Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Fourteen

I clear my throat and look away, feeling like I won't be able to breathe if I look into his crystal blue irises for another second. I'm thinking of something to respond to that, when suddenly I feel a hand on my arm.

Milo and I both turn to see Quinn, whose hair is slightly messy. "Josh is here," she says, getting close to my face, her breath sending fumes of vodka into my nose. I look past the people in the living room, and see Margalit having opened the door, and sure enough, Josh stands in the doorway, wearing a grey shirt.

I turn back to Quinn, fix her hair, and pat her shoulders. "Ok, you got this," I tell her.

"I am 100% going to embarrass myself, but whatever!" she says, giggling, and takes a step towards the living room, when suddenly the smile drops from her face. "Oh," I hear her say.

I follow her line of vision back to the front door, where Josh stands-- but he's not alone.

A girl is bent over next to him, and he waits while she appears to be fixing the strap on her sandal. When she straightens up, he smiles at her, whispering something into her ear while he puts his arm around her waist and walks into the living room.

I look at Milo, who doesn't seem to understand what's going on, then I look at Quinn. She looks at them for a second longer, then her eyes shift to me.

She smiles a little. "We really don't have the best luck with guys we like, do we?" she says. I see Milo frown, looking confused.

"Quinn-" I start to say, putting my hand on her arm, but she shrugs me off.

"It's fine," she says, shaking her head. "It's not a big deal."

I swallow, and then I see Josh heading over to us. I nudge Quinn, and plaster a smile on my face when he reaches us, his arm still around the girl's waist, the other holding a plastic bag with a bottle or two.

"Hey, guys," he says. "Party looks great."

"Thanks for coming," I tell him, a little awkwardly considering the girl on his arm has still not been introduced.

"Oh, right," he says, after she nudges his side. "This is Grace, my, uh, friend from home. I hope it's ok that I brought her."

She smiles brightly at me. "Hi," she says, her voice slightly higher than the average girl's. She's really pretty, with blonde hair up to her shoulders and a cute nose ring-- I wouldn't say it to Quinn but she also seems nice enough.

"Hey, yeah, no problem," I reply. I can see Quinn eyeing Grace, still not having said anything.

Josh's eyes flit to Milo. "Hey, Mike, right?" he says, nodding his head at him.

Milo coughs a little. "It's Milo." I look over at the living room, where Margalit is dancing with a couple of guys in our grade, and long to be over there; this atmosphere is just awkward.

"My bad," Josh says, and at this point Quinn walks away, in the direction of our friends. Josh looks at her retreating back for a second, and turns back to me, the slightest frown on her face. "She good?"

I feel Milo shift closer to me, and I feel the heat from his body next to mine. "Yeah, she's fine," I say, suddenly feeling the urge to punch Josh.

"Uh, alright," he says, and holds up the bag. "I'll take these to the kitchen?"

I nod, pointing him in the right direction. Grace gives me another smile, and I exhale deeply once they're gone.

"Ok, that was awkward," Milo says. "What's that guy's deal?"