Last Summer Part 10

**Sorry about the wait! BTW I didn't have any time to proofread this part, so their might be errors. Oh! And it's long. So here's to all the complainers out there :) Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!**

I walked back across the street and quickly got into my grandparents’ truck. They had taken a cab to the airport so that I would be able to have some way to get around town. Usually, I walked, but they were so cautious now because of my great aunt’s death.
After I tossed my backpack onto the passenger seat and then dig the car keys out of it. My grandparents didn’t drive a red convertible like most old people did after retirement. They actually drove a big black truck. My grandpa had once told me that it made him feel tough.

I turned the key into the ignition, blared the radio on a hard rock song, and then peeled out of the driveway. Tiffany would know what to do about my situation; she knew what to do all of the time. She was like Dr. Phil, except she wasn’t giving me crazy ideas like eating blueberries in the morning to make me smarter.
Twenty-five minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of the airport. It was insanely crowded; people in business suits and bikini tops scattered throughout the modern building.

I parked the truck into the nearest parking spot and then leaned my forehead against the steering wheel. Everything was going to be okay; I knew it was. Tiffany was going to come and we were going to have a blast like we always did. But then why did a part of me feel like this was a big mistake?
After I had decided not to dwell on the subject, I hopped out of the car and stuck the keys into my pocket. I tightened my ponytail and adjusted my tank top to make sure my stomach wasn’t being revealed.
I made my way into the airport quickly, not wanting to keep Tiffany waiting. I was excited to see her and tell her everything that had happened last night this morning. She would most defiantly know what to do about the situation.

No one looked at me as I walked in and I was pretty accustomed to it. I was used to be being "invisible girl". But I knew that as soon as Tiffany was walking next to me, people would stare.
"Nikki babe!" Tiffany squealed from the sidewalk lining the airport. I was surprised to see her waiting for me outside seeing as how we were supposed to meet inside. But that was Tiffany for you, unpredictable.
As soon as she was two feet from me, I noticed that her hair was no longer that electric blue color I had come to know and love. It was now blonde with dark purple strands underneath it. Of course it looked gorgeous on her. She ran over to me-abandoning her luggage-and threw her arms around my neck. She exclaimed, "This summer is going to be amazing! You just wait!"
I laughed and then pointed out, "You changed your hair."

She smiled and fingered one of the purple strands and told me, "The blue gets old quick. I was getting sick of people asking me if I had gotten cotton candy stuck in my hair. Plus, my parents seem a little more lax about the subtle purple."
"Well, it looks gorgeous. No surprise there."
She motioned for me to follow her to her luggage and handed me one of her suitcases. I noticed that there was a good five of them standing on their wheels. "How in the world did you carry all of these out here?"
She grinned and said, "These yummy surfer guys helped me. God, I love Florida!"
I shook my head playfully at her and then we started making our way towards the big, black truck. Half way there, she proposed, "I think we should hit the beach first, don’t you? I mean, it’s gorgeous outside! Plus, I’m sure there are some gorgeous males out there too!"
"Can’t you keep it in your pants for five seconds?" I teased, throwing one of her suitcases into the cab of the truck. Already, guys were looking at her as if she was a big, juicy steak. It was ridiculous how long their eyes stayed glued to her. She didn’t even seem to notice.
She shook her head and grinned devilishly. We both climbed into the truck and I blasted the air conditioner. Even though it was gorgeous outside, it was scorching. I was just about positive that Tiffany would use the weather as an excuse not to wear much clothing.

As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, she turned the radio on high volume and commanded me to roll down all of the windows. It was a good thirty minute ride home and it took us down gorgeous ocean view roads. Tiffany would squeal every time she saw the water. She was completely awe-struck by all of the palm trees.
We sang along to every song that came on the radio even if we didn’t know the words, causing random people to look at us like we were crazy. Of course, once they saw Tiffany in the passenger seat, they ogled at her.
When I pulled into our driveway she exclaimed, "It looks like something out of a postcard!"
I rolled my eyes at her and couldn’t help but laugh. She was such a tourist, it was hilarious. She hopped out of the car and started upraising the house across the street. She placed her hands on her hips and pointed out, "If I remember correctly, which I usually do, then that would be the douche’s house, right?"

I nodded my head and told her, "Yep. Don’t talk so loud, though. He might here you."
She laughed and screamed, "You don’t want the jerk to hear you?" It was so obvious that she wanted him to hear her and it sort of infuriated me. What if he heard her?
"Tiffany!" I scolded, walking over to her. She was still staring at his house with a gleam in her eyes and I wanted to smack her.
She threw her hands up in the air, "What?! I can’t hate the guy who broke my best friend’s heart? You’re just lucky I’m not going to egg his house or something. I can’t stand that guy. Seriously, who does he think he is?"
"Calm down!" I joked.
"Well, since I’m here, I’m going to make sure you get a new guy. It’s unhealthy to see him so much," she informed me and then walked over to the truck. She grabbed one of her suitcases and wheeled it up the path to the house. She stopped in front of the door and waited for me to unlock it with one of the keys.

I grabbed the pink suitcase of hers and then followed suit behind her. I slipped the key easily into the key hole and then pushed the front door open. Tiffany quickly walked inside and complimented, "It’s so cute! It’s just like what you would see on a postcard."
"Isn’t that what you said about the outside?" I teased her.
She rolled her eyes at me and then huffed dramatically. "So, where’s my room?"
"You can have my grandparent’s room or the couch. It’s a pullout."
She grimaced and then smiled. "Well, there’s no telling what’s happened in their room, so I think I’ll stick to the couch."
I chunked a pillow from the couch at her and cringed, "That’s disgusting! They’re old!"
She stuck her tongue out at me and then asked, "Just keep my luggage in here or is there a closet of some sort?"
"You can use the linen closet," I answered meekly.
She clapped her hands together and then exclaimed, "Let’s hit the beach! I’m so freaking pale its ridiculous."
I rolled my eyes at her and said, "You’re gorgeous; shut up."

We walked out of the backyard and onto the warm sand about forty five minutes later. It had taken a good thirty minutes for Tiffany to pick out which bathing suit she wanted me to wear. It took her about five seconds to pick out which one she was going to wear. Did I really need a makeover that bad?
"It’s amazing out here!" she cried out and then ran down to the water. She didn’t care that she had already attracted three guy’s attention in less than a minute. She was incredible. They hadn’t even taken a second glance at me.
I followed her slowly to the water, trying not to think about the last time I had been here. By the time I had reached the water, she was already stomach deep in the vast sea of blue. She yelled, "Nikki, get your butt out here!"
Larry warned me from his lifeguard stand, "Be careful this time."

I waved at him without even turning my head and then started into the water. Even though I had drowned last time, I couldn’t stand not being in the water. It was just so calming, so serene. It could take all of my worries away.
I swam over to Nikki and noticed that she had a broad grin on her face. "Remind me to give your grandparents the hug of a lifetime next time I see them."
I laughed and agreed, "Will do."
She asked me, "So, what did that lifeguard say to you? He’s kind of cute."
"Ew!" I exclaimed and then slapped her shoulder. Larry was overly buff and way too tan. He needed to take some tips from...well, never mind. I shouldn’t have even thought that. I was doing a Caleb-ectomy.
She smirked; "What did he say?"
I rolled my eyes at her yet again. It seemed to me like I had been doing that a lot since she arrived. What was wrong with me? Wasn’t I supposed to love being around my best friend? "He told me to be careful this time."

A big wave passed over the two of us and I took it as an opportunity to submerge myself in the water. I held my breath and then removed my feet from the murky ocean floor. Under water, I was able to think about what I wanted to. The first thought I had was of food; I was starving.
I resurfaced and saw Tiffany waving at someone on the beach. I jerked my head around to see who she was waving at and my stomach dropped. Caleb was standing there without a shirt, looking absolutely Abercrombie model worthy. From where we were floating, I couldn’t see his facial expression but I had a pretty good idea that it was a smirk.
"Stop!" I commanded her.
She laughed and then dropped her hand. "Why? He’s gorgeous!"
"That’s him!"
Her grin faded as the information sunk in. She made sure, "Him, him?"
I rolled my eyes at her for the millionth time today and said, "Yes! Him, Caleb, him."
Her eyes widened and her mouth curved into a smile. "You made out with him?" she gasped. She looked at me in awe and then started to crack up laughing. "No wonder you hate seeing him so much! He looks…he looks like those guys on the walls at Abercrombie and Fitch, but hotter!"

I splashed water at her and some of the saltiness got into her mouth. "Yes, I know, he’s hot. Now please shut up!"
"Wow…" she drowned, still looking at him. Could she be any more obvious? As if she read my mind, five seconds later, she turned her head to me and then doused me with ocean water. She laughed, "And that was for getting it in my mouth!"
"Oh, really?" I laughed and then splashed her with even more water.
Her jaw dropped, but soon I realized that it wasn’t because I had splashed her again, it was because Caleb was now standing directly behind me.
I turned around and demanded, "What the hell are you doing here?"
He rolled his eyes at me and then said, "I told you earlier that I hadn’t gotten to meet Tiffany yet." The way he said it made it seem like he was trying to make me feel stupid; as if his reason for coming over was obvious. Did he not understand that since we were no longer together, he didn’t get to meet my best friend? It was like unspoken law or something.

"Tiffany, this is Caleb. Now can you please go?" By the way Tiffany was sending annoyed glances my way, I could tell I was acting immature and stupid. But the thing was that I didn’t care. All I cared about was that Caleb left me alone.
He clucked his tongue at me and then said, "I’m leaving. Nice to meet you Tiffany."
She smiled seductively at him and repeated, "Nice to meet you too."
He turned his head to me, smiled and then started to wade closer to the shore. But after a couple of moments, he turned around and reminded me, "Ice-cream tonight. Don’t forget."
"I won’t!" I lied and then turned back to Tiffany. She was still staring longingly at him and it actually started to scare me. Would she actually hook up with him? I knew that if I asked her she would deny it and say she was too good of a friend, but would she really? She was already acting obviously about it.
She turned to me and gasped, "You two have a date tonight?"
"No, he thinks we do. Like I would ever show up."
She shook her head and looked at me confused. "I don’t get it. How can you not want him? I mean, yeah, he was a total douche, but how can you look at him and not want to jump his bones?"

That was one of the things I could never stand about Tiffany. All she cared about was appearance. She was totally superficial and shallow, while I went for a good personality. It just so happened that last summer I had gotten the best of both worlds. Now I had a feeling that she would try and hook up with him.
What confused me, though, was that I thought so low of my friend. Shouldn’t I be sticking up for her; saying that she would never do such a thing to me? But if my memory was right, all she would care about was the guy. She had stabbed so many girls in the back just to get with their guys. I would have to count on my fingers and toes to figure out how many.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved Tiffany to death, I really did. She was there for me when Caleb had decided to become an ass, she always gave me good advice, and she knew how to cheer me up. But-just like everyone else in the world-she had her many flaws. She just had a lot of people who hated her.
She was unnerved by my silence and decided to jump underneath the surface. I did that sometimes; just went under to escape reality. I wouldn’t even swim anywhere; I would merely go under water.

Since she couldn’t see me, I decided to sneak a peek towards the shore. Caleb was just now getting onto the sand and making his way over towards an umbrella. I saw Ava and her little blonde friend underneath reading magazines. How could he see me and then just go see them? Did they not care he was setting up a date with his ex-girlfriend? How come I had never noticed how much of a player he was?
"What are you looking at?" Tiffany asked from behind me. Apparently she had decided to resurface when I was looking over at the guy who had torn my heart into two pieces. What perfect timing, I thought to myself.
I lied to her, "I thought I heard someone scream. Guess it was my imagination."
My excuse passed with flying colors. Her attention turned to a masculine voice about ten feet from us telling his friend to throw him the Frisbee. She turned her head and let out a low whistle. "Tonight, my best friend ever, we are going partying. You are going to find a new guy. And so am I."