15. Summer 17
“This might be my best idea yet!” Rebecca practically shakes with excitement as we pack suitcases and a tent into Andrew’s truck.
“I’m not convinced a weekend in the woods is your best idea ever,” I grumble.
“Come on, Emma! You love the outdoors. Why are you being such a sourpuss?” Rebecca then dares to add, “You helped me plan this trip for weeks. I thought you’d be excited about this.”
Why does she have to bring that up?As if I need a reminder about how excited I was for this trip before our plans changed.
Rebecca closes the back of Andrew’s truck and stops to look at me. I think she’s talking still, but I haven’t been listening. My focus is on the driver’s side of the truck, where the door is open, and Angelina is perched in the driver’s seat while Andrew strokes her thigh and gives her a lingering kiss. He turns away from her and begins walking our way. “Do you two need any help loading things up? Angie and I packed the cooler. She even made cookies for us. Wasn’t that nice?”
Rebecca gives me a concerned look before turning back to Andrew. “You know Emma already made us her grandpa’s chocolate chip cookies. What are we going to do with two batches of cookies?”
Andrew looks at her funny. This Angelina, or Angie as Andrew so lovingly calls her (bleh), gets on my nerves. She wasn’t even supposed to be a part of this trip when we started planning it. It was just going to be me, Rebecca, and Andrew, like it always is. Then Andrew decided that dating a girl for three months justified allowing her to crash our perfectly planned camping trip.
“I don’t think we will have any problem putting those cookies away,” Andrew replies. He’s so annoyingly clueless, but I can’t be mad at him. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to stay mad at Andrew.
“It’s fine, Becs. I’m sure Andrew and I will polish them off easily.”
Rebecca still doesn’t look convinced. She sees right through me. She knows the pride I take in these cookies, and I’m pretty sure she can see there’s a little bit more bothering me than sharing the spotlight for cookies.
“Sorry, Emma. I know how much my Andy loves these cookies, so I just thought it’d be a good time to bring them along,” Angelina, not so helpfully, adds.
I can’t believe this is who Andrew had to pick as his first girlfriend. Yes, she’s pretty, but everything she does is so irksome. First of all, she calls Andrew Andy, despite the fact that anyone who knows him is aware he hates that nickname. Second of all, she hates reading. I tried to make conversation with her, asking her about her interests, but reading was not on the list. When I asked her if she reads, she said, ‘Eh, I read when I have to for class, but who can be bothered to read a whole book? They’re boring.’ I can be bothered. Andrew has no problem being bothered, and he should be with someone who appreciates books the same way he does.
I take a calming breath. Andrew is one of my closest friends, and I want to support him. He clearly likes Angelina, so I need to make more of an effort to like her too.
“Are we ready to head out?” Andrew asks the group.
Rebecca and I nod as Angelina hops into the passenger seat. “Let’s get this party started!” Andrew cheerily hops into the driver’s side of the truck.
The site we picked is not that far away from our houses. It’s maybe a ten-minute drive and is just on the other side of the lake. The sunrises are incredible over here. I drag Rebecca out here at least once a week on our morning runs, which is how we initially got the idea for this camping trip.
Once we unload everything, Rebecca, Andrew, and I put the tents up. Angelina pretends to be useful by placing all the food out on the table, but come nightfall, that is all going to have to be put away because the raccoons will definitely get into it.
“Andrew, you could at least tell her that her work is absolutely useless,” I mumble to him as we slip the cover over the top of my and Rebecca’s tent.
“What do you mean?” Since when was Andrew this stupid?
“We aren’t going to eat all of that food today, and the raccoons will get into it if it gets left out.”
Angelina turns toward us and throws both her arms out, pointing to the table. “There, it’s all organized by meal and everything.”
“It looks great, Angie,” Andrew encourages her with unnecessary enthusiasm. He walks over and plops a kiss on the tip of her nose. She pulls him in for a hug, nuzzling her cheeks into Andrew’s chest.
I groan and turn away, catching Rebecca staring at me yet again. She grabs my wrist and begins pulling me away from the campsite. “Emma and I are going down to the water,” she announces.
“But my towel is in my bag,” I begin to argue, but she is quick to clear the air.
“We’re not going to be swimming.”
“Uh, Becs, I know we are close, but not like that,” I try to lighten the mood. Why does she seem so grumpy all of a sudden?
She rolls her eyes and starts walking faster, still gripping my wrist. Her grasp is a little too tight.
When we reach the water’s edge, she picks up a rock and skips it. I know what that means. She wants to talk for real.
I pick up a rock, skip it, and wait for her to start the conversation. I’m not even sure what she wants to talk about. It came on so suddenly. I don’t see why she felt the need to discuss whatever it is now, while we are on the camping trip with Andrew and his little puppy dog. Sorry, I mean his girlfriend. He’s my friend. I need to try harder, I remind myself.
“I know what’s going on,” Rebecca begins. “The reason you turned sour on this trip, the reason you’re all of a sudden being an asshole to Andrew. It’s because you’re in love with my brother. Isn’t it?”
I’m stunned into silence. I don’t even know how to respond. I can’t believe she would say something so ridiculous. I’ve always thought Rebecca in some ways knows me better than I know myself, but now? She clearly doesn’t.
“I’m not in love with Andrew!” My bewilderment makes me sound less than believable, but I keep going. “Are we good friends? Yes. Would I consider him one of my best friends, behind you? Of course.”
“Thank you for that,” she interjects, sounding sincere.
“Do I love that we can talk about books and food and life? Absolutely. Maybe he’s grown up to be kind of good-looking, and I feel all warm when we touch, but that doesn’t mean I love him,” I conclude.
Rebecca raises her eyebrows at me, her mouth going crooked. “I love you, but you are either way dumber than I thought, or you’re lying to me, which we don’t do.”
Her words cut me. I’ve always appreciated Rebecca’s brazen honesty. I suppose I do now too. I know she’s only bringing this up because she cares about me; however, I’m just not sure what she’s talking about. “You’ve lost me.”
“Come on, Emma!” She sounds frustrated. “I’ve watched this happen for years, and I thought maybe I was overanalyzing things, or it was just a little crush that would go away, but I can see now that I wasn’t wrong, and it’s more than a crush. Before Angelina got here, and got your panties all in a wad, you lit up every time you saw Andrew, and you may not have told me, but Andrew is still my brother, so I know you guys have been texting and Facetiming throughout the school year. It’s okay. You’re my best friend. There’s literally no one better to date my brother than you.”
I sit down on the rocky shore. I don’t even want to skip rocks anymore. “I guess I hadn’t thought about my feelings for him. I’ve always felt kind of giddy around Andrew, but I haven’t ever allowed myself to consider our relationship could go beyond a friendship.” I put my head in my hands as I think some more. After a pause, I continue, “I hate Angelina. She’s so wrong for Andrew. He could do better, and she’s just so… dull.”
Rebecca bursts into laughter. “At least you’re starting to be honest!” She sits down next to me and pats my thigh. “I don’t like her either. If it were up to me, we’d parenttrap her ass on this trip and float her out into the lake on her tiny air mattress, but we aren’t that lucky. She didn’t bring an air mattress.”
I snort. “Yeah, that’s why we aren’t doing that!” It feels good to be so brutally honest with Rebecca. I guess I had been holding back. “I thought Andrew and I were getting somewhere this year. We’ve been talking about so much more than just books, and I swear we had a moment. No, we had moments. Then all of a sudden, he has Angelina, and she’s crashing our trip. It sucks.”
“Andrew’s smart. It may take him a little while, but he’s going to realize Angelina is not the one. Mark my words, it’s just a matter of time.”
I hug her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I know we can’t set her afloat on an air mattress, but is there some other way we can scare her off? She’s going to kill the vibe of this camping trip!”
I bury my head in my hands as I laugh. “Gosh, I love you!”
“You think I’m kidding?”
“I know you too well to think you’re kidding. That’s why I have to be the sensible one and say we aren’t going to do anything. You said it yourself; Andrew will figure out that she’s not the one.”
“I may have said that, but that doesn’t mean I have the patience to wait for him to figure it out. Emma, she’s going to drive us both mad. Please, we have to get rid of her.” She emphasizes, “Now.”
“How the hell are we supposed to do that?” I ask, sure that this question will stop her.
She stutters a little. I was right. “We will figure something out.”
“We will not do anything. I may like Andrew as more than a friend, but that doesn’tmean I want to get involved in his love life like that. I want what’s best for him, and meddling is not a good idea. That’s a sure-fire way to piss him off and hurt him, which I want no part in.”
“Ugh, Emma, you’re the wor—” she’s interrupted by the sound of crackling rocks and then Andrew sprinting down the beach toward us. He’s in his swim trunks, showing off his lean muscles. His abs contract with each step down. He passes us by, runs off the dock, and dives right into the lake.
“What’re you guys doing on the beach? You should be in the lake,” he shouts as he treads water.
“Where’s Angelina?”
“She’s taking a nap. She said the sun was making her tired, so I thought I’d come and see what you guys are up to.” He adds, “I guess I wasn’t missing much.”
“I was about to take your truck to the store. I forgot something, but you two go ahead. I’ll be back in a jiff.” Rebecca winks at me as she turns and walks off the beach.
“Geez, everyone is bailing! Em, you better come swim with me right now, or I’m going to be disappointed. I was promised this would be a fun camping trip, and two-thirds of you are being lame.”
I roll my eyes with a grin on my face. “You’re so dramatic.”
“Em, get in the water now!” He draws out the ‘w’ sound. Even from here, I can see the smile that’s plastered on his face.
I stand up. “All right, I’m coming!” I pull my shirt over my head and unbutton my shorts, pulling those off too to reveal my royal blue swimsuit.
I run out on the dock and cannonball into the water right next to him.
“Oh, that’s how we are going to play it?” Andrew teases.
I smirk back. “I’m in the water. That’s what you asked for. Now you’re going to be picky about how I do it?”
He places his palms on the dock and lifts himself out of the water. I can’t help but let my gaze linger on the rippling muscles in his back and his toned triceps as he pushes himself up.
He takes several steps back and then launches himself forward, running straight at me. I scream and duck my head underwater right as he leaps over me and cannonballs into the water.
I pop up, looking for him, just as I feel something grab my ankle and tug. I shriek. Andrew shoots back to the surface and immediately begins laughing.
“What was that for?” I ask, splashing him in the face.
“Payback.” The grin on his face turns devilish.
“I could’ve died.”
“I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, Em.” He reaches out, caressing my cheek for a moment, then slowly drags his hand down and back into the water.
I want nothing more than to just crawl into his arms right then and soak up all the love he has to give to me. That’s not how we work though, and Andrew has Angelina. Whatever he is doing right now, whatever I’m feeling right now, doesn’t matter. He doesn’t feel the way I do.
I internally curse myself before opening my mouth and asking, “Does Angelina know we’re down here? I’d hate for her to wake up alone in the tent with no truck at the campsite and think we Meredith Blake’d her.”
“Are you talking about that evil girlfriend from The Parent Trap who gets set off on a raft?” Andrew asks, narrowing his brows and scrunching his nose in puzzlement.
Of course, he knows exactly what I’m talking about. Rebecca and I forced him to watch the movie with us so many times! “Yeah…” I trail off with a laugh, hoping he won’t think anything of it if I pretend I’m just being silly old me.
“You’re so weird,” he chuckles and pulls himself out of the water again onto the dock. “We can go check on her. I’ve got such a hankering for some Oreos and milk right about now anyway.” He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
I swear he’s disappointed we have to go back to his girlfriend, but I won’t let myself think like that.