My feet were getting toasty by the fire, something I had not expected since coming back from the camping trip, but here we were. Nicole, Aubrey, and I had gathered on lawn chairs around the steel fire pit. It stood on three slender legs and looked like an inverted turtle shell was placed on a goblet: a goblet of fire if you will. Off to the side of us was a clump of large oaks that held a swing between them on their naked branches. Nicole reached over to grab the poker and jab the logs teetering over the side into the pit. They hissed and crackled in direct competition to the unrelenting hum of the cicadas beating their wings. What a blessing it was that not one–but two–broods decided to grace us with their presence so early. 

“We’re still headed over to your place later, right?” Nicole asked.

“As long as your mom and dad are cool with it.”

Her forehead furrowed, casting a shadow over the rest of her face. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

“Just the implications I guess.”

Aubrey motioned to the poker, and Nicole handed it to her as she considered what I said to her. Pushing a larger log in, it landed vertically to ensure that the flames licked at it instead of lapping over it. “We can deal with that after we sort out your studying abroad in Madrid. If nothing else, we can go over to Grant’s another day.”

I nodded. “That’s true. We need to focus on what we came over here to do. Besides, Serena said she can come over whenever.”

“Huh?” Bouncing her knee restlessly, Nicole turned her whole body in the chair to face me.

Confused about the strange reaction, I nonetheless explained. “I thought it would be fun for all of us to hang out again since it’s been a little bit. Did you have different plans?”

“No… I was just kind of expecting this to only be us.”

Her comment gave me pause. Did that mean she, or maybe both of them, had thought this to be a date of sorts? Maybe I had led them on when I mentioned that my dad would be out. I hadn’t meant anything by it. I had just been excited to show off Bugsy to them and assure them that they wouldn’t be a bother.

“My bad. I can just tell her something came up.”

“It’s fine,” Aubrey said. “We can’t be disappointed about something we didn’t even ask you about. Either way, it’s nice that you enjoy spending time with her. Serena looks up to you, you know.”

I almost laughed at the absurdity of that statement. Many things could be said about our relationship, but her looking up to me? Other than physically having to look up to me, that much was impossible. Sure, she’d helped me out a lot with things in the past, but that was more to the benefit of Aubrey and Nicole than myself, right? In the end, I suppose it didn’t matter much. The results were what mattered, and this was the happiest I had been in a long time.

Nicole relaxed back into her chair. “I guess there’s no problem with the midget being there. We can always sic the mutt on her if she gets out of hand.”

“Hey, leave my poor baby out of this!”

Another loud chorus from those annoying insects began as the back door was unlatched and her mom and dad stepped out. They walked over to us, laughing lightly at something that her mom had said. The pair sat across from us, and I couldn't help but notice that they made a stunning couple. I already knew her mom was a beauty, but her dad was no slouch either. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with salt and pepper hair and the palest blue eyes I had ever seen. He looked over us curiously until deciding to settle his gaze on his daughter.

“So, what is it, Nikki? What did you need to speak to us about?”

He received an elbow in the side from his wife, reminiscent of something Nicole would often do to me. “You’re being incredibly rude to her friends, dear.”

He dipped his head subtly at Aubrey and me. “Apologies. I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

“My name’s Aubrey. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Grant.”

“A pleasure. My daughter often speaks fondly of both of you, so I hope you’ll continue to get along with her despite the troubles I’m sure she has put you through.”

“Father!”

Her red face and sputtering were cute, and I found it impossible not to laugh. Everyone must have felt the same as Nicole lashed out at everyone telling them to shut up and stop being annoying.

“See, that’s better.” Her mom ran pale fingers through her thick hair, tossing it over her shoulder. “Now we can get down to business.”

Down to business was certainly one way to put it. However, I think it was less business and more Nicole throwing the future they planned for her back into their faces. Imagining how they would take that had me on edge, and I wasn’t certain how I should react in a worst-case scenario. My hands gripped around the arm of the lawn chair, the cold metal pressing into my palm.

“Mom, father”–she paused to look both of them in their eyes–”I’m sorry but I don’t want to go to school in Madrid.”

My heart hammered in my chest while her parents shared a look. When her dad finally spoke, I had to focus to hear him. “Understood. While I would have preferred you to carry on our family tradition of studying there, I can rationalize your wanting to branch out elsewhere. I will look into some other programs for studying abroad.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean that I don’t want to go abroad. I want to study here.”

He appeared shocked at her announcement, eyebrows darting up and down as he tried to process this information. Leaning forward, his large hands covered his knees when he glanced at all of us. “Stay here? Nikki, I can understand wanting to stay with your friends, but there’s a whole world out there that you’ll be missing out on. I met your mother when we were both studying in Madrid, and it’s where your grandparents met too. Are you absolutely certain about this?”

“I…” Aubrey and I grabbed her hand in ours, hoping our silent reassurance was enough for her to push on. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. Even before all of us became close, I was hesitant to go to Spain. I understand that there’s more to the world than Bayshore, but I like it here, and there’s more I want to do here. I want to stay and keep finding myself, along with the people I care about.” She smiled and squeezed our hands back. “Plus, I don’t need to worry about meeting anyone either.”

Her mom put up a hand to cover her mouth. “My little girl’s become so bold!”

With a lurch, the chair he was sitting on wobbled back and forth until it finally resettled on the grass. The man was intimidating when he stood at his full height, and for a moment, I worried that he had not taken the news well. The long sigh he unleashed failed to convince me otherwise as did the firm pat on my shoulder. When he did the same to Aubrey and then ruffled Nicole’s hair, I understood that this was a strange almost-but-not-quite acceptance.

“I obviously won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to do. Please, though, be good to each other.” He started toward the door, pausing a few feet away. “You can all feel free to stay the night if you want.”

“Thank you, father.”

"And Nikki... let's talk more later. I'd like to hear more about your plans for the future."

"Of course."

With the smallest of smiles, her dad vanished into the house. Nicole released a breath that she had been holding in and sunk down into her chair.

“Well, that went better than expected,” I mumbled, clamping a hand over my mouth when I remembered that her mom was still right there.

She chuckled. “You kids are so dramatic. He’s a big softie at heart.”

“I didn’t want to disappoint him,” Nicole said.

“Of course you didn’t, sweetie. While this was obviously important to him, you’ll always be his number one priority. He only wants you to be happy.”

“I know.”

“The same goes for me. I’m happy you found Grant and Aubrey to keep you grounded. God knows you and your father need people who won’t let you get carried away.”

I turned away slightly, touched by her approval and glad that she approved of our relationship.

Nicole’s mom gave everyone a knowing smile. “Now, why don’t you all get going? You obviously had some plans for tonight, didn’t you?”

Aubrey nearly choked on the air, and Nicole went as red as the fire. “We were planning on hanging out at Grant’s house for a little bit if that’s ok.”

“Hmm~, is that all?”

“Yes!” Nicole insisted, standing up and grabbing both of our hands to yank us toward the door. “We’re leaving.”

“Do you want some help putting out the fire?” I asked, twisting backward to address her mom.

“Don’t worry about it.” She winked. “Just make sure that they enjoy themselves.”

“Holy shit, mom!”

I kept my gaze trained on Nicole’s back after that while she hurried Aubrey and me away from the fire pit, her face still flushed. As we strode through the house and out to the long driveway, I couldn't help grinning to myself; the night had gone well overall. Although, I guess it wasn’t over yet, was it?