Chapter 23 Playlist Wet Hair and Tan Lines
SUMMERFEST.
My favorite day of the summer. Well, second-favorite.
Fireworks on the Fourth of July might be my favorite.
Okay, third. My favorite could actually be the first day of summer because there’s something about being on the cusp of a whole three months of possibility that I look forward to every year.
Whatever. Summerfest is here and I love it, okay?
It’s a little over three weeks until Labor Day, which means summer’s edging toward its grand finale, but we’re not there quite yet.
I’m not a huge shopper, but every year Kat and I used to go shopping together for summer dresses to wear to the festival.
Obviously that wasn’t going to happen, so one day after we worked a lunch shift together, I invited Shelby to go with me instead.
We spent several hours perusing the shops downtown, and both ended up with something perfect to wear, mine being on sale so I’m still on track to buy the record player by the time school starts.
Ruby’s boyfriend was grounded, so she met up with us after dinner, and the three of us hung out with a few people on the pier.
It may have taken me most of the summer to do it, but I think I’ve finally gotten a handle on maneuvering a social life without Kat Barlowe.
I have mixed feelings about Kat showing up tomorrow, something I’d never have thought would happen.
I want to see her, but I’ve also sort of started to like the person I became after she left.
Maybe I was that person all along but I just never really let it show because it was easier to stay one step behind Kat most of the time.
Either way, this will be the first time we’re together since…
well, since everything that’s happened this summer.
Since Myles. Since Gregory. Since Shelby has taken Kat’s place beside me on the sand.
It feels different. Will I act different?
Will she?
There is one thing I can say: I’m thankful Myles is on the other side of the country.
As if the thought conjured him, my phone lights up with a text.
Myles: miss me yet?
Me: I mean, we get way less tips at Pearl’s when you’re not out there flirting with everyone, so. Yeah, we all do.
Myles: hahaha
Myles: even Anders?
Me: On Thursday he asked ‘where the hell is that tall blond kid?’
Me: Which in Anders talk is basically like saying I love you.
Myles: I’m flattered
Myles: but really I only care if you miss me…
Me: I do
Me: How’s California?
Me: Have you been discovered?
Me: Are you vegan now?
Myles: awesome, no, and hell no
Me: Are you surfing all day every day?
Myles: yes because the waves here are SO MUCH BETTER
Myles: my dad keeps complaining that that’s all I want to do and I’m like stay mad, dude
Myles: you’re the one that rented an Airbnb right on the water, what did you expect?
Me: Even I’d know better than that, lmao
Me: What’s the USC campus like?
Myles: huge, and like, right in the middle of town
Myles: my dad’s the one who brought Matt out for his campus visit last year, so my mom hadn’t seen it. I think it freaked her out a little
Me: Yeah, I’m gonna say LA’s way different than Kingfisher Cove, haha
Myles: it’s pretty cool
Myles: I might add it to my list of possibilities for college
Me: Nice!
Myles: you could come visit and I could teach you to surf
Myles thinks we’ll still be hanging out when he goes off to college? And that he’d want me to come visit? I didn’t think anything could have made my day better, with Summerfest on the horizon, but boy, was I wrong.
Me: Obviously I’ll visit you, but it needs to be said that I know HOW to surf
Me: It’s just not worth getting up early for.
Myles: hard disagree
Myles: But I’d slum it on the afternoon waves for you
Me: You’re so very thoughtful, Myles Ford.
Me: Be sure you scout out some good restaurants
Me: I’ll expect to be wined and dined
Myles: consider it done, my passenger princess
Myles: by the way, I miss you too
“Oh. My. God!” Kat yells at the same time she pulls me in for a hug the moment I open the door. “It’s so good to see you!”
Eardrums ringing, it’s not until I pull back that I realize someone else is standing beside her.
“Hi!” the girl says.
I have no idea who she is.
“Oh, Amelia, this is my friend Felicity! She wanted to come with me and see what Summerfest was all about. Isn’t that so fun?”
I stand there stunned for a second. Kat brought one of her new friends from Pinecrest and didn’t even tell me she was going to?
As I was getting ready for bed last night, I promised myself I’d keep a positive attitude with Kat.
I do miss her, and I am happy to see her.
But I also worried that her visit might expose the tender parts of me that feel abandoned and left behind for something better, and I was right.
That something is named Felicity, who, by the way, is freaking gorgeous.
She’s tall with dark eyes and black hair that’s curled in long waves, because of course.
I bet it’ll even hold up once we’re out in the humid, salty air, while mine will go up in a mass on top of my head within the first half hour.
Kat looks the same—her long blond hair blown straight, sunglasses perched on her head, single hoop earrings, and just a touch of makeup. I’m a little surprised she didn’t chop all her hair off or get some new piercing with her new friends.
I catch her giving me a look, like, Hello? and I snap out of my thoughts.
“Oh. Yeah, so glad you could come along, Felicity,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
Felicity jumps forward to hug me too, and while I don’t mind being touched, I’m not usually one to hug someone I barely know. Or, actually, that I don’t know at all.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she says. “I’ve heard so much about you! Kat talks about you all the time.”
“Oh,” I say. Suddenly my eyes burn, and I turn away, gesturing them farther into my house while I compose myself. I can’t tell if I want to cry because it’s so nice to hear that Kat talks about me or because it’s actually super depressing how surprised I am that that’s the case.
Margarine bolts into the room, and Kat screeches. “Oh, Margarine!” She’s on the floor in a heartbeat, laughing as Margarine kisses her cheeks. “Oh, cutie, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Kat turns to Felicity and explains how we found Margie all those years ago.
“She had a health scare at the beginning of the summer,” I add. “But she’s better now.”
Felicity smiles but doesn’t make a move to pet her. My opinion of her goes down a notch.
My mom comes in, her eyes wild and hair in a messy ponytail. “Oh, hi, Kat, dear!” She pulls Kat into a quick (and firm, if Kat’s squeak is any indication) hug, then pulls back. “I’m late to get to the gallery stand at the festival. Can I give you girls a ride?”
“Oh, no,” Kat says. “I told Felicity how perfect the walk would be from here. Beach the whole way. But we’ll see you there!”
“Thanks, though,” I add, and Mom kisses me on the cheek before she disappears toward the garage.
“So are we ready?” I ask.
“Yep,” Kat says, and eyes my outfit. It’s a yellow maxi dress with spaghetti straps and a low, open back.
I wouldn’t let Shelby talk me into a shorter skirt because the wind on the beach would blow it right up, but the front has little ties down the center that show more skin than I normally do. “That’s a cute dress. Is it new?”
“Yeah. I got it last week. With my friend Shelby,” I say, watching her closely. Does that bother her? Dress shopping for Summerfest was our thing, but talking every day was too, so. Things change.
I notice then that Kat’s wearing the pink midi dress she bought for the festival last year, and frown. She didn’t shop for today with one of her new gazillion friends?
“She works at Pearl’s too,” I say as we head toward the back door. “She’s just here for the summer.”
“Pearl’s is where Myles works too,” Kat explains to Felicity. “That guy I told you about. But Amelia said he’s out of town, so you won’t get to see him in person.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, eager to turn the conversation very much away from Myles Ford. “There’ll be plenty of other cute guys there. Some of them might even be shirtless.”
Felicity claps her hands. “God, why couldn’t I have grown up in a beach town?” We step onto the back porch and make our way down the steps, and she gestures with open arms. “I mean, look at this? You, like, live here and see this every day?”
It’s a perfect day for Summerfest. The sun shines bright, and only a few white clouds wisp across the bright blue sky. A light sea breeze brings the perfect relief from the heat, and I take a deep breath of sea air before I respond. “Yep.”
“Does it ever get old? Or stop being so awesome?”
“Never,” I say. “Do you miss it, Kat?”
Without a pause she says, “Yeah. I do.”
Huh. Another surprise.
It takes us twenty minutes to get to the pier.
Mostly I listen to Kat and Felicity talk about people I don’t know, so I’m relieved when the tents, food trucks, and crowds come into view.
The adults working at Pearl’s offered to take the shifts today so we teenagers could enjoy the festivities, and besides, it will probably be super slow.
All the locals and tourists will be out here instead.
Which means Shelby will be here (I’ll text her soon to see where she’s at—I’ve decided I need a buffer), and so will Ned. Gregory said he and his mom were gonna check it out too, and Ruby and Julian never miss it.
Mom will already be in place at her stand and has probably sold three pieces by now, and Dad will come when he gets off.
Just like at the party on Kat’s last night in town, people keep coming up to say hi and hug her.
Most happily announce that they had no idea she’d be here today (even I’m a little surprised she actually made it), some ask if she’s back for good (no), and all are super curious about her bougie friend.
Felicity doesn’t seem to mind the attention one bit.
We buy mocktails and listen to the bands for a little while, then head to the food trucks to find something to eat. Shelby’s meeting me in the arts and crafts area in half an hour, and Kat wants to take Felicity to the dunk tank to see if they can sink the fireman who’s on the stand until three.
We get in line and start chatting, but Kat suddenly focuses somewhere over my shoulder at the same time her jaw drops.
“Who is that?” she asks.
I turn, eyes scanning the crowd for someone worth that level of fawning. But the only person I recognize is Gregory, and he’s headed right for us.