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❛𝐘ou scared me!" I laughed as I placed my hand where my racing heart laid.
I had turned to see the boy that Max brought. His eyes were on me with his hands in his pocket. I hadn't expected anyone to travel outside as the party was inside. Since my sister wanted her engagement party to be held at her fiance's beach house, the chilly air helped ease the heated shares from my parents.
"Sorry, it's just that I don't know anyone in there. I came to get fresh air," he replied with a smile.
As he talked, the soft waves clashed beautifully with his voice. They mixed together like a song everyone knew. A song everyone liked and I found myself wanting to record it to listen to every night.
"I'm Elyse. I'm Max's brother's sister-in-law. I really wish there was a name for me and Max legally that fit our relationship."
"How long have you known Max?" he asked as he sat down on one of the chairs.
I followed suit. The firepit distorted his face a bit after I sat across from him. The sight of it made me feel nostalgic. The memory would forever be seared inside of my mind. For a moment, I almost forgot what we were talking about.
"Since we were practically babies. I think since I was four? I can't remember. But since our siblings got together in high school."
"That's a while but I've known him longer."
"Oh yeah? How long?"
He looked at me with his top row of teeth showing while he smiled. The corners of his eyes scrunched up. I had never seen the color of his eyes. They were green, there was no doubt, but they were bright enough for me to see them through the fire.
"Since before we were born. We were swimming around in our fathers while sleeping in our mothers. Our parents' have known each other for a while before we were born."
"Best friends?"
"Yeah. So, are you his other best friend?"
"I'd like to think so," I said as nodded.
"August," he said as he got up and sat down in the vacant space next to me.
"Like the-"
"Yes, like the month. It's really Augustine but I don't like how feminine it sounds."
August ran his tongue along the bottom of his teeth before he frowned. I knew the feeling. Our names were not ordinary for people. Most were named Ashley or McKenna or Christian or Luke. But it was Elyse and Augustine. They were strange, his being a variation of a month and mine about God's promise.
I sat for a second, looking at him, his hair, or his brackets. Nicknames ran wild in my head so that I could offer this boy some comfort.
"Then how about...Auggie?" I suggested after skimming the many possible versions.
