"Rise and shine, Flower."

I was pulled to consciousness by a gentle shake. Groaning, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

"We're here," Antonio said from outside of the car.

I yawned and stretched my limbs before emerging from the car and standing next to him. I was about to ask how long I'd been asleep for, but I fell silent once my eyes trickled over to the homely cottage in front of us.

It was rather small and cozy, as most cottages were. Made of brown wood and surrounded by tall trees, the cottage was gleaming underneath the sun's golden rays. I looked around and quietly gasped in delight. True to Romano's words, a private beach was in direct view of the place. There was hardly anyone present–just a group of preteens in swimsuits, and a small family playing in the water.

For some reason, my hazel eyes lingered over the happy family. It consisted of a mother, a father, and a small daughter, who couldn't have been older than the age of five. I curiously watched as they giggled and splashed water at each other. Without even realizing it, a wistful smile fell onto my face. I was reminded of what could've been. The family I'd never had. Although I'd long since come to terms with the loss of my parents, sometimes, just rarely, I caught myself wondering what my life would be like if they were still here.

I looked beside me at Antonio. My eyes followed his line of sight back to the happy family. When I looked close enough, I could see the hint of sadness on his face. Even though he didn't say a word, I knew how he was feeling, because it was exactly how I was feeling too. I gently intertwined our hands. He glanced down at me, and I could see his tense features soften.

Antonio opened his mouth to say something, though I never found out what, because we suddenly heard a distant screech coming from the cottage. We exchanged wide-eyed looks before grabbing our suitcases and approaching the cottage. We were instantly met with chaos.

"Your clothes are taking up the entire closet!" someone yelped, which I immediately pinpointed to be Lily.

"That's not even the half of it!" someone shouted back. "And if we're gonna be rooming together, I need you to keep your feet off the bed." Definitely Romano.

"How am I supposed to sleep with my feet off the bed?"

"Figure it out!"

Maneuvering deeper into the cottage, I came to a stop in front of one of the bedrooms. Benny was already deeply snuggled into the plush bed. He, like me, must've been tired after the lengthy car ride. My eyes flickered across the room towards the suitcase that had been lazily thrown onto the ground. I recognized it as Tabitha's, and realized that the couple were rooming together.

Shifting over to the next room, I saw Lily and Romano already unpacking their suitcases.

"Hey! You guys picked rooms without me?" I indignantly asked my two best friends.

"You snooze you lose," Lily teased, holding a blouse to her chest.

I sighed and dreadfully turned to face Antonio, who had merely been leaning against the wall and watching me.

"I am not sharing a room with you for three days," I haughtily said.

"Guess you're sleeping outside," he drawled, walking into the third and final bedroom. Of course, they'd left us the smallest one.

"But–but–" I helplessly stammered, watching as he casually slung his suitcase onto the bed.

"Trust me, Flower, I'm not happy about this either. Did you know that you snore?" he asked, breezing past me and heading towards the kitchen.

"I do not," I replied, following after him.

"You do!" Romano nosily shouted all the way from his bedroom.

Antonio laughed at his cousin's testimony.

I huffed, but before I could protest some more, Tabitha and Lily emerged from their rooms, clad in short-sleeved tops and denim shorts.

"Where are you guys goin'?" I curiously chirped.

"Heading to the mall," Tabitha replied. "You staying here?"

"In a cottage full of testosterone? Hell no," I shook my head, following after them.

"You guys brought suitcases full of clothes, and you're shopping for more?" Antonio quipped in bewilderment, biting into a red apple and leaning against the kitchen counter.

We ignored him.

"Hopefully, we can scour out some hotties for you," Tabitha playfully winked at me.

Antonio tossed his apple core in the can and clenched his jaw. I was unable to see his face as he stalked past the three of us girls. "I'm coming too," he murmured.

Tabitha stifled a giggle.

"Look what you did," I nudged her shoulder as we walked out.

"Sorry, but it's hilarious watching him get jealous over you," Tabitha replied, her eyes alight in amusement.

"Jealous?" I repeated in confusion. "He's not jealous."

"Why else do you think he's coming?" asked Lily.

"Well, it's not like we know our way around this place. He probably just wants to help us."

"To help you. Ward off boys, that is," Tabitha snorted.

I rolled my eyes at the two before heading outside, where Antonio was waiting for us in his car.

• • •

"I'm gonna go get a milkshake," I said to the group.

Tabitha and Lily barely heard me, too caught up in the excitement of shopping. I was quickly regretting my decision to come to the mall with them. Napping at the cottage seemed like the much better alternative.

Antonio, who also seemed on the verge of dozing off, glanced my way and replied. "I'll come with."

I nodded and headed out of the store, him in tow. We made our way to the crowded food court, coming to a stop in front of the bright milkshake shop.

"Strawberry flavored, yeah?" Antonio asked while shuffling around for loose change in his pocket.

"Yup," I chirped. He knew me all too well.

"Alright, I'll wait in line while you find us a seat."

"Sounds good. Here." I handed him a five dollar bill, however he pretended he didn't see it and instead joined the milkshake line. I fondly sighed at his stubbornness before heading into the food court. With that, we split up.

Only a moment passed before I realized how crowded the mall was. It took me a few seconds to find an empty table, although it was all the way on the other side of the food court. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone got there first, so I began to speed over to it. From the corner of my eye, I noticed a boy about my age competitively racing towards the table as well. We landed there at the exact same time, and we awkwardly glanced at each other. He was the first to give in.

"Sorry, I'll find a different table," he sheepishly turned around.

Guilt flooded me and I shook my head. "No, it's fine. We can share."

The boy nodded and smiled as I beckoned him to sit across from me.

"Only if you don't mind," he set his food tray down.

"I don't, not at all," I said while getting a closer look at him.

Some people reminded me of summer–he happened to be one of them. With his tanned skin, blue eyes, and wavy blonde hair, I was almost certain he lived near the beach. As if he could read my mind, the boy curiously glanced at me.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked. "Certainly, I would've recognized a pretty face like yours."

I politely smiled at the compliment. "No, I'm from the next town over. Burnsley, that is."

"Ah." There was an intrigued glimmer in his eyes. "What's your name?"

"Rose."

"Like the flower," he marveled. "I guess I'll call you that from now on. Flower."

I immediately thought of Antonio. Only he was allowed to call me that–no one else.

Of course, beach boy couldn't possibly know that, so I didn't take offense. I was about to say something else—perhaps ask him what his name was—but I never got the chance. A stiff cough made us both jump and look up. Antonio was looming over our table, holding two strawberry milkshakes in his hands.

His face was impassive, but if I looked close enough, I could see the tick in his jaw and the fire behind his eyes.

"Who are you?" Antonio asked, or rather, sneered at the boy.

The boy looked up in confusion. "I'm–"

"Why are you in my seat?" Antonio demanded.

I almost facepalmed at his rude tone.

"Flower, do you know him?" The boy glanced at me with raised eyebrows.

"The hell'd you just call her?" Antonio messily slammed our milkshakes onto the table.

"Okay," I quickly jumped in. "Why don't we all share the table?"

"That's alright, I'll go," the boy jumped up, looking rather frightened by Antonio's glare. "Sorry, I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Antonio scoffed.

The boy ran off anyways. Antonio's words stung me, and I oddly felt disappointed. Meanwhile, he relaxed and sat down across from me. His victory was short-lived.

"What was that?" I questioned.

"What?" he defensively replied.

"You can't just do that." My heart was hammering. "You can't act all protective over me. After all, you said it yourself—you're not my boyfriend."

He blinked in surprise before narrowing his eyes at me. "Well, what was I supposed to do? A strange boy was bothering you."

"You and I both know he was harmless."

"Whatever," he said while handing me my milkshake.

"Thanks," I spat.

"You're welcome," Antonio scowled back at me.

We spitefully sipped on our milkshakes and spent the rest of the afternoon in a bitter silence.

• • •

After the day at the mall, there was a shift between Antonio and me. It was so small that I was sure no one else noticed, though it did not slip my attention. Whereas his dark eyes usually met mine whenever I spoke, they now flickered over me in group conversations. Almost as if I wasn't even there. When we'd all gone for dinner yesterday at one of the local patios, our hands grazed as we reached for the salt at the same time. He'd retreated so quickly as if I'd burned him.

And the most noticeable of all–he didn't sleep in our room last night. I didn't even know where he'd gone. Did he crash in Romano and Lily's room? Spend the night on the couch? Regardless of where Antonio had gone, I had no doubt in my mind that he'd only disappeared because of what had happened at the mall yesterday.

It bothered me that he was avoiding me over something so insignificant. I hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, Antonio and I weren't even dating.

But you wish you were, a small voice in my head said.

Shut up, I replied to myself. I thought better of it and scrunched my freckled nose. Had it really gotten to the point where I was telling myself to shut up? Antonio was driving me crazy.

Crazy in love, the voice teased.

"Would you shut up?" I snapped at my inner thoughts.

"I was just gonna ask if I could sunbathe with you."

My eyes snapped open to see Romano hovering over me with a confused expression.

"Oh, of course," I sheepishly beckoned. "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to myself."

"You were telling yourself to shut up?" he skeptically questioned, setting up his beach chair next to mine. "Ro, sometimes you concern me."

"Sometimes I concern me too."

We lay next to each other in silence for a bit, basking in the warmth of the sun. It was a quiet morning. I'd never been much of an early riser, but I quite liked being the first one on the beach. The simplicity and emptiness felt like a reward. The only sound was the waves approaching and retreating the shoreline. With a relaxed sigh, I lifted up my sunglasses and faced Romano.

"Hey, do you know where Antonio slept last night?" I curiously asked.

He opened his eyes and turned to face me. "What do you mean? I thought you two were rooming together."

"He never showed up," I shrugged.

"Oh," Romano nodded. "Then he must've spent the night at Sheila's."

My heart stopped for a split second. That sounded like a girl's name. "Sheila," I repeated, doing my best to remain casual. "Who–Who's she?"

"Our neighbor. She lives in the cottage next door," Romano briefly explained. "We usually see her every time we're here. I don't blame him for visiting–she gives the best hugs."

I felt something flare up within me. Jealousy.

The image of Antonio hugging an attractive girl named Sheila wouldn't leave my mind. Had he seriously left me to spend the night with her? The thought left a bitter feeling in my chest. Why was I so hurt? Perhaps it was because he told me he loved me, and when he said that, I thought he meant only me.

"You okay?" Romano asked.

I rolled over so he wouldn't see the hurt on my face. "Yeah, of course."

"Okay," he skeptically trailed off. I could feel his eyes trained on the back of my head. "You seem..."

"I'm just sleepy, is all," I faced him once more, plastering on a fake smile.

Thinking of my non-existent relationship was putting a damper on my mood. Perhaps I couldn't do much about my feelings for Antonio, but what about Lily's feelings for Romano? A small grin creeped its way onto my face. It was time to play matchmaker.

"Hey," I inconspicuously began, "have you spoken to Lily lately?"

"A bit," he shrugged uncaringly, "why?"

"No reason," I lied, "she's very pretty, no?"

"Of course she is," Romano nodded. I smiled, but it disappeared after his next words. "So is that bartender at the club down the street. You think she'd go for me?"

I quirked a brow. "Aren't you a little too young for her?"

"Not according to my fake ID," he smirked.

"Shame on you," I reached over to slap his arm, which only provoked a boisterous laugh from him.

Romano was too much of a flirt for his own good.

The two of us spent the rest of the morning lazing around on the beach, soaking in the sun and aimlessly chatting. Later on, I decided to depart.

"I'm gonna go inside before I die of heat exposure. Try not to miss me," I playfully waved.

"Will do," he blew me a kiss.

I grinned before running off to the cottage. Walking inside, I maneuvered into Lily's room. She was in an awkward position on the floor as she painted her toenails.

"What's up?" I hopped onto the bed.

"Just getting ready," she replied. "Tabitha invited me for brunch with her and Benny. Wanna come?"

"Not really," I answered honestly, rolling over on my stomach. "But bring me back some food."

"Will do," she nodded. "Anyway, I was thinking about Romano and, I don't know, do you think there's a chance he likes me back?"

"I–"

"I know, it's stupid of me to even wonder. Forget I said a thing," she facepalmed. "I mean, he's him and I'm me."

I knew she was insinuating that she wasn't good enough. The problem was, Lily still saw herself as Lonely Lily–the quiet and overlooked girl. She was so much more than that.

"Hey, any guy would be lucky to have you," I pointed a stern finger at her. "I tried dropping hints to Romano, but you know how clueless guys can be."

She exasperatedly nodded, closing her nail polish bottle. "It's alright, I'll figure something out."

She left just minutes later, leaving me to my lonesome. I decided to head back to my room, but I suddenly stopped once I realized there were voices coming from inside.

"Y'know, I usually hate everyone, but then there's people like her," Antonio's muffled voice resounded through the door. I leaned my head against the door to hear better.

"Who? Sheila?" Benny asked.

"Yeah," Antonio replied. "Man, you have to taste her cookies. To die for."

I leaned away, unable to take much more of him raving for the girl next door.

Benny's voice echoed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I'm heading out with the girls for food."

I could hear footsteps approaching the door. My eyes widened and I dived away, pretending I was tending to the plant in the hallway. Benny walked right past me and outside, where the girls were waiting. When I knew they'd gone, I took a deep breath and entered the room that Antonio was in.

He had merely been lying down on the bed, his eyes staring up at the ceiling in a thoughtful way. Probably daydreaming of Sheila, I thought with contempt. He immediately sat up in surprise once he realized I was there.

"Flower," Antonio greeted, eyeing me warily.

I stiffly nodded back, blurting out the words before I could stop myself. "So... who's Sheila?"

• • •