~Chapter 13~
"Am I what? Excuse me?"
"I really don't have time for this kind of game," Devin said, his tone clipped. "Look, back in school, girls went crazy over me. I didn't care then, and I don't care now."
"Well, Devin, you could at least be kind," Allison retorted, crossing her arms defensively. "I am a woman, after all."
"That's exactly why I'm keeping my distance. I'm already committed to someone, and she's the only one I have eyes for."
"That's ridiculous!" she sputtered, her patience wearing thin.
"Don't think you're getting an exemption just because my best friend is drooling over your companion," Devin shot back, oblivious to the irony.
A few feet away, Anna was losing her battle with a fit of giggles.
"Oh my God, what are they doing?" Anna choked out, her hand covering her mouth.
Sam looked across the room, bewildered by the escalating tension. "Are they actually fighting?"
Anna's laughter only grew. "Sam, listen to me carefully so you'll understand why I'm dying right now. But you have to promise you won't tell Devin. Just act natural."
"I'm still lost. Spill it already, babe. What is it?"
Anna leaned in closer, her eyes dancing with amusement. "I'm Anna. And she is Allison... Devin's penpal."
"Wait, you what?"
"Hey, calm down!" Anna shushed him, still laughing. "Yeah, we were just pretending. We arrived from Spain yesterday and decided to switch things up."
Sam let out a breath, a slow, charming smile spreading across his face. "Well, that explains why I'm so drawn to you."
"Stop it, you're crazy," Anna teased, a faint blush creeping up her neck.
Their moment was interrupted by the sharp scrape of a chair.
After her mini-fight with Devin, a thoroughly annoyed Allison had stood up and was briskly marching toward the exit.
"You see, Sam? They're hilariously at each other's throats right now. But look, we're leaving." Anna stood up, suddenly serious as she looked at him. "Listen to me: neither of us has the right to spill the truth. Only Allison gets to do that. I hope you remember. Bye, Sam!"
"Okay, wait. Hold on, baby," Sam said, reaching out to catch her hand. "Give me your number first."
"Sure." Anna laughed, gesturing down at her dripping wet swimsuit. "But let me go grab my phone from my bag first."
So they all went home.
She padded over to where her things were dumped on the sand, quickly typed her number into his device, flashed him a final, brilliant smile, and hurried off toward the car to catch up with a steaming Allison.
The drive back along the coast was filled with the sound of Anna's leftover giggles. She simply couldn't get over the absurdity of what had just happened at the beach. Beside her, Allison stared out the passenger window, locked in a tight-lipped, simmering silence, the ocean breeze doing absolutely nothing to cool her temper.
Across town, the guys had finally made it back to their respective homes. The second Sam walked through his bedroom door, he collapsed backward onto his mattress. He lay there staring up at the ceiling, a goofy, daydreaming grin plastered across his face as he replayed Anna's brilliant smile in his head.
Devin, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to the romantic chaos he'd just unleashed. Utterly drained from the day's events, he trudged into his room and fell face-first onto his bed, just wanting to sleep—completely unaware that everything was about to change.
***
Allison flopped back onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling in deep thought. Seeing her unusually quiet, Anna crawled into bed beside her, pulling the blankets up.
"Hey, talk to me. What exactly happened?" Anna asked gently. She braced herself, fully expecting her friend to still be fuming about the disastrous afternoon.
Instead, a sudden, bright laugh bubbled up from Allison's chest, leaving Anna completely confused. Anna's face scrunched up in a puzzled frown as she tried to figure out the joke.
"I know I was so mad and offended earlier," Allison explained, rolling over to face Anna with a huge, lingering grin. "But now that I'm actually thinking about it... I feel kind of honored. He rejected me because of me. He just didn't know he was rejecting me for me." She dissolved into a fit of soft, happy giggles.
Anna stared at her for a second before the realization hit, her confusion melting into a wide smile. "See? I told you it all went well, right? This whole thing is actually so much fun."
Allison let out a long, contented sigh, the tension of the day finally leaving her shoulders. "It really is, Anna. But we should get some rest; I'm exhausted. Thank you for today."
"Good night," Anna whispered, reaching over to turn off the lamp.
***
Sam shifted on his mattress, the lingering scent of salt water and beach sand still clinging to his skin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, the bright screen illuminating his otherwise dark bedroom.
There it was. A new contact saved simply as: Anna.
He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head at the absolute absurdity of the afternoon. The fake Spain story, the dramatic standoff between Devin and Allison, and right in the middle of it all—Anna, laughing so hard she could barely breathe. He replayed the moment she hurried over to her beach bag, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders, just to type her number into his phone.
His thumb hovered over the keyboard. Was it too soon to text? He didn't want to come off as desperate, but he also really didn't want to wait until tomorrow.
With a quick, decisive tap, he typed out a message: "Hey, it's Sam. Just making sure the 'Spanish' tourists made it home safe."
He hit send before he could overthink it, tossing the phone onto his chest and staring up at the ceiling, waiting for the screen to light up again.