Liah didn't want to come with us to the beach. I didn't even mention Vik. She just knew he was the reason I wanted to go. That's the only downside to having a best friend, they knew too much.

That meant I'd be alone with Corey. At least until we got to our destination. When seven rolled around, I'd gotten caught up talking to my mom. She loved to gossip about her co-workers at the bank. It was twelve minutes after seven when I could finally opt out of the conversation without seeming rude.

I was afraid Corey wouldn't be there, but his dad's work truck with the Cordell & Cordell Landscaping logo on the side sat parked at the curb. He wasn't one of the Cordell's listed on the truck, not yet at least. But I've heard him talking about it with Gray a few times.

"Do you need a watch?" he asked as soon as I got into the truck.

"Blame my mom."

He started the car, engine rumbling, but didn't move. "What are you wearing?"

I glanced down at my outfit--jeans and a lavender crop top--before glaring at him. "Are you gonna tell Gray that everyone could see my belly button?"

He shook his head. "The heats broken, so don't complain to me when you get cold."

It was early October, but it was also southern California. Cold wasn't a thing.

We had a fifteen minute drive to the beach. I updated the social media page I'd made to promote my nails, adding a cute picture I'd taken of my latest order.

"Why don't you do your own nails like that?" I was surprised Corey spoke to me. My nails were painted a pretty blue color, so I assume he meant why I didn't add designs.

"I like simple nails," I said with a shrug. "Are you interested in getting yours done?"

Hands still on the steering wheel, he stretched out his long fingers as if examining his nails. "I'm thinking blue and gold for school spirit. Maybe a shark."

I rolled my eyes, almost smiling, before I caught myself. This was Corey. A snitch. The enemy. It was alarming how easy it was to talk to him when his very presence used to irritate me.

Then again, he was always with Gray. Maybe my brother took all my hatred with him to college. Still, I couldn't let myself get too comfortable around Corey. I didn't know how much information he was sending back to my brother. What if allowing me to come to the beach was just another way for him to keep an eye on me? I had to ditch him immediately.

When Corey pulled into the parking lot, the beach was still buzzing with activity. The boardwalk was lit up with signs, restaurants and gift shops fight for attention. There was an ice cream shop I loved and I made a beeline for it. I wanted a reason to get away from Corey, but a cup of cookie dough sounded delicious.

"Seriously?" I tried not to roll my eyes as my babysitter joined the line behind me. He wasn't supposed to follow me.

"Yes. Seriously. And you don't have to hold my hand while I do this."

He held his hands up in surrender, backing away. "Alright, I'll be down there." He pointed to a group of people on the beach.

I sent him off with a little wave. After I secured my ice cream, I walked down the beach in the opposite direction from Corey and his group.

The boardwalk was more busy than the actual beach. Families and couples and friends milled about, colorful shopping bags or food in their hands. Walking among them alone had me feeling some kind of way. I wished Liah was there, so I'd look less like a loner.

There was a couple feeding each other cotton candy. They looked cute, in love. At least, I think it was love. I wasn't exactly an expert on the subject. Still, my heart longed for something similar. Since Kadeem, the only boyfriends I've had have been fictional.

I'm almost to the end of the boardwalk, mining for the last ball of cookie dough, when I slam into someone. What's left of my ice cream ends up all over the pavement and my shoes.

"Sorry," the guy said. We crouched down, me assessing the damage to my shoes, him picking up what fell out of his shopping bag.

I froze when his tanned hand grabbed a bag of red suckers. My eyes traveled up, meeting with a pair of hazel ones.

"Vik?"

Running into him there was a long shot, one I, admittedly, didn't put much stock in. Him being there had to be a sign.

But it couldn't be the Vik I met the other day. This Vik wore glasses and a shirt with a math equation on it. Maybe he had a twin? Because there was no way this was the same mysterious guy from Mapleway.

Only it was, because he said, "Harlow?" His eyes went wide behind his glasses. He stumbled over his words as we both stood. It was the complete opposite of the cool demeanor he had the other day. "Hi."

"Hi?" That's all he had to say?

"Vikram!"

We both turned, and my confusion grew deeper. It was the woman chaperoning them the other day. Why were they there together?

"I'll be right there, Mom."

That answered my question. What the hell?

Vik shrugged helplessly, already backing away.

I reached out, grabbing the sleeve of his hoodie. "Wait." He stopped, glancing over at his impatient mother. "What is this?" I motioned to his...everything.

His shoulders rose and fell again. "Haven't you ever wanted to be someone else for a day?"

I didn't know what to make of that. He lied to me. I should be more annoyed. Yet, on some level, I understood exactly what he meant. I'd been trying to rebrand myself since Grayson left. Clearly, Vik was better at it.

"Now, Vikram!"

He gave me an apologetic smile before jogging to catch up with his mom. Liah was going to laugh her butt off when I told her about this.

My whole reason for coming to the beach was ruined. Maybe that was the sign. A huge neon sign that read STOP! YOU'RE ONLY EMBARRASSING YOURSELF.

Of all the Oakwood guys at Mapleway the other day, I had to talk to the one having an identity crisis. It'd be funny if it wasn't so incredibly sad. I couldn't even blame this on Gray. It was all me.

Corey and his friends were still down on the beach, their laughter loud and traveling to where I stood on the boardwalk. The last thing I wanted to do was hang around Gray's friends. My senior year was supposed to be all about me. If I made any new friends, it wouldn't be through my brother.

Instead of heading down the beach, I walked back towards the parking lot. I didn't know how long Corey planned to hang out, but I didn't mind. Normally, at this time, I'd be home in bed reading or playing Animal Crossing with Liah. Exploring the boardwalk after dark could be fun.

I stepped into a gift shop, browsing a rack of sunglasses in every shape imaginable. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I tried on a pair of triangle shaped glasses that couldn't possibly protect your eyes from the sun.

You still at the beach? Liah's message read.

Yeah. I saw Vik, I replied. After returning the sunglasses to the display tower and moving on to keychains, she messaged back.

Lit any trash cans on fire?

I snorted, remembering the complete nerd I ran into earlier. No and neither has he, I shot back.

???

I'll explain later.

I left the gift shop without buying any of their overpriced items. The goal was to kill as much time as possible browsing shops as if I had enough money to buy anything. There was a clothing boutique, a rack of t-shirts in front of it, that caught my attention. The shirts were cute, with beach-y or tropical patterns and cheesy sayings. I was a sucker for shirts with puns. They made the perfect sleep shirts.

I snapped a photo of one that said "Tropic like it's hot" and sent it to my mom.

If you love me you'll send me money to buy this, I added, only half joking. She sent back a laughing emoji. Rude.

When I made it to the parking lot, Corey and his friends were still on the beach. I wasn't going down there, and with nothing better to do, I went to back to the truck.

We'd only been at the beach for twenty minutes and I was over it. I wasted a perfectly good outfit for nothing. If only Vik hadn't turned out to be a fraud. We'd probably be down on the beach making out, rolling around in the sand. You know, normal stuff.

I was so caught up in beach fantasies I didn't notice Corey's truck wasn't empty until I was standing in front of it. My jaw dropped as I watched Corey and some girl go at in the front seat, where anyone could walk by and see. I'm pretty sure they were only kissing. Then again, I couldn't see what was happening below the waist.

Not that I need that visual.

I turned, ready to run before Corey thought I was some voyeuristic creep. My pants leg got caught on a bush, tripping me up before I face-planted on the sidewalk. My knees got the worst of it. I hoped Corey and his date were too caught up with each other's tongues to notice me go down. But I wasn't that lucky.

The truck door opened. I was up on my feet before Corey got to me. The girl he was with meet us on the sidewalk, wrapping her arms around his waist as if the two seconds she wasn't in his lap were torture. She was pretty, with brown skin, her hair slicked back into two afro puffs. I could never pull that hairstyle off without looking like a twelve-year-old.

Corey looked amused as I dusted myself off. "You need something, Harlow?"

His girlfriend's mouth popped opened, her eyes darting to me. "Oh my gosh, this is little Gray? I didn't recognize you without a book in your hand."

Who ever this girl was, I didn't like her. "Don't call me that."

Was that all people saw when they looked at me? Grayson and books? I didn't know this girl, yet she seemed to have me all summed up. I wanted to scream at her. Tell her she didn't know me. I couldn't, though. What else would I even add? The most interesting thing about me was my brother.

Corey tried and failed to mask his laughter with a cough. The girl's lips twitched like she held back a smile. "Sorry."

Great. Now they were laughing at me. I felt like a little kid, despite us all being around the same age.

A shriek came from the beach. Some girl laughed as she ran into the water. Corey's make-out buddy rolled her eyes, pulling herself away from him. "I should go down there before Connie drowns herself." She kissed him again. I stared at the ground and waited for it to be over. "See ya, little Gray."

I really didn't like that girl. "Who was that?"

"Shamika," he said, like he was telling me the grass was green. "She was a senior last year. Always at your house with me and Gray."

I shrugged. "You overestimate how much attention I pay to Grayson and his friends. Anyways, I wasn't trying to interrupt. You can finish whatever you were doing with your girlfriend. I'll find something to do."

"She's not my girlfriend," he said, getting into the truck. I followed. "And you already ruined the moment."

I knew people could fool around without being in a relationship. Corey wasn't someone I thought did that type of stuff. Gray, definitely. I've lost a few clients over him. Corey always seemed a bit more reserved. Apparently, he was just sneaky.

"I guess we're even then." Travis still avoided me in the halls at school thanks to that night.

He glanced at me, lips turning up before pulling out of the parking lot. "I guess we are."

The truck fell silent as we made the drive back to my house. There were more cars on the street, probably people heading home. The traffic made the ride longer, which I wouldn't have minded if it wasn't so cold. Not that I was going to let Corey see that. My top was cute, but now I wished it had sleeves.

Maybe talking would warm me up. "Why isn't she your girlfriend?" I regretted the question as soon as I said. It sounded like I was sitting there thinking about his relationship status. Which I wasn't.

He was quiet for a long time. I gave up waiting for an answer when he said, "Because she's not."

"You don't want her to be, or you haven't reached that stage yet?" My fingers were going numb, so I slipped my hands under my thighs.

"Why are you so concerned about my dating life?" I couldn't make out his tone. Was he annoyed?

"Since you and my brother are hell bent on making sure I die alone, I don't have one of my own."

A pause, then, "We agreed to keep it casual."

I didn't expect him to be so honest. Casual dating seemed like something I could do. No messy emotions, just a random hook up. But with who?

My thoughts were interrupted by a black hoodie dropping into my lap. Corey's eyes were still ahead, like he'd never moved. "You were shivering."

The hoodie was already warming me up just by covering my mid-drift. "Thanks." I picked it up and smelled it. Laundry detergent.

He looked at me then. "Did you just sniff my hoodie?"

I realized too late how weird that was, but I didn't know long it'd been back there.

"I was making sure you weren't throwing your dirty laundry at me." I slipped the hoodie on over my head, grateful for the warmth.

His eyes were on me. I waited for him to call me a creep or something. Instead, he turned back to the road. Quiet for the rest of the drive.

//

So sorry for taking so long to update! I had to reevaluate my writing style. This chapter may feel like a filler BUT the pacing picks up in the next couple of chapters!

Also, updates will be once a week on Fridays.

Thank you all so very much for sticking with me and for reading this update!!! <33