Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Three

^^ photo of milo! ^^

"Heeeey, look who it is!" Sawyer exclaims, pulling me into his chest for a hug. I hug him back, smelling the strong odor of beer.

"Hey, Sawyer," I say, patting his back and pulling away, fully aware of Milo's eyes flitting back and forth between me and Sawyer. I feel my cheeks heat up as Sawyer openly checks me out, then gives Quinn a hug.

"Missed you guys," he says, his words slightly slurred. He finally looks at Milo.

"Hey bro, what's up," he says, giving Milo a fist bump.

"Sawyer, this is Milo, Emilia's new next door neighbor," Quinn introduces them. "Milo, this is Sawyer. He's in our grade."

They nod at each other.

"Come inside. Everybody was waiting for you," Sawyer says, putting his arm around me and leading us inside, where the lights are dimmed in the vast living room and people are dancing.

Sawyer leads us to the kitchen, and we all get drinks before heading back to the living room. I sit next to Sawyer, while Milo and Quinn chat.

"Damn, I missed you," Sawyer says, his eyes flitting around my face.

I smile at him. "Missed you too," I reply.

"What's been up with you? We never really talk when we leave here," he says, and I scratch my cheek, feeling a little awkward. "You still with James?" he asks.

I take a long sip of my beer. "Nah, we broke up like a month ago," I say, noting the way the corners of his mouth lift up a little.

We chat a little more, and I feel the six months we haven't seen each other for begin to melt away. Subconsciously we lean in closer, our faces inches apart. Then I hear her.

"Omigod, Emilia!" I suppress a groan when I hear the high-pitched voice getting closer.

"Hi, Krista," I say, standing up to give her a hug, my nose immediately overwhelmed by her strong perfume.

Krista Sparks-- typical it-girl. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, sweet smile. Filthy rich, and she could probably get any guy she wants. We're friends, I guess, but there's an air around her that makes you suspicious of her overly-sweet attitude and tendency to act like everybody is her best friend. Overall, I try my best to avoid one on one situations with her.

"I missed you soooo much," she gushes, and I smile back a little awkwardly, telling her how I missed her too.

Thankfully, Quinn chooses that moment to swoop in, introducing Milo to Krista. I note the way Krista's eyes look him up and down appreciatively, and how her hand lingers on his tan bicep. "Em, come to the bathroom with me for a sec," Quinn says, interrupting the introductions. "I kind of have a, uh... problem," she says, wincing a little.

"Sure," I say, saying bye to Sawyer and Krista, leaving them on the couch. Milo stalks off to another group of our guy friends.

"Thanks for that," I say. "Is it ok that we left Milo?"

Quinn shrugs. "He pretty much hit it off with Alex and Noah before, so I'm sure he'll be fine. How were things with Sawyer?" she asks.

I sigh. "Just when I thought things were going somewhere, fucking Krista comes in. It was almost like she did it on purpose," I reply. Quinn rolls her eyes.

"Whatever. You'll have another chance later tonight," she assures me. "Let's go to the basement. People are playing pong, and we're not drunk enough."