I make it out to the pool noticing Journee, Eva, and Luca in the pool laughing and conversing. I then notice the other people who have their feet in the pool, one of them being Maya? Why is she here? I notice Jordy conversing next to her as her back faces me and some other girl beside her, but with her back to me as well. All I can see is her jet-black straight hair coming out of her tan hat that matches Jordy's.

"Bri is in the house!" Luca exclaims from the pool as I pull my knitted cover-up off revealing my baby blue two-piece swimsuit.

I reach in my pool bag grabbing a hair clip as I pull my loose curls into it. I then grab a White Claw before joining my friends in the pool, and they all greet me excitingly. I sip on my White Claw as we talk about random stuff, but I feel eyes burning on me. I turn to meet the culprit, but I'm surprised when piercing blue eyes meet my own. The raven-haired girl is in an orange square bikini top with matching white and orange Nike swimming trunks. She must be Jordy's friend.

"Bri can you get me another White Claw?" Eva asks and I shake my head.

"I'll get cold if I get out Eva," I complain but she gives me puppy dog eyes causing me to comply.

"Your the best Bri," she says and I mumble a yeah yeah before exiting the pool.

"Grab two more for us" Journee yells and I nod as I make my way over to the cases of the alcoholic beverages.

I grab the last one from the opened case before opening another one, but I somehow struggle with opening it. I'm definitely tipsy because opening a cardboard box shouldn't be this hard, I swear.

"Need help with that?" an unfamiliar voice asks causing me to turn around, and her icy blue eyes meet mine.

I nod embarrassingly, "Yeah actually" she laughs as she comes to stand beside me before opening the box for me.

"Maybe it's a sign to slow down on these," she teases and I crack a smile.

"Maybe it is, but I guess we'll never know will we?" I ask and her gaze roams my body before meeting my eyes.

"I guess we won't, I'm Alex by the way" she introduces herself as she extends her hand causing me to meet her halfway.

"Brielle," I say as we shake hands. Our hands slowly shake for longer than needed as we stare at each other.

"I see you've met Alex" A familiar voice interjects causing our shaking hands to stop shaking.

I turn to meet a pair of brown eyes that are already analyzing me before turning back to Alex, "I'm one of her friends from Duke, she invited me to come down for a little while" Alex explains before looking confusedly at Jordy who has a stern look on her face. I

give a slow nod as I purse my lips at the awkward conversation occurring in front of me. Why is Jordy acting like this? How can she ignore me for weeks on end, but suddenly interject a conversation with Alex? She's so confusing.

"Well, I'm going to head back to the pool so..." I trail off, confused at what to say next but Alex gently grabs my arm.

"Actually I'm heading to the store to grab some more alcohol, wanna come with me?" She asks as her piercing blue eyes bore into mine. I look to Jordy whose gaze is aimed at Alex's hand holding my wrist before turning back to Alex.

"I-Uh sure" I reply confused about what to say and her lips upturn slightly into a half-smile.

"I'll be right back I have to bring these to my friends," I say before turning and walking towards the pool.

I pass the drinks to all my friends before telling them Alex and I are going to get more alcohol and they all get excited. I pull my cover-up on and walk through the air-conditioned house to the front to meet Alex at her car.

"Have fun with Alex" a voice says halting me from opening the tall front door. I turn around to see Jordy standing there with her arms crossed.

"What's your issue Jordyn?" I say purposefully using her full name and she tilts her head slightly at the action.

"Jordyn?" she questions as she licks her lips and I try to not avert my gaze toward them.

"I figured since we were ignoring each other, full names would be a better use," I say before crossing my arms causing her gaze to lower to my breasts, but she quickly recovers, meeting my eyes again.

"It's not like I want to but..." she trails off and I furrow my brows. What does she mean?

"But what?" I ask curiously and she purses her lips as if she's contemplating telling me.

"Nothing have fun with Alex" she murmurs before walking out to the backyard before I can respond.

I stand there blankly contemplating if I should follow her, but in the end, deciding against it. I head out to the front to see Alex sitting in her Jeep that's running. Opening the door, I slide into the soft tan seats, inhaling a vanilla scent as the air conditioner blasts at me.

"You ready?" she asks softly as she looks up from her phone, and I nod causing her to reverse out of the driveway.

"You like any certain music?" she asks while maneuvering the car.

"R&B would be nice" I offer and she smiles slightly before looking at me.

"I love R&B," she says before scrolling on her phone and shuffling a playlist causing my lips to upturn into a smile.

In the car, the windows are down and the music is blasting, making the ride all the better. Once Alex parks the car she turns to me, her icy blue eyes engulfing my brown ones.

"I have a question and it's kinda straightforward," she asks as her eyes analyze my face causing me to nod slowly, encouraging her to go on.

"Do you like girls?" she blurts and my eyes widen without my permission.

"I just wanted to know so I didn't read anything wrong" she clarifies and I turn my body to face the front.

If I tell her will Journee find out?

If she does I'm sure she'd be upset that I didn't tell her before anyone else. Right now only my mom knows, so It's not too bad. I also don't want to lie to Alex and mess up something that could be good for me, but I'm also not ready for Journee to know.

"Yeah" I breathe out and I feel Alex visibly relax beside me.

"No one really knows except for my mom," I admit before turning to see her reaction. Her head tilts as she analyzes me.

"But Jordy knew?" she questions, and my stomach drops.

How did she know?