Snow on the Beach - S.CONKLIN

14

When we went to the store earlier, I bought some makeup for our Retro themed party along with a not too expensive matching outfit. Thank god I had my credit card saved into my phone otherwise I wouldn't have anything to pay with. Even if Cam offered to pay, I still refused. Now, I'm getting ready in the guestroom, sitting on the floor, in front of the window while I still have some of the sunrays coming through it. I stole the bathroom's compact mirror and laid it on the edge of the window to do my makeup. Nothing too fancy but I'm always too eager when it comes to themed parties, I've always like dressing up. I finalize applying the lilac eyeshadow before doing my mascara and eyeliner, Twiggy inspired. My hair is down, a white headband pushing some strands back. I put on the orange, red and blue striped flare pants and pass the jean halter top through my head and arms. I start hearing muffled voices behind my closed door, the boys must be ready so I look at myself one more quick time before heading toward the kitchen.

"Holy..." Cam's eyes widens as he spots me entering the room, the warm immediately getting to my cheeks as the boys' chatting stop and they all turn around. I pretend like I don't see him at the corner of my eyes and focus instead on Jeremiah approaching me.
"Damn, Nols." Jeremiah exclaims while I roll my eyes, embarrassed. He throws his arm around my shoulder to briefly hug me before walking us back to the counter, their chatting resuming. I can feel Steven's eyes on me, almost burning through the side of my face as my cheeks get even warmer.
"You look good." He says, causing me to look up above Jere's arms to meet his eyes and I can almost see the genuineness sparkling, making his pupils fully dilated. It's catching me off guard, the way he looks at me right now. It's the same when he stares at Taylor or when he was warming me up after getting out of the pool the other night. My mom always says that eyes never lie but his, they are... confusing.
"Thanks." I nervously smile, only one corner of my mouth curling up before returning my attention to anything but him. I gaze around the house, instead, proudly grinning at our work. Most of the rooms are decorated, there's Cam's DJ booth in the living room, neon lights everywhere and a disco ball hanging on where used to be the ceiling lamp. Bottles of alcohol, vodka or tequila or beer, are neatly aligned on the kitchen's counter for every one of our guests. There's a febrility making me feel slightly nauseous, I've never really been to these kind of parties before and now, I'm throwing one. It's exciting, I feel like I'm finally living the teenage experience I see in movies and read in books. Taylor excitedly skips through the kitchen before resting her elbows on the counter, leaning toward Jeremiah and I.

"Belly needs your help." She points toward me and I frown, confused.
"Is she okay?" I hear my voice sound higher, concern lacing it.
"She's fine." Taylor snorts, discarding any worry I could possibly have. "She's just being a little whiny about wearing Susannah's old roller-skates the right way, says you knew how to do it."
"Oh, yeah. I think I remember it." I smile before heading towards Belly's room, upstairs. Her door is open but I still knock on its frame, just to alert her of my presence. I wouldn't want to startle her while she's wearing the skates, probably leading her to fall on her ass. But this thought is quickly thrown away when I spot Belly sitting on the floor, grunting while trying to tie the skates the way Susannah always did when she would take us to the rink, just twenty minutes outside of Cousins. I slightly let the corners of my mouth rise, kneeling down in front of her. I know this night means more than a simple party, it's our way of saying goodbye, to Cousins, to the house, to Susannah too. Belly's head is dropped, her long hair hiding what probably is a defeated expression because of the roller-skates.

"Here." I say, gently grabbing the laces from her hands.
"You got Taylor's message." She scoffs, her traits softening by my presence.
"I did." I chuckle, removing the laces from the shoe's metallic holes and redoing the whole sequence, passing one end above the other instead of going under. "Sounded serious."