Me & Mine

17. Of Hugs and Hunks

It is hot outside. The bright sun warms my skin and there's no cloud to be seen. I tiedmy hair up in a messy bun and put my sunglasses on. Amory is busy loading the truck with a picnic blanket, our towels, some food and drinks. I smile at him and throw my hands in the air. "This is going to be fun!" I say. Amory smiles back at me. He's wearing his red swim shorts and a plain white T-shirt. Ready for a lovely day at the lake.

"What time will the rest of the gang be here?" He asks and I check my phone for the time. "Harley, Ann and Richie will be here any minute now, Max and Travis will meet us there."

Amory throws me a bottle of water. I roll my eyes at him. He's always so worried about me staying hydrated in the heat. I turn around on my heels and throw my head back, letting the sun warm my face. "I still think we should take my car," I muse, "this is the perfect weather to ride that cabrio."

"You know I don't like driving your car," Amory says, leaning against the side of his truck, "so unless you want to stay sober enough to drive us back, we're taking the truck."

I stick out my tongue and fumble with the cords of the breathy black playsuit I'm wearing. I feel nervous. I never feel nervous. And feeling nervous makes me realize why I never feel nervous: it sucks.

"There they are," Amory smiles, gesturing towards Ann's car turning the corner. I smile and run down the driveway to greet them. Ann rolls down her window. "Hi!" She says and I lean in on the car. "Morning!" I say, Harley and Richie's smiling faces greeting me. "You guys all ready to go?"

They nod and I smile again. "Lead the way!'

I run back to the truck, where Amory is already sitting behind the wheel. He follows Ann off the driveway and in the direction of the lake. It's still early, not even past middag yet. The streets are quiet. I roll my window down and let the wind cool my face. Silently I take out and reread the goodnight message Max sent me yesterday. I take a deep breath and smile. Love, I repeat in my head, does he say that to all the girls he fancies?

"What's got you smiling like that?" Amory glances over to me and smirks. I shake my head and lock my phone again. "Just the thought of a quiet, relaxing day at the lake," I say quickly, closing my eyes, "remember the last time we had a quiet, relaxing day at a lake?"

"I don't think we ever had, little sis," he says softly. It was painful, but he was right. Our parents never took us on family holidays, or at least not on those you read about in books or see on TV. We had the all the money in the world growing up, and yet every vacation spent in a expensive hotel on an exotic destination only seemed to drive our family further apart. But Amory and I, we were rich, so we can't complain, right? I shake the thought off and focus on the road ahead.

"You know," I whisper, "I think the most fun we've ever had growing up, was that one Christmas when we got snowed in in the Aspen Highlands."

"I remember," Amory chuckles, "we had to huddle around the fire because the electric heating malfunctioned. Mother and father had no choice but to spend time with us."

"We had blankets and hot chocolate, and father read to us."

Amory sighs and rubs his chest, right above his heart. "Yeah," he whispers, "can you remember the book?"

I shake my head. "I was too little, I think," I say, "do you know?"

Amory shakes his head and focuses his gaze on the road ahead. Ann indicates a left turn and Amory follows her. We drive to a parking spot surrounded by trees and from afar I can see the hill. It's at the other side of the lake and a lot smaller than it was in the countless times I envisioned it in my head. I smirk and click of my seat belt, already forgetting about the conversation we just had. I jump out of the car and run towards Harley. She greets me with a hug and I nestle my head in her hair. She smells nice. She always did – and so does my pillow still. I smile and greet Richie with a hug too. "I don't think I've ever seen you so excited," Ann says before I drown her in my happiness too.