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“Mainers don’t get pressed or upset a lot. We’re a very chill people,” Paige added. “So work on cultivating that vibe.”
Alivia didn’t need to cultivate a vibe. Her vibe was fine just the way it was.
I loved her vibe.
“You don’t have to do any of this,” I said to her.
“No, no, I’d like to learn the local culture,” Alivia said, a glint in her eye and a smile on her face. She was having a good time and I was so glad to see it. I’d been apprehensive about how she’d do being with all my friends. They could be a lot. We could all be a lot, and Alivia didn’t seem like she was super vivacious, so I’d stressed about her being overwhelmed.
So far, she seemed to be doing great.
We finished our breakfasts and then decided to take our coffees on a walk across the beach.
“If anyone wants to go in with me later, I’ll race you,” Paige said with a huge smile on her face.
“No way,” I said.
“I’m out,” Em added.
“I’ll stick my feet in,” Natalie said.
“It’s a no from me, baby,” Esme said, giving Paige a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll go,” Alivia said.
“Really? No one will usually go with me,” Paige said, jumping up and down in excitement.
“Yeah, absolutely. The cold doesn’t bother me,” Alivia said.
Maybe that was why she was such a fan of running. I wondered if she ran in all weather. I bet she did.
I pictured her running in the rain, the water sliding down her skin, and then tripped over my own feet, and almost faceplanted into the sand.
Maybe I shouldn’t have lusty thoughts about Alivia while I was walking.
Alivia and Paige started talking about swimming.
“She looks like she’s doing well,” Esme said, sliding over to talk to me.
“Yeah, you never know how things are going to go when you add a new person, but so far, so good,” I said.
“We needed someone like her,” Esme said.
“Yeah, we did,” I agreed.
The rest of us went back to sit while Paige and Alivia braved the cold and the waves, and I watched them swim laps and compete with each other. From what I could tell, Alivia was an accomplished athlete.
Esme broke out the booze from her motorized cooler and we switched from coffee and tea to alcohol.
“Thank you,” I said, as she handed me a cup of her sangria. It was honestly one of my favorite drinks in the entire world.
“I have no idea how I ended up with such a polar bear, but I do love her,” Esme said, watching Paige and Alivia race each other in the water from one end of the beach to the other.
When Alivia and Paige came back, they were panting and laughing.
“Come here,” Esme said, holding a towel out for Paige and rubbing her down.
Paige shook her head, spraying cold water everywhere.
