Chapter 13

13

18 years old - Lily

Spring Break

S pring break has never come at a better time. Unfortunately for us, college prep doesn't understand that you are supposed to enjoy time off once the sun starts to come out. Tomorrow, we will be leaving for Tabitha's cabin, a one-hour drive from here. Tabitha's family is really big on nature and water. That's why her house is on the outskirts of town next to a hiking trail overlooking the ocean. Her dad's cabin that we're going to is even more secluded, but it has a front-row view of the only lake in the area.

Although the other parents have given their children more freedom the moment they turned eighteen, my mother doesn't share the same philosophy. Which is why I needed to lie to her. I told her Tabitha invited me to stay at her dad's cabin for three days. Although that might be true, I decided to omit the part where our boyfriends are coming with us and her dad is on his honeymoon in Thailand.

We are all lounging in the hot tub at my place when the mail comes. Usually the mailman just drops off the letters and leaves without a word, but I begged him a few months ago to please ring the bell if a letter from any university comes my way. True to the promise he made me, he hands me a thick manilla envelope sent from a French address. "Thick is good news. It comes with brochures! They don't send the thick ones if they're going to reject you." He winks and returns to his truck.

I rush back to my friends and lean on the side of the tub, ripping the envelope open. They all look at me, immediately understanding the excitement and dread that are visible on my face. I hold the white A4 paper in disbelief. Nick, Tabitha, and Taylor are all looking at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Aaaaaaaah!" I scream, unable to control myself. "Oh, my fucking Gooooosh! I got innnn!" I start jumping up and down. Tabitha comes out of the tub, hugs me, and starts jumping along with me.

"Can't wait for us to visit you and do a Eurotrip," Taylor says to me while offering his palm for a high five. "The legal drinking age is eighteen there." I let go of Tabitha's hug and walk back toward the tub to also raise my hand and accept the high five from Taylor, who is grinning from ear to ear. With his blond hair in a fresh buzz cut and a brand new tattoo on his back that he got as an eighteenth birthday present to himself, this guy has never looked more ready for spring break.

Nick gives my other hand that's resting on the edge of the tub a tight squeeze, turning my attention to him. And that's all I get from him. I offer him a weak smile before going back into the water and sitting next to Nick, his hazel eyes following me the whole way to the empty spot next to him.

He puts his arms around my shoulders and I lean my head against his chest, both of us not acknowledging the fact that I just got accepted into a university far away from here. Even though we are not actively talking about it, I know we are both thinking about it. Nick and I have been skirting around the topic. Both of us are afraid to open the box and start discussing the logistics of a potential long-distance relationship.

I have lost count of the nights I've spent staying up all night, worrying about what all of this would mean to our relationship. Will we stay together? Will he break up with me? Long distance is hard for anyone. Although I hate to admit this, my mom's remark from last year has been playing in my head like a broken record lately. How could you give it up to him in a car, Lily? Like some cheap escort. I had my doubts about him, and I was right. You can be mad at me all you want, but I know what kind of men boys like him grow up to be like. They only want one thing. He'll leave you the moment he finds an easier toy to play with.

"So have you decided where you're going to go yet?" Tabitha asks me while she puts a towel over her body. She is still standing next to the pool where we were jumping around just a few minutes ago, her body hugged in a blue bikini. She grabs Taylor's towel and dries her long hair with it.

I look at the clock mounted in front of the front door of the pool house and start preparing myself for the immediate chill I will feel once I get out of the tub to join Tabitha. If we want to make it by dinnertime at the cabin, we would need to leave soon. Braving myself, I leave the comfort of the hot water once again, with Nick and Taylor following suit this time.

"I'm not really sure yet," I answer Tabitha's question with my teeth chattering. That's somewhat true. I am still waiting for the decision letter from RadTech.

Unlike Tabitha and Taylor, who have both gotten accepted into the same university in New York and are both planning to go there, Nick and I are not so in sync. The only overlap we have in our college applications is Radinger, but that's not my first choice and Nick knows it. As for Nick, along with RadTech, he's still waiting for his acceptance letter to study Software Engineering in Boston.

He already got accepted into UCLA, though, so there's that. I don't know what he's going to do with the offer because he never told me they accepted him in the first place. I found the letter hidden in the glove compartment of his car last week.

"RadTech is just Plan B anyway, right?" Tabitha asks.

"And next year, we'll spring break in Europe," Taylor chimes in, winking at Nick.

Nick gives him a small smile, but doesn't say anything. He grabs his white T-shirt off the floor and pulls it on. Nick is not overly jacked, but his morning jogs, as well as training in his dad's home gym in the garage, have paid off. He pushes his wet, golden brown hair back with his palm and I can't help but wonder if all the girls in college will look at him this way as well, with so much desire. A toy that's a thousand miles away is not an easy toy to play with.

I give Taylor my towel since Tabitha used his for her hair and I go inside the house with nothing on but my wet pink bikini. I walk toward my room to dry myself and change into something else when I see Bryce and Logan enter the house. They both stop whatever they were discussing to look at me and I instantly regret not putting on someone else's towel. My face reddens when it's obvious that they can see the outline of my hardened nipples through my bikini top.

"I thought you guys left for Jamaica already," I say, trying to sound unbothered.

Bryce runs his fingers through his blond hair and shrugs. "The flight isn't until tomorrow night. You're leaving soon, though, right?"

"Yeah, we're getting ready to leave now, actually," I answer.

"How did you convince your mom to let you go with the three of them?" he asks me with a knowing smirk when he notices that in addition to Tabitha, Nick and Taylor are collecting their belongings. Bryce was there when I asked my mom for permission to go to Tabitha's dad's cabin, but he knows the alibi version of my spring break plan, not the real one.

"I don't have to convince her of anything if she doesn't know that they're coming." I give him a sly smile of my own and he chuckles.

"A liar, are you?" Logan suddenly asks me, inserting himself into the interaction. He is sporting a disheveled look, like he has been partying for days on end. His espresso brown hair is messy and his green eyes are bloodshot, just like the last time I saw him. He's not actually unattractive. I hate to admit this. He just always seems like he needs thirty hours of recovery-sleep. And a new personality.

He stares me up and down long enough to send chills down my spine. Logan doesn't try to hide the fact that he is staring at my cleavage right now, probably wondering what is hiding underneath the small, two pink triangles. Not that they are particularly good at covering anything. I mumble a "fuck you" and continue my short walk to my room.