it's just a crush

chapter 11 - june 2016

"How's this spot?"

Without waiting for a response, Chelsea dumped her heavy beach bag onto the sand and began unrolling her towel.

"It's a little close to the water, don't you think?" Hannah asked with a pout.

"It's fine," Meg replied. She spread out a blanket and placed her bag on the corner to prevent the wind from blowing it over. Kassam placed a small drinks cooler on another corner and dropped onto the blanket next to her.

Hannah harrumphed as she set down her lawn chair beside the blanket, then took the umbrella she'd been carrying over her shoulder and plunged it into the sand, propping it up with the chair and opening it up to create a large shady area around it.

"Make sure you all use plenty of sun cream," she said in a motherly tone of voice as she dug into her bag and pulled out a bottle.

"I'm going to tan!" Chelsea said, then pursed her lips as she looked out over the water. "Or maybe I should swim first?"

"There's plenty of time for both," Meg responded. She looked over at Kassam. "Wanna warm up with the frisbee?"

"Sure," he agreed, grabbing the frisbee and looking around for a clear spot to throw it.

Shannon came over, spinning her car keys around her finger, and set her bag on the blanket. "Frisbee? I'll join."

"Make sure you put sun cream on first!" Hannah called, but Shannon waved her off as she followed Meg and Kassam down the beach. They found an area near the parking lot where there was a large expanse of packed sand and no beachgoers in the way.

The three of them threw the frisbee around for a while, chasing after it when the wind carried it too far and blew it off course. People walked by occasionally, and once a dog picked up the frisbee and ran off with it before its owners caught him and gave it back. Eventually, they tired of the game and were sufficiently warmed up and ready to go in the water, so they returned to the blanket.

Chelsea was laid out on her towel with a relaxed expression on her face, while Hannah still sat under the umbrella, engrossed in a book.

"Anyone wanna go swimming?" Meg asked.

Chelsea sat up and looked out at the water, tapping her finger on her lips.

"It's too cold to swim," Hannah said.

"It wouldn't be if you weren't sitting in the shade," Shannon responded, placing her hands on her hips. "You should've played with us. Fifteen minutes in the sun wouldn't hurt you."

Hannah sniffed. "My skin is delicate."

"Whatever."

"I'll come!" Chelsea finally decided, scrambling to her feet.

The four of them ran towards the water, grabbing each other's hands as they burst into the waves. They squealed as the cold water hit them, but they braved it and kept going deeper until the water was neck-high and their bodies adjusted to the temperature.

"This is the life!" Chelsea exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air along with a few droplets of water. "We need to do this every week—ahhh!"

Her words were interrupted as Meg came up behind her and pushed her down into the water, and she came up sputtering. She spun around to see Meg laughing at her and gasped.

"I'm going to get you for that!"

Meg grinned as she swam backwards, staying just out of reach of the smaller girl before finally stopping to let her catch her and pull her down below the surface.