august girls

chapter 2

Azalea

Lee has an exaggerated frown on his face as he drives down the Florida coastline.

"You're so annoying to drive with," he says as Cruel Summer blares in the background. I just wanted to set the mood for our summer road trip, and Lee just has to be adamant about his dislike for Ms. Taylor Swift.

"By the end of the summer, I will convert you to a full Swiftie. That's a promise," I say with a wide grin, watching him roll his eyes.

I know there's a part of Lee that regrets letting me ride shotgun on the drive. Some reasons include that I apparently "never stop talking," and that I don't have the music taste of a 17 year old boy. Oh well, he can suffer.

I also know that he regrets letting me ride shotgun, because his gaze keeps wandering to his rearview mirror.

Louise sits in the backseat, curled up in a large, fluffy white blanket that covers everything but her still, sleeping face. I find Lee looking back to check on her frequently adorable.

"You should make a move this summer," I say out of nowhere.

"W-what?" he quickly turns his gaze back to the road.

"You two would be such a good couple!"

"Dude, she's in the backseat, not on another planet!"

"Oh please, that girl could sleep through an atomic bomb."

Lee huffs in defeat, with no energy to deny wanting to make a move on her. Honestly, she might make a move first. I have never seen two more obvious crushes in my life.

"Yeah, well, what about that girl you were hooking up with last summer?" he questions me. "The one that lives down the road? Is that gonna happen again?"

"Definitely not. That girl's whole personality was wanting to be a player for the summer as entertainment."

Last summer, I had a short summer fling with a girl named Maeve who was all red flags. This summer is just for relaxing and spending time with my best friends.

The views outside the car window begin to turn familiar as we near Patrick's summer house. We pass our go-to soft serve spot, the surf rental shop, the small grocery store, and the liquor store, where they don't even ask for the returning kids' I.D.'s.

While most of our days in St. Augustine are spent in or beside the pool, and down at the beach, parties are not rare. There are too many teenagers nearby in large homes, unsupervised by parents for one to not be happening pretty much every week.

We pass through the town and enter where all the houses reside, closer to the water. Here, the trees are bright green, the few clouds in the sky are stark white, and many colorful bikes pass by our car.

Lee reaches into the backseat like a dad searching for a snack. "Louise, babe, wake up. We're almost to the house."

I smirk knowingly at the pet name Lee casually throws out. He sounded calm while saying "babe", but I know his heart is skipping beats, half hoping she heard it, and half hoping she didn't hear it.

Louise yawns dramatically, throwing her hands above her head, and tossing her long curls over her shoulders. 

Smiling with excitement for the coming few months, I turn my attention back to the car window, as we slow down and turn into a long driveway.

Up ahead lays Coral Cove, the Asel's large Southern bungalow style beach house. The tall palm trees and manicured bushes of brightly colored flowers frame the house perfectly. To the side of the house, the sandy path that leads straight to the beach curves through palm trees. 

Seeing this place makes me smile every time upon arrival, due to the fact that I've been spending my summers here since age 12. I can almost smell the chlorine from the pool in the back already, and feel the grainy floors from tracked in sand.

As I admire the house, a door opens on the car parked in front of us. A girl wearing a  crewneck sweatshirt too hot for the Florida humidity steps out, lugging a bag I know to be full of books. She looks up at the house curiously, with an adorable wide-eyed gaze. 

Brandy Lovett has just entered my summer plans, and I'm no longer sure I plan on completely relaxing anymore.

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a/n 
Azalea's little monologue about the house sounded too much like The Summer I Turned Pretty and I kind of did not like that book at all smh.