I learned that night why they call Crystal "crazy Crystal".

We hit some bars after dinner, and by the third bar, we got kicked out as Crystal got up on the bar and started to dance.

"She can't handle her liquor can she?" Nhi looked at me, horrified.

"That seems to be the case," I said back to Nhi as Crystal moved her hips to the throwback that was blasting at the bar, "Tonight (I'm Fucking You)" by Enrique Iglesias.

I hadn't talked a lot to Avery since we had left the restaurant, at the bar I wound up sitting with Nhi and JJ, however I glanced at her as Crystal danced on the bar, and she was shaking her head, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

"Crystal, get down!" Naomi snapped, looking furious, "You're going to get us kicked out!"

Low and behold, the bartenders kicked us out moments later.

It was already midnight at that point, so we decided to head back to the house.

I caught up with Isla, who had a nice buzz going.

"Are you upset that we got kicked out?" I asked her.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm not surprised that Crystal did that, it's not the first time and it won't be the last, that's for sure. Honestly, I want to get back to the house and call Eli. It's been weird not speaking to him or seeing him all day."

"Well, I'm just glad you're not upset."

Isla slung an arm around me, "How could I be? I'm down at the beach with my favorite ladies to celebrate my upcoming marriage. Life is great!"

I'm glad it is for you, at least.

As we walked back to the house, Naomi was going at Crystal for dancing on the bar, who didn't seem to care.

Avery finally said firmly, "Naomi...lay off her. She's too drunk to care."

I couldn't help but smile at that. Not many people stick up to Naomi.

She was pissed when we got back to the house and got ourselves ready for bed.

I was washing my face at one of the sinks, and Nhi was washing her face at the sink next to me. Naomi stood at the bathroom door and exclaimed, "I cannot believe Crystal! She's the sloppiest drunk I've ever met. How is Isla such good friends with her?"

Nhi patted her face dry with a towel and shrugged, "She seems sweet to me. At least we know why she's called 'crazy Crystal'."

"True," I nodded, patting my face dry as well.

Naomi rolled her green eyes, "Whatever. I won't be so nice tomorrow if she does the same thing."

Naomi then stormed off to her bed. Nhi turned to me and whispered, "That was her being nice?"

The next morning I surprisingly woke up before Nhi and Naomi. Usually I am one to roll out of bed at the last second, but something about being away from home made me not able to sleep as much.

I quietly brushed my teeth and my hair in the bathroom, and then walked downstairs to the kitchen, which was one of the largest I'd ever been in.

To my surprise, Avery was standing by the stove, back facing me. She wore a pair of plaid pajama pants and a cropped black t-shirt. When Avery heard my footsteps, she turned around, spatula in hand.

My eyes drifted down to her toned stomach for a split second, and just as quickly I looked back up at her face, hoping she didn't notice.

"Hey Isabelle," Avery smiled at me, "Good morning."

"Good morning," I said back to Avery, "What are you cooking?"

"I figured I would make breakfast for everyone. I'm cooking a bit of everything. Eggs, bacon, pancakes, avocado toast."

I walked to where Avery was standing and leaned my back against the granite counter, facing her.

"That's awfully nice of you. You like to cook?" I asked her.

Avery nodded, seasoning eggs in the pan with pepper, "I really enjoy cooking. What's your go-to breakfast?"

"I tend to skip breakfast and not eat until lunch. Bad, I know. This, however, looks great. Can I have some avocado toast?"

"Honestly, I do the same thing sometimes. Of course you can have some avocado toast. I'll prepare it."

I watched as Avery carefully played up a slice of avocado toast. Toasted sourdough with mashed avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, and seasonings. She placed the plate in front of me, "I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you so much," I said, and then bit into the toast. I nodded happily as I chewed, "Oh yeah. This is great."

Avery looked at me and smiled, "Glad you think so."

"Oooh Avery, are you cooking breakfast?"

The moment was interrupted when Crystal walked into the kitchen. Her light blonde hair was in a very messy bun, and it looked as though she still had some of last nights makeup on.

"I am," Avery nodded, "Take whatever you want. Just don't go dancing on the counters, okay?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Crystal rolled her eyes, "So what, I wanted to dance. Sue me."

Moments later, everyone else started trickling down to the kitchen, thrilled that Avery was cooking breakfast.

"So, what are we doing today?" Nhi asked, eating a slice of bacon.

"I was thinking we could go to the beach for the day," Isla suggested, "Maybe get an early dinner again, and then we can go to a club. I want to dance."

"I like that plan," Naomi nodded.

As we all went back to our rooms to change into our swimsuits and get ready for the beach, I noticed JJ texting and smiling at her phone.

She noticed me looking at her, and she said, "I went on Tinder last night and coincidentally matched with Milo, our server from last night. We've been messaging non stop."

"That's great," I said to JJ, "Who knows, Isla could have been right when she said you never know who we'll meet here."

I changed into a black bikini top and bottoms, and I also put on a pair of jean shorts. I pulled my long hair back into a ponytail, and looked in the mirror in the bathroom.

"I wish I had your boobs, Iz," Naomi said as she walked into the bathroom wearing a sparkly silver bikini.

"They're not showing too much, I hope? I kind of can't help it. I have D cups," I said, my insecurity creeping up.

"Just enough," Naomi looked at me, "Still tasteful."

Nhi then came into the bathroom, wearing a tiny red bikini on her very petite frame. Her shiny black hair was in a ponytail and she wore a white baseball cap.

"You're both hotties," Naomi said to Nhi and I, "I'm jealous."

"You stop it," I playfully swatted Naomi, "Don't talk about my cousin like that."

Naomi rolled her eyes and smiled, "Thanks, Iz. Let's go to the beach. I want to top my tan."

Nhi, Naomi, and I were the last to head downstairs to go to the beach.

"There you are!" Crystal said, "I thought we'd have to leave without you."

Crystal wore a Barbie pink bikini, her cleavage spilling out of the top. My eyes, however, drifted to Avery.

Don't stare. Do. Not. Stare.

Like me, Avery was wearing a pair of Jean shorts, except hers were black and frayed. She wore a black bikini top that looked more like a sports bra, putting her toned stomach, and her equally toned and tanned arms on display.

Suddenly, I felt very pale.

She looked my way and gave me a small nod and a smile, and I matched her grin.

"Let's go!" Isla said, "Time for the beach."

I found myself wanting to talk to Avery as we walked to the beach, however Isla walked next to me.

"I love being able to spend this time with you, Iz," she said to me, "We haven't been on a vacation together in god knows how long."

"I'm pretty sure the last one was California, when we were both in college," I said to Isla, "I'm really enjoying this as well."

Growing up, we took a family vacation every year, usually in the summer. That's something I've missed, being able to spend that time with my family, especially Isla.

When we got to the beach, I slathered sunblock on my skin. I don't get tan if I lay out in the sun, I burn. I then lay back on my towel, in between Naomi and Isla who were doing the same. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Crystal and Avery up to play beach volleyball.

Should I play? No, I shouldn't intrude...

At one point, I got up to walk down by the water. The sun beating down on me was getting to be a bit too warm, and I needed to feel the cool water against my skin, even if it was just my feet and ankles. As I walked down to the water, I noticed Avery walking up behind me.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked me.

"Not at all, come walk with me."

I walked down to the water's edge, Avery by my side.

"I needed to cool off a bit," I said to her, "It was getting real hot under the sun. I have to be careful or else I'll burn."

"It wouldn't turn into a tan?" Avery asked me, slipping on her sunglasses.

"Unfortunately, unlike you, I don't tan. I'm either pale or burnt."

"Why unfortunately?"

"I've always wanted to be able to tan. You know, when I was a freshman in college I went through this awful phase where I would get spray tans every week."

"Were you orange?" Avery chuckled.

"My skin matched my hair."

That made Avery laugh, and she said, "Don't worry about feeling like you have to get tan. You look great as you are, Isabelle."

My face grew warm, and not because of the sun beating down on us.

"Thank you," I said to Avery, "So do you, obviously."

She flashed me a smile, "Why is that so obvious?"

"I mean, look at you. That's why."

Avery was quiet for a second, and she then said, "Thank you. I appreciate that."

We were quiet for a moment, and even though Avery had sunglasses on, I knew she was looking at me.

"Want to go back up to the others?" I suggested, "I've cooled off a bit."

Actually, I'm even hotter. Not because of the summer heat.

After spending a longer time on the beach than I usually would, we walked back to the house and all got ready for dinner and to then hit a club afterwards.

I changed into a little black dress with spaghetti straps and curled the ends of my hair. I also sprayed myself with some of Naomi's very expensive Prada perfume, with her permission of course.

As we all gathered at the door, JJ seemed excited.

"Milo and a couple of friends are going to meet us at the club. Who knows Iz, maybe he'll have a friend for you?" JJ winked at me.

I responded with a smile, however I couldn't help but notice Avery gave me a sidelong glance.

"Hey, if Isabelle doesn't want his friends, I'll take them. All of them!" Crystal exclaimed, and saw Naomi roll her eyes.

"Alright, crazy C," Isla said in a playful tone, "No getting us kicked out of the club tonight, okay?"

"No promises," Crystal winked.

"No. You better not," Naomi warned, and for the first time since being at the beach, Crystal shot her a nasty look back.

"Alright, let's go," Isla said, noticing the tension, "Time for dinner, I'm starved."

This time at dinner we were seated at a long table instead of a round one, and to my disappointment, Avery was at the opposite end. Almost as if she felt the same way, she glanced at me from across the table.

I sat at the end of the table, across from Naomi and next to JJ.

"Are you excited to see Milo?" Naomi asked JJ.

"Hell yes. Have you seen that man?" JJ chuckled.

"I have," Naomi nodded, "He's very good looking."

"How are you and Brett doing?" JJ asked Naomi, referring to Naomi's fiancé.

We both knew how Brett and Naomi's relationship actually was. I knew that JJ was just playing nice.

"He's great," Naomi said, taking a bite of the roll she had on her plate, "Super busy with work, you know he's a dentist."

"I know," JJ nodded, "Glad he's doing well."

Naomi then turned her attention to me, "How long have you been single now for, Iz? When did you and Josh break up?"

"Three years ago," I said to Naomi, "It's been a long time."

"We need to find you someone," Naomi glanced around the restaurant, as if she was going to find someone there, "You're a catch, Iz."

"Agreed," JJ nodded and smiled at me.

"Thanks, ladies," I said, "I appreciate it. It'll happen when it happens."

At that moment, I noticed Avery looking at me from across the table, and when I looked back, she caught my eye and gave me a small smile.

I wonder if it will happen with someone I least expect it to?