Not Another Summer Love Story

Chapter 11 - New Year's Eve

Today was the last day of the year. 

Sandy Cove was known to do New Year's Eve in a way that was a contrast to its day to day life. In fact, it was a celebration that had the place swarming with people from the city and nearby towns. It was the New Year's Eve beach party, filled with music, dancing and fireworks.

Last year, there had been a huge drama with our group when a group of girls from the city drunkenly caught the attention of the local boys. It taught us that the injection of new people into our tight knit little group didn't sit well, so we locals agreed we'd stick together for this one.

"This is the last time I'm going to pee for the rest of the year," Maisie told me proudly as she left me alone in her bedroom. Maisie was a little too sentimental with all of her 'last for the year' statements. So far she'd showered for the last time of the year, eaten for the last time of the year, and now she'd left to use the bathroom. 

I sighed, gazing in the mirror of her dresser. Maisie had pressured me into doing my make-up, framing my eyes with winged eyeliner and mascara. I half agreed because of something Alastair told me a few days ago; make sure you dress 'feminine' again, because you're going to get your first ever new year's kiss. So now I had my bronze hair curled in waves and was wearing a black off-the shoulder cropped top which dipped into a V down my chest, paired with a silky white high waisted skirt that came from Maisie's closet. I didn't really think that I looked like me, but maybe that meant I could escape me for a while.

I'd be lying if I said things were okay these last few days. I'd grappled to any opportunity to isolate myself from anyone other than Maisie once she'd returned. Mum's letter shook me up, and it seemed to shake everything up at home. Dad was acting stranger than ever and never seemed to be home. It made me wonder if she'd written to him too, but none of us were confrontational enough to ask each other.

So, I hadn't really interacted with anyone else much. I saw Mallory and Daniel at the ice-creamery - the image of them flirting the other day was becoming difficult to remove from my mind. But I knew if I told Maisie she'd go ballistic, so I had to make sure it was serious before I went to her about it. For now, I'd trust Daniel, because I honestly believed that he wouldn't do anything sinister to Maisie.

I'd seen Alastair yesterday afternoon. He'd asked to go surfing, I think it was an excuse to drag me out because even he'd sensed my withdrawal, but it was nice. I'd insisted we went in the late afternoon, when I was sure the gorillas were gone.

"What are you looking so thoughtful about?" Maisie chirped. She had strode back into her room, wiggling her hips slightly to the sound of the pop music she was playing from her speaker set. She was dressed in a deep red strapless dress which was a little daring for her fair complexion, but even I had to admit it looked amazing.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing in particular," I assured her. 

"A certain blonde guy with rock hard abs and eyes you could drown in who will probably want to kiss you again tonight?"

"Maisie," I groaned. I'd told her that it didn't feel right the other day, when we'd almost kissed. But that didn't mean that it would never feel right. At the same time, her and Alastair's not so subtle encouragement was driving me insane. You'd think I was their latest entertainment television show and they were desperate for the next episode.

"Sorry! Come on, let's get going, the beach party's probably in full swing already. I have to make sure Dan's behaving."

Her mentioning of keeping tabs on Dan made my stomach twist in guilt, and I tried to reassure myself that I'd made the right decision keeping quiet. What I saw was hardly anything, I've blown it out of proportion. I can trust Dan.