Page 30 of Better Than the Beach
Ivy
You’re only in Hawaii for a couple more days. Try to have fun and make the most of it.
“Cassie,” Etana calls, tearing my attention from my phone screen.
When I glance up, I find him grinning down at me with his solid, tan body haloed by the glow of the setting sun.
“Hey,” I greet him, shoving my phone back in my bag and sitting up on my lounger. “What’s up?”
Etana’s grin is wide and warm, with just a hint of mischief.
“What do you think about tiki bars and dancing?” he asks.
I flick my eyes behind him to find Pen and Kaia making kissing faces and winking at me, and I have to look away quickly before I lose it and Etana thinks I’m laughing at him. When I meet his eyes again, I sit up a little taller and stretch my smile a little wider.
I’m here to have fun, damn it. Moping on a sun lounger is no longer allowed.
“Well, Etana, I think I’m a fan of tiki bars and dancing.”
* * *
We say goodbye to Kaia’s family at the airport on January 1st. Once my carry-on is safely stowed overhead and I’m buckled into my seat, I take out my phone to put it in airplane mode. I text my parents first, so they know I’m boarding. I text Ivy and Bailey the same. Then, even though I already know what I’ll find, I open my text thread with Mallory and reread the last text I sent.
It’s unanswered just like the rest of them.
I check my call log, but there are no missed calls from Mallory, either. In fact, when I tried calling her a few days ago, I got the automated message that her voice mailbox was full. I frown at my phone screen, then pull up my group chat with Ivy and Bailey once more.
Me
When will you guys get back to town?
* * *
The knock on my apartment door comes at 6:30 p.m. on the dot.
I grin as I make my way through the living room. Ivy is never late. She got back to campus yesterday and insisted we hang out tonight before the spring semester officially starts in a few days.
When I open the door, I find Ivy and Bailey grinning at me, arms full of reusable grocery bags, so I fling the door open and let them in.
“Hey guys,” I greet as they kick off their shoes. “You can put that stuff in the kitchen.”
“You really do look tanner,” Bailey says with a wiggle of her eyebrows. She sets her bag on the kitchen counter and starts pulling out some plastic containers. “Like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.”
I bark out a laugh.
“Oh, and you have cute little freckles, too,” Ivy adds, and I nod.
“The sun brings out my freckles,” I say, and Ivy sighs as she pulls a wine bottle opener out of my drawer and gets to work uncorking the bottle of white wine she brought.
“I wish I could tan,” she says, grunting a little as she tugs on the bottle opener. “I just burn, burn, burn.”
“Oh, but you make such an adorable tomato,” Bailey says, and I watch as she pulls a plate from the cabinet and starts unloading cookies from the containers she brought.
“Those look amazing,” I say, my mouth practically watering as I survey the cookies.
“I kept it simple,” she says. “Chocolate chip. White chocolate macadamia nut. Oatmeal raisin.”
I glance at Ivy and she’s smirking at me. She’s thinking the same thing I am. When it comes to baking, Bailey never keeps it simple. Ivy slides a glass of wine in front of me, then Bailey puts a plate of cookies down next to the wine, and they both set their eyes on me.
