Luke
Mia Bishop, you have five minutes.
He really thinks he runs my life.
“What’s our song of the summer this year?” My best friend, roommate, and fellow business owner, Juniper, lowers her knock-off Ray-Ban sunglasses and peers at me with her knowing brown eyes. “And if you give me the title of another sad country song, I will scream.” She leans back against the side of our mint-green mobile bookstore and wiggles her fingers at me before humming my favorite achy-breaky tune of the last year.
The sun makes her skin glow, illuminating her freckles like specks of gold. I take a deep breath of the salty ocean breeze and allow the familiar feeling of calm to overtake me. The cries of the seagulls make me smile, even as the humidity flattens my fine hair against my neck uncomfortably.
It almost feels like being on vacation, coming out here every day. Even though I’m here selling books, painting kids’ faces, and taking photos of happy couples and families on vacation who are trying not to kill each other, it is still fun.
“I don’t know yet. Why don’t we write our own and perform it for all the tourists in town?” I grin at her and shimmy back and forth. “You can sing, and I’ll be your backup dancer.” I spin around, my long blonde hair flying across my shoulders as I do my little dance. That slightly resembles a wonky two-step move.
“Is this the mobile bookstore I’ve heard so much about or auditions forAmerican Idol?” a voice whispers softly behind us.
We both still and turn around slowly. I let out a loud laugh as I see Wendy standing there with her sister, Josie, both gazing at us with amused expressions on their faces.
“How’s it going, Wendy?” I ask her.
Josie giggles and immediately enters our renovated VW van to check out what new books we’ve gotten in stock.
“I’m good,” She nods, and I see her checking out her phone. “Just waiting on Summer and Silvie, as we’re all going to do some yoga.”
I am not a yoga girl, and I don’t enjoy it, but I decide to keep that information to myself.
“Yoga on the beach sounds like a good way to start the day.” I tuck some loose wisps of hair behind my ears. My plethora of colorful bangles jangle with the movement, and I look down at my wrists in pleasure.
Beep.
Luke
Two minutes. I’m waiting.
I grin at the text. I kinda like him waiting on me for once.
“Yeah, Summer says yoga on the beach and then a swim in the ocean is like becoming one with nature.” Wendy shifts her beach bag against her hip.
“I feel the same way about sex on the beach,” Juniper adds in slyly, and we all start laughing, though I know I have to call her out.
“You’ve never had sex on the beach, Juni,” I tease her and wiggle my eyebrows as a cool breeze brushes past us. “Or are you keeping secrets from me?”
“Would I do that?” She adjusts some of theGreetings from Coconut Beachpostcards on the tall rack to the left of the van and starts unpacking the box of bookmarks that arrived the night before. “Oh, I forgot to give you the mail.”
Juniper hands me a stack of letters, which I idly sort through, only expecting to see bills.
“Ooh, what’s this?” I say, spying an elegant linen envelope with my name written in calligraphy. I notice the name at the top is Rex Haverbrook.
I’m about to open it when my phone rings with the song “Baby Got Back,” which my best friend, Luke, programmed in years ago. Nerves are now entering my stomach. Luke is never this insistent about getting in contact with me.
“What’s up?” I say as I answer the phone. “Everything okay?”
“It’s fine. I needed to talk to you,” he says in his smooth, dry voice.
Luke Haverbrook has been my best friend since we were four years old and we met in pre-K. And even though he left Coconut Beach right after high school for college, we’ve remained close. It’s crazy to me that we haven’t seen each other in five years. Other than a late-night video call every few weeks when we watch a movie or something together. I miss my friend, but he’s happy in the city, working his very lucrative job.
“Did you know your brother sent me a letter?” I rip it open eagerly, wondering if it’s some sort of declaration of love. That would be weird, but kinda exciting.
“About that …” Luke clears his throat, and he sounds awkward. Which is weird because he never sounds awkward. “That’s why I’ve been trying to get in contact with you.”
