Mia
10 Years Ago
“Everyone is going to be there. It’s going to be epic,” Gabriella gushes, flipping her long blonde hair, her blue eyes brightly shining with excitement.
“You think everything is epic.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Don’t you?” I tease.
She waves dramatically. “Anyway, all the high school guys are going to be there.”
“And the high school girls,” I point out.
“Yeah, but we’re going into high school, so that’s us now. We need to start acting like it.”
“There is no way my grandparents are going to let me go to Coquina Beach. It’s on the other side of the island, and they aren’t going to drive around so late.”
“Duh.” Gabriella rolls her eyes at me. “That’s why you’re spending the night at my house. Clay is, too. My parents are going to a party. We’ll go with Clay and Beckett.”
Beckett is going?
But he’ll be with all his girls.
Still...
Gabriella looks at me impatiently. “You’re never going to get a boyfriend if you stay home at night. It’s time to live a little. Your grandparents will never know.”
I sigh. “Are you sure they won’t find out?”
“Yes. Stop worrying.”
I open my closet then anxiously look at Gabriella. “I don’t have anything cool to wear.”
“Let’s go shopping!”
“I don’t have money for that.”
She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Mia. You need to get creative.”
“What do you mean?”
She tugs on my hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Relax, Mia. Watch and learn.”
Gabriella leads me out of my house and down the road. When we get to her house, Beckett and Clay are in the kitchen, scarfing down plates of food, wearing nothing but swim trunks.
My heart beats faster like it always does when I’m around Beckett.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” Gabriella asks.
“No one is here except us,” Beckett says.
“Good.” Gabriella sits down between them. She slyly nods for me to take the other seat.
“Oh, hey, Mia.” Beckett gives me his killer smile.
“Hey.” I will myself not to turn red.
“What are you talking about?” Gabriella asks.
“None of your business,” Beckett tells her.
Gabriella puts her hand on Clay’s forearm. “Clay, can you give us a ride somewhere? Pretty please?” She bats her eyelashes.
My brother seems to have started to notice Gabriella. Over the last six months, she’s developed boobs and looks like she’s eighteen instead of fourteen. It’s subtle, but I see the way he looks at her before he catches himself. And Gabriella seems to be able to get whatever she wants from him.
“Get your hand off my friend,” Beckett barks at her.
Gabriella rolls her eyes at Beckett and puts her arm around my brother. “Aw, Beckett, you jealous that Clay’s my friend, too? Clay doesn’t mind, do you?”
Clay shifts uncomfortably, but she grasps him tighter and then sits on his lap. He glances at Beckett and laughs.
“Seriously, Gabriella. Stop touching Clay. You wouldn’t like it if I touched Mia.”
She smirks at him. “Wouldn’t I?”
“Fine.” Beckett yanks me off my seat and into his lap. “How do you like it now?”
Heat crawls up my neck, and butterflies explode in my stomach.
Gabriella arches her eyebrows. “You’ll have to do better than that, Beckett.” She leans into Clay’s face. “So, can you give us a ride?”
His eyes move to her lips then back to her eyes. “Sure, Gabriella. Where to?”
Beckett’s body stiffens.
“We’re going to a party.”
Clay looks over at me. “Grandma know about this party?”
I turn away from him, forgetting for a brief moment I’m on Beckett’s lap, and almost run right into his face.
Beckett’s lips tick up. “They don’t know, do they?”
I shake my head.
“Then you aren’t going,” Clay says.
Gabriella puts on her pouty lip and runs her finger down his cheek. “Aw, Clay, I thought you were fun.”
“I am fun,” he says.
“You’re not acting very fun.”
“Gabriella, get off my friend,” Beckett growls again.
She ignores him and puts her lips right next to his. “I’ll owe you a big favor.”
He licks his lips.
“That’s it.” Beckett stands me up and tugs Gabriella off Clay. “Do not touch my friend ever again.”
“He doesn’t seem to mind, do you, Clay?”
He glances between Gabriella and Beckett.
Gabriella smirks. “I’ll make you a deal, Beckett.”
He glares at her. “What’s that?”
“Give us a ride tonight and forty dollars, and I’ll never touch Clay again.”
“Forty dollars? You’re crazy.” Beckett releases her arm.
Gabriella sits back down on Clay and puts her arms around him.
Beckett quickly tugs her off. “Fine. Done. It’s in the drawer of my desk. Don’t take a penny more.”
“And the ride tonight.”
He groans. “You’re such a pain in my ass.”
“But you love me,” she coos.
He rolls his eyes. “Where is this party?”
“Coquina Beach.”
“Mia, you aren’t old enough to go to that party. You’re thirteen,” Clay tells me.
Usually, I don’t lie to my grandparents or sneak off to parties. But Gabriella is right. I’ll never get anyone, including Beckett, to notice me if I don’t start acting like I’m in high school.
“I’m almost fourteen. And we’re in high school now.”
“Almost in high school,” he reminds us.
I stand up, angry at him. “Stop acting like you’re my father and being a hypocrite. You went to all these parties before you even got into high school.”
“It’s different. We’re boys.”
Gabriella looks at Clay and bats her eyes. “When I think of you, I think of a man, not a boy.”
Clay’s face flushes and he checks her out.
Beckett spins her into him. “Enough, Gabriella. Add in that you’ll stop flirting with Clay, and it’s a deal.”
“Done,” she sweetly says.
He releases her arm. “We’re leaving at eight. Don’t talk to me when we get there.”
She snorts. “Please. As if I would want to talk to you.”
“Don’t think you’re making this your new normal, Mia.” Clay glares at me again.
“Whatever,” Gabriella says. “Let’s go, Mia.”
We barely get out of the room, and Beckett says to Clay, “Seriously. Do you have to encourage her?”
My brother’s voice is full of amusement. “What? I didn’t.”
Gabriella places her hand on my arm to stop and puts her finger to her lips.
“You didn’t discourage her.”
“Sorry, man, but your sister is hot.”
Gabriella stifles a giggle.
“Dude, don’t ever say that again,” Beckett angrily says.
Clay chuckles. “Okay, but you should be more worried about everyone else who’s going to be at the party and not me.”
I stand in front of the full-length mirror in a hot-pink bikini with extra padding in it. “Oh, I don’t know, Gabriella. This doesn’t feel like me.”
“Because your grandparents have you wearing boring clothes.”
“My boobs look huge.”
“They sure do!” she beams.
I groan. “The bottom doesn’t even cover my butt cheeks.”
“Another plus,” she chirps then opens the curtains to my fitting room, wearing a black thong, string bikini.
I look between her curvy, tan body and mine that is pasty white and straight as a stick. “I look ridiculous.”
“No, you don’t! You look hot!” she gushes.
I cringe. “Really?”
“Yes!”
“Try on the cover-up, and I’ll put mine on.”
I throw on the black crochet dress that shows my bikini and body, and Gabriella comes over in the same one in hot pink.
She claps her hands. “This is perfect! You wear your hot-pink sandals, and I’ll wear my black ones!”
“Don’t you think we should wear clothes?”
“One, these are clothes. Two, it’s a beach bonfire. Everyone is going to be wearing this. Clay and Beckett always go in their swimsuits.”
Yeah, they have killer bodies like you do.
I sigh. “Fine.”
We get changed, Gabriella buys the outfits, and we head back to her house. The entire way, Gabriella is talking about boys, but all I can think about is Beckett.
I wonder if he’ll notice me tonight?
What if he thinks I look stupid?
“Earth to Mia.” Gabriella waves her hand in front of my face, giggling.
“Oh, sorry. What were you saying?”
“We should start getting ready at six so I can do your hair and makeup.”
Gabriella spends an hour putting makeup on me and straightening my hair with an iron even though it’s already straight. She claims it will stop the frizz. I’m not buying her logic, but I let her anyway.
She won’t let me look at what she’s done until I put on my outfit. I get changed and stand in front of her mirror.
“Ta-da!” she beams at me.
“Wow,” I say in shock.
Gabriella has covered up all my acne. My black hair is shiny and straight, with no frizz.
“Your eyes are popping!”
I can’t argue with her. For the first time in my life, minus my braces, I feel beautiful. And it’s giving me the confidence to wear the outfit she picked out for me. It seems to work now that my hair and makeup is done.
Will Beckett notice me?
Gabriella does her makeup and hair, and, for the next hour, I barely pay attention to her gabbing. The more I think of Beckett, the more my nerves flutter in my stomach.
She finally finishes and looks at herself in the mirror.
“You look amazing!”
Her blonde hair is in waves, and her makeup is perfect. “Tonight is going to be epic! Let’s go!”
The car beeps, and we quickly get outside.
“Jesus,” Clay mumbles.
“What are you two doing?” Beckett barks, scanning Gabriella but then turning on me, and maybe it’s my imagination, but he lingers longer than when he looked at Gabriella.
“What do you mean?” Gabriella asks.
“What are you wearing?” Clay jumps in.
“Stop looking at me like that. We’re wearing more clothes than both of you.” They are only wearing their swim trunks, flip-flops, and Florida Gator caps.
“Go change,” Beckett orders.
Gabriella smirks and gets in the car. “No.”
I climb in on the other side.
Beckett and Clay both shake their heads and get in the car.
“You’d better stay out of trouble tonight, Gabriella,” Beckett warns.
“Whatever, Beckett. You go do your thing, and we’ll do ours.”
Since the tourist season has come to an end, traffic is light, and it doesn’t take long to get to Coquina Beach. The sun has just set, and the only place to get food there has been closed down for the night along with the gift shop attached to it. A large group of teenagers assembles on the beach where there is a bonfire already lit.
Beckett turns around to us when Clay enters the parking lot. “I’d better not see either of you drinking.”
“I don’t drink,” I tell him quickly.
He nods. “Good. Don’t let my sister influence you.”
Gabriella smacks him on the shoulder. “I don’t drink, either, jerk.”
His eyes turn to slits. “Well, keep it that way. There’s going to be a lot of people offering you drinks tonight. Don’t drink anything unless it’s an unopened bottle of water or pop.”
“Jeez, Beckett, you sound like Mom lecturing us not to eat the brownies at parties.”
“Well, don’t eat those, either.” Clay parks the car.
We all get out and go down to the beach. The boys separate from us, but I keep my eye on Beckett. Gabriella knows more people than I do and introduces me to several guys, but I’m not interested.
Several hours pass. Girl after girl flirts with Beckett and Clay. Gabriella is surrounded by several boys.
I am over at the coolers to get water when I see Clay look at his phone.
When did he get a phone?
I’m about two hundred feet away from him, but I see him cringe and walk up to the closed gift shop and step inside.
What is he doing?
I’m about to go when I see Beckett follow him to the gift shop and enter it.
Why are they going inside, and how did they even get in when it’s closed?
A bad feeling crawls through my body. I plod through the sand to the gift shop. I hear a sharp crack, but the music is loud. I faintly hear Clay and Beckett both cry out, and I open the door. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the blackness. Clay is moaning in pain, and blood is seeping out everywhere.
Beckett turns. His eyes widen and he yells, “Get down, Mia,” forcing me to the ground. I feel Beckett roll off me and see a blond blue-eyed man with a scar from his eye to his mouth aim a gun at me and shoot before I lose consciousness.