Amelia: Wait. No. I didn’t mean that. I just…I don’t know
Hayley: (Laughing emoji) Oh Ames
Paige: I have an idea. Who’s up for a beach day? If I tell Easton it’s for the charity event, I might get him there. What do you think, Keeley? I’ll have Isaac convince him
Keeley: Yes! I can arrange that
Hayley: I’m in
Amelia: Us too. Which beach? Do I need to bring a beach tent? Or is there shade?
Lainey: We’re in too. What about the beach near your house Amelia?
Paige: I love that beach. It’s not too far from us either
Amelia: Or Reed or Dylan. Sounds good
I look up as the organisation messages come through and find Reed staring at me, his eyes wide in surprise. “That was intense. I feel left out.”
“What was?”
“Your messages. They’re coming through faster than I can type. It’s like how I imagine a conversation would go with all of you out drinking.”
“We had plans to coordinate.”
“The beach?”
“Yes. How did you—”
He spins his phone around, cutting me off, and I glance at his screen. In all that time there are only five messages.
Luke: Anyone else still pissed that we lost?
Reed: Of course. But it just means we’ll come back fighting next season
Easton: Get over it
Luke: Okay. Done. Moving on.
Luke: Beach tomorrow?
I watch the next couple of messages come through in real time.
Thomas: Sounds good
Dylan: I’m in
Easton: Nope
It’s that easy. No questions on where or when or how. It’s just done.
“Okay, well, it seems your method of organisation is much faster. But where are you going?”
“I assume that’s what you're organizing?” He shrugs and a laugh bursts out of me. This is Reed and me to a T, easily shifting between the heavy and the light. Always comfortable. It’s going to be hard to move on in the end. But now is not the time to think about it. Right now, I’ve got a beach hang to organise and it’s exactly what I need.
More messages come through and I smile as I show Reed my screen. “I’ll let you know when it’s finalised. It could be a while.”
***
