Kayla’s P.O.V

It was Tuesday morning and I was trying to get Charlotte loaded into her car to take her to Day Camp when my phone rang.

“Mike’s in an hour” I immediately recognized Paige’s voice.  She abruptly hung up the phone before I could respond.

Oh boy, Paige and I only met at Mike’s Ice Cream Parlor when something bad happened.  This couldn’t be good.

I dropped Charlotte off at the Y and drove to Mike’s wondering what could be wrong.  By the time I pulled into my regular parking spot I was convinced it had to do with Ryan.  She was mad I ditched her brother at the party and left with Jake.  It’s not her fault she doesn’t realize she has a sleezebag for a brother.

I made eye contact with Mike as I headed over to our usual booth where Paige was already sitting.  I could see her wringing her hands, she must be nervous. 

“Hey Paige.  Is everything alright?” I sat down hesitantly.  Mike brought our usual orders over, there was no need to order, he knew it by heart.  Paige waited until I had my hot fudge sundae and she had her chocolate milkshake before she even looked at me.

“I have something to tell you” she seemed nervous.

“Paige you know you can tell me anything.  What is it?” I grabbed her hand reassuringly.

“Tyler asked me to be his girlfriend” She squealed.

“You little turd!  You were freaking me out!  I thought something was wrong” I threw a napkin.

“Sorry babe I just couldn’t resist” She laughed before taking a sip of her milkshake.

“That’s great though!  I’m so happy for you!  When did he ask you?” Jake and I had a bet on how long it would take those two to get it together, he had said by the end of the summer, but I had said by the party.  Looks like I was about to be $20 richer.

“I think last night was our fourth or fifth date and we went back to the pier where we went on the boat with you guys that first day and we just walked around and talked for hours and then he asked me” Paige couldn’t stop smiling.

“That’s so sweet!  I’m so happy for you two”

“Thanks Kayla, you’re the best.  So what’s the update on you and Jake?” Paige smirked.

“I still can’t tell if he remembers our conversation from Saturday night.  He was acting completely normal at practice yesterday and we finally got our groove back so I figured I’d let things be for now and see what happens later” I shrugged.

“So you’re finally admitting you want something to happen?” Paige gave me her ‘I told you face’.

“I’m not saying yes or no, I’m just saying I’m open to it” I gave in.

***

It was 7 o’clock on Friday night.  One day until the championship game.  Scratch that, 14 hours until the championship game, and what was I doing?

Sitting at the end of a pier eating mac and cheese, what else?

“Alright I want full details about everyone’s summers.  Who wants to go first?” Jenna asked. 

Jenna’s a petite Asian with red highlights in her hair.  She had her usual skinny jeans, band t-shirt, and converse on.  Jenna’s the quiet one, unless you got her talking about music, then she won’t shut up.  She could sing like no one I’ve ever heard, though she would never admit how amazing she is.  She was sitting with Paige on her right, and Maggie on her left.

Maggie is barely five feet tall and her short blonde bob and extremely tan skin were proof of her two month vacation to Florida.  She’s a gymnast and spends most of her time at practice so we didn’t get to see her as often as we’d like, but when she’s finally free, she’s the life of the party.

Maggie and Jenna had arrived back in town only hours earlier.  They had been gone all summer on vacations with their families.  Maggie spent the summer in Florida, while Jenna returned to Japan to visit her grandparents.

As soon as they got back to town Paige and I went straight to the pier, with the mac and cheese and a bunch of blankets for the four of us to sit on.  The pier had always been our group’s spot, kind of like Mike’s was Paige’s and my spot.

I wasn’t as close with the other two as I was with Paige, but we had all known each other since elementary school and were pretty tight as a result.

“Paaaiigggeeyyy has a boyfriend” I teased.

Paige flicked a spoonful of mac and cheese at me.

“Hey don’t waste the precious golden deliciousness you horrible child” Maggie gasped and grabbed the bowl away from Paige.

I started dying laughing while Paige tackled Maggie trying to get the bowl back.

“Woah people can we focus on the important things here…PAIGE HAS A BOYFRIEND?” Jenna shouted.

“Ahhh our little baby is growing up” Maggie pinched Paige’s cheeks.

“Name, address, social security number, details, now” Jenna demanded.

“Guess” Paige, taunting them.

“It’s Tyler Barrett” I blurted out, Paige sent me a glare for stealing her thunder, but she was blushing so it wasn’t very intimidating.

“Oh my gosh no way!!” Maggie screamed, tackling Paige in a hug.  Mac and cheese flew everywhere and Jenna started mumbling about wasting the deliciousness again.

“Yeah we’re dating, and he’s amazing, and I’m really happy, but the real news is about Kayla” Paige smirked at me.  She knew I hated that kind of attention, but it was payback for spoiling her guessing game.

“Kayla!?!?  You had a summer romance too?  Man I am so jealous, there were only old people near me in Florida” Maggie groaned.

“It was not a summer romance, not even close.  Besides, we’re just friends” I insisted.

“She’s lying, they’d be dating right now if Kayla wasn’t so stubborn” Paige rolled her eyes at me.  The three of them loved lecturing me about being “too stubborn”, I prefer the term “dedicated to not giving in”, but that’s just my opinion.

“Wait a minute what is mystery boy’s name?” Jenna asked.

“Jake Mitchells” Paige pretended to swoon. 

I covered my face as they freaked out.

“Jake Mitchells?  Oh my gosh I am so jealous.  He’s hot, and athletic, and he’s hilarious, and he’s nice to everyone, and… and he’s Jake Mitchells for goodness sake” Maggie was waving her hands around like a mad woman.

“You are telling me that you could be dating Jake Mitchells and you chose not to?  You better have a good reason young lady” Jenna had her hands on her hips.  I’m surprised she wasn’t waving her finger at me.

“It’s not like I planned any of this, it just sort of happened.  Paige couldn’t do beach league so I got assigned a random partner and it ended up being Jake, trust me none of this was ever part of-“

“The plan” The three of them said in unison, cutting me off.

“I have been gone all summer and I am already tired of hearing you use “the plan” as an excuse.  You are scared.  You’re scared because you actually have feelings for this guy and getting into a relationship means you have to willingly enter into a situation where you don’t have complete control and that terrifies you” Jenna started.

“But Kayla you can’t keep letting that hold you back.  I know you always try so hard to keep all your ducks in a row and you don’t like relying on other people so you keep a tight hold on everything because it makes you feel safe, but you can’t do that forever” Maggie wrapped me in a hug.

“You’ve got a guy who is crazy about you and loves spending time with you.  He sees all your quirks and still thinks you’re amazing, just like we do.  You can’t throw this all away just because it’s uncharted territory.  Kayla Ryans is a go-getter so I want you to finally tell that boy how you feel, not while he’s drunk, while he can actually hear you.  Then you can go be happy with this awesome guy that always puts a smile on your face, and we can all say I told you so” Paige grinned.

“Fine, after the championship game I’ll tell him, but I’m doing it my way with no meddling from you psychos” I insisted.

“Deal” they agreed. 

I tried to put thoughts about Jake out of my head as I listened to crazy stories about my friends’ summers. 

I watched the sun slowly sink into the ocean as I sat on that pier eating mac and cheese with my three best friends.  I realized those little moments were my favorite part of summer.

I just hoped the next day would bring good memories as well.

12 hours until the championship game.

The chapter you've all been waiting for is up next.  Any predictions?

Will they win?

Will Kayla confess?

Will we finally find out if Jake remembered their conversation?

Out of Paige, Jenna, and Maggie, who's your favorite?

Don't forget to vote and comment and check out the book I'm cowriting, "Whatever You Say".