Splitting it equally among us meant no one can decide to sell without the others, and should life take us away at some time, we’d always have this place to come back to at any point.
To say we were excited is an understatement, but for me, it also brought a hint of dread. It was sort of a depressing conversation, to be honest. I’m not so naive to assume that our lives would stay the same, that it would be us five for always, but it is kind of terrifying to consider the alternative.
New people will come into our lives, I know this.
Some might be for the better, others for the worse.
But what happens if one of our worlds is flipped upside down?
What if we drown from the capsize?
If we lose each other along the way, who will be there to pull us from the water?
Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it’s a real possibility. A shitty one.
Less than a month from today, the future begins.
My brother and the boys will head to Avix University for the official start of their college football careers, and Cam and I will drive home to pack, getting ready to meet them on campus a few days before orientation.
Leaving home is as real as it gets.
It’ll be the first time my brother won’t be a door away. While it’s slightly terrifying, it’s also a beautiful thing how the football house is on the complete opposite side of mine and Cam’s dorm. Meaning, Mason won’t be able to “check in” on us as often. That alone is going to be worth celebrating on move-in day.
I love my brother but damn. Sometimes he needs to back off. He’s lucky I didn’t pick a college across the country.
He also knows there is no way I would have.
I don’t do well without family being nearby. Some might call that being codependent.
I simply call it a twin thing.
“So, we’re still good with how we picked rooms a couple weeks ago, right?” Mason breaks the silence. “Girls upstairs with the joining bathroom, leave the spare room, a spare, and us downstairs?”
“Mom decorated our rooms when she came to check on Payton and stocked the fridge last week so—”
“No take-backs!” Cam cuts me off with a smile.
The boys laugh and then Mason takes a deep breath, pulling the key from his pocket.
“No take-backs.” He grins. “We ready for a do-over? No parents, no rules.”
“No one left under eighteen this time around.” Brady playfully shoves me and Mason, since Brady, Mason and I became legal three days ago.
I look to Chase, who happens to glance my way at the same exact time. He smiles and I match his with one of my own.
“Oh shit,” my best friend teases. “Things are about to get real up in here!”
I wish I knew how true Cameron’s statement would become then, but I didn’t have the slightest clue.
Chapter 2
Arianna
* * *
“Fridge is open, alcohol’s in hand, so get your asses in here and let’s get this party started!” Cameron repetitively knocks a bottle against the countertop and doesn’t stop until we’re rounding the corner into the kitchen to join her.
“Easy on the granite, Cami baby. Take it out on me instead,” Brady teases, leaning on his forearms.
“Next time, Brady, next time.” She grins.
As she starts pouring the shots into the glasses Chase helped her pull down, I let my eyes roam.
The kitchen is everything you’d expect in a beach home, light in color and wide open. The dining table is a large U-shape bench-style seat with light blue and white pillows in the corners. It sits in front of the large bay window, allowing you to peer out over the beach and watch the sun set or rise without stepping foot outside. There’s a large marble island in the center, the stovetop and double ovens circling behind it, which is where Cam’s now perched, five shot glasses filled to the brim at her side.
She waits for us to claim a cup, seizing the last as her own. “Let’s toast to all the stupid shit we are going to do while we’re here, and to the blast that we are going to have while doing it.”
We laugh, and her blue eyes narrow with playfulness. “I’m serious, assholes. This little vacay is now officially going to be our last memory before our new lives begin. This is huge!”
“She’s right.” Chase steps beside Cam with a grin. “Let’s make the most of it.”
“When do we not go balls out and have a kick-ass time?” Brady reaches over, squeezing her knee. “We’re about to run this beach, girl.”
Cameron grips his cheeks, pinching his lips like a fish. “That’s the spirit, big boy.” She pecks his lips, downing her shot in the next.