Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Five

milo ^ *heart eyes*

"What do you think?" I ask Quinn, modeling my outfit in her doorway. She scans my body, taking in my studded shorts and sparkly tank top.

"I like it," she replies, giving me a thumbs up in approval. She's already dressed, wearing white jean shorts and a floral shirt. It's 4:45, and we are leaving for the Griffins' barbecue soon. My mom comes out of the bathroom, looking pretty in a plain white sundress.

"You girls ready?" She asks, and we nod, following her downstairs where my dad sits at the dining table, typing away on his phone while he waits.

"Well, everyone looks nice," he says airily. "Let's get a move on." We head out and pile into my dad's car, collectively deciding that we are too lazy to walk the short distance to the Griffins'.

"You excited?" Quinn asks me, her voice hushed against the silence in the car.

I shrug. "I guess," I reply. "I'm mostly excited for the food and the fireworks show." She chuckles, nodding her head in agreement.

In under five minutes, we are pulling up to the Griffins' house. It's light out, the sky a startling shade of blue. Outside, on the front lawn, the grill is set up, with stacks of raw meat on it. I grin when I see the table of food near the grill, already filling up with fruit and vegetable platters, cookies, pigs in a blanket, and other mouthwatering appetizers.

My mom nods her head towards Candace, Noah's mom, who stands talking to another family by the door. We walk towards her, and her eyes light up when she sees us.

"Nora!" she exclaims, her voice high with delight as she throws her arms around my mom. "It's been so long!"

"I know!" My mom replies, her voice equally as high, making my eyebrows shoot up at the change in her normally lower toned voice. "These are for you," Mom says, handing Candace a plate of mashed potatoes and a six pack of beer.

"Oh, thanks so much!" Candace responds. "Hello, Warner," she says warmly to my dad, then greets Quinn and me.

"You girls look older and more beautiful every time I see you!" She says. We chuckle a little awkwardly under her scrutinous look. "Noah and his friends are inside, if you wanted to go see them. We'll call you out before we start the barbecue."

Quinn and I walk inside the cozy house, and head towards the back, hearing laughter and loud voices.

"Just act cool with Sawyer," Quinn says, stopping me before I walk in the door. "Don't act like it bothered you."

I nod. "I'll try," I say, and we walk inside.

The first person I see is Sawyer himself, sitting casually on a plush beanbag chair with a slight smirk on his face. When he sees me, he sits up straight, his mouth opening.

"Oh hey, it's Quinn and Emilia!" Annabel says excitedly, jumping up to give us both hugs. It's a small group gathered; only Noah, Sawyer, Annabel, Milo, and our other friend Alex. We all greet each other, and Quinn and I sit down on the carpet, with me next to Milo. I sit criss-cross-applesauce, and notice that he doesn't pull away when our knees touch, so I decide I won't either.

"Long time no see," I say to Milo playfully, and he does another one of his crooked smiles that makes me lose my train of thought and gives me butterflies.

"Yeah, it's been a long four hours. Happy Fourth," he says.

"-notice Krista isn't here," Noah is saying, smirking at Sawyer, who looks bashful. "Would you happen to know anything about why that is?"