Nudge's high-pitched shriek filled the air causing a few heads to turn, but most ignored her as she erupted in laughter.

"Nudge," Iggy groaned from where he was sprawled face down in the sand. "You're disrupting my tan."

"You don't tan," I said smirking at his skin so pale it could, and sometimes did, reflect the sun.

"You're just jealous you don't emit a pearly glow like me, Maxie."

I rolled my eyes before leaning back on the beach towel I was sharing with Fang who was doing much better and had rejoined the group, resumed spending time with his family and had gotten absurdly tan in the three weeks that school had been out. He would occasionally grow distant or quiet, but would snap out of it pretty quick when we started talking to him.

"How are you so tan?" I muttered.

"It's a gift," he responded. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed and mouth turned up slightly in the sun's gentle rays.

"It's unnatural is what it is. Have you ever even worn sunscreen?"

"Maybe once on a very rare occasion. Like SPF 2. Worked wonders."

"You could borrow some from Iggy then, I'm sure he's got plenty for all of us."

"Speaking of sunscreen," Ella piped up, "can I borrow some Ig?"

"Sure," he said sitting up a little too enthusiastically. He tried to play it cool by running a hand through his strawberry blond hair as he reached into his backpack to pull out a variety of sun protectant. "Lotion or spray?"

"Lotion," she said tossing her long dark hair behind her shoulders. "Do you mind putting some on my neck, back and shoulders?"

"Oh um, yeah. No problem." Iggy slid over to wear she was seated and started applying the lotion.

Fang shot me a grin. "I hope you've got your $20 ready for me, it looks like someone will be going on a date very soon."

I rolled my eyes, "You're basing this off of rubbing sunscreen onto her back?"

He nodded intently.

"Saucy," I said with a smirk. Surprisingly enough though, I could spot goosebumps on Ella's shoulders from here and I could guarantee you that they were not from the weather.

Although I adored my little sister, well on occasion, and her potential relationship with Iggy, I did not want to be part of a world where Fang was right. They just needed to wait three days and then they could rub as much sunscreen on each other as they wanted.

Fang must've been reading my thoughts because he suddenly jumped up: "Come on, let's go swim."

"You just wanted to give the lovebirds some time to themselves."

"Maybe," he said mischievously. "Or maybe, I wanted to see how you hold up against swimming with fish!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, "What?"

Fang grinned at me – a rare, sun-stopping grin that caught me off guard. He laughed, "The fish don't bite, I promise. The piranhas only come out if they smell blood."

"That's not funny!" I responded following him anyway as he edged his way towards the water. "Fish are so unnatural."

"You drank a Mountain Dew on the way up here and you're calling fish, one of your most ancient relatives, unnatural?"

"At least my Mountain Dew doesn't breathe underwater or eat worms."

Fang just stared at me and shook his head laughing. "Fish are friends."

He watched me stare hesitantly at the water as my eyes scanned below the surface for anything that moved. I wasn't lying – I had an absurd fear of fish that must've stemmed from a nightmare when I was little because I have no rational reason to be afraid of fish besides the fact that I choked on a fish bone once. Once I deemed the first foot of water offshore to be fish free, I stepped into the water and the chill was refreshing.

However, apparently the thrill of standing in water that splashed just above our ankles wasn't enough of a thrill for Fang. "Come on," he said and took a few steps away from shore. I, on the other hand, did not follow him. He laughed again and it was such a pretty sound that I was never used to hearing, "Max, I promise there's no piranhas in the water. There's hardly any fish in here anyway. You have to get out deep enough for the fish because there's nothing to eat here, see? Just sand. Maybe a few rocks. Fish need algae and other plants to live, but there's too much movement along the shore for plant growth, so the fish hardly ever come to shore."

"Who's the nerd now?" I asked with a snicker but did not make any grand movements toward him. Finally, he just reached out his hand and grabbed hold of mine softly. I could feel the grooves from where his hands had been in the water even for just a moment. "Come on," he said quietly. "You trust me, right?"

I nodded and finally gave in to his incessant demands and followed him as he led me into shoulder deep water.

"Nice, huh? The water's so clear you can see your toes." He wiggled his toes aggressively and much to my surprise, his toes were easily visible.

"How can you swim fearlessly in oceans but not in lakes? Oceans are so much more dangerous."

I shrugged, "There's never any gross or scary movie footage of people dying from giant fish in the ocean."

"But that happens in lakes?" He asked mock confusion etched across his face.

Rather than think of a witty comment, which happens to be very draining let me tell you, I did the mature and ladylike thing. I splashed water in his face managing to perfectly submerge his perfectly styled hair completely in the water.

"Hey!" He protested.

"You were the one that brought me out here, you deserve it," I said laughing. "Besides you look like a wet dog."

He glared at me from beneath his long hair, but the golden specks in his eyes danced in the sunlight all the same. "So much for a calm, relaxing day at the beach."

"If you thought be bringing me to a beach would be relaxing, you were sorely mistaken," I said with a smirk.

"I don't think there's anywhere on this Earth I could bring you that would be relaxing, Max," he said with a sigh.

I flashed him a cheeky grin. "Bet I can swim to that orange buoy faster than you," I said pointing to an orange blob floating about 200 yards away from us.

"You wish," Fang said with the devilish gleam he always got when challenged to something. "Okay, ready, set –"

Before Fang had finished counting off, I arched my back and kicked off from the sandy bottom of the lake. I heard Fang yell my name, but it was muffled as I kept my head submerged under water. I liked to pretend I was an incredible swimmer, but the truth was I swam on the sixth-grade swim team but was stung by a bee when I was lined up on the podium, so naturally I quit. It totally didn't have anything to do with the fact that I hadn't finished a race in anything but second to last all season.

I could feel my lungs start to burn and tighten, but I kept pulling my arms through the water and letting my body drag behind. Suddenly, I felt a stream of bubbles on my left side; as I looked over, Fang flashed me a one-handed thumbs up. A few seconds later, I was spluttering gasping for air glaring at Fang who had an olive-skinned arm casually draped around the buoy.

"Looks like I won despite your blatant cheating," Fang said casually while treading water.

"Um what?" I asked.

"You started early!"

"No way!" I protested. "Everyone knows you're supposed to start on 'go'."

"You were halfway there when I said 'go'!" He exclaimed.

"So – so what!" I spluttered.

"So," Fang said flashing a show-stopping grin, "I win!"

I opened my mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a beaming Nudge who splashed her way over to us.

"What are you two doing way out here alone?" Nudge asked, but streamlined ahead without waiting for us to answer. "Never mind, never mind. I have huge news. Huge. Iggy likes Ella!" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she spun back towards the beach to see Iggy and Ella earnestly talking. "Wait. Why are you guys not acting surprised? Did you already know? And you didn't tell me!"

"Sorry, Nudge," I told her sympathetically. "Fang's known for a while. And then I got it out of Iggy a few weeks ago."

Fang snorted.

"Yes?" I asked turning on him.

"You didn't coax it out of Iggy, I may as well have just told you," he said with a smirk.

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"My goodness, how can you two spend any time together? Doesn't all of the arguing drive you crazy?"

Fang and I looked at each other and just laughed. Our friendship would undoubtedly be much different, and probably easier, if we didn't bicker constantly.

"Besides! The important thing is that Iggy is in love with Ella."

"Love might be a bit strong," I muttered but Nudge ignored me. "What about Ella? How does she feel about Iggy?"

"You don't know?" Nudge asked incredulous. "You're her sister!"

"Um yeah, but she doesn't talk to me about this stuff. That's what you're for," I prompted.

"Oh," she said seemingly confused. "Well, anyway, Ella is totally into Iggy! Yay!"

"So," Fang said speaking up for the first time. "Are they gonna get together?"

Nudge nodded vigorously.

"Sometime today?" He pressed.

"I hope so!" Nudge was ecstatic about two of her best friends kindling a romance. "Wait, why are you so interested?"

"Oh, no reason," he added mildly.

"I think they should wait. They don't want to rush anything. Maybe take it slow and see what happens," I chimed in hoping to sway Nudge to convince Ella to push her relationship off with Iggy.

Nudge scanned our faces, her deep eyes jumping between us. "Did you guys make a bet!" We exchanged glanced, "You did make a bet!"

I sighed, "If Ella and Iggy wait to get together, I get $20."

"But," Fang added, "if they get together today, I make 20 of Max's precious dollars."

"You two are ridiculous! Can't you two just be happy for your friends getting together?" Suddenly, Nudge clapped a hand over her mouth. "Well Fang, it looks like it's your lucky day."

"Yes," Fang crooned.

I looked over at the beach and saw Iggy and Ella walking hand in hand down the beach with the brightest grin plastered across Ella's face.

"Look who won again, Max," Fang said standing above me as we made it back to the beach.

"Who says they're even together. They could just be friends holding hands," I tried knowing my argument was weak.

"Yeah?" His eyebrows were raised as he watched Ella plant a kiss on Iggy's cheek. "Maybe not.

"Fine," I said shoving him playfully. "You can have your money when we get back."

"Works for me," he said as he wrapped his arm around my wet shoulders.

"Max?" A voice that sounded vaguely familiar called. I spun around and was greeted by a tall, broad-shouldered tan figure.

"Ryan?" I asked unable to believe my eyes. I felt Fang's arm tighten around my shoulders as Ryan approached brushing his light brown hair out of his eyes.

"Wow, Max! It's great to see you. How've you been?"

I felt Fang's fingertips lingering on my shoulder as I stepped out to give Ryan a hug.

"I've been good. Well, great really," I said stepping back next to Fang.

"Oh, are you two…?" He trailed off looking between Fang and me.

"Oh, no, we're just friends," I said smirking at Fang. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked if we were together including all the jibes from our friends, I would have at least enough to buy myself a nice Apple Watch. "Fang, this is my friend Ryan from Arizona. Ryan, this is my friend Fang."

"Best friend," he muttered under his breath as they shook hands.

"So," I exclaimed hoping to break the slight tension. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the summer. In Colorado. My brother goes to Boulder, and he got a house and a job for the summer, so that he can get in-state tuition." He shrugged, "I thought it might be a nice change of scenery and nice way to escape the heat at least." He grinned brightly. "I'd love to meet the rest of your friends and spend some time with you this summer. We really miss you down in Arizona."

"I miss you guys too," I said softly. "Don't get me wrong, I love it here," I said catching Fang's eye and I could see tension leave his gaze. "But I would love to catch up sometime Ryan. Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

We walked over to where everyone else was sitting. "Guys, this is my friend Ryan from Arizona. He was down the beach and it turns out he's here for the summer."

"Ryan, hi!" Ella jumped up and gave him a hug. "I feel like it's been forever." I smiled to myself as I watched Iggy look Ryan up and down as Ella pulled back. His gaze lingered over his muscular chest and bright smile.

"Ryan, this is Iggy," I said gesturing to Iggy who had his arm draped protectively over Ella who seemed perfectly content and merely nodded up at Ryan. "And–"

"I'm Nudge," she said jumping up as Ryan approached. She smiled up at him brightly and pushed her long hair behind her ears. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll love it here this summer."

He gave her a quick smile before turning back to me. "I'll grab my towel and stuff and come join you guys."

I nodded and sat back down in the sand welcoming the hot rays that were hopefully tanning my body.

"Um, Max?" Nudge asked her eyes wide. "Who is that?"

"I told you – he's my old friend from Arizona."

"Uh, he's beautiful," she said watching him traipse down the beach to where his towel and bag lay in the distance. "His eyes literally sparkle in the sunlight, and the freckles sprinkled across his nose. And did you see his six-pack! Talk about the perfect man."

Iggy and Fang both rounded on Nudge, and she quickly added on, "Well after you two of course."

"I thought you were hung up on Derek?" I asked staring off in the direction that Ryan had left.

Nudge shrugged, "I was tired of waiting around for him to figure out what he wants. Besides, so many girls are into him, it's not like I'm the first in line."

"Derek loves you Nudge, I'm sure if you talked about it with him, it would help you both out," Ella told her gently. "But if you want to try to start things up with Ryan, you could have a summer fling," she added with a wink.

"Oh no, I don't want to get in the way of anything between Ryan and Max," she said quickly.

"What?" I spluttered.

Nudge just looked at me and shook her head. Iggy and Ella looked intrigued and watched Nudge curiously. Fang on the other hand stared off at the water with his jaw set.

"There's nothing to get in the way of, Nudge. He's entirely yours. I don't –"

"You're not talking about me, are you?" Ryan asked after approaching out of nowhere.

"Oh, no we were just joking around," I said with a chuckle hoping to laugh it off.

"Alright, well if you change your mind and decide you want to go on a date, I'll leave an open offer," he said light-heartedly, and I just laughed hoping that someone would change the subject.

Thankfully, Iggy came to the rescue for once. "So, what does your brother study over at Boulder?"

Ryan plopped down on the towel next to Iggy and explained that we wanted to go into aeronautical engineering. Apparently, Iggy was fascinated by whatever that was or at least pretended to be, so the two of them were engaged in conversation. I pretended to listen and nodded every once and a while to seem like I was being attentive, but my mind was wandering all over the place.

I watched Nudge slide onto the towel next to Fang and start talking to him. Without meaning to, well without meaning to entirely, I began picking up on parts of their conversation. "Fang, it's not healthy to keep everything bottled up like this," I could hear Nudge saying. "You're just making it harder for the two of you. Besides, you can't get upset when other guys start talking to her or even potentially dating her if you never tell her how you feel, let alone yourself."

"I don't know, Nudge. I don't even know how I feel," he said softly, his eyes still locked on something in the distance.

"I think you know how you feel, you just can't admit it to yourself."

"Maybe, but I don't know if I'm ready. Besides, she's already got a line of suitors waiting for her."

"Yeah, but she doesn't want any of them, Fang. She's waiting for you! She doesn't know it, or at least won't acknowledge it, but I know it's true."

Fang shrugged staying quiet.

"But, I also think that pretty soon, she's going to get tired of waiting. I'm not saying it'll be tomorrow, but guys are going to keep hitting on her and soon enough, she's going to go on a date with someone, and I know that would kill you. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"So what are you saying I should do?" He asked turning towards Nudge, and his eyes that were normally so hardened and even steely were full of emotion, full of desperation.

"I think you should –"

"Max," Ryan said directing the conversation back to me. "I can't believe I haven't seen you in year. I really would like to grab coffee or lunch and hear about your year here."

I nodded absently, not really paying attention to what he was saying, "Sure, I'd love to."

"Great," another smile. Man, they should really put him in the Trident commercials. "It's a date."

Suddenly, I was fully focused on the conversation I was having with Ryan. Did I just plan to go on a date with him? Was going out for coffee considered a date? Was lunch? Since when was I going on dates over the summer?

I briefly heard Nudge mutter, "See?" to Fang.

After we watched the sun fade into a brilliantly pink and red sky, we packed up the car and began the drive home. Fang, who was sitting shotgun, sat in a stony silence for most of the ride and I was afraid I knew why. I wasn't sure if my best bet was to confront him, to blow off my plans with Ryan or just ignore it and hoped he could move on. I decided on none of the above and planned to push it off until later. This was a conversation for a day without a beautiful sun-streaked sky and one that gave Fang at least a few hours to cool down.

Heyo, here's the next chapter. Please let me know what you're thinking. All feedback and comments are welcome as well as any suggestions or ideas.