looking up, I could feel that everyone in the car was watching us. And then, she opened her mouth a little and I felt the tiniest touch of tongue and, without thinking, I did the same thing. And for a second there, I was kissing a girl. Really kissing a girl. I heard some loud whoops and cheers coming from the Hoodies in the back, and then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. Lila pulled away and sat back in her seat. She touched her hand to her lips and looked at me.
“If you’re not going to use that phone number on your arm, you mind giving it to me?” She had a faraway, distant, smitten look in her eyes, and I don’t think it came from kissing me but rather from thinking of kissing Klaw.
“S-sure,” I stuttered, also touching my lips, now only tasting her. Which was much more delicious than him. She was clearly wearing a strawberry-flavored lip balm. After letting her copy the number on my arm, I sat back down in my seat and stared forward. What a night! Two kisses. I smiled to myself and then stopped smiling when I caught Noah looking at me.
“What?” I asked, feeling defensive for some reason.
“Nothing,” he said, and then shook his head.
The beach looked amazing at night. The flickering lights from the city cast a golden glow across the sand and what made it look even better was the big bonfire in the middle of it all. People I’d never seen before were either relaxing on towels around the fire or sitting on chairs. Someone had a portable speaker and was playing music on their iPhone, and a few people were swaying to the beat of the relaxed music. This was not how I’d imagined a beach party. I had been expecting something much wilder, and instead I was greeted by this chilled, loungey atmosphere, which, after the chaos of the club, was a welcome relief.
“These are our new friends,” Hoodie Two said, after giving a guy who was also wearing a hoodie a rather complicated handshake, one that ended with an elbow bump and a snap of the fingers. Hoodie Two turned and looked at us and then tilted his head from side to side, as if thinking.
“Our names are Noah and Zoe,” Noah said.
“Rigght,” Hoodie Two said. “Zoah and Noe.”
“Close enough,” Noah said with a smile.
“Cool, man, welcome. Grab a seat, man, or a patch of sand. Like, whatever, it’s all good.” Hoodie Four, I guess I’d have to call him, indicated the fire and the floor.
Noah and I glanced at each other, gave a brief shrug and then climbed down onto the floor next to the most gorgeous-looking twins with purple dreadlocks.
“Hey,” they both said to us at once. I shook my head to make sure I wasn’t seeing double. I wasn’t. They were identical.
“Hi,” I said, not really knowing which one to respond to.
“I’m Ebony and I’m Harmony,” they chorused. I nodded, even though I knew there was no way I was going to remember who was who in a million years and wondered if I was going to have to resort to Twin One and Twin Two? Which I hoped not, because between them and the Hoodies, too many numbers.
“I’m Zoe, this is my friend Noah,” I replied, pointing back at Noah, who had been drawn into a conversation with someone else already.
They turned their attention to Noah, and then looked at each other and smiled.
“Noah’s kind of cute,” they said at the same time. “Although he is old enough to, like, be our dad,” the other one added.
“How old are you guys?” I asked.
“Nineteen,” they said at the same time.
“I think it’s highly unlikely he could be your father then,” I replied.
“Oh.” They both looked back at Noah. “Well, we were never that good at math,” they said simultaneously, and looked at Noah again. I also turned and looked at him. Clearly, his conversation had ended, and judging by the flush in his cheeks and the fact that he was looking in our direction, my guess was that he’d heard what we’d been saying. The fire blazed as someone tossed another log onto it. Small bright orange sparks like fairies flew up into the air around us and the orange blast from the fire made a color flicker across Noah’s blue eyes, as if they were merely mirrors reflecting the world around him. They weren’t so much a color as a