“Mamaw said the same thing.” She sniffs and pulls away from me to wipe her face with her hands.
She looks down toward the dock, and I answer her question before she asks. “Luke and Olivia are down there. Do you feel like going? We can?—”
She holds up a hand. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” She wipes her face a second time and takes a deep breath. “Let’s head down there.”
“I have snacks,” I say and pick up the basket, feeling my chest warm at the sight of her smile.
“Emotional eating is just what I need,” she admits. I look down and double-check the basket to make sure I grabbed enough snacks. I knew Raine was on her way, so I made sure to have a bag of the fizzle Skittles she loves so much, a Milky Way bar, and her favorite soda, Ale-8-One.
“Thank you,” she says softly, peeking up at me quickly before looking down at her light-blue dress, “for always being here for me.”
When Raine is at school, she dresses differently. She wears mainly t-shirts and jeans with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. But anytime she’s staying with her grandparents, she wears long flowy dresses or skirts. She keeps her hair down and welcomes her natural waves. Most of the time, she is barefoot and keeps her toes painted bright colors. Like this, she’s her true self—wild, free, and joyful. I haven’t told her before, but I prefer this version of her best.
“You’re welcome,” I reply and fight the urge to hold her hand. “That’s what friends are for.”
Once we make our way to the dock, Olivia’s face lights up at the sight of Raine. She bounces onto her feet to give her a hugand lets out a squeal. Luke is sitting on the edge of the dock, and as he sees Raine, he is quick to dodge her eyes.
That’s weird.
Raine seems to notice but returns her attention back to Olivia. “It’s about time you showed up. Luke has been killing my vibe, and I need to tell you about Derick!”
Raine looks over at Luke, who's still avoiding eye contact with her, and a frown pushes against her pink lips. Olivia takes Raine’s hand into hers, bringing Raine's attention back to her.
I plop down next to Luke and nudge his shoulder. “Snacks?” I ask, and he hums in approval.
He reaches into the basket and pulls out a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and tosses them to Olivia. She doesn’t even break her conversation or look his way. She turns and grabs the bag while keeping her eyes on Raine as she continues to tell her how Derick called her last night and asked her to meet up next weekend. Luke rolls his eyes, which causes me to smirk at him.
I hand Raine the bag of fizzle Skittles, another feeling of warmth spreading in my gut at the smile she gives me. I also hand everyone an Ale-8, and as tradition, we pop off our tabs and clink the glasses together, yelling, “Cheers,” before downing its ginger-citrus goodness. Luke lets out a large burp, earning a, “Gross,” from the girls and a high five from me.
“I’m so glad she can talk to Raine about Derick. I was about to lose my mind,” he whispers to me before shoving a handful of sour-cream-and-chives potato chips into his mouth.
I nod in agreement before popping M&Ms onto my tongue. Before I can ask him what his deal is with Raine, Luke strips his shirt off beside me, tosses it at the girls, and jumps into the water.
I’m jealous of how buff Luke is. When I first met him freshman year, I was told that he had lost close to thirty pounds over the summer. He lost a bit more when we both started working out together at each other’s houses. Pops has somestandard workout equipment in his garage, and Luke’s mom has a basic set of weights that we use.
However, since I started working for Pops, my workouts have slacked a bit, but Luke has kept going. He makes me feel lanky when I’m next to him, and so I decide to keep my shirt on. Luke pulls himself up onto the dock, and I glance over toward the girls, who are both staring at him. Raine is rolling her eyes and popping a Skittle into her mouth while Olivia’s jaw drops for a second before she corrects herself, a small blush spreading across her cheeks as she looks away from him.
Luke gives them a brilliant smile before leaping backward and diving into the water, creating a huge splash that hits the three of us. I laugh as the girls shriek and try to shield themselves.
“Luke! You jerk!” Olivia shouts and kicks her legs in the water, splashing him back. He swims over to her, and before she has time to escape, he grabs her legs and tosses her into the water. He goes to grab Raine, but she raises a warning brow that sends him away from her.
They’re acting weird. Luke and Raine have been friends since middle school and have always been really close. I always thought they had a brother-sisterly bond with how protective they’re over one another. There is a clear distance between them today, and I don’t like not knowing why or how my mind wonders if maybe I read them wrong. That maybe they were something more, and that’s what has created the tension.
I try to push the assumptions out of my head.
Olivia, however, is oblivious to their tension and hops onto Luke’s back, attempting to dunk him into the water but fails. He grabs her again and slings her over his shoulders. The water is shallow enough that his feet can touch the bottom, and the water comes up to his chest. “I bet Derick can’t do this.” He laughs.
“No, because he isn’t a jerk.” Olivia squeals before splashing into the water.
“We need more mature friends,” I say and scoot over to Raine.
She hums in approval while laughing at Luke and Olivia. I reach into her bag of Skittles and pop one into my mouth with a smile. The powder coating on the candy begins to fizzle in my mouth, and I try not to make a face. She giggles and pops one into her mouth.
My eyes are naturally drawn to the powder it leaves behind on her lips and how her tongue is quick to clean them off. I swallow loud enough to hear and have to avert my eyes. A heat spreads up to my ears.
“I don’t understand why you like these things so much,” I say and reach in her bag for a second one just to be closer to her.
“Because they’re one of the greatest candies ever invented!” she snaps and holds the bag up for effect and points to them.
