Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Twenty

"What are you gonna do tonight?" I ask Quinn once I've gotten out of the shower and am sitting in front of my mirror.

She sits on my bed, watching me as I start to put on mascara. She shrugs. "I don't feel like hanging out or anything," she replies. "I'll probably just watch TV or something."

I nod. "Sorry about leaving you alone, but-"

Quinn waves me off. "Shut up, you and Milo need some alone time."

I smile. "I'm getting kind of nervous," I say. "I feel like it's gonna be awkward."

"It probably will be," Quinn says, crossing her legs. "I mean, it's the first time you're really gonna be alone together after you kissed."

I give her a hard look through the mirror, pausing. "Thanks, you're really helping," I say.

Quinn gives me a thumbs-up. "But then again, what's some teen summer love without a little awkwardness?"

I roll my eyes. "You sound like a 60 year old author," I tell her.

She shrugs. "I'm an old soul."

"Ok, sure," I say, standing up after deciding I'm too lazy to put on anything other than mascara. I walk to my closet and pick out my favorite pair of ripped black shorts, and put them on under a knit sleeveless beige crop top.

"I love that shirt," Quinn says. "I'm borrowing it later."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites," I reply, and turn away from the mirror to face Quinn. "How do I look?"

She grins. "Great," she says. "I'll be waiting in my room to hear all the details."

I nod, giving her a quick hug as she walks towards her room and I walk down the stairs. I put on my black Converse, and go to say bye to my mom in the living room.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"I told you, I'm getting dinner with Milo," I reply.

"Is it like a date?"

"I don't know, I guess," I say, and her eyebrows raise.

"Well, I'm glad," Mom says. "Milo is a nice boy."

I nod. "Yeah, he is," I say. "Can I go now?"

"Alright, love you! Have fun," she says.

"Love you too," I say, opening the front door. Milo is already standing outside, and he looks up when he hears the front door click shut, smiling when he sees me walking down the driveway.

"Hey," he says, and I'm noticing how the short-sleeved white button down he's wearing makes his blue eyes stand out even more.

"Hi," I reply after a few seconds, realizing that I was staring.

We start to walk side by side, and I suppress the urge to grab his hand. It's still early- around 8- so the sun is still up, but it's concealed by the few clouds dotting the sky.

"So what's been up in the past 24 hours?" Milo asks.

"Not much," I reply. "I got my cartilage pierced." I move my hair behind my ear and tilt my head to the side, showing him the piercing.

"Looks really good," he says, looking at it for a few seconds. "Did it hurt a lot?"

"In the moment, yeah, and it was pretty sore after, but it's fine now," I reply. "Quinn also got two other regular ones."

"Cool," he says. "Can you swim with it?"

I nod. "But not for a long period of time." I survey his profile for a second. "You should get a piercing."