Life With Boys (Emerson Series #1)

Chapter Six

"We're taking my car. Let's go, kiddos," Nick says, walking out the door.

"I call shot gun!" Austin exclaims, running after Nick. Great, so I have to sit in the back with Ryder and Carter.

"I'm not sitting in the middle," Ryder comments, walking out the door.

"That means Annie is," Carter says with a smirk.

I roll my eyes and trudge out the door. Seriously, just put a damn shirt on. Not that hard. "Seriously? Why do I have to sit in the middle?"

"Because you're the smallest," Carter says with a shrug. He opens the back door and motions for me to slide in. "In you go, m'lady."

I slide into the car next to Ryder, and Carter slides in on the other side of me. "How long is the drive to the beach?"

"Since there seems to be a lot of traffic, about an hour," Austin says, checking his phone's GPS. You have got to be kidding me.

"You do realize we're going to the beach, right?" Ryder asks, examining my outfit.

"Well, unlike you guys, I don't parade around with barely any clothing on."

"So, that means you're wearing a bikini, am I right?" he teases. I blush slightly and roll my eyes at him.

"You just have to wait until we get to the beach to find that out. Actually, scratch that, you won't find out."

"You're not going to swim?" Nick asks, glancing at me through the front mirror.

I shrug, trying to hide the real reason I don't want to swim. "Nope."

"Well why not? You get to go to your first California beach, and you won't even go into the ocean?" Carter asks, his eyes narrowed.

"I've never really liked swimming." Lie. Other than being a cheerleader, I was on the swim team. Austin looks at me through the rearview mirror and I shrug.

"You definitely have the body for it," Ryder mumbles.

My jaw drops and the guys just chuckle at my reaction. "Don't say that!"

"Hey, enough. That's my sister," Austin grimaces.

"Why? It's true," he retorts.

A blush forms on my cheeks and I shake my head. "No, it's not."

——

The rest of the ride to the beach was silent, thankfully. We come to a stop and join the rest of the family by the car that they had taken. I look around and notice that every single person in this family is extremely fit. Well, except for Charlie, he's only six. Even Mr. and Mrs. Emerson are in great shape! And I'm just... Ew.

"Come on, Annie." Mr. Emerson calls to me.

I glance up to see everyone walking towards the beach. "Oh, coming," I mumble and walk behind the bunch.

"Everything okay?" he asks, waiting for me to catch up.

"Yeah, everything's fine." He nods and walks with me towards the miles and miles of endless sand, beautiful water, and the early morning sky.

It's breathtaking. Especially since it's so early, so the pink and orange in the sky make it look absolutely beautiful. There's a lifeguard stand to the right of me, and multiple food carts to the left, but they're a ways down the beach.

There's also a bike trail and a place where you can rent a bike. Next to the bike rental is a small surf shop, selling anything and everything that has to do with surfing. Past the surf shop is a souvenir shop. The jewelry hanging on little hooks shines in the morning sun light, making me smile.