Parfait

3: Sandwich

I start getting ready as soon as I get back home after the announcement of the dreadful meeting.

Preparing to go to the beach usually consists of putting on a swimsuit and a pair of shorts. Not today, though. I shower, taking the time to exfoliate and shave to the maximum of my ability. I even wax my mustache and pluck my eyebrows, and neither of them was in desperate need to be attended to.

Normally, I'd wear whichever of my swimming tops is clean and a pair of black bottoms. However, today I try on every single one. Most of them look like a sports bra, with the exception of a lilac triangle-shaped one and a strapless one I never wear because swimming in it is impossible. 

I look between the latter two, squinting. "Strapless it is," I mutter to myself. If Sofia's friends dress as feminine as her, I don't want to be the one looking like a rat.

I sigh knowing I'm going to need as much time to find a good outfit, but the pile of clean clothes on my bed makes the choice easier. That, and Olivia's honking from outside.

She's waiting in her shiny red Audi A3, one of the few extravagant presents she has kept from her parents. Their initial thought was to get her a Tesla, but they were worried she might stand out too much, as if her current car blends in. Most eighteen-year-olds don't even have a car.

As soon as I step foot outside the house, I shout "Shotgun!" and Olivia chuckles when the neighbours shout back at me to keep it down. 

"You're wearing your strapless bikini, I see," Olivia says when I get inside the car. 

I take notice of her high ponytail and fresh nail polish. "You're one to talk."

"I don't even know why I did it. It would make sense if one of us liked Alex, but we don't," she says. 

A nervous laugh escapes my lips. "Of course not."

When we stop outside his house, Alex gets in the backseat and sits in the middle, leaning his head forward so we could all hear each other over the air conditioner and the music. He's in his usual beach attire: straw hat, black Ray-Bans, buttoned-down shirt, swimming trunks that almost reach his knees. The strong smell of sunscreen makes me wonder if he actually showered in it, which might not be far from the truth, considering the unblended bits on his face.

In the twenty minutes it takes us to get to the beach, it's all fun and out-of-tune singing.

But then we reach our destination.

I get out of the car and instantly feel the temperature difference. It's as if I stepped into an oven. Still, I can feel my serotonin levels skyrocketing. The beach is swarming with people as per usual at this hour, but it doesn't subtract from the fact that the sea is glittering under the sun and moving in perfect little ripples.

I shoulder my bag and follow Alex and Olivia to the cafe/restaurant on the left half of the beach where Sofia and her friends are supposed to be.

"She must be somewhere around here," Alex mumbles when we reach the first one. "She said they-"

"What?" I exclaim. "Paradiso sucks. Have you tasted their coffee? It's basically water."

"Try finding empty loungers at Seashell at this hour," Olivia replies. "It's okay, we'll survive. We have sandwiches."

Alex huffs. "I had to make a dozen just to be sure there were enough for everyone. You got me in so much-"

"Hey handsome!" says Sofia as she runs from her lounger to him.

She tugs at the collar of his shirt and Alex bents down, giving her a chaste kiss. Sofia smiles before averting her eyes to Olivia and me. Next to Alex, she looks much less pale than she actually is. With her red hair up in a ponytail, bare face, and jean cutoffs, she looks eighteen for once.