"What? No. That's not how this works." She handed me the suit. "I'm jealous that you're already getting a tan."
"Well, at least it's not my boobs making you jealous anymore." I smirked, thinking back on all the times when we were younger when she would rant over me having boobs and her not.
"I have my own now, thanks." She lifted her eyebrow at me and smirked. "Wait... You're getting off subject."
"I think it's better if we do. I don't want another reason to feel like shit. Just drop it and we'll figure it out later. I'm not sure what I'm going to do." I tugged my shorts over my bathing suit bottoms and worked my hair into a short ponytail. "I should grow my hair back out. This shorter cut makes me look too young."
"You look great. You always do." She got up and stopped behind me in the mirror. "No more being bummed out, okay? Especially not if you think you're leaving us in a few weeks. Brody isn't worth all that. You guys didn't even date."
"Yeah, I know." I shrugged and reached over to grab a tube of ChapStick from the top of my dresser. "I just wish we would have. The sexual tension between us is so delicious. I haven't felt so aggravated over a boy in a long time."
"Aggravated? And, this is a good thing?" She laughed and walked to the door, opening it and watching me.
"Yeah. You know," I turned to face her. "Where you want him so bad it hurts, and yet you know it would be a horrible decision, so you act like a bitch and flirt a little here and there?"
"No. Sorry. This one is new for me, but it makes sense seeing how you've been acting the last week or so." She gave me a look. "Come on. Let's go have some fun and forget all of this shit. I didn't mean to snap at you out there. You mean the world to me."
"I'm sorry, too. Let's get out of here. No more moping. Especially not over the town whore." I left my phone on the bed, not interested in talking with anyone that might call or text for the next few hours. Brody was out of the picture from what I could tell, which was for the better. He'd made it quite obvious that he was interested in the chase, but that was all. Once I started to give in... He pulled back. Hard.
Funny how sweet he was at dinner, talking about the future and seeming genuinely interested in knowing more about me. All part of the game.
"There you guys are. We thought you were going to sleep the day away." Dedra stood up and picked up her towel. "You're starting to worry us."
"What? You guys are being mother hens." I grabbed my sunglasses off the table and walked outside, breathing in deep and deciding then and there that I was good. No more being upset about Brody. It was childish and stupid. Rejection stung like a bitch, but whatever. Maybe he was doing it because he wanted to save me from the havoc that he thought himself capable of reeking all over me.
"You look good in that suit." Cindy moved up beside me and wrapped an arm around my back. "And you know what?"
"What?" I glanced over at her and smiled.
"We can stop hanging out with the guys so much. There are loads of guys out here to hang out with. We're all being a little clingy with this group. It's getting old." She winked and released me.
"Are things not going well with the cowboy?" I chuckled and followed her down the stairs.
"No, they're good, but I'm here to meet lots of different people and have some fun. I'll settle down soon, but I'm not ready to do that over the summer, I don't think." She slowed down as I caught up to her.
"I agree." Dedra walked up on my other side. "Daniel and I are going to get a bite to eat tomorrow after I go to church, but it's just going to be a friendly date. Getting involved with anyone right now would be stupid, you know? A fling would be fun, but I think I need to keep it to that."
"Not me. Clay is exactly the kind of man I've been looking for most of my adult life." Emily skipped out in front of us in her short shorts and tank top and spinning around, which was so far out of character for her that I stopped in the middle of the road to watch her.
"Dear Lord... she's in love." I glanced at my other two friends as we cracked up laughing.
She turned to face us and put her hands on her hips. "Alright... keep it up!"
"We will." Dedra laughed and pulled me toward the boat. "Come on. You slept through most of the afternoon. Let's enjoy what's left of the sunlight."
I jogged down to the dock with them and moved to the front of the boat to lay out while someone else drove us around. The wind and waves stole my thoughts, and a few minutes later, all thoughts of Brody's rejection or my parents' demanding personas was all but gone.
"Hey. There's the guys’ red boat." Emily sat down next to me, forcing me to sit up and scoot over.
I blinked a few times and let out a yawn as I turned to see Brody in the boat with a pretty blonde in his lap.
"Is he..." I scrambled to my feet to try to get a better view of him. Was he making out with the girl? No, surely not. "Move closer."
"What? Why?" Cindy stood up and turned toward the island. "Oh, shit."
"Move closer to their boat,” I barked and moved to the edge of our boat, standing on railing. I had to extend my arms to keep my balance, and though I probably looked like a dork, I could not have cared less. I needed to see if he had already moved onto his next victim. Where it would hurt like crazy, it would be a good thing, too. It would force me to abandon the what-if game playing in my head.
We got close enough for me to see the blonde in his lap, and they were laughing, but not making out from what I could tell. Obviously, I'd missed that part. He glanced my way and his eyes widened.