Page 120 of Summer Love

Flip lies under a lounge chair, muzzle resting on his paws, one eye open, watching the comings and goings. Pickles prowls between the tables.

Then Noah appears on the deck in dark jeans, hair still damp. He stands stiff, ready to turn and leave. Luke is the first to react.

“Cazzo, he’s alive!”

Whistles break out. Miles raises his glass, Maya claps, Harper straightens. Jace stares at his brother for a moment, then smiles.

Noah grabs a chair, sits, crosses his arms.

“Happy now?” he grumbles. “You done?”

“Everybody’s here,” Miles says. “Now we play.”

Miles is a born host. The second there’s a group and a game, he takes charge without anyone asking him to.

He claps his hands to call everyone around the table. Then he opens the Time’s Up box, forms the teams, deals the cards, explains the rules to the ones who’ve never played.

The pool lights shift to neon pink. The reflections ripple across the lodge walls.

First round: descriptions. Chiara goes first:

“The kid with glasses who talks to snakes and has a huge problem with a bald wizard.”

“Harry Potter!” Ruby shouts.

Second round: one word.

“Playa,” Maya says.

“Bikini?” I offer.

“Surf?” Kai says.

“No, no…” Maya groans.

“Miami!” Miles says without missing a beat.

“That’s cheating,” Sierra protests. “You’re not even playing!”

Third round: miming.

Miles stands up. He sways, rolls his shoulders, runs a hand through his hair. Nobody reacts.

He doubles down, starts rolling his hips, shoots an intense look.

“A penguin!” Luke yells.

Miles lets out a strangled sound.

“No…”

He starts over, even more committed. Arms out front, chest out, a solemn walk.

“Frankenstein!” Harper shouts.

It was Beyoncé. It takes us a while to recover.

Noah gets up reluctantly. He hesitates for a second, then spreads his arms wide, perfectly straight.