After everyone goes in a circle of who can beer bong a White Claw the quickest, I already feel the buzz catching up with me. Somehow I'm back in the house standing at the counter as shots are getting poured in glasses. A very tipsy Journee stands eagerly beside me as she raises her shot glass to me, gesturing for me to join. I raise my glass as we throw back the burning shots, knowing I'll regret this tomorrow morning. 

"That's enough" I hear a familiar voice say from behind me earning a groan from Luca. 

"C'mon it's a celebration," Luca says as he directs his attention behind me causing me to turn around. I stumble as my feet feel extremely heavy prompting strong hands to wrap around my waist as I steady myself. 

"Is it still a celebration Luca?" her voice says as I inhale a fruity but cologne-like smell and I immediately look up, recognizing the voice. 

I look at her side profile as her and Luca's arguments are muffled due to my zoning out. Her side profile is so pretty. 

The way her nose curves and her long eyelashes curl up to her eyelids. Bri snap out of it I tell myself but it's too late. 

"This is the third time I've caught you staring," she says lowly as she tries to ponder my thoughts, knowing I'm drunk. 

I look away quickly and she chuckles causing vibrations to spread throughout my body and her touch burns on my waist as she steadies me. 

"Looking away doesn't mean it didn't happen" she clarifies and my stomach twists. I look back at her shamelessly as her brown eyes capture mine. 

"You're really pretty" I blurt and my eyes widen in response. Her lips upturn into a smile at the compliment and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"I'm sorry I don't know why I just said that," I say shyly as I take a step out of her grasp, putting space between us. Her eyebrows furrow at my actions, but before she can speak a brunette interrupts. 

"Jordyn, there you are" she says warmly as she stands close beside her and I look between them. 

She's clearly interested in someone else and here I am embarrassing myself. I mean she's my best friend's sister, why would I blurt something like that out? All the embarrassing thoughts swirl my brain as I replay what just happened over and over again. 

"I actually have to take my sister and her friend home," Jordy says to the brunette which gains my attention as she mentions me. 

The brunette's face visibly drops, "Aw well text me then?" she asks and Jordy purses her lips.

"I told you I wasn't looking for anything serious Maya" she turns her down and Maya gives her a curt nod before walking off quickly. 

Jordy's eyes meet mine again, "let's get Journee and go" she mumbles and I nod.

After finally getting a protesting Journee to leave the party, silence surrounds us in the moving car. Journee's soft snores fill the back seat as her body sprawls out across the back seat. The silence is comfortable but I feel the urge to talk, except every time I try to no words come out. Maybe it's best I don't talk anyways, considering I might embarrass myself again. At least I didn't embarrass myself as badly as Maya, I kinda feel bad for her. At least I know that Jordy doesn't want anything serious, which means I need to stop this infatuation with her. Not only is she looking for something casual, but she's also my best friend's sister. This feels like the 20th time that I've had to remind myself of this. 

 I know I could never dissect my real thoughts to her and notice her eyebrows furrowed while she looks visibly tense. We sit in silence the rest of the car ride and the silence is no longer comforting. Jordy seems uneasy as she maneuvers the car, and I don't know why. Did I do something?

"You good?" I say but it comes out as a whisper due to the tension and she gives me a curt nod without sparing me a glance. I sigh at her response as I reflect my attention back outside to the scenery passing us.

The next morning comes quicker than usual and a splitting headache follows, especially for Journee. Jordy still didn't utter a word to me and barely even spared me a glance.

The following weeks go by and Jordy and I barely even spoke a word to each other. Every day I ask myself what I did and I can't seem to find an answer. I even try narrowing it down to when her mood changed, but it still makes no sense to me.

"Brielle" my mom's voice fills my ears causing me to rise from my spacious bed and head downstairs. Soft R&B music fills my ears as I make my way into the modern kitchen, and I notice my mom baking. 

"What's up?" I ask her and she looks up from the dough mixture that she was rolling out onto the flour.

"You seem I don't know... tense?" she asks and I furrow my eyebrows before sitting at the island across from her. 

"I didn't realize" I lie, but I know my mood has been in a rut due to Jordy. 

Why does Jordy affect my mood so easily? We've only had like what? 5 conversations at max, and somehow she has this effect on me. Maybe it's because I sense that she's mad at me? It is stressful trying to figure out what I did. 

"Is it because of high school ending?" she asks with concern laced in her voice. 

If I'm being honest, these last few weeks have been fun; excluding the Jordy situation. Journee and I have gone up to the lake so many times whether to swim, party, or take a boat out. We even have been on a few weekend trips to the beach, and if we aren't traveling we're outside tanning by her pool. We spend the nights that we don't party having movie marathons and eating big bowls of fruit. 

This all seems like a dream except...the trips that Jordy does go on or when she does accompany us anywhere, she doesn't talk to me. That's already hard but then her not even sparing me a glance makes it even harder, and I'm too scared to speak first because she might reject me or possibly ignore me.

"Yeah, but I think I'll adjust better once college starts," I lie knowing she won't pester me if I give her the most simple answer. She also can't find out that I'm upset about my best friend's sister ignoring me because that seems worse. 

"Aw I know honey, but just try to enjoy this summer it'll go by before you know it," she says warmly as her sympathetic eyes meet mine and I nod.

"You're right I do need to embrace it," I say agreeing with her, knowing it'll end the conversation. 

I walk over to the strawberry jam mixture that she made before dipping my finger in it and trying it, and the sweetness leaves my taste buds tingling for more.

"Brielle Monroe!" my mom exclaims before slapping my arm causing flour to get all over my bikini cover-up. 

I chuckle before dusting myself off, "So worth it," I say with a victory smile and my mom scolds me. I just laugh as I walk away before hearing my phone buzz a couple of times. 

Jour Jour: hi wyd?

Jour Jour: come over and swim I miss u

I laugh at her texts before responding that I'm on the way.

I was gonna swim at my house but her offer seems way more fun. I tell my mom I'm heading out, but she hands me her strawberry pastries insisting I bring them to everyone or I can't go. I take the basket of pastries and head over to Journee's house, and I already hear the music playing from the backyard. 

I make my way into the air-conditioned house seeing everyone laughing and swimming through the huge windows and I set the pastries down eager to join them. Turning around and heading to the door, I see Jordy doing the same, causing me to freeze. She's wearing a black Nike sports bra swim top and colorful Louis Vuitton swim shorts with her flowy brown hair secured under a black snapback. She keeps walking and exits out to the pool, hurting my feelings in the process. I'm practically a ghost.