“This is my friend Emily.” I motion with my head to her and glance at Emily’s hard expression. “Em, this is Tanner’s sister, Tara, and her friend, Corinne.”

They exchange stiff smiles and mumbled hellos.

“Sydney, can I talk to you for a minute?” Tara asks.

Emily stands tall beside me. She’s only slightly taller than me, but she can look downright intimidating when she wants to. And she wants to. I love how she always has my back, but I’ve got this.

“Sure.”

Tara takes a step, as do I, to follow her, but Emily grabs my wrist. “If you need me, give me a signal. A hair flip or something.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Though the longer she’s silent and the farther we move away from the party, the more unsure I feel about my safety.

“Are you going to push me into the lake?” I ask with a tight laugh. “Because I can swim.”

She stops and faces me. “I need to apologize to you.”

“Okay.” I wait for more that doesn’t come. “Was that the apology?”

“I’m sorry for everything. Tanner has mentioned you a lot over the years and I made some judgments based on my own experiences of girls who hang around the jocks at my school. I should have spent the last two weeks getting to know you, but instead I was hell-bent on hating you on principle. Even so, inviting Amelia here was not my finest moment.”

“People have never understood me and Tanner. We didn’t even understand it ourselves until this past month.” I shrug. “I meant what I said the other night. I hoped that you and I would be friends, but I think being civil should suffice. I only want to make Tanner happy.”

“I’m starting to believe you.”

The first firework shoots up into the sky over the water. “I should get back. I want to find Emily and get a seat.” I step backward and offer her a small smile. “Thank you for apologizing.”

“Sydney?” Tara calls to my back.

“Yeah.” I angle my body slightly.

“I hope someday we can still be friends.”

I’m not ready for that, but maybe someday… “I hope so, too.”

Emily hands me my cup as I get close. “I found us the perfect spot. Come on.”

She climbs up the ladder of the pool slide and sits at the top. I squeeze in next to her. “Comfort aside, this is a great spot.”

She squirms. “I think I underestimated our combined width.”

I rest my head on her shoulder. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

Another spark shoots up into the air. Red and blue dots the sky and falls. One after another. The music blasting at the party has changed to a patriotic playlist. It’s the perfect end to the best summer ever.

“Yo, babe!” Tanner yells.