"Should I go polka dot?" Kylie asked me, holding a bikini top over her shirt.

I tilted my head to the side. "That's cute."

"Everything in Victoria's Secret is cute. Is it me though?"

"Eh, I don't know."

"Then that's a no." She tossed it back down onto the rack.

I leafed through the tops in the store, humming to myself.

And then I came across a striped top with a bow across the middle.

"Oh my God that's so you," Kylie said behind me. "You have to try it on."

"I don't know."

"You do know because I'm telling you."

I chuckled, finding the top in my size. "I guess it can't hurt to try it on."

"So do you have any plans for this weekend?" Kylie asked me, as I found the matching bottoms for the top.

"I'm going to the beach with you," I reminded her, giving her a look.

"I meant besides spending time with your gorgeous best friend."

I laughed, following her back to the dressing rooms. "I don't think so."

"Are you going to the diner tonight?" she asked, leaning against the wall as we waited for a sales associate to come and unlock some dressing rooms for us.

"Maybe," I said, wrinkling my nose. "Bryce started Chemo last night, so it just sort of depends on how he's feeling."

"Well how's he feeling?"

"Well I don't get service in here, so I don't know."

"How was he feeling earlier?"

"He said he felt okay-ish. Said he's felt better."

The sales associate let us into the dressing rooms, and I first tried on a leopard print bathing suit.

Animal print definitely wasn't my style.

I couldn't stop staring at the bow-suit Kylie had picked out for me.

It couldn't hurt to try it on.

I slipped on the top, clipping it in the back.

The bow was a lot cuter than I gave it credit for on the hanger.

I put on the matching bottoms, whipping my hair up into a bun.

Kylie knew her bikinis. This was only the second suit I'd tried on, out of the six or seven I'd brought in, and I was already in love.

I tried on a third one just for comparison, but it was no use.

I was in love with the bow.

I scooped up the bathing suits in my arms, leaving the dressing room. I handed the rest of the suits to the associate, apologizing.

"Did you find something you liked?" she asked, with a laugh.

I nodded, holding up my matching top and bottom. "I did."

"Well then it's worth it."

I laughed, thanking her before heading back out to the main floor.

I browsed the different lotions and scents while I waited on Kylie, smelling all the perfumes.

I was going to need a Bath and Body Works fix before we left the mall.

"Did you find something?" Kylie's voice asked behind me.

I turned to face her, flashing her the bikini.

"I knew it."

"You're always right," I sighed.

"You don't need to tell me what I already know."

I rolled my eyes, following her to the checkout register.

"What did you find?" I asked, while we waited.

She showed me her leopard print bikini, the same one I'd tried on and hated.

"It's the same one you had," she said, with a half-smile. "Did you hate it?"

"I did."

She laughed. "I loved it."

Animal print only works on some people.

We both checked out, and Kylie headed towards the food court, but I grabbed her arm, spinning her around towards Bath and Body Works.

"No," she complained. "I don't want to feed into your candle obsession."

"I'll only be a minute," I said, with a smile.

"I've spent two hours in that store with you."

"I promise I won't be that long. I just need a candle."

"You always need a candle."

"Just one."

She let out a long sigh, her shoulders deflating. "Fine. One candle."

"Thanks Ky, you're the best."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

~*~

"You wouldn't understand," Clayton declined, his eyes focused on the video game in front of him.

Bryce was lying upside down, his feet propped up on the armchair, his eyes also trained on the video game on the screen in the living room. "I didn't say that."

"But that's what you meant," Clayton filled in.

"No," Bryce said. "What I said is that this is a high-level of COD, and I was going to need a minute to complete this level before we can go."

"And you wouldn't understand," Clayton filled in.

"Would you shut up?" Bryce demanded.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "You're obsessed."

"Slightly," Bryce agreed, jerking his controller to the right. "But this is important."

I took a seat on the floor, resting my back against the couch with a sigh.

Dawson laid his head in my lap, looking up at me.

"You only like me when it benefits you," I muttered, as I scratched behind his ears.

"Fuck!" Clayton called out.

"Did you just fucking die?" Bryce demanded.

"Come revive me," Clayton demanded.

"I'm surrounded by zombies," Bryce reminded him. "How the fuck do you expect me to do that?"

Thank God. Now maybe we can actually leave.

"Oh hey look, the other member of our team is actually fucking doing something," Clayton muttered.

"You're lucky he saved your ass, because I was going to let you die," Bryce informed him.

Clayton tossed a balled up sock at Bryce's face.

I've learned that hanging out with guys while they play video games includes a bunch of cursing, innuendos, and usually leads to heated arguments.

"I'm going to go to the beach by myself," I informed the two of them.

Clayton let out a frustrated sigh.

"Okay, okay," Bryce muttered. "One more minute."

It was like compromising with a five year old.

I looked down at Dawson, shaking my head.

Regina came into the kitchen, dressed for work. "You guys haven't left yet?"

"No," I deadpanned.

"This is important!" Bryce called.

Regina rolled her eyes, her phone dinging with the sound of an incoming email. "Okay, well I'm going into the office today to catch up a bit."

"Kay," Bryce said.

"Do you have everything you need? Sunscreen? A beach umbrella? Chairs? Everything?"

"Yes," Bryce said, exasperatedly.

Regina let out a long sigh, rolling her eyes. "Call me if you need something."

"Fine."

She grabbed her purse, checking her phone as she left.

And then the level up sound came through the surround sound speakers.

Bryce let out a sigh, pausing the game.

Clayton tossed his controller off to the side, standing up.

And that's when I noticed that he wasn't even dressed for the beach.

"Are you kidding?" I demanded.

"It will only take me a second," Clayton defended, before heading back towards the guest room.

I gave Bryce a look.

"I'm ready," he defended, gesturing towards his swimsuit as he sat up straight. "It's not my fault that he's a slacker."

Dawson lifted his head out of my lap, stumbling to his feet and heading over to Bryce.

That traitor.

"Did Clayton sleep here last night?" I asked.

Bryce nodded, wrapping his arms around Dawson's midsection as he nudged Bryce's arm.

"My mom's been worried about the increased dosage of Chemo," he explained, as Dawson licked his face, "so Clayton stayed here last night to help appease her."

Bryce made a face as Dawson licked his nose, shoving Dawson's face away from his. "Come on D, what's your issue?"

"You said everything was all good last night though, right?" I asked.

He nodded, with a shrug. "I told my mom they would be. But she's been really high-strung."

Clayton came back in a tank top and swim trunks. "I told you, a second."

"You've put us way off schedule," I pointed out. "You two and your stupid video games."

"Well daylight's-a-wastin'," Clayton informed me. "So let's go."

I stood up, brushing off my sundress as I headed towards the front door.

Bryce said his goodbyes to Dawson before following Clayton and I out to my car.

"Got the cooler?" Clayton asked Bryce.

"In the garage," Bryce said, typing in the code and opening the garage from the outside. "Grab the volleyball."

It took them a couple of minutes to pack up the back of my car, mostly because they weren't organized ahead of time.

"Well we're only 45 minutes late," I pointed out, as I backed out of the driveway.

"I don't feel like the world is going to end over it," Clayton muttered, from the backseat.

"I don't feel like you have respect for any human being on the planet," I shot back.

"And we're off to a great start," Bryce muttered, reaching over and turning up the radio.

~*~

"You guys finally made it!" Caroline called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, finally," I agreed, dropping my beach blanket next to her.

Bryce just smiled.

It had been a long car ride.

"How cold is the water?" Clayton asked one of the baseball boys, as he shrugged out of his tank top.

I unfolded my beach blanket before taking off my sundress.

"Will you put some on my back?" I asked Bryce, handing him a tube of sunscreen.

He was currently staring at my bathing suit.

"Bryce?" I asked, waving the tube in front of his face.

"You have a bow on your bathing suit."

"I'm aware."

He slowly nodded, taking the sunscreen from my hand.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, with a laugh.

"That's new."

"I buy new things," I said, with a laugh.

"I like it."

"Thank you. Please put some sunscreen on my back."

I swept my hair up with my arm, turning around so he could do as I asked.

Clayton was skim boarding with a couple of the baseball boys down by the water, and a few of the girls they'd brought along with them were down with them, watching and giggling.

I never understood gigglers. Why were you laughing? What was so funny?

"Your back is protected from the rays of the sun," Bryce informed me, handing me back the tube of sunscreen.

"Thank you," I said, flashing him a smile.

"I'm going down by the water," he informed me, as he pulled off his tank top. "Are you coming?"

"I don't think I could handle it."

He peered over me. "It's just Trinity, Lexi and Monica."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Exactly my point."

He laughed, tossing his tank top onto my beach blanket. "Well if you change your mind, that's where I'll be."

I placed my hands on either sides of his cheek, pressing my lips against his for just a brief moment. "And if you change your mind, this is where I'll be."

He pressed his lips together, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "You never play fair do you?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Alright you two, break it up," Kylie ordered, waving her hand around in the air. "Not all of us are here for the Bryce and Sophie show."

I chuckled, slapping him on the cheek before lying out on my beach blanket.

Bryce went down and joined his friends down by the water, glancing back at me with a goofy smile.

"It's so hot out here," I complained, twisting my hair up into a bun and puling my hair tie around it.

"It's the beach," Caroline informed me. "What did you expect?"

"Don't make me throw this ice at you," I warned, as I reached into the cooler for a bottle of water.

She chuckled, offering me a cheeky smile.

"Did you bring a volleyball?" Kylie asked me, after a few minutes of sun tanning.

"I think Bryce did," I confirmed, glancing over at her.

"We should totally take the volleyball net," she said, nodding towards the public net up towards the top of the beach.

"In a little while," I agreed, letting my head drop back so I was facing the sun again. "I'm tanning."

"Excuse me Trinity."

Caroline laughed as I fake-glared at her.

I flipped onto my stomach, letting out a sigh as the sun hit my back.

It felt so nice out today.

After a few minutes, Caroline busted out into giggles.

"What?" I asked, looking over at her.

"You just missed Clayton wiping out."

"He ate dirt," Kylie added.

I looked up to see Clayton picking himself up a little ways down the beach, Bryce doubled over in laughter.

The three girls were giggling, per usual.

"Do you ever wonder why they laugh so much?" I asked Kylie.

"Who?"

"Trinity, Lexi, and the other one?"

"Monica," Caroline confirmed. "And I think they're just happy to be here."

"Happy to be where they are today," Kylie added.

"Happy to be doing the things they do," Caroline said, with a smirk.

"With the people they're doing them with," Kylie said, holding back her laughter.

"That is not where I was going with this," I declined. "You two need Jesus."

They both cracked up, looking away from each other.

I watched as Bryce took his turn on the skim board, his muscles flexing and a look of pure concentration his face.

But mostly just the way his muscles were flexing.

"Now who needs Jesus?" Caroline asked, once Bryce was finished.

"What?" I asked, looking over at her.

"You were looking at that boy like you were undressing him with your eyeballs."

"I was not!" I defended.

Kylie cracked up again.

"We have officially become the gigglers," I informed her. "Well, not we, you."

"I can't help it," she defended. "The way you were looking at him, Caroline's right. We may say what we think out loud, but you're not so innocent yourself Ms. Allen."

~*~

"We have to break up into even teams," I stated, folding my arms across my chest.

"I'll be on your team," Bryce volunteered, leaning over and giving me a kiss.

"Yeah, no," Clayton declined. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that I don't want to see that the entire game."

"Don't be so jealous," I cooed, with a smile.

"Trust me, he's all yours."

Bryce reached over, jumping on Clayton's back. "Take it back!"

"Are we ever going to get anything done?" Kylie demanded, with a laugh.

"No," I said, with an eye roll as I bit back a laugh of my own.

Bryce hopped down off of Clayton's back, laughing. "Okay, okay, someone else split up the teams then."

"Boys versus girls?" Landon suggested, as he tossed the volleyball up and down.

"No way," Trinity declined. "That's totally unfair. You guys are all jocks."

"Let's put Clayton over here," Caroline suggested, placing Clayton on one side of the court. "And Bryce over here." She placed him on the other side.

"Good call," Kylie agreed.

"And Sophie over here!" Bryce called out.

"And Sophie over here," Caroline declined, placing me on Clayton's team.

"What? No," I whined.

"Get over it," Caroline mocked. "And Kylie over here." She placed her on Bryce's team.

"Okay, this is mean," I pouted.

She continued splitting up the teams, finally placing herself on my team.

"Okay, who wants to play where?" Caroline asked.

"I play up front," Clayton stated.

"How gentlemanly of you," I said, with an eye roll.

"Just a winning strategy. You play in the back then?"

"Can I switch teams?" I whined to Caroline.

"Sophie plays in the front," Caroline stated, ignoring me. "She's got a good spike."

Clayton wrinkled his nose. "I'm not playing next to her."

"So you'll play in the back then?" I confirmed.

"Down tigers," Landon said, with a laugh.

"I'll behave when he does," I muttered.

"I'll behave when she falls off a cliff."

The rest of our team figured out their positions, and we took our half of the court, Clayton and I up front.

Bryce smiled at me from across the net. He was also up front, alongside Lexi. She was opposing Clayton.

"Someone trade me," Lexi complained, looking over her shoulder at her teammates.

"Hey babe," Bryce said, with a lopsided smile.

"Just know that I'm about to take you down," I warned, with a smile of my own.

His smile widened. "Is that so?"

I nodded, unable to hold back my laughter.

"Who starts with the ball?" Landon called out.

"Obviously we should, because I'm cuter," Kylie called out.

"Couples," Clayton muttered.

"Not that you would know, being forever alone and all," I stated.

We ended up starting with the ball, and Landon served it.

The ball was bounced around a few times, and I readjusted my sunglasses, smiling at Bryce.

And then Landon hit the ball to Clayton.

"Set!" he called.

Yay, my turn.

I jumped up and spiked the ball at Bryce.

He dove and recovered it, of course.

He made a face, standing back up and brushing the sand off of himself. "Thanks a lot."

His team managed to get the ball back to our side of the net.

"Set!" I called out, bumping it over to Clayton.

He slammed the ball at Lexi, and she wasn't able to recover it.

I reached over and high-fived Caroline.

Landon served the ball again, and this time Bryce spiked the ball at me.

That jerk.

I managed to recover it.

"That wasn't nice," I complained.

He just offered me a crooked smile.

I set the ball for Clayton, and he spiked it at Bryce this time.

Bryce recovered it, but was a little slow getting up, placing his hands on his knees.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, straightening back up and flashing me a smile.

But it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Clayton was eyeing him, but he didn't say anything.

Lexi spiked the ball over the net, at me this time.

And I missed it.

"Nice job," Clayton stated.

"Shut up."

The game continued on, and we'd attracted a small crowd of people to watch our game. They were standing on the sidelines, some cheering for my team and some for Bryce's.

And I was pretty sure that Bryce's main goal in life was to drive the volleyball into my face.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" I laughed, after I recovered another spike.

"I'm winning," he informed me, with a laugh of his own. "It's a winning strategy."

"To slam your girlfriend with a volleyball? That sounds like a losing strategy to me."

"Is that so?"

"You may win on the court, but you certainly won't win later."

Clayton wrinkled his nose, casting me a dirty look.

Bryce just chuckled, but it sounded a bit forced.

I set the ball for Clayton, and he spiked it at Bryce.

I liked it imagine he was spiking it at his face.

But Bryce recovered it, because he's some sort of all-star beach volleyball player.

"Fuck you Bryce," Clayton said.

But Bryce was slow to get back up to his feet again.

"Babe, what's the matter?" I asked.

He was hunched over, the palms of his hands resting against his knee caps.

"Bryce?" Lexi asked.

The game had come to a standstill.

Bryce straightened up, his hand pressed to his forehead. "I'm fine," he said.

And then, before I could comprehend what was happening, Clayton was ducking underneath the volleyball net, catching Bryce as he stumbled a bit.

I was right behind Clayton, my heart pounding in my chest.

I helped Clayton lower Bryce to the ground.

He didn't seem too fine to me.

"Grab a bottle of water," Clayton ordered to Lexi. "From the cooler or something, a cold one."