"Are you guys sure? It's so busy." Maddison complains as we step out of Reed's Jeep, her eyes darting between Reed and me. I walk to the back to grab the cooler while they get the bags and towels, straining to listen to Reed's answer.

"It's all good. I need sun." Reed says with a laugh and I try to smile, but it's been so difficult while we walk this line that she's drawn between us for reasons unknown to me. But Reed was made to be outdoors, so I invited her to the beach and she agreed to come. Pity invite or not, she's here with me so I don't care. I, however, was not made for the sun, this is made obvious by my frantic search through the door storage for the sunscreen that Reed keeps for me.

"I have some in my bag," She says quietly, her eyes only meeting mine for the briefest of moments before she goes back to join Maddison. Together we search for an empty spot on the sand to lay down our towels and I put down the heavy cooler. Alexander decided to stay in for the day instead of joining us, and Reed showed up to pick me up with Maddison in the passenger seat.

"Nice having someone to do all the heavy lifting," Maddison jokes and I roll my eyes, reaching for the bottle of sunscreen that Reed extends to me like it's second nature, but I notice that she's careful not to touch me. I try to hide my pout as I look over at the girls while they're occupied. Where Reed is tan and Maddison has olive skin that could thrive with or without the sun, I have fair skin that burns and crops up brand new freckles every time I step out of the house and Reed has been witness to my unfortunate burning.

I strip off my shirt by grabbing the back of my collar, handing the bottle back to Reed and turning around, silently asking her to cover my back. I turn my head in time to see her hesitate for a second before she puts some on her hands. Despite her penchant for sun, Reed still hasn't taken off her long t-shirt. She always waits until just before she's about to get into the water, and the anticipation kills me, as much as I wish it didn't. I'm not sure if it's a lack of confidence, a desire to be modest, or if she just follows a routine. Maddison on the other hand happily strips off her shirt and shorts, putting her curves on display in a black triangle bikini.

I look towards the ocean and close my eyes when I feel Reed's hands, roughened from years of goalkeeping, all over my skin. She's usually more thorough, but I still find myself almost letting loose a groan. "All done," Reed steps back, clearing her throat and I can't help mourning the loss of contact. Smiling at her in thanks, I begin to cover the rest of my exposed skin in a thick layer of white sunscreen.

"You should get one of those long sleeve surf shirts," Maddison says, propping herself up on her elbows on her towel to scour the beach. I shrug.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Reed, wanna help me look for one next time we're at the mall?" I ask with a smirk. She rolls her eyes.

"Yes. Because we go shopping so often." She sasses and I'm thankful for the joke, because it suddenly feels as if everything is back to normal. I watch through my sunglasses as Reed sits down on her towel, placed between Maddison's and mine, still clad in her long soccer shorts and huge shirt. My t-shirt, now that I look closely.

"Ten o'clock," Maddison sings and both Reed and I turn our heads to look at what she's talking about. A group of guys about our age are roughhousing, there's maybe twelve of them, on the sand with some in the water. Objectively, and at least from a distance, they're attractive guys, all very athletic looking.

A couple of them notice our staring and Reed and I turn and look away. Unsurprisingly, Maddison doesn't shy away for a second, staring at them until two of them approach her as if she willed it to happen. I roll my eyes as they approach, both of them barely able to look away from her exposed olive skin for more than a second, but look away just long enough to look at Reed with intrigue and...disappointment? I bristle.

"Hey ladies. Sup' man," The taller of the two says. He's long and lean, with very little muscle mass and I glance over at Reed as she's cast in his shadow.

The guys cross their legs and both sit down in the sand on Maddison's left side, the furthest from where I lie. She flirts with the two of them, probably leading them on for fun and I turn to face Reed. She does the same, putting her back to them.

"Wanna go for a swim?" I ask and she shrugs. "Are you upset that they aren't talking to you?" I try and she snorts, bringing out a smile on my face.

"Hardly." She laughs genuinely.

"What do you want to do?"

"Wait until they leave, with or without Maddison." Reed shrugs and I shrug back, making her roll her eyes, the dark green looking brighter in the sunlight.

"What's her problem?" I hear one of the guys say under his breath and I look up just in time for him to lift his chin up, gesturing towards Reed. Both Reed and I sit up, trying to look uninterested.

"What's your problem?" Maddison bites and he holds his hands up in surrender, the other one laughs as if she made a joke.

"Just wondering what could be so interesting under that shirt that she'd keep it all to herself," The taller one smirks, and my jaw clenches. I almost stand up but Reed's hand slaps my bare abdomen and holds me back. Maddison rears back as if she herself had been slapped and she stands up, glaring the guy down and not even the slightest bit intimidated, with her hands on her hips. He doesn't get the memo.

"You're not welcome here anymore. Get the fuck out of my face," Maddison snaps and the guys stand up but don't move. I watch as Reed wraps her hands around her stomach and I wrap my arm around her shoulder. When she looks at me, I'm not expecting to see a challenge in her eyes rather than insecurity.

"Are you done yet?" Reed says calmly and the guy is visibly taken aback and she stands up, slips her shorts down her ridiculously long legs, and then reaches down to the hem of her—my—shirt and pulls it off over her head, her long brown curls falling down her back. From my position behind her, it looks like she's not wearing a top with the straps of it hidden by her hair, and I take a deep breath, willing my eyes to look past her to the two jerks who currently can't take their eyes off of her chest.

"I didn't ask for your opinion. I don't need you, or anyone else to validate me. I am smart and kind and I take good care of myself. I don't need anyone to tell me that I'm pretty or hot because that would be the least interesting thing about me, so why don't you go look for the fuck I don't give and shut your mouth. Think about your mother or sister next time you decide to say shit like that to anyone. Not that I need to explain myself to you."

Everyone just stands there in shock before Maddison snaps in their faces. "You heard her." She makes a shooing motion when the guys stay standing there, looking torn between staying and staring at Reed's chest, and leaving. Thankfully, they turn around and walk away, probably trying to justify their own words to themselves.

"Fuck. That was so awesome. Also, every word you just said is the absolute truth," Maddison says genuinely, holding Reed's hand and pulling her towards the water, flipping off the group of guys the whole time without even glancing over at them.

I sit my ass down and run my hands over my face frustratedly as I watch the two, constantly having to force myself to tear my eyes away from Reed's body. She's one of my best friends, but that doesn't stop me from almost getting hard at the sight of her looking like a stoplight in that neon green bikini. A sign from the universe that's telling me "GO", but I stay where I am, pressing on the breaks before I go careening down a road I can't turn back on, hoping that it's not already too late.