Page 20 of Alice & Meg, Girls Trip

“Don’t let Wrecker hear that,” Nikki laughed. “You’ll never get that pool if he knows Raven will be over all the time.”

Raven flipped off Nikki playfully. “I will have you know, Wrecker loves me. I am his sister, after all.”

“You say that like you think it means anything,” Karmen joked, and we all laughed.

“Stop, stop,” Alice called, grinning widely. “Wrecker will build me a pool, and you will all be invited over every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.”

“Why just those three days?” I asked, curious.

A huge smile spread across Alice’s lips. “Because I love you all like you’re my family, but even I don’t want to see you every day.”

Alice’s laughter rang out, and soon, we were all joining in, the sound of our amusement filling the air. The moment was light, easy, the kind of thing that happens when you’re with people who know you inside and out.

“I think I’m ready to head back to the camper,” Raven called out, stretching her arms above her head. “What are we doing for dinner?”

“Fajitas,” I replied. “Mexican rice, chips, and salsa.”

Greta startled awake, her floatie jerking beneath her as she jackknifed upright, blinking groggily. “Chips and salsa?” she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Raven patted her shoulder, a smile on her face. “Yeah, it’s probably a good idea to get some more food in you.”

“Okay,” Greta mumbled, still half-asleep.

“Let me get my ass off this floatie. Someone call Lennox and tell her to bring the golf cart back,” Alice ordered.

Alice tried to shift her weight, pushing herself up to the edge of the floatie with the intention of gracefully slipping into the water and swimming to the side. But instead, she misjudged her balance, and the floatie tilted sharply to the side. In an instant, she tumbled off, flailing wildly as she rolled off the floatie and dunked herself headfirst into the water.

She resurfaced a second later, splashing and coughing, looking utterly disheveled. Her hair was plastered to her face, and she pushed it back with one hand, spitting out a stream of water. She looked like a drowned rat, her usual composure completely shattered.

“That played out a whole lot different in my head,” she croaked, her voice raspy from the water she’d just inhaled.

We all burst out laughing, the sight of Alice, usually so put-together, reduced to a soaked mess was too much to handle. Even Alice couldn’t help but laugh, her grin wide and sheepish as she swam toward the edge of the pool.

“You okay there, champ?” I teased as she reached the side, offering her a hand to pull her out.

Alice took my hand, her grip firm despite her earlier tumble. “Oh, I’m fine,” she said, her voice laced with amusement. “I just wanted to make a grand exit. Clearly, I nailed it.”

“Grand is one word for it,” Karmen said, still giggling.

Alice pulled herself out of the pool with my help, water streaming off her swimsuit and forming a small puddle at her feet. “I can’t wait to hear Wrecker’s reaction when I tell him about my Olympic-worthy dismount,” she said with a wry grin.

“Maybe just leave out the part where you looked like a wet cat,” Raven suggested, her tone teasing.

Alice wrung out her hair, the sun already warming her skin as she stood by the pool’s edge. “Nah, I’ll just have to own it.”

“You always do,” Cyn said with a smile as she joined us from the table, handing Alice a towel. “That’s one of the things we love about you.”

Alice took the towel, wrapping it around herself as she dried off. “Well, at least I’m memorable,” she said with a wink.

“Memorable doesn’t even begin to cover it,” I said, my voice warm with affection.

The late afternoon sun was starting to dip lower in the sky, casting a golden glow over the pool. It was almost time to head back to the campsite to trade our swimsuits for comfy clothes and gather around the fire for dinner. The thought of sizzling fajitas, smoky from the grill, made my stomach rumble in anticipation.

Greta, now fully awake, groaned as she peeled herself off the floatie. “I just want my cozy sweatshirt, cow cup, and fajitas in my stomach.”

We all agreed that the lure of good food and the promise of a cozy evening by the fire were too tempting to resist. Reva pulled out her phone to call Lennox, letting her know we were ready to be picked up.

We gathered our things, towels, sunglasses, and half-empty bottles of sunscreen and made our way to the road where the one golf cart was.

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