Chapter 112: Madeline
“Charl—iiiie, I can’t possibly wear this.”
I stare at myself in her mirror, mortified and kind of… impressed? But mostly mortified.
The bikini is a pale seafoam green, soft and satiny, and sure, it fits. Maybe too well. It hugs everything. Covers… almost nothing.
Charlie’s voice comes from behind her folding divider. “Sure you can. You look like a bombshell.”
“Bombshells wear clothes,” I grumble.
There’s a dramatic rustle, then she emerges — and I nearly choke.
Her bikini is black. Smaller. Riskier. Practically nonexistent.
“Holy shit, Charlie,” I say, jaw hanging open. “You’re so—”
“Hot? Yes, I know,” she cuts in, twirling like a model on a runway. “See? Compared to mine, yours is practically conservative.”
I stare at her reflection, deadpan. “It still doesn’t cover much.”
She giggles. “Then we’ll both be bombshells today.”
I groan. “You're the worst.”
She grins, completely unbothered. “Also,” she adds, walking to her dresser, “your dress for tonight is the same color. So, perfect. You can just throw it on top if you don’t have time to go home before the party.”
I drag a hand down my face. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“Of course I have,” she says cheerily, tossing something my way.
It lands over my head — a sheer, knitted cover-up, practically see-through. I hold it up between my fingers. “This doesn’t cover much more.”
She winks. “It suggests mystery.”
I roll my eyes, but when I slip it on, I have to admit — it’s… cute. And maybe it helps. A little.
Charlie steps beside me in the mirror, and I have to say, both of us are looking like we belong on a magazine cover instead of a small-town beach.
She nudges me with her shoulder. “We’re gonna cause chaos.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “God help Northhaven.”
Charlie and I are both juggling bags when we finally make it downstairs — sunscreen, towels, fruit, saltwater taffy. We’d gone into town early that morning, before everyone else was awake, because there was no way in hell I was walking down Main Street in a bikini now.
The kitchen smells like a warm summer day, and the house hums with that easy kind of chaos that happens before a day at the beach. Liam and Finn are off grabbing iced coffees for everyone, Charlie’s humming as she loads fruit into a cooler, and I’m double-checking that the sunscreen’s actually in there this time.
Then Sloane comes down the stairs.
And okay, I’ll admit it — she looks good. Her swimsuit’s this old-Hollywood one-piece, green and tan stripes, high-cut and elegant. Effortless. She looks like she belongs in some 1960s Riviera ad.
I gesture at her, dramatic. “See, Charlie? Why couldn’t you let me borrow something like that?”
Charlie laughs without even looking up. “No way. As backward as it sounds, you’ve got a great body and we all deserve to see it.”
I blink. “That’s literally the definition of backward, Charlie. My body is not—”
Before I can continue, Sloane deadpans, “Oh? And not my body?”
Charlie gasps and then bursts out laughing, running straight into her to hug her. “Shut up, you grump. You’re sexy too!”
Sloane just sighs and pats Charlie’s head like she’s an annoying but beloved puppy, muttering, “You’re insane.”
Then her phone buzzes, and she glances down. “Finn says they’re outside,” she says, already slipping her sunglasses on.
“Perfect,” Charlie chirps, grabbing her beach bag and tossing me my towel. “Let’s go, mint goddess.”
I groan, but I follow her out anyway, the three of us stepping into the sunlight that’s already warm even at 10:30am. Sure enough, Finn and Liam are standing by the road, iced coffees balanced precariously on a tray, a tote bag of snacks dangling from Finn’s arm.
“Morning!” Charlie calls, all sunshine and chaos.
“Hey,” Sloane adds, cool as ever, sliding her tote higher up her arm.
I smile and say, “Hi guys,” and they both just… stare. Like, full-on freeze.
Liam’s mouth actually falls open a little before he remembers how to close it.
I frown. “You guys okay? Need help carrying stuff?”
Finn blinks rapidly, like he’s rebooting, and Liam just clears his throat and holds out the tray of coffees a bit too fast. “Uh—yeah, sure, thanks.”
I take it from them carefully, trying not to spill anything, and glance between them. They both still look like they’ve forgotten how to form sentences.
“Right…” I draw out, a small laugh escaping before I can stop it. “Let’s go?”
“Yeah,” Finn says too quickly, slapping Liam’s arm to get him moving. “Let’s go.”
The walk to the beach takes about twenty minutes — long enough that my hair starts to stick to the back of my neck, and I’m grateful for the sea breeze by the time we reach the top of the steps.
It hits me for a second — the last time I stood here, it was cold and gray and I was shaking as I told Charlie about my ex. But now? It’s warm, the sun is bright, the ocean sparkles, and I’m surrounded by friends.
Then I step onto the sand.
“Owww!” I yelp, hopping back to the steps. “Oh my god, it’s boiling!”
Charlie and Sloane both try it and immediately start cursing, running ahead like cartoon characters on fire. “Ow ow ow ow ow!” Charlie screeches, while Sloane mutters a steady string of profanity.
They toss their towels down and practically dive onto them.
I’m about to do the same when Liam appears beside me. “Here,” he says, taking the tray of coffees from my hands and the towel from under my arm. “I’ll put this down for you.”
Before I can thank him, Finn bends down in front of me and pats his shoulders. “Hop on.”
I blink. “What about your feet?”
He grins, all mischief. “Not hot for me.”
I narrow my eyes. “You liar.”
He smirks. “Maybe. But I’ll suffer for a good cause.”
I laugh, but I loop my arms around his neck anyway, and he grips my thighs, hoisting me up in one smooth motion. The second he starts across the sand, I can feel him flinching. “I knew it was hot!” I giggle, and he just grits his teeth.
“Worth it,” he mutters dramatically.
When we reach my spot, he sets me down gently on the towel Liam laid out. “Thanks,” I say, smiling up at him.
“No problem,” he says, pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead.
He and Liam throw their towels down in front of us, facing the girls, and flop onto them.
Charlie fans herself. “Holy shit, it’s actually so hot. It feels like—”
And all at once, the rest of us chime in, “Summer!”
We laugh, loud and easy, and I can’t stop smiling.
It’s so hot, though. The sheer knit cover-up clings to my skin, and even though it doesn’t cover much, it’s still trapping heat. I tug it over my head and toss it aside, kneeling to fold it up neatly.
That’s when I hear Sloane groan, “Gross. You’re so pathetic, man.”
I turn around to find Finn laughing and Liam sitting bolt upright, sunglasses down, a beach bag hastily pulled into his lap.
I blink. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing.” Finn says, grinning way too wide.
I shrug, turning back toward Charlie like nothing happened. “Weirdo.”
“Agreed,” she says, giggling as she hands me the sunscreen. “Here, get my back before I burn alive.”