Blame It On the Beach

Chapter One

^^ picture of the marshalls' hamptons house ^^

"Almost there, girls!" my dad says. We exchange excited looks.

"This is going to be the best summer ever!" Quinn squeals, and I smile, nodding.

"We're going to have so much fun at Finn's, get super tan," I drop my voice a little, "go to the best parties and get really fuc-" My mom cuts me off.

"Of course you're going to have fun, girls, but don't forget about college essays!" she reminds us in a singsongy voice. "Mrs. Criston told me her son really regretted not taking the time to write them over the summer and leaving them all for the beginning of the year."

Our grins fade at the reminder of our inevitable college apps. "Oh yeah," I say in a deflated voice. "Can't wait."

"Of course, Nora, we definitely plan on getting a bunch of college essays done while we have the time to," Quinn says sweetly, and I raise my eyebrows at her, refraining from rolling my eyes at her faked goody two shoes attitude. She shakes her head, laughing a little, and I know that we probably won't get any work done in the end.

It's Monday, July 1, and that means summer has really begun. My family (and Quinn) is driving out to my summer house in Southampton, where we'll be spending the next month and a half. It took a lot of begging Quinn's mom on our part for her to be able to spend that much time with us, but the fact that we got jobs at Finn's Ice Cream Joint, and have been best friends for six years, definitely helped convince her.

I feel a nudge at my side, and look over at Quinn. She gestures to the window, her eyes brightening with her smile. I turn my head to follow her finger, and I'm immediately mirroring her smile. The sign that reads "Marshall Hamptons Home" is right ahead, the red paint slightly faded against the wood. I grab Quinn's hand, and she squeezes as my house comes into view.

I feel excitement blooming in my stomach at the view of the house, which I haven't seen in more than six months, since we came for a week over Christmas break. Everything looks the same-- the slightly overgrown bushes, the dark grey tiles of the house, the lavender growing in the garden, the tree swing in the yard slightly swaying with the wind, the small pool currently covered. So many memories in that house, and I feel the promise of the ones about to come.

It's going to be a good summer. I can feel it.

-

-

An hour later and we are settled into the house. I finish unpacking and look around my room. My walls are painted a light pink, which I kind of regretted when I got them, but I have grown used to the color. I smile to myself at the picture frames on my dresser; photos of me and Quinn, other friends, and my parents. There are some seashells sitting in a bowl on the dresser as well, which I collected with my mom from the beach.

Quinn is staying in the guest room across the hall from mine, and I walk over, standing in the doorway and chuckling at her failed attempt at unpacking. Her half-full suitcase sits on the beige carpeted floor, various shirts and bikini tops spilling out of it. Quinn lies on the bed on her phone, her dirty blonde hair fanned out across the pillow like a halo. I walk over to the bed and plop next to her, jabbing her side playfully.

"So much for unpacking, huh?" I say. She shrugs casually.

"I'll do it later. You up for the first swim of the summer?" We grin at each other.

30 minutes later we're shrieking with laughter, as another huge wave comes into view. We both dive into it head first, and after a couple of seconds we come up for air. I rub the salt out of my eyes, enjoying the cold numbness of the water on my skin.

"Can we get out now? I'm cold," Quinn whines, and I nod, starting to swim to the shore.

We start to walk along the sand, shivering as the wind picks up. I squeeze the water out of my red bikini and shake my long brown hair out.

"When is the new kid's family moving in?" Quinn asks.

I think for a moment. "I'm pretty sure on Wednesday," I reply.

"Do we know if he's hot?" she asks, a mischievous look on her face.

"No, I haven't seen him yet. I really, really hope he is," I groan a little. "But with our luck, he's probably some creepy kid who stays inside and plays Minecraft all day."

"Hey! Don't bash on Minecraft, you bitch," Quinn exclaims, jokingly narrowing her eyes at me. "It's an excellent game." I laugh, rolling my eyes at her.

For the first time since we bought our house in Southampton four years ago, we are getting new neighbors. The family lives in Boston, and has a son our age. But all we know about them is their last name, so Quinn and I couldn't Facebook stalk him to see if he's cute or not, unfortunately.

"Ok, this is probably the last summer we'll have together, at this house," Quinn says, looking straight into my eyes. "Next year my mom will probably make me do stuff with her, 'cause it's our last summer before college." She sniffs playfully, and I stick my bottom lip out.

"So let's make it the best summer yet. Let's make like... a checklist or something, so that we have as much fun as possible," Quinn says, smiling.

I nod. "Ok, I like that. Number one: you get with Joshua," I reply, laughing when she blushes and puts her fingers to her head like a gun.

Since she met him two summers ago, Quinn has had a huge crush on Joshua. He's a year older than us, with perpetually tanned skin and dark brown eyes. Quinn has been practically drooling over him each year, without making any moves.

"I just don't get why you haven't made a move yet. I mean, it's not like he'd say no," I probe her, referring to his ways of hooking up with basically every girl in Quogue, the village in Southampton my house is in.

She shrugs. "I just get, like, really nervous whenever we talk. But you're right," she says, nodding, "this year I'll do it." I grin, clapping a couple of times.

"So that means you finally have to hook up with Sawyer," Quinn says, her eyes wide.

 I stop in my tracks. "Fuck you," I say, trying not to laugh. "I told you I don't like him."

She rolls her eyes. "Stop lying, Emilia. It's literally so obvious," she shoots back, continuing to walk. I jog to catch back up with her. "And now you can actually do it, since James the loser broke up with you and did us all a favor!" I glare at her at the mention of James.

"Oh come on," she says, laughing. "You can't still be moping about that. You admitted that you wanted to break up with him anyway."

James Christensen. We dated for six months last year, and he broke up with me three weeks ago. Alright, it was true that I wanted to dump him. The relationship was getting a little too boring for my tastes, and I just wasn't really into him anymore.

"Yeah, but it was annoying that he dumped me."

"Em, the relationship was pretty shitty. Like, he got to breaking up with you first but it's not that bad. You should just be happy that you're free now. He was so weird," Quinn says, shuddering dramatically.

I laugh. "He wasn't that bad," I say, as we stop walking and sit in the sand. I dig my toes into the soft, warm sand.

"He was ok. But the good part is that now you're free to get with Sawyer," I glare at her, "... or anyone else. But mostly Sawyer." I giggle at her silliness.

I fall back on the sand, gazing up at the sky, so blue I feel it will swallow me up. "I'll get with Sawyer if you get with Joshua." Quinn lays down next to me, grinning.

"Sounds good," she says. "So basically we should do something fun every day, and be each others' wing-women, and just have the best summer together."

I smile widely, the excited feeling that always comes at the beginning of the summer blooming in my stomach. 

"Deal."