I stepped outside into the cool morning air. The summer sun peeked over the top of the house across the street; light spreading like liquid throughout the pink, cotton candy clouds.
“It is way too early to be up,” Ethan grumbled, handing his father the bright green suitcase to put into the car.
“Stop complaining,” Mr. Mahoney told his son, taking the small first aid kit from me, “Thank you Sophie -You’re not the one who will be stuck in traffic.” Ethan just continued to grumble back towards the house. I was watching Mr. Mahoney fit the kit into the packed minivan when a pair of arms slipped around my waist. I smiled, I didn’t need to look to see who it was.
“Tristan is getting the last thing,” Kevin told his dad before placing a kiss on my forehead. I smiled up at my boyfriend, warmth spreading through me like sunlight. Is there anyone in the world luckier than me at this moment? I thought. Not only did I have the best boyfriend ever, and the best friend ever –who had, at this moment, settled down next to her boyfriend on the lawn- but I got to go on vacation with them for two whole weeks. It was quite miraculous actually, that my parents had allowed me to spend my vacation on the beach with my boyfriend, but I guess they trusted me. Sure, I had just yesterday gotten The Talk from my mom, and she told me the importance of waiting and being safe and I knew all that. But, I also knew about love and what I felt for Kevin, and I felt I was ready. The thing was, my mom didn’t understand the love I felt, because I was only fifteen but I knew it.
Just then, Tristan came out of the house carrying a huge cooler. Mrs. Mahoney fluttered behind him saying, “Are you sure it’s not too heavy, dear? I can get one of my boys to help.” I smiled at this, Mrs. Mahoney was like the caring, perfect mother none of us ever had. Tristan told her that no, he didn’t need any help and placed the cooler into the car. Tristan was Kevin’s best friend who had accompanied the Mahoney’s to their beach house in Rhode Island every year. However, this year Kevin and Ethan decided to invite Anna and I, leaving Tristan with nothing to do. After some discussion it was decided that Tristan should come with all of us, he said he didn’t mind being the fifth wheel.
“Is that everything?” Mr. Mahoney asked, clapping his hands together in a satisfied way. We all nodded and he said, “Then off we go!”
The five of us climbed in the car and a smile spread across my face. This was sure to be a vacation I would never forget.
~~~~~~~~~
The car was gliding smoothly along the highway and I was dreaming of the beach. I had dreamt of the beach for the past week, that’s how excited I was. In this dream, I was imagining myself curled with Kevin on the sand. The sun was high in the sky and nothing but sand, ocean and sky stretched for miles. I glanced at him, his tan skin shimmered in the sunlight. He looked at me too and I was given the illusion that there was nobody else in the world. The car hit a bump and I jerked awake, only to realized that I had fallen asleep on Tristan’s shoulder. I sat up quickly, embarrassed.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “I didn’t realize-“
He just laughed, “It’s fine, I don’t mind at all.” I was still embarrassed though and I looked to see if Kevin had seen. He was asleep too, his face pressed against the glass of the window. Tristan, Kevin and I were sitting in the back of the minivan, the luggage of the trunk threatening to spill over onto our heads. It had been decided that I would sit in the middle, instead of Kevin, because I was the smallest. In front of us were Anna and Ethan, both asleep too. Anna was curled into Ethan’s chest and he was snoring lightly.
I glanced out the window. Little bits of scenery flew past blurrily. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue and the sun was climbing its way to the top. “What time is it?” I asked Tristan, thinking it must be nearing noon. He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“11:40,” He read.
Wow, I thought. I had been asleep for a long time. “Have you been awake this whole time,” I asked him, surveying the rest of the sleeping car.
“Yeah,” He replied and shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t usually sleep in cars,” He added and then laughed a little, “It’s weird.”
I laughed too and nodded in understanding, “That must be boring.”
“Not really,” He said, laughing again “I mean, you were pretty entertaining.”
“I was?” I asked, not sure whether I should be flattered or embarrassed.
“Yeah,” He laughed, judging by his laughter this probably wasn’t a compliment. “You were talking mostly. You were like, Oh Kevin, Kevin I love you, Kevin.” He continued, in a gushy impression of what I actually sounded like.
I felt my face turn red. “Shut up,” I blushed, hitting him in the arm.
He rubbed his arm, still laughing, “Sorry, you don’t need to be embarrassed.” He added modestly, “I mean, Kevin’s pretty lucky to have someone who loves him so much that she talks about him in her sleep.” He smiled meekly now and I just looked ahead. It was too late anyway to be embarrassed. “And hey, if it makes you feel any better, Kevin’s dad signing Route 66 was way more embarrassing than what you said.”
I couldn’t help laugh at that image. He continued, “It kinda reminded me of that time Mr. O’Leary decided to do karaoke for us.”
At this I laughed harder, remembering our crazy photo teacher. Tristan and I had had photography class together last year, when I was a freshman and he and Kevin were juniors. To be honest, I had a small crush on Tristan for the first month, but this was before I even knew Kevin. Imagine my surprise when Kevin introduced me to his best friend and it turns out we already knew each other. But that was a long time ago.
Tristan and I continued to reminisce and talk for the rest of the ride. That is, until Mr. Mahoney started singing again, because then we were just laughing.
This story is rEaLlY k0oL, I loved your story and I love how you describe! 
