our eye contact as quickly as possible. I shuffle over to Ali's side and stand between her and Tess at the kitchen island. Everyone resumes their separate conversations.
"Hey, sleepy," Tess says and bumps my hip with her own.
"Hey, Tessi." I bump her hip right back. "So, what's the plan for today?" I ask the question as if anyone can answer, but it's really geared towards Ali. She's good at keeping track of things, so I know she'll know.
"We were thinking of going into town to get some brunch. I called ahead and they said they'd take our group. Then we'll probably split into smaller groups. You know, some for shopping, some for swimming, some for hiking. That sorta thing." I nod.
"Please tell me you guys also want to go shopping," I plead, even though I already know their answers. Ali and Tess would never miss a chance to go shopping.
"Duh," Tess says.
"For sure." Ali winks at me before turning to the group. "Guys, we better get going. Girls in my car, boys in Luke's." Ali marches ahead and out the front door with Robin in tow. He's complaining about having to be separated during the car ride and Ali is rolling her eyes, but I can tell she loves it. The rest of us follow and pack into the two cars. I get shotgun while Emi, Annika, and Tess sit in the back. Ali must've taken the roof off of her Jeep earlier this morning, for which I'm grateful. The wind makes it too noisy for me to join the backseat conversation so I close my eyes and just take in the salty breeze. It feels nice. Peaceful.
"We barely even talked last night," Ali complains after a few moments of silence.
"I know. We didn't even play a big group round of Never Have I Ever. I guess I was tired after the sun and the alcohol. What'd you and Robin do last night after I crashed?"
Ali blushes and keeps her eyes on the road with an extra amount of focus. "Nothing really..."
"Yeah, your expression really makes me believe that." I nudge her shoulder with my elbow. Ali glances in her rear view mirror at the other girls. They seem to be lost in a conversation about which YouTuber has had the worst scandals. I quirk an eyebrow at Ali with curiosity. Since when has she been prudish?
"Robin and I went on a walk over by the jetty and.... stayed there a little while." I can feel my mouth drop open and my eyes widen.
"What? How did that even happen?"
"I don't know! I'm usually a bed and closed door kind of girl, but being out in the dark when anyone could come by... it was kinda exhilarating," she gushes. I peel my eyes off of her profile and look ahead at the road.
I glance in the rear view mirror myself before scream-whispering, "weren't the rocks painful? And what about the sand? It already gets everywhere when you're fully covered I can't even imagine how bad it is when you're..." Just thinking about it makes me feel scratchy.
"I know, you would think! But honestly, I wasn't even thinking about any of it. It wasn't until I got back to the house that I noticed I was all scratched up."
"God, you're animals! It's like you can't even keep your hands off each other," I tease.
"I know," Ali says, a soft smile full of memories I don't know playing on her lips. She looks like the human embodiment of the heart eyes emoji.
I sit back with my face a little flabbergasted. Out on the jetty like that? That's pretty wild by my inexperienced standards.
"Hey, I guess I'm not complaining. As long as it's not in our room while I'm there." Ali giggles and I join in. I'm extremely grateful to have not been present for any of this. Like I said yesterday, there are some things besties just shouldn't experience together. Soon, the whole situation is too absurd and we're both downright wheezing.
"Whats so funny up there," Annika calls from behind.
"Nothing," Ali and I say at the same time but our cheeks are still red and smiles are clear on our faces.
Annika looks briefly disappointed before Ali adds, "I'll tell you guys about it later." The backseat girls seem appeased by Ali's reassurance and jump back into their own conversation. We share a quick glance before both returning our eyes back to the road, smiles as large as the cheshire cat's. Ali picks up a little more speed as we turn onto a mostly empty street and the wind becomes too loud for us to talk over. I lean my head against the window and watch the passing scenery, smiling the whole time.
"I want a relationship like yours and Robin's," I whisper, but the wind picks up my voice and no one hears me.
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...
