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For some reason, a strong urge builds up inside me to keep her smiling. I brought it back out tonight. But I slam the idea down, knowing it’s not possible. Alex is her boyfriend, and like I said before, I don’t mess with any type of conflict. Especially the whole boyfriend thing.
“Hmm.” I tap a finger against my mouth. “A Sagittarius.”
“Wrong.” Maia giggles.
“You love that I’m wrong, don’t you?”
“No, never,” she says through more laughter. “But I will say it was a good guess.”
“You’re just softening the blow.” I grin. “Put me out of my misery. What is it?”
“Capricorn.”
I snap my fingers. “I had a feeling it was an earth sign.”
“Sure you did.” She draws out the words, and we both laugh more.
“No, really. I was debating how fire-y you were. Guess I overprojected.”
“You sound so grown-up, Rhett. I’m proud of you.”
Her sarcasm is not lost on me, and it’s fucking hilarious. My mouth aches from all the laughter. “My education is paying off. Amazing, isn’t it? You would’ve thought all I learned about was how many shots I can down before I puke.”
“And did you find that out?”
I let out a sound halfway between a chuckle and a grunt. “Fucking A, I did. Never again.” I shudder at the many nights I felt like absolute death on the bathroom floor. I learned pretty quickly what my cutoff was.
“Ha, I think if you didn’t figure it out during freshman year, you definitely did by sophomore year. Well, actually, Everleigh didn’t. She found out on the ski trip.”
“Yep, you’re right. I remember how sick she was.”
We find seats near a bonfire and spend the next hour rehashing memories from the past few years. We spent many nights together as one big friend group. This year, while somewhat the same, there have been a lot of changes—the death of Mason, most everyone paired off into relationships, and more of us working. But there are a few senior events I know we’ll all be at.
“I miss how much everyone hung out,” Maia says as the fire in front of us slowly dies out. “But I know I have a big part in that, considering I’m always with Alex.”
“Not just you. A lot has changed. Jobs, relationships, Mason…” I trail off as the mood shifts between us.
“I still can’t believe it,” Maia whispers.
“I know, me either.”
“It’s hard to think we’re in our senior year and will soon graduate.”
“It feels like freshman year was only yesterday.”
“Right? And now will we all keep in touch?”
“Alright, this is too much sadness for me.” I jump to my feet. “It’s Halloween. Let’s get scared.”
Maia doesn’t waste a second. “Are you sure you can handle it? I know you scare easily and all.”
“You think you’re so funny. But just you wait!” I take off down the beach, but nothing scary is going on. Someone should’ve set up a haunted house or something. Instead, we play all the games and eat all the candy.
When the party begins to thin out, I check the time and see that it’s already two o’clock. Shit. I have an early surf lesson in the morning to teach. Guess I’ll be running on caffeine.
“Can I walk you home?” I ask Maia. It seems like a silly question, considering she lives a floor below me in the same apartment building, but maybe she wants to meet up with Alex. How do I know?
“I’d like that. Considering you kept me out past curfew and all.”
