"A party?" Cindy snagged shotgun on the way back to the house, which was almost comical. She rarely sat up front, but seemed to be in a rather playful mood. "We've been here two weeks without an invite and you guys show up and get one your first day? No fair."
"Stop bitching and be grateful. You wanted us to bring the party with us, right? Well, we did." Emily chuckled in the backseat.
"Cora, there's the basketball court. Let's go check it out later tonight after dinner. Yeah?" Dedra reached up and pointed, tapping the window beside me.
"Absolutely." I stopped for a guy jogging in a pair of tiny shorts. "Wow."
"Nothing to ogle over. If a guy can wear shorts like that, then he's not got much to hide, you know?" Dedra dropped back in her seat.
Cindy smirked and turned to look into the backseat. "Not like your chocolate man, right?"
"Homeboy was packing something in his swimsuit. I could see it from the boat. That, ladies, is why I almost wrecked the boat."
I snorted and laughed, pressing my hand over my mouth. "I swear you guys are worse than boys most of the time."
"You love it," Cindy smiled over at me. "You want me to show you how I make this homemade lasagna we're having tonight? I know it's your favorite, and there will come a day when we don't get to do this anymore."
"Do what?" I glanced at her quickly before turning my attention back to the road. I'd never been more nervous driving a two-mile stretch of road. There were more people than trees, plants, and animals combined.
"Get together as a friend group," Cindy shrugged, but I could sense a change in her mood.
"Don't start this. We get to do this sappy shit at the end of the summer, not the beginning," Emily spoke up. "Besides, we'll always be friends. Tell me about the party and the guy that gave you the invitation, Cora."
I nodded and reached over, squeezing Cindy's hand as she teared up. "He was totally your type. Lanky, brown hair, rich, baggy clothes."
"Ha-ha," Emily reached up and tugged at my hair, causing it to fall from the makeshift bun I had it in. "Was he cute?"
"In a little boy way, yeah." I shrugged and released Cindy to put both hands back on the wheel. I pulled up in the driveway to the house and let out a short sigh. "One of you guys is driving next time. That was stressful."
"We can walk, too, you know." Dedra got out and stretched as I climbed out of the car and took another deep breath.
"I need to find a quiet place to sit and think. I've been waiting for this vacation all year." I closed my door and leaned against the car as my eyes moved across the faces of people walking by.
A cute guy waved and nodded as he called out, "Hi there."
"Hi." I smiled and turned back to the car as my cheeks warmed. I wasn't shy or a prude, but tucking myself away from the possibility of dating for the last few months had me feeling like a virgin again. Madonna started to play in the recess of my head, and I rolled my eyes at myself as I helped with the groceries.
"Did baggy brown-haired boy have a name?" Emily moved up beside me. "Were there any pleasantries exchanged or did he just spitball the invitation to you and run like hell?"
I chuckled. "You're so dramatic. Are you sure you don't want to look into something like acting? Your science degree will be used against you if you get all exaggerated like you always are."
"Whatever. Did he have a name?" She opened the door as Cindy and Dedra walked in ahead of us.
"Yeah. Cliff, maybe?" I walked into the kitchen and sat my stuff down before nabbing the last cookie on the plate.
"Clint." Dedra glanced over her shoulder as she worked to unpack one of the bags of groceries. "He was cute. Totally your type, Emily."
"Cliff? Where did you get that from?" Emily shook her head at me. "I swear you're losing brain cells, or maybe you writing off guys really is going to work this time."
"She hasn't written off guys," Cindy said as she bent over to pull a large pot from the cabinet beside the stove. "Get this."
I walked over and took it from her. "Want me to put some water in it?"
"Yeah." She stood up and put a pan on the stove, looking at me over her shoulder. "You haven't given up on guys, right?"
"No, but I'm not actively looking, either." I walked toward the sink and started to fill the pot up as I glanced out the large window in front of
me. A guy was pressing a girl to the side of my car, laughing and touching her face. "What the..."