Reaching Emma

31.

We were all pretty beat from the day at the beach, so we decided to watch a movie and order dinner from a nearby restaurant. Noah told us more about the big party tonight, so we made plans to go there after dinner.

David, Noah, Jay and I watched TV and made drinks while we waited for Anna and Emma to get ready upstairs. I wonder if Emma told Anna about what happened between us at the beach. I needed to stop thinking about it, but couldn't take my mind off of it. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Emma alone since then. I got up to make myself another rum and coke from the kitchen when the girls finally came downstairs to pregame with us before the party.

"Wow, you both look beautiful!" Jay complimented, handing them each a drink. "Oh Em, we invited Josh, Eva, and Amy over to pregame. Is that alright?"

"Otherwise we can just meet them at the party, if you'd prefer..." Noah suggested, it looked like he was trying to gauge Emma's response.

"Of course, they should come over! That'll be fun!" Emma said, "It's really not a big deal, Noah. Josh and I are still good friends. We were actually talking the other day" Emma assured Noah.

Noah and Jay nodded, while the rest of us had no idea what they were talking about. Anna nudged Noah's arm and whispered, "Who's Josh?"

Anna wasn't very discreet and Emma replied to her before Noah could, "Josh and I used to date, before I dated Jeremy. We're just good friends now" Emma said.

Anna didn't have a chance to ask any follow-up questions because we heard a knock on the door before it opened.

"Hellooooo! Anyone home?" A voice called from the other room.

"Come in!" Noah yelled. Two girls found their way towards the living room where we were all hanging out. They both had long brown hair, one was wearing jean shorts and a low cut white tank top and the other was wearing a short floral dress. I didn't recognize either of them from the boat today. Noah introduced them as Eva and Amy and they seemed really nice. Jay made them some drinks and turned on the music as they made themselves comfortable in the living room, asking us how we knew everyone. We explained our connection to Emma and learned that they met in LA, but both girls lived in New York now.

"Hey guys!" I heard from the doorway, looking up to see a man holding a bottle of wine. He had dark brown hair and was a few inches taller than me. He looked a few years older, he was probably about Noah's age. Emma stood up to give him a hug and we all said hello.

"Hey Em, you look incredible!" he said and handed her the wine.

"Aw, thanks Josh! So do you, I haven't seen you in ages!" she said, before turning to us, "These are my friends, Luke, Anna and David."

Josh greeted us and said hello to Jay, Noah and the other girls, who he already knew too. Emma and Josh seemed really close; he asked how she was doing and what she'd been up to recently. We hung out in the living room for a while, just talking and playing drinking games before heading over to the party.

We walked along the dark beach, everyone was talking loudly, likely a consequence of the drinks we had at the pregame. Anna was talking with David, Noah, Eva and Josh ahead of us while Jay was chatting with Amy next to me. I slowed down, matching pace with Emma who was walking a few steps behind everyone.

"I love the sound of the ocean," Emma said, listening to the calming sound of the waves. It was much quieter being just a few steps behind the drunk parade in front of us. Our hands brushed briefly and I took hers in mine.

"Me too, but I hate the sand." I replied.

"Really, why?" she asked.

"It gets everywhere! Once you touch sand, everything you own is sandy for weeks afterwards!" I explained.

Emma laughed at my frustration with sand even though we were currently trudging through it. She reluctantly agreed with me, not being able to think of enough reasons why she actually likes the sand. We walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, enjoying her hand in mine and the sound of the ocean.

We followed our friends towards a huge beach house. It wasn't until we were right outside that I could hear the loud music. The house had floor to ceiling windows facing the water and I could see people inside, drinking, dancing and talking in the living room and up the grand staircase. People were pouring out of the house. There was even an outdoor patio with the fire pits and a full bar.

We headed inside and made some drinks before exploring the house. I recognized a lot of people from the boat today and ended up talking with some new friends from our sand volleyball game with David and Anna. I didn't see much of Emma. I assumed she was mingling with some of her other friends.

I had a few more drinks and Emma made everyone take her favorite shots at one point. When I finally looked at my phone, I couldn't believe it was already so late. We decided it was time to go home after Anna got sick in the bathroom. David helped her walk back and Emma and Jay were leading the way, laughing and singing like little kids. I was walking behind them, talking with Noah about nothing in particular.

Anna went straight to bed, while the rest of us ended up making some frozen pizzas and hanging out on the couch; We didn't want to go to bed but ended up falling asleep on the couch anyways.

The next day I woke up with a sore neck from sleeping awkwardly on the couch. Emma was spread out between Jay and I; both of them looked barely awake, but were silently scrolling through their phones. I got up to get a glass of water only to find that Noah had already started making breakfast. Everyone slowly got up and had breakfast once the smell of bacon drifted around the house. We were all feeling pretty hungover today.

After breakfast I went upstairs to pack for our trip home today. I stuffed all my clothes in my bag and brought it downstairs for our flight that was in a few hours. Anna and David were helping Noah clean the kitchen when I came back downstairs. I looked around for the rest of our friends and spotted Emma and Jay outside on the wrap-around porch.

They were leaning against the railing with their backs towards us, looking at the ocean. I didn't want to interrupt them, especially since I knew how scarcely Emma got to see Jay since she moved to Wisconsin. Instead of joining them on the porch, I helped Noah finish cleaning up the kitchen while Anna and David went upstairs to pack.

I was really starting to like Noah. We actually had a lot in common, besides his business in the fashion industry and famous lifestyle, we were both interested in sports and liked the same TV shows and music. I guess it wasn't too surprising since Noah was best friends with Emma, and Emma and I got along really well too.

We spent the day traveling and didn't get home until later that evening. I was happy to be home, mostly because I didn't want to be traveling anymore, but wished that I was still on vacation. I had such a fun time at the beach with everyone, but was exhausted. I was glad that I didn't have to worry about school for a few weeks, that vacation was a perfect way to start the break.

I laid on my bed and pulled out my phone, looking at the photos that Anna took on our trip. I scrolled through the shared album she created and saved a few of my favorites. I forgot that we took a lot of them. There were some good group shots of us all standing on the boat. I set one of the group shots as my new lock screen and continued to look through Anna's photos. I stopped on one of just Emma and I on the beach. My arm was wrapped around her waist and she had a huge grin on her face, smiling into the camera. That was my favorite. I swiped to the next one and had to retract my previous thought. The next picture was a candid shot that Anna must have snapped just before we were ready; my arm was still wrapped around Emma's waist and she was leaning into my side. Instead of looking at the camera she was grinning up at me and I was looking down at her. I loved the way she was looking at me in that picture. I loved being able to make her smile.