Bet On It | H. Styles

vii

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Six Years Ago

The end of June was approaching, the beginning of summer arriving just the same. So this called for one thing; Beach day.

To any other soul, this would just be like any other regular summer day, but for Patty, it was like being in a whole new universe. Patty was a big summer supporter. Loving the way the sun glistened against her brown skin. She loved the longer hours of sunlight. She especially loved visiting the beach more often.

Wendy never knew why her best friend was so obsessed with the beach. Sand stuck to you, the water (especially on Long Island) is disgusting, it always got way too over crowded. Albeit, Wendy loved the beach too. Just not as much. And not for the tanning aspect that Patty craved.

Wendy loved playing volleyball, especially on the beach, and she loved surfing. She never was the best surfer, but when her family had vacationed in California every summer, she made it her duty to learn how to become a good surfer. She never could show off her skills back home, seeing as how Long Island beaches were never the best for surfers. She'd try once in a while to catch a good wave, but they never stuck.

Unfortunately the Kane's weren't able to book their annual vacation this year. John and Katherine had to go off on another book tour, and this time it would take up most of the summer. So Wendy was going to have to deal with staying home all summer for the first time since she was about seven. Her older brother Adrian decided he wanted to go with the parents, seeing as how he wanted to explore the world a little more, and Wendy wanted nothing more than to stay home with her friends before they head off to college.

Patty was heading upstate to Albany, Derek was going to Philadelphia, and Harry (not a friend just part of the friend group) was going somewhere that she forgot. Something about going 'home to England' in a few months. All Wendy could think was 'So long!'

It took a lot of convincing on Patty's part to get her friends to come to the beach. She had suggested getting alcohol to win them over but surprisingly, none of them were persuaded. But after a week of nagging and complaining and compromises, the four were on their way to the beach, sending Patty over the moon.

She promised Wendy a game of volleyball, and some peace and quiet as they tanned. She promised Harry not to blackmail him anymore about her catching him masturbating once when they were fifteen. She promised Derek, well, very intimate things. All-in-all, Patty was a happy girl.

The whole car ride there, Harry was grumbling to himself, once in a while throwing out the term masturbation. He was also very unhappy because he was coerced into driving by Patty. Not to mention they kept playing some awful songs, and singing them quite loud just to piss him off.

"This is my car, and you're making me want to jump out of it," he hollered at the girls. They laughed at his demise. You would think Derek would be affected by the happenings in the car, but in fact he didn't mind at all. Nothing really ever bothered Derek. Him mad is something no one wants to see, and is something so very rare.

After some more tortuous songs and horrid dancing, the four arrived to the beach. As expected, even on a weekday like a Tuesday, the beach was swarmed with people. Mostly teenagers and mothers with young children, but there were the few people that needed to be at work rather than drinking a mojito on the beach.

"Um, Patty, how do you expect to play a game of volleyball when every net is occupied?" Wendy asked, throwing down her stuff onto the hot sand.

"Don't worry, Wendy. As soon as a group leaves, I'll snatch the court," Patty rolled her eyes, laying down her towel.

"You better," Wendy quipped.

Ogling eyes set upon the group of four. They were a good looking crew, so anyone who was interested, took a glance over. When they all started collectively stripping to their swimsuits, girls eyes bugged out looking at the boys (including some boys), and boys whistled to themselves glancing at the girls (even some girls). They knew they were hot, but they never fully basked in it. Well, Harry did.