While Jeremiah and Victoria were bonding over their music taste, Gigi and Nicole were talking to Susannah, and Shayla was Laurel and John with Steven, Conrad and I sat by the pool, dangling our feet into the water.
"So Adam couldn't make it, huh" I say.
"Nope" He replies, playing with my ring.
"Are you upset?" I ask gently, not too sure
"Are you?" He says, asking about my absent father.
"No" I mumble.
"Me too" He agrees.
Conrad's POV
"Emmy, Shayla, you have to read this text, come here" Gigi calls, sounding excited.
"Oh well, I gotta go, duty calls" She says, giggling.
"Do you have to" I grumble, wanting to have my girl to myself for a bit.
"Yes" She says smiling. "Try not to miss me too much" She adds, smirking.
With that, she stands up and walks towards Gigi and Shayla, laughing.
I watch her, as they dissect Gigi's text, giggling and squealing.
She's beautiful, no one can deny that. She is so stunningly gorgeous and has a heart of pure gold.
She's an angel and everyone loves her.
She deserves the world and look at me.
I'm a mess.
I don't deserve her.
Emily's POV
"That's dope" Jeremiah says in anticipation, watching Victoria make the pomegranate margaritas.
"Yeah" I agree. "Where did you learn how to make them?" I ask curiously, tilting my head slightly.
"So I actually spent a summer in a desert town in Texas near the border called Marfa" She explains. "And there was this bar there that sold these, and I told the bartender that I would not leave until he showed me exactly how to make these." She grins and she pours the drinks into glasses and Jeremiah chuckles. Honestly, I think she's really cool and easygoing.
"Can I try a sip?" Belly asks eagerly, licking her lips.
"Are your parent's cool with that?" Victoria asks back.
"Yeah, yeah no, they don't care" Belly says, and I raise my eyebrows and exchange amused glances with Jeremiah. We still haven't fully made up yet, Belly and I. We're both being stubborn and refusing to apologize until the other does first. Though, it has turned into more of a cold war now.
"Oh, then, sure" Victoria replies, grabbing two glasses full of margaritas.
"I'm going to take these out to your dad. Do you mind taking these out to Susannah and your mom?" She asks.
"Yeah sure" Belly smiles.
"Thanks love" Victoria responds and starts walking out of the kitchen with two drinks in hand, looking for John.
Belly takes a sip of the margaritas and her eyes widen.
"Well, how is it, strong?" Jeremiah asks impatiently.
"It's amazing" Belly squeals happily, handing Jeremiah the drink.
"Is it?" Jeremiah takes a sip and hands it to me. "Mmm. No wonder you like it, it tastes just like a slurpee"
"Yeah, exactly" Belly exclaims, smiling widely.
I take a sip and mull the taste over in my head. "Pretty good" I say. "Could use more tequila though"
"Yeah, definitely." Jeremiah agrees, nodding his head.
"But I have an idea" Belly says, drumming her hand on the table with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Uh-oh" Jeremiah says chuckling.
"Sous chef, I'm gonna need some more pomegranate juice" Belly says, getting up and rummaging in the pantry.
"You got it" Jeremiah laughs, and I hand him some more pomegranates.
"What are you guys making" Conrad asks, walking into the kitchen. He shoots me a smile and I smile back.
"Pomegranate margaritas, but with a twist" Belly squeals excitedly.
"Well, you got to use the good blender" Her says, gesturing towards Adam's prized possession with a smirk.
"Oh, I-I haven't used that thing since the great Kool Aid debacle of 2011" Jeremiah grins, although a little nervously.
"I remember the counters were sticky for what, 2 summers?" I laugh.
"Yeah, just about" Conrad says, plugging the mixer in.
"Dad kept his briefcase in my room for a year" Jeremiah says, face palming himself at the memory. "As a reminder that not all mistakes are reversible" He smirks.
"Wait, won't he be mad if he finds out?" Belly says, looking a little worried.
"He's not gonna find out, he's not coming" He says, looking more than happy at that prospect.
Belly laughs and responds. "Okay"
We add the freshly squeezed pomegranate juice and the peach powder and finally, tequila, and Conrad starts mixing.
Suddenly, he lifts his hand off the mixer and I slap mine on in horror. "No, keep your hand on it" I scold.
"Man, you know what I miss?" Conrad asks, as the mixer comes to a stop.
"What?" Jeremiah says curiously.
"Watching Laurel put dad in his place." He grins at the memory. "You know, she'd walk in and she'd be like, Adam" He tries to imitate her and we all laugh.
I remembered the Adam and Laurel's fight, which, by the way, always seem to happen in the kitchen. It was like our very own reality tv show and as kids, we loved to spy on them and watch. It was hilarious every time.
"Adam" Laurel exclaims, coming in the kitchen. "You came"
I'm surprised and looking around, I can tell everyone else is too.
"Happy Fourth!" Adam cheers.
I feel Conrad start to stiffen next to me and I grab his hand and slowly rub circles on his palm in an attempt to calm him down. It seems to be working as he relaxes a little bit but I can tell he's still tense at his dad's sudden appearance.
"Dad" Jeremiah shouts, looking elated and runs into his arms. "You came" He mumbles into his dad's shoulder.
"Hey guys, hey Connie" He says, as he and Jeremiah pull apart.
We all murmur a quick greeting but Conrad stays silent and I squeeze his hands that's still clasped against mine. It's almost as if he's afraid to let go.
"I'll have a little of what you're mixing up there" He says, looking at the drinks.
"Yeah sure" Belly says, handing him a glass.
"Hey, thanks Belly" He says, taking the margarita.
"Oh, you're going to love the firework show this year." Jeremiah says excitedly, and I'm happy for him. "It going to be the best on yet."
"I believe it" Adam laughs.
"Where did everyone go?" Susannah calls, confused, as she walks in.
As soon as she sees him, she freezes.
"Hey" Adam says, giving her a half smile.
"Adam" She says, carefully wiping any trace of emotion from her face. "You managed to get off work"
"Couldn't miss the fourth of July with my family" Adam replies cheerily, as if he's trying to lift the mood. Instead of lightening the atmosphere, his words are met with an awkward silence, with Susannah emotionless and Conrad looking bitter.
"Alright, well, let's get back to the party" Susannah says, smiling a little too widely.
"Okay, let's go kids" Laurel agrees, her voice equally over the top bright.
"Hey, Connie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Adam asks, attempting to stop him from leaving.
"I'm going to the beach" He mutters darkly and storms out, and I follow.
"Do you want me to come with you?" I ask gently, knowing he probably would want some space.
"No, it's okay" He mumbles.
"Okay" I answer and he gives me a small smile as he walks towards the beach.
A little while later, the teens are all clustered around on the beach and I have Shayla to my right, and Connie to my left.
"May I present, The Belly Special" Belly announces excitedly setting a jug down, and we all cheer.
"Ooh, those look awesome" Nicole grins.
"Very nice"
"We saved you the inflatable unicorn" Gigi says, pointing to the half full unicorn.
"Well, thank you" Belly replies, coming over and sitting down.
"Hey guys" Jeremiah calls, walking down the beach. "Check out who I found"
"It's Cam Cameron!" He cheers, and some of us join in. Jeremiah settles next to Gigi and Cameron sits down beside Belly.
"It's not a race Con" I say, as he's chugging down endless amounts of margaritas. I know he has a pretty high tolerance but I just don't want him getting wasted tonight with his father being here and all.
"Yeah, save some for the rest of us, please" Jeremiah agrees, shaking his head, and we all laugh.
"Okay, wait, wait ,wait. But what if it was a race?" Belly suggests, giggling. I think she had a little two much of the margaritas.
"I mean isn't that- isn't that the premise of like, every drinking game?" She adds.
"You, want to play a drinking game" Gigi says doubtfully.
"Why not, it's the Fourth of July right?" Belly says, holding up her drink.
"Fuck it"
"Let's do it" The others agree.
"Emily!" Shayla gleefully shouts at me "Drink"
I laugh as I chug down the drink, dancing with the girls.
Fuck it, I might be the one getting drunk tonight.
photo credits (in order of appearance)
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/914864111787062470/?mt=login
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