Mila’s got her legs draped over the arm of my favourite chair, leaving the spot next to Summer on the couch as the only open seat.
I let the girls carry the conversation, but when the topic turns to the book Paige chose for the book club they’re apparently starting, I take that as my time to leave. I make my way into the kitchen and finish some final things for dinner. The sound of Summer’s laugh at something Mila said makes me smile.
“Dinner is served,” I call out to them.
“This looks amazing, Ethan,” Summer says appreciatively.
“He’s an awesome cook. But leave the baking to me.” Mila piles two tacos onto a plate and hands it over to Summer before filling her own. We sit down and for the next few minutes the only sounds are of us eating.
“So, I was thinking, why don’t we organize a work party to help cleanup Oceanside?”
Summer’s eyes widen at Mila’s suggestion and I think she’s a little overwhelmed by the offer.
“Oh, umm, wow. You really think people would do that? Come and help me?”
I lightly touch the back of her hand, briefly. “Of course they would, Summer. The town wants to see the resort opened again. We all cared about your dad, and you.”
She looks at me silently, but her expressive eyes show a display of emotion. “Thank you. That means a lot, more than you know.”
Mila stands up and goes to give her a hug around the shoulders. “We’re going to make that place amazing, just like your dad wanted.”
I nod in agreement, and raise my beer. “To renovating Oceanside.”
We all clink our drinks together, then turn our attention back to the food. After, we sit around the table, talking about the work that needs to be done at the resort. Eventually, Mila’s yawning grows more frequent, and the girls stand up to leave. I make sure to hug Mila first, and when it comes to Summer, I try to keep it casual. But she feels so goddamn good in my arms, it’s hard to resist holding her a little bit longer.
“Summer, you have to come with us to the beach tomorrow,” Mila says, pulling Summer out of my arms.
She turns to me next. “You’re coming, too, right? You and Reid are in charge of the bonfire.”
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
“Great, we can all carpool.” As usual, my bulldozer of a sister is making plans for everyone.
“Won’t the water be freezing?” Summer asks with a laugh. Man, that laugh.
“We aren’t going swimming, silly! But we can take the kayaks down and paddle around if we want, or just hang out around the fire. C’mon, it’ll be fun. The girls will be there, too.” Mila wheedles, and I chance a glance at Summer to see her reaction.
She’s smiling.
“Okay, I’ll come.”
5
Summer
Mila insisted we drive together to the beach, but what she didn’t tell me was that Ethan would be the one driving both of us. Sitting in the front seat of his truck next to him, with Mila in the backseat, feels good. Too good. As if I never left and we’re still the three friends we were as kids. With only two years between us, we played together a lot.
“Oh my God, do you remember the time Ethan caught us trying on Mom’s bras?”
Mila’s been reminiscing about our childhood the entire drive. So far, the stories have been cute and fun to remember, but this story is not one I really want to revisit.
“Mila…” I start, but she ignores me.
“We had to hold them on our flat as a pancake chest, but damn, we thought we looked so grown up!” She dissolves into a fit of giggles.
I close my eyes to hide my dismay that she choosesthatstory to bring up. I know she isn’t trying to embarrass me. To her, this is nothing more than three friends sharing stories about their childhood. But given how my perception of Ethan has changed from friend to handsome man I would like to kiss, I’d really rather we not go into any more mortifying stories from when I was a kid and he saw me almost naked.
Ethan’s low chuckle sends shivers down my spine, in spite of my embarrassment. When I chance a quick glance over at him, he seems relaxed and completely at ease, one arm propped on the console between us, the other resting easily on the steering wheel. He’s wearing a ball cap again today, and maybe on a different guy it would look immature, but on him it’s damn sexy. No plaid, just a T-shirt, thanks to the surprisingly warm spring day we’re having. It’s perfect beach weather.Maybehe’lltake his shirt off…I stifle a groan at that mental image in time to catch the tail end of another story from Mila, this one thankfully about herself and not me.
