Just What I Needed

July 6 (Afternoon)

"No, I didn't... I... Can we just get to the party planning?"

"I guess so," Holly eyed me suspiciously. She knew I was holding something back from the story but I appreciated that she was willing to let me keep it to myself.

I wanted to tell her how he hugged me, and that I felt like there was a moment he might kiss me but didn't. And I didn't want to get my hopes up that it wasn't just a single moment when we were both a little scared.

I also wanted to tell her that five minutes after he left with his aunt and uncle, he had texted me to ask if I missed him yet. 

Holly got me up to speed on the planned social media posts and advertisements that Kari had prepared but after we saw her at the baseball game last week, Kari hadn't been on speaking terms with Holly either.

"So we've reserved the north side of the beach, the tickets are done – they just need to be distributed to the boardwalk stores, and we need to get some volunteers to help us with setting up the decorations, and we still need to figure out what to do for food. We have $1000 left in our budget, so I was thinking we could get people to bring their own drinks and a snack and then we could splurge on a really nice cake! Thoughts?"

I didn't mean to stop listening to her but from the corner of my eye I caught Scotty walking by on the beach. I prayed he didn't notice us in the crowd of people. He was predatorily eyeing up the girls on the beach from a distance, probably choosing his next victim.

"Hello? Thoughts?" Holly waved a hand in front of my face.

"Oh, yes. That's a good idea. I agree," I replied, taking my eyes off of Scotty.

"Well, well, look who it is," Holly pointed to the edge of the beach.

"I know. I just saw him."

"Him?"

"Oh. I thought you were talking about Scotty," I nodded my head in his direction.

"Not him. Her," she motioned to Kari, who was walking by. She was walking around, skimming the beach for summer boys. With the baseball players out of town for their away game, that left the second-best option – rich frat boys on summer vacation. It was obvious she had seen us but chose instead to stick her nose up and continue walking like she hadn't.

"You know, if she just came to talk to us, I'd be willing to have a conversation," Holly said, shaking her head.

"I never knew you were so... caring? Even tempered?" I was searching for the right word. "Emotionally mature?"

"Hey, just because I sometimes have a mouth like a sailor and speak the truth a little too harshly doesn't mean I'm a giant bitch. I'm willing to listen. I stuck around when you were being all sad and mopey, didn't I?"

"Hey! I had a right to be sad and mopey,"

"Yeah, yeah," Holly waved her hand flippantly but she was smiling.

I had totally misjudged her character. Having Nicky around as a social crutch meant I had never really gotten to know Holly or Kari. I took for granted that they were always just there in the group. I assumed they hung out with me because they were trying to get close to my brother. And maybe I was right about that with Kari but Holly had a lot more depth than I ever bothered to find out. But I was really glad I was figuring that out now. It was really nice to have a friend.

We finished our social media push out schedule to promote the party just as the sun began its descent. The sun going down over the horizon cast a reddish-orange glow over the town.

"I'm starving," I said as I helped Holly shake the sand off the towel and pack up her bag.

"Bowling alley?" Holly asked.