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I woke up feeling very excited. Today was the day of the beach trip. I walked to my bedroom window and looked outside, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and everything was perfect.

My phone buzzed and looking at it, I saw some text messages from Callie, who was super happy about going on the trip. Originally it was just supposed to be me, Kevin, Callie and Melissa but somewhere along the line the invitation was extended to Demetri and Trey.

Kevin, being the good friend of Ashton that he was, invited him to come along too. So the seven of us were going to go on this trip together. Kevin had rented a seven seat car which was perfect for all of us. He was going to pick me up first, then go to the others.

I got dressed in anticipation and had a quick breakfast in time to hear my phone ring.

"Hey, Liz. I'm outside your house. Are you ready?"

I glanced through the window and smiled as Kevin waved at me from his car with an excited grin.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second," I said, slipping a book into my bag. Nothing better than reading on the beach.

I bounded down the stairs and hugged my parents goodbye.

I got into the car and received a grin from Kevin. Ashton was in the passenger seat beside him in a somewhat reserved mood. He turned around to give me a smile.

I smiled back at him, willing myself not to blush as memories of the kiss came flooding back. His smile dropped into a scowl.

"So you were planning on going on this trip with three other guys."

Seriously? Was he really going to whine over that?

"Two of the three have girlfriends," I reminded him.

"And what about this guy?" he asked, jamming his thumb at Kevin.

"This guy's my best friend who I love very much," I gushed.

"L-love?" he stuttered and shot Kevin a death glare.

"At least he invited you to come with us," I shrugged. "You're welcome," I said extra slowly to annoy him. Kevin smirked at Ashton.

"Wipe that smirk off your face and just drive," he grunted.

"Yes, sir," Kevin saluted and sped off.

I twirled the necklace between my fingers as we drove. Kevin put some music on and chatted as we drove but Ashton was unusually quiet.

After fifteen minutes, we got to the spot where we were supposed to meet Melissa and Callie. Callie and Demetri were taking pictures while Melissa and Trey sipped Starbucks coffees and laughed at something on Trey's phone.

When the car stopped, Callie and Melissa ran up to us excitedly and got in beside me. The guys looked confused, but Melissa and Callie pointed to the back seat.

"We'll get to spend enough time together at the beach, but right now it's sister time," Melissa laughed.

Trey chuckled and climbed into the back seat and was followed by a reluctant Demetri. By the time we hit the road again, the car was lively and full of chatter. Music blared and snacks were being passed around.

"Thanks!" I beamed at Trey, who passed me a packet of gummy bears. He also passed Callie some Hershey's Kisses.

"I mentioned that you girls liked those and he went and bought them," Melissa explained.

"He's a keeper," Callie whispered with a wink.

"Are you won over so easily?" she said, faking disappointment.

"Hmmm... yup!" she grinned.

As usual, she got a hold of Kevin's phone and we were taking pictures and doing TikToks. In the back, Trey was trying to make conversation with Demetri.

"Your necklace is so gorgeous!" Callie exclaimed, analyzing it.

"Mhmm," Melissa agreed. "It's so exquisite."

"It looks custom made. How much did this cost? It must be super expensive."

I hadn't even thought of that, but now I worried nervously. I hoped that Ashton didn't spend a fortune on the necklace.

"I got it from Ashton as a gift," I half-said, half-mumbled.

"What?" Callie's shriek was like an alarm going off. "When did this happen? I need details!" she demanded.

"I'll tell you guys when we get there. Now shush," I whispered at her, embarrassed.

"You're killing her," Melissa laughed while consoling Callie whose curiosity was growing.

I laughed and looked over at Ashton, who had still remained surprisingly quiet throughout the ride. He definitely wasn't one to get shy with new people. Plus, he already knew Callie and Melissa to some extent.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked him as I passed some snacks to the front.

He snapped out of his daze and looked at me.

"Uh... yeah, sure," he said, looking unconvinced himself.

I leaned against his seat. "You're not enjoying yourself, are you?"

He forced a smile. "I'm good. It's just that Kevin drives at the speed of an old lady," he whispered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey, I heard that," Kevin snapped back. "I'm going as fast as is legally allowed."

Callie perked up at this. "Are we almost there yet?"

"We're not even half way," he sighed.

"We've been driving for two hours now," she complained and we laughed.

"Demetri keep your girlfriend occupied," Melissa joked.

"I can't do that from all the way around here," he smirked. "I need to get her closer."

"Ooh!" everyone shouted simultaneously. Callie blushed and threw some Hot Cheetos at him.

After another hour, Callie and Melissa were fast asleep, leaning on each other. We'd had some sort of dance party/battle in the car and now everyone was exhausted, especially from waking up so early.

I rested my head against the glass and watched the scenery fly by. I suddenly got curious about how much Kevin could hear. Ashton had whispered to me earlier and Kevin heard all of that. I whispered as low as I could, "Kev, do you want to build a snowman?"

I barely heard my own voice, but Kevin turned around to face me with a confused expression on his face. My hands flew to my mouth in surprise. I really didn't expect him to hear that. He gave me a weird look and turned around to face the road.

I giggled. This could be fun.

"You can hear this low? You're creepy," I whispered again.

He chuckled and tossed a bag of marshmallows at me. I caught them and tossed them back at him. Since he was driving, he didn't get a chance to catch it and it smacked him on the side of his head.

"Just wait until we get out of this car," he laughed, shaking his head.

I grinned and leaned on Callie, who was snoring softly. Before I knew it I was fast asleep too.

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