Float

Original Edition: Chapter Two

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There was one last drop of chocolate milkshake in my cup, but no matter how I moved my straw, I just couldn't reach it. I was pretty certain that the people sitting in the booth next to us were watching me with raised eyebrows, but that didn't matter to me. What mattered was that I had just chugged the best milkshake of my entire life.

"Should we order you another one?" George asked.

I tossed my straw onto the table in defeat. "No, thanks. I'm good."

"I told you the food here was delicious," Rachel said, scooping up another bite of baked salmon onto her fork.

Holden Grill was perched on stilts that stretched out over the beach, high enough from the sand so that people could walk below it. It was very bougie, by my standards.

"How long will you be in Holden, Waverly?" Chloe asked.

"Two months," I told her.

"All summer, huh?"

"George, honey, don't speak with your mouth full," Chloe scolded.

He rolled his eyes, swallowed, and turned to Rachel.

"Aren't you busy with that project down in Marlin Bay? The mural at the hospital?"

"Yes. We should be done with it by the end of August, though."

"So what is Waverly going to do on her own?"

Great question.

"She might try to find a summer job," Rachel offered helpfully.

"Oh! Blake has one of those," Chloe said, flipping her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder and stabbing a scallop with her fork. "He's a lifeguard."

Not an option for me.

"Maybe he could show her around the beaches?"

If I had been drinking water, I would have spat it out.

Really? Rachel wanted me to hang out with him?

"Oh, don't be silly," Chloe told Rachel. "I'm sure Waverly will make her own friends soon enough. AndBlake's been so busy recently with his girlfriend—I swear, he's never home!"

My hand twitched in my lap.

It wasn't because I was scared to make friends with these Holden kids. Which I totally was. They all knew each other, and they had inside jokes together. I, on the other hand, was the outsider. And to make matters worse, I was from Alaska. I was bound to make a polar bear joke. No one would get it. 

"Is Blake still with her?" George asked, still on the subject of his son's girlfriend. "I thought they broke up."

"Oh no, sweetie. That was last week. They're back together now," Chloe informed him.

So Blake and his girlfriend were one of those couples. You know, the ones that break up and get back together an average of five times a day. Noted.

"Well, I'm stuffed," George declared, placing his napkin on the table and leaning back in the booth, allowing his stomach to bulge out. "I think it's about time to head home."

"Agreed," Rachel said with a nod.

"We'll pick up the check," Chloe offered, reaching for her purse.

After she'd paid, the four of us gathered ourselves and slid out of the booth, groaning as we stood up and realized we had all eaten way too much food. At this rate, I was going to have to buy a bigger parka before I returned to Alaska.