When Natasha and Miles walked into Susannah's beach house hand in hand, they made heads turn and hearts throb. Jeremiah, Belly, Steven, and Taylor (whom Tasha assumed had arrived at Cousins earlier that day) were spending time in the pool, sharing laughs. Tasha guided Miles to the edge of the pool, sitting down so her feet dangled in the water. Miles copied her, slinging an arm around her shoulder as the two watched the ripples in the water. Soon after, Conrad walked into the backyard from the side door, the girl from the bonfire in his arms.
Tasha's mind began to spin, regardless of the fact that she was completely over the Fisher boy. Didn't he say they broke up? Didn't he push her away at the bonfire, telling her he wasn't interested? Whatever was the case, Tasha disregarded the two, making conversation with Miles.
Conrad and his little girlfriend sat down by the edge of the pool as well, but it had only been a little while before the volleyball the teenagers in the pool were playing with collided with the top of Nicole's head, leaving her clutching her forehead in pain. Apologies immediately spewed out from between their teeth, but Tasha was holding back laughs from where she was sitting. She knew Nicole was just being dramatic, that the plastic, air-filled volleyball couldn't have possibly caused so much damage.
"Let me see it." Conrad pried the girl's hands away from her head and examined the spot the ball had hit, obviously not seeing a thing. "Let's go inside. I'll get you some ice." Tasha scoffed at his actions as the two got up and headed inside.
"Oh, Nicole. That looks so painful." She turned to Miles. "Wanna come with me to my room so I can look at myself in the mirror some more?" Her eyes locked with Conrad's, smiling at him so slyly his heart did cartwheels in his chest. Tasha grabbed Mile's hand, pulling him up and she herself stood on her feet, and the two made their way inside, rushing up the stairs to the girls room.
"What was that all about?" Miles asked once they had collapsed onto her bed. He looked around at her room, his eyes drifting from the lace curtains around her tall windows, and the photo of her and Conrad on her nightstand. Tasha caught him looking at the photo and walked towards it, picking it up and tossing it in the waste bin by her desk, earning a shocked expression from Miles. "What the fuck happened beetween you two?" He paused waiting for a response, but decided to add more. "Unless, of course, you don't want to tell me. I completely respect that decision, too."
"We're not on the best of terms right now." Tasha gave him a small smile before taking her place next to him on the bed, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap. Miles thought for a while before speaking.
"Is it because of me?" He asked this cautiously, looking at Tasha with curiosity. "I'm sorry if it is. I didn't know that us being a thing would ruin your relationship with Conrad." He said this all very fast, as if afraid to produce complete, coherent sentences.
"No, don't worry. Conrad's just being a bitch." Tasha laughed. "Also, I never knew we were a thing." She moved closer to him, their shoulders now touching.
"I mean, I'd like it to be. If that's what you want." His timid posture turned into one of complete dominance as Miles sent Tasha a smirk, his hair flopping down in front of his eyes. Tasha smiled back, nodding quickly before crashing her lips onto his. She felt his hands travel up to the back of her neck, holding her in place as their lips moved in unison, both smiling through their teeth.
"I would love to be a thing." Their lips connected again, and when they broke apart for the second time she asked. "It's also kinda my birthday, and my family has this birthday dinner every year. I would really love it if you stayed for that." She looked up at him through hooded eyes, almost pleading because she knew Conrad would be there. She knew that Miles and Tasha sitting oh so close together, laughing and staring at one another with adoration would send him into a spiral of regret and anger. And in all honesty, that was exactly what she wanted. To show Conrad Fisher that she didn't need him. She never did.
