A bit farther down the shore was a little beach shop, a surf shack and a bar. I loved the bar on the beach; there was something about it that made me think of the Caribbean. It had a thick straw roof shaped like a giant parasol, and the drinks were always served with little paper umbrellas in them.

“Sure,” I answered.

He dug underneath his towel for his wallet and took out a few dollar bills. “Let’s go.”

It didn’t take long to get there, but the queue looked like it would take a while for us to be served. I was glancing around and caught sight of a few guys talking. They were looking at Noah. He had his back to them, so he didn’t see, but I got the sinking feeling they were talking about him.

“Do you know those guys? Over there?” I blurted out. Knowing me, I could’ve been overreacting and just imagining that they were looking at him.

Noah looked round, right at the guys who were staring at him. I guessed they were maybe around our age—soon-to-be seniors, or freshmen at college.

I was about to grab Noah’s arm, thinking that it was stupid for him to look at them so obviously, but then I realized that he most likely didn’t give a damn whether he annoyed them or not. He turned back, not looking fazed at all, and before I could say another word the barman got to us.

“What can I get you guys?”

“Two Cokes,” Noah said, pushing the money across the counter. He looked over at the guys again, scowling at them this time.

“Noah!” I exclaimed, swatting his hand when he didn’t reply. “Do you know them or what?” I sent another fleeting glance at them and said, “They’re still looking over here.”

“Yeah, if that’s the guy I think it is, I made out with his ex-girlfriend or something last summer. He tried to punch me, so naturally, I acted in self-defense,” he said flippantly.

“What? When did—”

“You know all those beach bonfires and parties and stuff? You and Lee never went to them?” I nodded. “I think it was at one of those.”

“I can’t believe…” I trailed off and shook my head. “You couldn’t have just walked away?”

Noah set his jaw and hung his head. “Point taken.”

The barman set two tall glasses of Coke in front of us. I mumbled thanks and took a sip of mine.

We talked easily until we finished our drinks. But I couldn’t help it—I kept glancing past Noah, my eyes flickering over to the boys who’d been looking at him before. One had a sneer on his face and the other two were laughing. It gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach.