With everyone back from their various activities, we decide to go watch the sunset on the jetty a little ways down the beach. We all bring towels to use as blankets in case it gets cold and the boys bring a some vodka and capri suns. Very adult. They walk ahead while us girls take our time so Annika and Emi can dish about their "not" double date.
"...and then Luke took my hand and kissed me on the cheek," Annika concludes with a floaty grin.
"And Noel put his arm around my waist practically the whole time," Emi adds.
"If you guys pull an Ali and have sex on the jetty tonight, I'm officially puking," Tess says.
"Tess!" Ali jabs her in the shoulder but laughs along with the rest of us. Ali filled them in earlier on the whole jetty thing and i'm glad to report that i'm not the only one with logistical questions.
"You're right, it would definitely take more than that to get me. As long as you don't have a foursome, I think my dinner's safe," Tess amends.
"I'm gonna kill you if you don't shut up," Annika warns through and shoots a glance ahead of her.
"Seriously, the boys are way too close to be saying all of that, Tessi," Emi adds, eyeing Noel cautiously.
"Let them hear! Maybe they'll actually do it. I'd like to see them try."
"You're so gross, Tess," Ali says, laughing.
"You love me," she replies.
"Both things are true," says Ali.
We finally reach the boys at the jetty and set up our towels to be able to watch the sunset. The girls all go with their matching pairs and I linger awkwardly on the sides. I'm not in much of a party mood and I definitely don't feel like third wheeling a pair of crushes. I end up watching the sky next to Robin and Ali. They're the easiest to be around because they're not nervous around each other. I glance occasionally at Soren who is chatting with Tess and Connor. I wonder if they're talking about that Bella girl. I wish I could ask more in a way that sounded normal. We pass around the bottles of alcohol a few times and I can sufficiently say I've drunken more than I should've again. Instead of the normal airy feeling I get from drinking, I feel thoroughly numb. If I were to describe my emotional state with one word, it would be desensitized. The vodka suppresses all my feelings and my body feels tingly.
Attempting to jumpstart my emotions and act like a normal human being, I think back to my conversations last night. This proves to be the wrong idea, because the more I think about my talk with Soren, the more absolutely, horrendously embarrassed I feel. I can't believe I went on what I'm assuming was an incomprehensible rant about cheating and virginity to him. I literally admitted to an almost complete stranger that my entire self worth rests on the opinion of boys. I probably looked like a complete idiot getting worked up about the entirely wrong aspect of Noah cheating on me. I should've been more focused on just the general betrayal and losing him, but instead I made it weird. Well , I guess it was already weird anyways. I feel like crawling up in a ball and never opening my eyes again. Maybe he'll suffer a random burst of amnesia and forget everything i spilled about. I really hope so. But you know what they say: hope breeds eternal misery. Why did I even start thinking about this again in the first place? I think numb was better than mortified.
I stare into space while thinking about my colossal stupidity before snapping back to the present. I notice the sun is almost completely hidden behind the water, and my eyes are having trouble adjusting to the darkness. I glance around at my friends and notice that everyone except for Robin, Ali, and Soren have gone back to the house. Robin and Ali seem absolutely wasted, which weirdly sobers me up a bit.
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...
