Blame It On the Beach

Chapter Twenty-one

I step into the house, shutting the door behind me and resting my back against it as I replay the kiss in my head, smiling to myself at the memory.

"Em?" I hear my mom say, as she turns the corner into the hall. I step away from the door quickly and try to wipe the dazed look off my face.

"Hi Mom," I say, dropping my keys into a bowl and taking my shoes off. "What's up?"

"Not much," she answers, watching me carefully. "How was dinner? You seem a little off."

"No, I'm fine. It was fun," I say. "We got Mexican. What'd you guys do for dinner?"

Mom starts to walk up the carpeted stairs, and I follow her up. "I made some pasta," she says. "I'm probably gonna head to bed, I'm pretty tired. Do you want anything?"

I shake my head. "No, I'm good," I say. I lean in and kiss her cheek. "Night, I'll see you in the morning."

She gives me a final smile and walks down the hallway, walking into her bedroom. I open the door to Quinn's room, where she's reading a book on her bed. She sets it down immediately when she sees me, and pats a spot on the bed next to her.

"Alright, tell me everything."

-

-

The next day, Quinn and I are sitting on the couch watching TV after our shift when we hear a car pulling up the driveway, and the sound of a door opening.

"Mom! Dad's here!" I call to my mom, and she comes down after a few moments wearing a coverup over her bathing suit.

She walks to the front door and opens it, giving my dad a kiss when he walks through the door with a carry-on bag.

"I'm back!" he says, grinning at everyone.

"Hey, Dad," I say, standing up and giving him a hug.

"Hi, sweetie, how are you? Hey Quinn," he says.

"Welcome back," she says, giving him a quick wave.

We all walk into the kitchen, where my dad pours himself a lemonade and sits on a stool. "Man, I am glad to be back," he says. "Work is too boring, especially when it's 90 degrees and humid in the city."

"We had a nice dinner at the Ferrises while you were gone," my mom says, wiping a drop of spilled lemonade off the counter. "They're very nice. Emilia's gotten pretty close with Milo."

Quinn clears her throat quietly. My dad looks pleased. "Oh, that's nice," he says. "Yeah, he seemed like a nice kid. I'm glad you became friendly."

I feel my cheeks getting a little warm, and I nod, suppressing a smile as I think of what my dad would say if he knew just how friendly we are.

We catch up in the kitchen for a bit, and then Mom and Dad leave to go down to the beach for a while. Quinn and I go back to the couch, but get bored after a while, nothing that good being on TV.

"You should invite Milo over," Quinn says, her eyes lighting up.

I turn the TV on mute. "Wouldn't that look like I'm trying too hard?" I say. "I mean, we just saw each other last night."

She pauses for a second, mulling it over. "Eh, whatever," she says. "Just do it, you know you want to see him anyway."

Well, she has me there. "Ok, wait a second though," I say, getting up and running up and quickly putting on mascara-- I feel naked without it. I run back downstairs, then pull out my phone and text Milo, telling him to come over. A few minutes later he answers, saying that he'll come in a minute.