"Dad, I'm not really sure you should be up there!" I had my eyes trained on my father as he climbed up a ladder, setting up one of the booths for the upcoming festival.

My dad paused and looked down at me. "Ana, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

I knew he wouldn't listen to me, so I kept quiet with my eyes glued to him as if they could physically keep him up there if he fell.

"Don't worry so much, Ana." Emilia appeared at my side. "He does this every year."

I appreciate the words of encouragement, but that didn't stop me from feeling anxious at every step up he took. "Yeah, but he's not exactly young."

"He's not exactly old," Emilia pointed out.

I sighed and looked away at Emilia. "You're right, you're right," I admitted. "I can't help but worry."

"I know," Emilia said simply. "But that's why I'm here. Come on, I'll show you where I'm setting up."

"Dad, I'm going with Emilia now," I yelled as she grabbed my hands and pulled me in a different direction.

The sun shone down on us on that Friday afternoon. Most restaurants had closed for the weekend and were setting up their stands for the weekend.

"Okay, so I know this side of the festival won't open up until tomorrow," Emilia was saying as we passed through the vendors who would be selling handmade crafts. "But I really want to have everything done by the time we open tonight. I don't want to have to worry about doing everything last minute."

"Emilia, calm down," I said, laughing at her intensity. "You'll be fine."

"Here, what do you think?"

We arrived at Emilia's stand, and the only thing I could think of was how much it obviously belonged to my best friend. "Emilia, it looks great!" I exclaimed. I entered the tent and examined the tables of handmade jewelry, most of it from shells. "I don't know why you were worried."

"I just, I don't know." Emilia paced around the stand, inspecting everything. "I just want things to go well."

"It will," I said firmly. Emilia always got like this when it came to her work. She knew it was good, but she also wanted to one day make a living off of it. So if it didn't sell well, fears of never making it as an artist got to her head.

"Okay, well the last thing I need is the paintings," Emilia said. She pulled out a box from under a table. "I don't have many, at least not for tomorrow. I'll bring more out on Sunday if need be. But should I have them out in front, or hanging in the back."

"What are you leaning toward?"

"I don't know." Emilia swiveled her head back and forth. "If they're in the back, will they seem more expensive? You know, since they're more protected than out front? Will that make people not want to buy them? But if I put them in front, will that make people think they're not good enough?"

"Okay, okay, okay," I said, going over to her and putting my hands on my shoulders. "I think you're overthinking this. Put some in the back for snobby people who think that good art isn't accessible to the masses, and put some out front for people who are too poor to buy most art."

Emilia took a breath. "You're right, you're right. Here, help me pick out which ones should go where."

Given my lack of any art knowledge, I wasn't much help, but at the very least I was able to carry pieces back and forth to let Emilia see how everything looked. It took a lot longer than I thought it was going to take, but eventually, she was satisfied.

"Okay, now I can relax," she breathed.

"I should get back to my dad," I said. "You know how he gets. Once he finishes our stand he goes and sets up all the stands for everyone else."

"What, you're going back to just to stare and worry about him up on a ladder?" Emilia teased.

I just rolled my eyes at her.

"Oh, before you go, I was going to ask you something."

I turned around to find her with a sly smile on her face. "What?" I figured I already knew what she was going to say.

"Your new hot coworker, is he coming this weekend?"

Typical. But if she was going to play that game, I could at least make it a little difficult for her. "Hot coworker?" I repeated, pretending to think about who she could possibly be talking about. "I'm not sure what you mean."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you're going to make me be specific. Alex. The guy who you told me was checking you out and who clearly finds you attractive. The guy who you admitted was hot while you were on shift."

I was never going to hear the end of that one. "I don't know," I replied honestly. "I told him about it, but he didn't say for sure if he was going to go or not."

Emilia shook her head. "Come on, Ana, if you told him about it, I'm sure he'll be there. Anything to get to see you," she teased.

"Oh, really? I didn't realize you and he were such good friends," I shot back.

Emilia shrugged, but still had the stupid smile on her face. "Well, when he shows up tomorrow all alone and you can't help but go over and spend time with him, I'll just get the pleasure of saying I told you so."

"Uh-huh." She was relentless. "Well, can I go now? Or do you want to interrogate me more about my coworkers?"

"You may go." I shook my head and headed back toward the food section. "Wait!" she called.

"What?"

"We're still on for tonight, right?"

Now was the time for my genuine grin. "Absolutely," I said. "I need a night out."

"See you at home!" Emilia called after me.

While tonight might have been the opening of the festival, Emilia and I had no intention of going. The food stands were open, some important person of the community made a speech, and a local group performed. It was fun, but other than the speech, was nothing that didn't happen during the rest of the week. I fully intended on taking advantage of one of my only free Friday nights of the year.

"Dad, how's it coming?" I asked when I got back to the Coral Brews stand. My dad, fortunately still on the ground, turned around at the sound of my voice.

"Good, good, almost done. Alex is just helping get the sign up and then we just need to unload everything we're serving."

My eyes shot up to the sign as soon as my dad said Alex's name. And yep, there he was, up on the ladder and attaching the last corner of the wooden sign reading Coral Brews Bar to the top of the tent. "I didn't realize he was coming to help out," I said, still watching him.

"Neither did I," my dad said. "But he showed up just after you went off with Emilia. And I figured since you don't want me up on the ladder, he could help out. Looks good, Alex," my dad shouted up.

"Right." I don't know why I found it so weird. Then again, no one besides Ryan and Connor ever really came to help. And that was because they were the ones running the stand all weekend.

"Hey, Ana, come help me unload all of this stuff."

I took my eyes off Alex just as he began to climb down when I heard Ryan calling. "Yeah, sure." I jogged over to him and the van that contained all of the food and drinks they would actually be selling that night.

"I guess the new guy wants to impress your dad," Ryan joked as I knelt down and picked up a crate of tequila off the van floor.

"I guess."

"What's up with you?" Ryan gave me a side glance at my less than enthusiastic response.

"Nothing." I kept stealing glances over at my dad, who was now talking with Alex. "Nothing!" I repeated when Ryan looked at me doubtfully. "Come on, this stuff isn't going to unload itself."

"Do you need help with that?"

I was carrying my second case of alcohol when a voice sounded behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin and whirled around to find Alex staring at me.

"No," I finally said. "I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"I'm pretty sure I've been working in a bar longer than you have," I pointed out. "I think I know what I can handle."

"Ah, and they say chivalry is dead," Ryan said as I passed him. I just rolled my eyes.

Alex joined us in unloading the van, and we were done in record time. I jogged over to my dad, who was in conversation with another vendor.

"We're done, Dad," I told him. "Do you need anything else?"

He shook his head. "No, and I know you have plans for tonight. Ryan, Connor, and I will take care of organizing everything inside the stand."

I gave him a hug and then a kiss on the cheek. "Alright, well then I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"See you tomorrow. And have fun tonight."

"Thanks, Dad."

I waved to Ryan and Connor on my way out, but as I headed home, Alex jogged up behind me. "I thought you said if I came to this thing I would see you there," he said.

I glanced at him. "And you will," I said. "Just not tonight. But it goes on all weekend."

"Shame. And I was actually starting to look forward to going."

I stopped and turned to face him, cutting him off and forcing him to stop just a little too close to me. "You could still go," I pointed out. "But what I would suggest instead is enjoying your last Friday night of peace for a while."

"Is that what you're doing?"

I shrugged and while every instinct was telling me to take a few steps back, I stood my ground and look straight up at him. "I wouldn't say it'll be a peaceful night," I said, smirking. "But I fully intend on enjoying myself." I took those steps back just as he opened his mouth to say something. "I'll see you tomorrow, Alex," I said, turning around and walking off, leaving him standing on his own on the sidewalk.