The sun beamed down on the beach, warming the sand beneath our feet. Despite the breeze tugging at our hair and clothes, it was a lovely day to be outside. I watched as Meri ran back and forth between the shoreline and our spot, bringing buckets of water for our sandcastle.

"Careful, Meri!" I called as she stumbled slightly. "Don't spill it all before you get here."

Nathan chuckled beside me, patting down the walls of our creation. "She's doing her best, Beth. Look how determined she is."

I had to smile. At six years old, Meri took her sandcastle-building duties very seriously. Her little face was scrunched up in concentration as she carefully poured water into the moat we'd dug.

"There!" she declared proudly. "Now the bad guys can't get in."

"Good thinking," Nathan said, giving her a high five. "We're practically impregnable now."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Impregnable? Bit of a big word there, Mr Vocabulary."

He stuck his tongue out at me. "I'll have you know I've been expanding my lexicon."

"Alright, settle down, Shakespeare," I laughed, throwing a handful of sand at him.

As Meri searched for shells to decorate our castle, Nathan turned to me with an odd look. He seemed... nervous? But that couldn't be right. Nathan was never nervous around me.

"So, Beth," he started, fiddling with a twig. "I was wondering... are you busy tomorrow night?"

I blinked, surprised. "Um, no, I don't think so. Why?"

"Well, there's this film showing at the cinema. A romance, I think. Meant to be quite funny. We could go? If you wanted to, I mean."

"Oh," I said, my heart doing a weird flip. "Like... the two of us?"

Nathan's cheeks went pink. "Yeah. I mean, unless you wanted to invite others. That's cool, too. I just thought... might be fun."

I found myself smiling. "No, that sounds nice. Just us. Is it anything like that last disaster we watched?"

He laughed, the tension easing from his shoulders. "God, I hope not. I don't think my brain could take another one of those."

"Fair enough," I giggled. Then, a thought occurred to me. "Wait, are we going to the drive-in cinema?"

Nathan nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Yeah, I thought it might be fun. Why?"

I felt a surge of excitement. "That's another thing to tick off the list then!"

"Definitely," Nathan beamed. His smile was so bright, so genuinely happy, that I felt my cheeks grow warm.

We sat there momentarily, smiling at each other like idiots, until a small voice piped up.

"You two look at each other like you're in love."

I whipped my head around to see Meri standing there, arms full of seashells, watching us with a knowing look that no six-year-old should possess.

"What?" I spat. "No, we're not. Don't be silly, Meri."

"Yeah," Nathan added, his voice oddly high-pitched. "We're just friends."

Meri rolled her eyes in a perfect imitation of our mum. "No, I mean like real love. Like Mummy and Daddy look at each other."

I felt my face burning. "Meri! That's... we're not... Nathan's my best friend, that's all."

"Yeah," Nathan echoed weakly. "Best friends."

Meri just shrugged, apparently losing interest in our love lives. "Whatever. Can we put these shells on the castle now?"

As she started arranging them on our sandcastle, I risked a glance at Nathan. He was staring very intently at the sand, his ears bright red.

"Sorry about that," I muttered. "You know how kids are. They say the strangest things."

"Yeah," Nathan agreed, still not meeting my eye. "Strange."

We sat in awkward silence for a few moments, the only sound the crash of waves and Meri's quiet humming as she decorated. I desperately wanted to say something, to get us back to our usual easy banter, but my mind was blank.

Finally, Nathan cleared his throat. "So, um, what time should I pick you up tomorrow? For the film?"

"Oh, right," I said, grateful for the subject change. "Maybe around five?"

He nodded. "Sounds good. I'll bring snacks."

"Ooh, can you get those chocolate-covered raisins I like?" I asked, perking up.

Nathan laughed, the tension finally breaking. "Of course. As if I'd forget your weird obsession with those things."

"They're not weird, they're delicious," I protested.

"They're disgusting."

I gasped. "How dare you! Take that back!"

"Make me," he grinned, eyes sparkling with challenge.

Without thinking, I lunged at him, tackling him into the sand. We rolled around, laughing and trying to get the upper hand, sand getting everywhere.

"Ew, gross!" Meri complained as we nearly knocked over the castle. "You're acting like babies!"

We broke apart, still giggling. I had sand in my hair, down my shirt, probably in places I didn't want to think about. Nathan wasn't much better off.

"Sorry, Meri," I said, trying to catch my breath. "We'll behave now, promise."

She gave us a pure Mum look, hands on her hips and everything. "You'd better. This is serious sandcastle business."

Nathan and I exchanged glances and burst out laughing again. After a moment, Meri joined in, her giggles high and sweet.

As we settled back down to help Meri, I caught Nathan looking at me again. There was something in his eyes, something warm and soft.

Maybe Meri wasn't so far off, after all, I thought. But that was a scary idea, one I wasn't quite ready to face. For now, I was content to sit here on the beach with my best friend and my little sister, building sandcastles.

As the sun began to sink lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the beach, I realised it was time for us to head home.

"Meri, love," I called to my little sister, who was busy drawing patterns in the damp sand near the water's edge. "We need to start packing up. Mum and Dad will be expecting us back for tea soon."

Meri looked up, her face scrunched in disappointment. "Do we have to go? Can't we stay just a bit longer?"

I smiled sympathetically. "I'm afraid not. But we can come back another day, I promise."

Nathan stood up, brushing sand from his shorts. "Here, let me help you pack up," he offered, reaching for our beach bag.

As we gathered our things, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. Despite Meri's embarrassing comment earlier, this afternoon had been nearly perfect. I didn't want it to end.

"Shall we take a photo of our sandcastle before we go?" Nathan suggested, pulling out his mobile phone. "It seems a shame to leave it without any record."

"Oh, yes!" Meri exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Can I be in the picture too?"

I laughed. "Of course you can. You helped build it, after all."

We positioned ourselves around the castle, Meri kneeling proudly in front while Nathan and I stood behind. As Nathan held out his phone to take the selfie, I felt his arm brush against mine. Even that slight touch sent a shiver through me.

"Ready?" Nathan asked. "One, two, three... smile!"

After taking a few shots to make sure we had a good one, we began our walk back up the beach. Meri skipped ahead, still full of energy despite the long afternoon.

"Make sure you don't go too far!" I called after her.

Nathan chuckled beside me. "She's unstoppable, isn't she?"

I nodded, smiling. "She is. I don't know where she gets it from."

We walked in comfortable silence for a few moments; the only sounds were the crunch of sand under our feet and the distant crash of waves. Then Nathan spoke again.

"I had a really good time today, Beth."

I glanced at him, my heart doing that funny little skip again. "Me too," I replied. "It was lovely."

Nathan hesitated for a moment, then said, "You know, about tomorrow night..."

I held my breath, wondering what he was going to say. Was he having second thoughts? Did he want to cancel?

"I was thinking," he continued, "maybe we could grab a bite to eat before the film? There's that pizza place near the cinema. We could go if you'd like."

"That sounds great," I said, trying not to sound too eager.

Nathan's face broke into a wide grin. "Brilliant. It's a date, then."

As soon as the words left his mouth, I saw a flicker of panic cross his face. "I mean, not a date date," he backtracked quickly. "Just, you know, a figure of speech."

I felt my cheeks grow warm. "Right, of course," I said, even as a small part wished he hadn't taken it back.

We reached the end of the beach, where the sand gave way to the concrete path leading back to the car park. Meri waited for us by the steps, bouncing on her toes impatiently.

"Finally!" she exclaimed as we approached. "Can we get ice cream on the way home? Please?"

I laughed, grateful for the distraction from my swirling thoughts. "We'll see. If you're good and don't get sand all over Mum's car, maybe we can stop for a cone."

As we climbed the steps, Nathan suddenly touched my arm. "Beth," he said quietly, "about what Meri said earlier..."

My heart began to race. Was he going to address it? Acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, there was something more between us?

But before he could continue, Meri called out from the top of the steps. "Come on, slowpokes! I want my ice cream!"

The moment broken, Nathan just shook his head and smiled. "We'd better not keep her waiting," he said. "Ice cream calls."

As we made our way to the car park, I couldn't help but wonder what Nathan had been about to say. The anticipation of tomorrow night's... outing—I didn't dare call it a date, even in my head—mixed with the lingering warmth of today's afternoon at the beach, creating a bubble of happiness in my chest.

We reached the car, and I busied myself, helping Meri brush off the worst of the sand before she climbed into the back seat. Nathan stood by, holding our beach bag and looking somewhat uncertain.

"Do you need a lift home?" I asked, realising I hadn't even thought about how he'd got to the beach.

He shook his head. "No, thanks. I rode my bike here. It's parked just over there." He gestured towards a nearby bike rack.

"Oh, right," I said, disappointed that our time together was ending. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, then."

Nathan nodded, then hesitated momentarily before stepping forward and giving me a slightly awkward hug. "See you tomorrow, Beth," he said softly, his breath tickling my ear.

I hugged him back, savouring the brief moment of closeness. "See you tomorrow," I echoed.

As he stepped back, Meri piped up from inside the car. "Bye, Nathan! Thanks for helping with our sandcastle!"

Nathan grinned at her. "Anytime, Meri. It was fun."

With a final wave, he turned and headed towards his bike. I watched him go before stepping out of my daze and climbing into the driver's seat.

As I started the car, Meri's voice came from the back seat. "Beth, are you and Nathan boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

I nearly choked on air. "What? No, of course not. We're just friends."

"But you like him, don't you?" she persisted. "Like, like-like him?"

I felt my cheeks burning as I pulled out of the car park. "Meri, that's enough. Why don't you tell me about the shells you collected instead?"

Thankfully, she took the bait and launched into an enthusiastic description of her beach treasures. As she chattered away, my mind wandered back to Nathan and tomorrow night.

What if it was a date? The thought both thrilled and terrified me. Nathan and I had been friends for so long that I wasn't sure how to navigate this shift in our relationship - if that's even what it was. Maybe I was reading too much into things. Maybe Nathan just saw me as a friend and nothing more.

But then I remembered how he'd looked at me on the beach and the softness in his eyes when Meri made her embarrassing observation. And that hug just now had felt different somehow, charged with an energy that hadn't been there before.

"Beth! You missed the turn for the ice cream shop!" Meri's disappointed voice broke into my thoughts.

I blinked. "Oh, sorry, love. We can turn around if you'd like."

Meri nodded eagerly as I turned around.

We got our ice creams - a strawberry cone for Meri and mint chocolate chip for me - and continued our drive home.

As we pulled into our driveway, I noticed Mum and Dad peering out the front window. They came out to greet us as we got out of the car.

"There you are! We were starting to wonder if you'd decided to camp out on the beach," Mum said, helping Meri out of her seat.

"Sorry, Mum. We lost track of time, and then we stopped for ice cream," I explained.

Dad raised an eyebrow. "Ice cream before tea? Well, I suppose it is a special treat for the start of the weekend."

As we headed inside, Meri launched into an excited recounting of our day at the beach, complete with dramatic re-enactments of wave-dodging and shell-finding. Mum and Dad listened patiently, steering her towards the bathroom to wash up.

"And Beth and Nathan are going on a date tomorrow!" Meri announced as Mum was helping her rinse the sand from her hands.

I froze in the act of setting the table for tea. "Meri!" I hissed, mortified.

Mum and Dad exchanged looks, then turned to me with matching grins.

"Oh? Is that so?" Mum asked, her eyes twinkling.

Dad chuckled. "Our little Beth, all grown up and going on dates. Should I have a man to man chat with him?"

I could feel my face burning. "It's not a date," I mumbled. "We're just going to see a film."

"And have pizza!" Meri added helpfully.

I shot her a glare, which she either didn't notice or chose to ignore.

"Dinner and a movie?" Dad mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Sounds an awful lot like a date to me. What do you think, love?" He turned to Mum.

Mum's lips twitched in a poorly suppressed smile. "I think it sounds lovely. Nathan's a nice boy."

"Mum, Dad, please," I groaned. "It's not like that. We're just friends."

"Of course, of course," Dad said, winking at Mum. "Just friends who go on not-dates to pizza places and cinemas."

"I remember when we were 'just friends', dear," Mum added, nudging Dad playfully.

They both laughed as I buried my face in my hands. "Can we please talk about something else?" I pleaded.

"Alright, alright," Mum said, taking pity on me. "We won't say another word about it." But the knowing looks she and Dad exchanged told me this conversation was far from over.

As we sat down to eat, I picked at my food, my appetite gone. Excitement, anxiety, hope, fear - they all battled for dominance, making it hard to focus on anything else.

"Beth, are you okay?" Dad asked. "You haven't touched your food."

I looked up, forcing a smile. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired from the beach, I suppose."

Mum nodded, though I could tell she wasn't convinced. "Why don't you have an early night, then? I'm sure you want to be well-rested for 'tomorrow'."

I nodded, ignoring the slight emphasis on the word 'tomorrow' and her amused glance with Dad. "Yeah. I think I will."

As I stood to leave the table, Dad couldn't resist one last comment. "Sweet dreams, Beth. Don't stay up all night thinking about your not-date!"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face as I headed upstairs. Despite their teasing, I knew Mum and Dad were happy for me.

And if I was being honest with myself, a part of me was starting to hope that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow might turn out to be a real date after all.