I almost choke on my own saliva. “Nooooo,” I say, shaking my head. “I didn’t feel that great. Dean took me home.” How many more times am I going to use the sickness excuse?
“Couldn’t handle the tequila?” She grins, laughs, and gets on her knees to straighten out her towel. “By the way, the guys suggested heading outta town tonight. Maybe Venice or into the city, but Dean also thought about heading out to Hollywood so you can see the sign, Eden, because you can’t come to Los Angeles and not see the Hollywood Sign up close and personal. We’re all going.”
“Hollywood’s a good idea,” Rachael says. “I’m in the mood for some illegal trespassing.”
I’m a little skeptical about the whole idea. “Illegal?”
All three of them offer a small smirk, then Tiffani continues to speak, albeit mainly to Rachael at first. “We’re only going to take three cars to make it easier, so wherever we decide to go, Jake’s gonna pick me up and Dean said he’ll get you and Meg.” She tilts her head in my direction. “And you can go with Tyler, because you’re leaving from the same house, anyway.”
I stare at her. In fact, a laugh almost escapes from my lips, but I somehow manage to suppress it. Sure, Tyler and I sharing a car may seem convenient, but putting the two of us in a confined space for longer than a minute is bound to get my blood heated.
“How about a Perry’s round?” Meghan asks. She reaches for her purse.
“Get me a caramel Frio,” Rachael says.
Meghan shifts her eyes to me. “Eden?”
“Um,” I say. I’m not quite sure what sort of store Perry’s is, and I’ve never heard of a Frio in my life. “What is there?”
“Just get her the same as me,” Rachael cuts in as she leans back and props herself up on her elbows, tilting her face up to the sun. She leaves no room for argument.
Meghan heads off with Tiffani by her side, leaving Rachael and I alone to bask in the sun while they get drinks for us all. At least I’m assuming it’s drinks. I have no idea. It could be ice cream. Either way, I’m not looking forward to it.
Clearing my throat, I decide to distract myself. “Okay, I think I’ve got this right,” I say, crossing my legs and turning to face Rachael. She sits up to listen. “You guys are best friends, right?”
“Right…” Rachael agrees, but her tone is cautious as she waits to see where I’m going with this.
“And then Tyler and Dean and this Jake guy are best friends too?”
She thinks about it, pursing her lips as she carefully considers her answer. “Kind of,” she says. “There’s a little tension between Tyler and Jake, but they ignore it most of the time.”
“Why’s there tension?” I remember talking to Jake at the party, and despite his awful conversation skills, he seemed pretty friendly.
“Because Tyler started dating Tiffani freshman year, and back then Jake had this huge crush on her and there were arguments and fights, but he got over it,” Rachael explains. She rolls her eyes. “Immature stuff. They still sort of hate each other though.”
“This tension aside,” I continue, “you guys are all, like, one big group of friends? That’s what it seems like, so I just wanna know if I’ve picked this up right.”
“You’re right,” Rachael says. “We’ve all been friends since—hell, I have no idea—seventh grade or something. We all went to middle school together. Now come on!” She throws her hands up in the air. “Let’s create some tan lines.”
“I’m kinda fine just sitting here,” I say, and I smile as wide as I can to discourage her from saying anything more. But it doesn’t work.
“Oh, shut up,” she jokes as she lies back down again. “You’re not gonna tan that great if you’re sitting there with half your skin covered up.”
I glance down, tightening my grip on my kimono and holding it closer to me. “No, really, I’m fine.”
“Got your Frios!” Tiffani announces as she creeps up behind us, and I’m thankful for her interruption. Leaning over my shoulder, she hands me a plastic cup with cream overflowing from the lid and then hands another to Rachael, tossing the straws at us afterward.
I stare at the cup for a few seconds. It looks like the most fattening beverage to ever exist. The cream just makes me feel queasy, so it’s almost impossible to smile up at her. I must look so ungrateful, but I just can’t help frowning. I wait until they’re all looking at me, then I slip the straw into the drink and take a sip of the iced beverage, ensuring that they notice. Smile and nod, I think. So that’s exactly what I do. I pretend that it’s the best damn thing I’ve ever tasted in my entire life, then the second they look away, I lay it aside. Later, when it’s melted from the heat of the sun, I’ll dramatically act as though I completely forgot about it.
“The creepy dude who always serves us gave us a discount,” Meghan says as she settles down onto her towel, crossing her legs. She scoops up some cream from her own drink with her index finger and slowly tastes it. “Only because Tiff flirted with him.”