Right, well the new cover of this book is now revealed! Thanks to DallyTexas for the amazing and totally beautiful, and thanks to all you guys who voted! Also, I do have to give a huge round of applause (that's your cue to nod appreciatively and clap) to everyone who made the fantastic covers, which are all still up on my Facebook page, in the photos :)

Okay, now, new chapter! Please don't forget to vote if you like it :)

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Chapter 3

"I call dibs on the shower!" I yelled, racing ahead suddenly to get inside before either of the boys did. I knew Noah never took that long, but Lee always seemed to be forever when he was showering here. I think it was mostly to annoy me by using up the hot water, though.

"You're such a girl, Shelly!" Lee yelled after me, but neither of them tried to beat me indoors. I careered through the kitchen, trailing in sand, sea water dripping from my hair. I heard June laugh from the lounge, guessing I was racing for the shower first.

The bathroom the three of us shared wasn't actually that big. There was a bathtub that was smaller than average (I didn't even know they made bathtubs that small until I saw this one), squashed against the wall, and it was the kind that had a showerhead fixed to the wall. The blue shower curtain made the off-white tiles funny shades of blue.

I flipped on the little radio that stood on one of the already cluttered shelves by the sink. It was a little crackly from bad reception, but I could recognize the song enough to start singing along once the shower was cranked right up.

I unpacked most of my things after my shower before we got called for dinner.

And as I walked a half-step behind Lee out through the kitchen to go outside, I faltered. Lee paused, turning his head to give me a weird look as if to say, 'What's up?'

I just bit on my lip, suddenly nervous. I could feel my heart thudding harder than usual against my ribcage and I gulped.

I knew things were going to be different this year, sure. I knew that things might even be a little weird not that Noah and I were a couple, not just hanging out here anymore. But it only just hit me at that second that we were a couple. And aside from when we all went out for lunch on mine and Lee's birthday, this was kind of like the official 'meet the parents' dinner, right?

"Shelly."

"It's nothing," I answered Lee. "It's fine. I'm fine."

But really?

Yeah, I was kind of having a mini-freak-out inside. What if things were really weird? What if things were really awkward now? What if – what if – what if –

Lee's stomach growled noisily.

"Shelly, are you coming or what?"

Do I have a choice?

"Sure. Sorry." I forced a smile out for him, but we both knew he didn't believe it for a second. Lee raised an eyebrow then shook his head at me, probably pinning my weirdness down to the simple fact I was a girl. (My being a girl was his default answer to everything. Elle's suddenly freaking out about a math test she studied for? It's 'cause she's a girl. Elle needs new shoes? It's 'cause she's a girl.)

We went outside, where his parents and Noah were just sitting down. Plates were loaded down with food, and then there was a giant bowl of salad and another plate with some bread on. I was half expecting the table to collapse under the weight of it all.

"I hope you kids are hungry," June said.

Lee's stomach growled again in answer to his mom, and we all laughed. We sat down in our usual seats. And of course, my usual seat was in the middle of Noah and Lee – so they didn't fight at the table as much, their mom had always said. I'd never had a problem with it before, even when they were arguing across me.

Never had a problem up until now, anyway. Because now, I felt kind of claustrophobic, sat between my best friend and my boyfriend like this.

If anyone else felt as irrationally paranoid as I did, they didn't show it. The boys were stuffing their faces either side of me, and June and Matthew were discussing plans to visit an art gallery tomorrow. I breathed a small sigh of relief, wanting to laugh at myself for being such a complete idiot, and dug into my food.

The atmosphere was just as relaxed as it always was, and I was glad that at least something went unchanged this year. Soon enough, I'd forgotten why I'd even been so worried in the first place.

"So Rachel's getting here at –"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Lee."

He swallowed, hard. "So Rachel's getting here at one o'clock on Monday."

"We know," Noah said irritably. "You haven't shut up about it since Mom said she could come down for a few days."

"That's because he's in love," I said teasingly, bumping my shoulder into Lee's and grinning at him. Then, simply because I couldn't resist, I sang, "Lee and Rachel, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first –"

"I've got a better one," he said over the top of me, but he was laughing too. "Elle and Noah sitting in a tree, doing things they shouldn't be –"

I decided to shut up before Lee said something embarrassing. He stopped singing when I did, and we both started laughing again.

"Have you kids got anything planned for tomorrow then?" Matthew asked us, and I got the feeling he was trying to hastily change the subject.

"Beach," Lee said.

"Sunbathing," I said. Then I added, "And Noah's going to stomp around the beach destroying kid's sandcastles..."

"What?" June exclaimed, like she wasn't sure whether to be shocked or to laugh.

"That," Noah said, poking me in the ribs, "was an accident."

I gave him a skeptical look, trying to keep my face straight and not laugh. "Sure."

"I did not do it on purpose," he said, enunciating every word. "Besides, he shouldn't have been building a sandcastle with a giant moat around it anyway."

"He fell in the moat," Lee told his parents, snickering at the memory of Noah face-planting into the poor kid's sandcastle and completely wrecking all his hard work.

"But when you were gonna help him build it back up?" I said, a grin slipping onto my face. "That was cute. Really cute."

I had a flashback of Noah trying to mash handfuls of damp sand together to pacify the little kid whose sandcastle he'd just flattened. The boy had just thrown a tantrum and run off to get his mommy. Noah ran the opposite direction back to us, trying not to laugh. Lee had pointed out that six year olds with an angry mom in tow are pretty damn scary though, which I didn't argue with.

But still. It was cute that he'd tried to fix the sandcastle.

"I'm sorry," Noah said. "What was it?"

"Absolutely insanely cute."

"Right, that's it!"

Next thing I knew, he'd shot out of his seat and grabbed me around the waist, tossing me over his shoulder. I shouted out, but I was laughing too hard to try and wriggle out of his grip.

I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my gut. He couldn't be walking toward the pool, right? He'd walk around it. He wouldn't –

My body hit the water with a sharp slap. I shot to the surface again, and bobbed there, my clothes billowing out around me in the water. My teeth started chattering a little, too. I never knew the water was so cold at night!

I could hear everyone else laughing from the table outside the kitchen. I could see Noah silhouetted against the house. His arms were folded, and I could just about make out the giant smirk on his face.

"I'm going to kill you for this Noah Flynn!" I called up to him as I waded over to the edge of the pool. "Now I have to go wash my hair all over again and –"

Noah crouched down as I reached the edge and interrupted me, saying, "You're hot when you're angry."

I looked at him for a long moment before splashing him in the face.

He chuckled quietly. I wasn't sure if he could see or not, but I rolled my eyes at him all the same.

"Give me a hand?" I asked, reaching a hand up to him. Underwater, I braced my feet against the wall of the pool.

He started to say something, but cut himself off, and took my hand to pull me up. Immediately, I started pulling down to try make him fall in the water. I knew it was totally predictable, but I thought maybe I'd pull it off and pull him in the pool.

As it turned out, Noah was a hell of a lot stronger than I gave him credit for. He didn't even wobble off balance in the slightest. He just stood up, dragging me out of the water so I hung from his hand like a fish on a fishing rod.

"I have to say, Elle, I didn't think you were that predictable."

I laughed sarcastically. "It's all part of the master plan." He set me down on the tiles that surrounded the pool, and, trying to look like I had a shred of dignity left, dripping wet, I walked into the house to dry off.

**

There was a light knock on the bedroom door.

It wasn't Lee; he'd just barge in. And definitely not Noah – whenever I heard him knock, it was more like he was hammering the door down.

"Uh... come in?"

I finished refolding a t-shirt and put it in my little dresser at the end of my bed. The door opened, and June came inside, that warm motherly smile she always gave you on her face.

"Alright?"

I nodded, and my irrational nerves from earlier suddenly washed over me yet again. "Sure. Noah's just an idiot. You get used to it after a couple of years."

She laughed quietly, and sat on the end of Lee's bed. "Elle... Look, honey, I'm only asking you because I care about you, I'm not going out of my way to make you feel awkward." She smiled reassuringly. "I'm just a little confused about you and Noah is all. What you're going to do when he goes to college, I mean."

"Oh! Oh, well, we were just going to... you know, make the most of summer. Seeing as Harvard's the other side of America we just... didn't think..."

I trailed off at the look June was giving me.

It was that kind of look you see people like moms and teachers give you that says, 'Oh, you're so naïve, you really don't know what you're saying.'

"Really? You think that's the best option?" But she said it kindly, not in a condescending way.

"W-well – I mean, yeah... It's... Long-distance relationships hardly ever work out and..."

"Oh, honey, don't be silly!" she said, smiling. "I've seen the way he looks at you. And not to mention the way you look at him." I felt the heat rising in my cheeks, and smiled sheepishly. "You're not even at least going to try? What happened to the Rochelle who dressed up as a princess and said she was going to grow up and live in a castle with her prince charming?"

I buried my face in my hands for a second, laughing in embarrassment. "Oh, gosh, I'd forgotten about that."

"Honey, I'm a mom. It's my job to remind you all about the embarrassing things you did when you were little." I laughed again, and sat on the end of my bed so I was facing June. She put a hand on my knee.

"But really," she went on, "you two aren't even going to try?"

I shrugged. I felt like I didn't know what to say, because I knew she wanted a different answered to the one I was going to give her.

"Just a mom's perspective on things," she said, holding her hands up in defense. Then she put her hands down onto her legs and pushed herself up off the bed. "I need to finish unpacking. You're probably asleep on your feet."

Throwing me in the pool had woken me up a little, but now she mentioned it, I realized I was actually really, really tired. Like how you don't even think about being hungry until someone mentions food. So I nodded.

I said goodnight to June and sat still for a moment, staring at the closed door. The wood used to be dark, but now it had faded a little. There were scratches on it, where Lee and I had measured each other every year we'd come here. I stared at it blankly, a jumble of thoughts running through my head.

Would it really ever work out for us? A long-distance relationship?

They never worked out, and there would be a hell of a distance between us, plus a couple of hours' time difference... It was hardly like we were being handed this whole situation on a silver platter that was so easy to find a solution to. Everything that was thrown at us... it was like fate was just trying to scream at me, 'It's never going to work out with you two!'

But... Well, I didn't want to lose Noah. I didn't want us to break up. I actually kind of wanted to try a long-distance relationship – I was just scared that it really wouldn't work out.

Did he feel the same way, though?

Because what if he didn't want to try it? What if –

"Knock, knock?" Lee was suddenly in place of the door, and he was holding two steaming mugs, one in each hand. He shot me that easy smile of his and said, "What's up? What's wrong?"

I took the mug he handed to me. "Hot chocolate in the middle of summer?"

"Of course!" he said, grinning. Then he sat down on his bed facing me, where his mom had been only minutes before. "My mom said you looked like you needed it. What's up?"

"Nothing's up, it's –"

"I know you know Noah was just joking around when he threw you in the pool. Plus, it was funny and you know it, so whatever it is, it's not that." He paused. "Oh, man, what's my mom said now?"

"Nothing! Well, I mean, no, she was saying... She didn't say it in so many words, but she obviously thinks me and Noah should try staying together when he goes to college and I just... I  don't know! Does he even want to stay with me? He's never had a long term relationship, ever. He probably wants to break up at the end of summer so he can find some really hot, really smart girl who he actually sees and doesn't live all the way across the country, you know, it's like –"

"Whoa, okay, hold it right there, or you're going to lose me." I gave a small laugh and sipped at my hot chocolate. "First off, he won't want to break up with you. End of conversation."

I laughed. "You're really, really helpful, sometimes, you know that?"

"I do know that."

I laughed again, and shook my head. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. I'll talk to Noah sometimes, I guess."

Yeah... Really, my plan was just to forget about it and unless Noah brought it up, I'd leave it until the end of the summer and maybe talk about it then. When I absolutely had to. How awkward would things be between us if I suggested it and he said, 'Actually, I want to break up at the end of summer.'

Not happening, I thought adamantly.

Aloud, I said, "What's going on when Rachel gets here, anyway? Where's she sleeping?"

"Not on the couch," Lee told me before I asked that. "She's having my bed. I'm camping out on the floor in Noah's room for a couple of nights."

"Oh, right. Okay then."

"You don't mind, do you? Sharing a room with Rachel, I mean? You're okay with it, aren't you?"

I looked at him over the top of my mug and smiled. Even if I hated Rachel's guts (which is totally impossible, she's really nice), I'd have put up with her for Lee. "Of course I don't mind, Lee. Seriously. It's going to be totally fine."

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Okaaaay, so what did we think?

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I'll upload maybe next Wednesday or Tuesday, whenever I have chance :') xx