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“Michelle.” She shakes my hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Grab whatever you want, Cassie.” She waves to the cooler.
“Thanks.” I reach for a mango seltzer, open it, and drink a little.
Michelle slopes her head to one side, studying me with curiosity. “So, Reid’s cousin, huh. I didn’t know he had a cousin. Where are you from?”
“His uncle is my dad. I lived here with my parents when I was younger. We live in Philadelphia now.”
“Oh, okay.” She bobs slowly.
Another girl with shoulder-length blonde hair wanders over, stopping at Michelle’s side and taking me in from head to toe. “Who’s this?”
“Reid’s Cousin,” Michelle introduces. “Cassie, this is Nichole. My girlfriend.”
“Nice to meet you, Nichole.”
“You, too,” she says, shaking my outstretched hand.
From the intimate touches between them, I assume the term girlfriend means lover and not a friend who happens to be a girl.
I look around at the group. “So everyone here graduated together?”
“Yeah,” Michelle answers. “We’re hanging out for the summer before everyone goes to college. Some are traveling across the country or flying out, so it’ll be a while before we see them again.”
“Ah. Got it.”
“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice snarls. Twisting, I realize it is indeed Bristol.
She struts over with her friend. “Who invited you? You’re not even from our circle.”
“Knock it off, Bristol,” Nichole warns in my defense.
“Yeah, what’s your deal?” Michelle adds. “Cassie is Reid’s cousin.” I’m a little disappointed she knows that now. I wonder if it’ll give her a boost to go after him again. Either way, it shouldn’t matter to me. Yet it does. It fucking does, and I can’t control the feeling.
“Oh.” Bristol perks up with new interest. “I guess it’s fine then.” Her pitch is friendlier now.
“Thanks.” I eyeball her before drinking.
She pastes on a phony smile. “Hey, um, maybe you could—”
“No,” I deadpan. “Move on.”
“Ugh.” Her attitude reverts back to nasty. “That’s not for you to say. Besides, it’s none of your business. No one even knew Reid had a cousin. He’s never mentioned you. How come you suddenly popped out of nowhere?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” I hit back.
Reid moseys up to my side, asking, “You good?”
“Yeah.” I shrug and act unbothered. Meanwhile, my skin is on fire from our closeness.
He flicks to Bristol and grits, “Move along. Leave Cassie alone.”
Huffing, she struts off with her friend and grabs a guy’s beer just as he opens it, chugging without care.
“Anyway,” Michelle deters from the drama. “Are you spending the whole summer break here?”
