“Girls, we’re going to check in,” Mrs. Gambera said.
“Okay. We want to see the beach,” Kim said to her mother.
“Have fun. We’ll have your luggage taken to your room.”
As her dad tipped the porter who handled our luggage, he reminded her, “And don’t forget dinner is at eight.”
“We know.” Kim hooked her arm through mine and led me toward the beach. “You’re going to love the hotel next to ours. I scoped it out online. There is a bar on the beach that has a section dedicated to anyone under twenty-one. Plus… the guys here are hot.”
I grinned at her, but her big blue eyes avoided mine. “And we care about that why?” The casual shrug I received meant she was serious. “Hey…” I stopped and tugged her arm. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing.” She glanced at the ocean we were walking toward, appearing lost in thought.
Stopping her from trying to continue walking, I prodded, “Kim.”
Her head twisted back and forth in a frustrated way, causing blonde locks to bounce around her shoulders. “He’s leaving, Liv. Why prolong the inevitable?” I hated the loss that had so clearly been written in her expression. Although neither she nor Chase had ever pledged eternal love, nor had she ever admitted it to me, I suspected my friend had fallen for her boyfriend. I also knew, although he didn’t show it like Shane did, that Chase did care about her. But it was hard to see that through his enthusiasm toward starting UCLA.
Despite all that, I tried to be encouraging. “Plenty keep relationships going when college starts.”
“Come on, Liv.” She smirked and raised her brows. “You and I both know that rarely works. Maybe for you and Shane, because you have been in love forever, but Chase and I don’t stand a chance.”
“It doesn’t mean you can’t try.” There were no other inspirational words I could offer, so I instead squeezed her closer before we resumed our walk.
“Once he steps foot in California, he’ll never look back. Sure, he uses the excuse he wants to be an actor as the reason he chose UCLA to begin with, but I’ll never know if that is just a convenient explanation.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened had Shane wanted to go to a school clear across the country. I knew my decision had influenced his, especially since he couldn’t care less about getting a degree. But if his parents hadn’t pushed him, or if he had chosen a path other than music, would I have followed him instead? Probably. Thing was, Chase never asked Kim to follow. It was hard not to take that as a sign that he needed space.
“A few months ago,” Kim continued, “I wanted to spend every moment with him this summer until the very end.” She paused as we reached the spot where the weathered wooden pathway met the beach. Kicking off our flip-flops, we walked some more before sitting on the warm, powdery sand. “But now… I can’t help thinking, What’s the point? We can’t be together just because neither of us wants to hurt the other. Maybe if I broke it off sooner than later, we could enjoy these next few weeks without that weight hanging over us.”
Selfishly, I hated that scenario. We were the four musketeers. Chase and Shane were in the same band. They planned to play often over the summer, and not having Kim in the audience with me would suck. Even weekends at Shane’s beach house wouldn’t be the same.
Regardless of all that, my friend needed my support. “I just want you to be happy, Kim.” If ending things with Chase was what she wanted, then I wouldn’t try to dissuade her in any way.
“I know. Maybe I’m meant to meet the love of my life, and being with Chase is stopping me.” As I picked up a small shell and dusted it off, a group of guys walking along the surf caught her attention. “I just hope that Mr. McHottie isn’t waiting for me on this island as we speak, because I’m not a cheater.”
“No, you’re not,” I scolded.
The corners of her lips quirked up. “But I am a girl who would give her phone number to a guy that might live in Massachusetts where I so happen to be headed in six weeks.”
“Stop it. You’re not here to meet any Mr. McHottie.” I pushed into her shoulder. “You’re here to spend quality time with your best friend.”
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes yet went on to say, “But… if we were at a café and a guy across the room took one look at me and went stone-still because my beauty stunned him stupid… even you have to admit that may be worth straying for.”
“I didn’t realize we stepped into a Hallmark movie.”
“It could happen,” she said with a shrug. “You never know.” Her gaze swept over the beachgoers scattered around us. “In fact, Mr. McHottie could be out there right now, waiting to make eye contact with me.”
My exasperated grown caused her to grin. “You should lay off the romance novels.”
“What I should’ve done was ended it with Chase yesterday.”
“Yeah… yeah. My mom always says hindsight is twenty-twenty.” The back pocket of my denim cutoffs chose that moment to buzz.
Kim heard it and said, “Answer it. It’s probably your Mr. McHottie.”
“Hey.”
“Hey, baby.” The way his deep voice rumbled through the line flipped on my Shane switch. I really had it bad for him. Going into this vacation, I truly felt this separation would be good for us. After only one day, I hated how much I missed him. I knew being so entwined with Shane wasn’t healthy, but I couldn’t quit him. “We just landed.”
I loved that he called me the moment he had. “Okay, good. We only got here a little while ago ourselves. Kim and I are on the beach.” Knowing that Shane, Harrison, and Joey bumped Chase up so he could sit with them and not alone in coach, I asked, “Was Chase excited on the flight?”
“Yep. He was in freakin’ heaven. The dude ate his weight in first-class food.” I giggled, picturing it perfectly. “Love that sound. I miss you.”
“I miss—”
“Wait, hold on, baby… what!” Shane hissed in a sharp whisper before I heard a muffled voice in the background. “Tell her yourself, man.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
“Not you. Kim. He wants you to tell Kim we arrived.”
When my friend frowned beside me, I knew having the phone on the ear closest to her meant she heard Shane. “Let me go. We haven’t even seen our room yet. Call me later?”
“Okay. Love you, Liv.”
“Me too.”
“He can’t even call me himself,” she said the moment I tapped “End Call.”
Suddenly, Kim mimicked my move from earlier and pulled her cell from where it was tucked into her back pocket.
“Ah, see… he’s calling you,” I pointed out with a smile.
“Nope… he’s not.” She flipped the screen to reveal a text: We’re here. “I rest my case. You get a phone call, and I get a two-word text.” Shoving her phone back without responding, she then stood and dusted off her ass. “Let’s go unpack and get into our bikinis. I have boys to meet.”