Last night felt like a fever dream when Natasha woke up the next morning, sweating in her strapless dress from the bonfire. Regardless of a strong hangover, Tasha remembered her conversation with Conrad in the car very clearly. Deny. That's all she did. He was clearly drunk and didn't mean a single thing he had said.

          What Tasha needed was a day of surfing. She changed into a floral bikini and pulled on a pair of jean shorts on top before grabbing her towel and heading to the beach, grabbing her surfboard from the deck and rushing towards the sea. Her goal was to avoid Conrad as much as possible, and by getting lost in the waves, it might be possible.

          And when her feet hit the sand, Tasha saw a figure sitting in solitude, staring out into the abyss which was Cousins beach. Conrad, in all his glory was smoking a cigarette. His eyes wandered from the sea to Natasha standing far behind him, her baby pink and yellow surfboard in hand.

          "Hey." He motioned for her to come over and despite her better judgement, Tasha found herself approaching him, putting her surfboard down and taking a seat next to him on the sand. "You want a puff?"

          "No thank you, I'm already suffering from a major hangover. I don't need to get high on top of it." Conrad chuckled before nodding in understanding. There was an awkward silence between them, both wondering what to say after yesterday's confessions. "So, yesterday was a shit show, huh?"

          "Yeah, that's an understatement." Conrad took another hit of his cigarette, placing it in between his lips before releasing an opaque white smoke. He sighed, ultimately coming to the realization that they would have to talk about the backseat conversation sooner or later. "Look, Tasha, about last night. I'm sorry I came off so strong, I wasn't thinking and my mouth had absolutely no filter. But ..."

          "It's okay, I understand. You were drunk. We don't have to talk about it."

          Conrad wanted to scream. "No, Natasha, I love you. I always have. You're perfect, and I meant every single little thing I said last night. I want to be with you, but I'm scared. You're my best friend, I don't want to ruin anything." But he didn't. He just nodded his head, his lips parting once again to inhale the cigarette smoke.

          "Hey, let's go pick up some of the good muffins before everybody else gets up." Tasha giggled as she got up, and Conrad couldn't conceal his smile as he watched the brunette rush back towards the house, kicking up sand behind her.

✿

          "Oh my god! Belly and Tasha are going to be debutantes!" Susannah sat in the kitchen. They had just come in from the backyard where Susannah was painting Jeremiah. Jeremiah kept complaining about why they had to physically sit for their portraits whilst Conrad and Tasha sat side by side on the couch, Tasha reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Conrad drinking a 'hangover smoothie'.

          "It's really not that big of a deal." Tasha looked up from her book, smiling at Susannah. Belly nodded in agreement.

          "I'm sorry. Like, Belly and Natasha? Like, my sisters? Like, those things right there?" Steven joked around, earning a sour look from Tasha and a snarky remark from Belly.

          "Okay this is going to be so much fun. Just you wait. There's uh ... there's the tea, the auction, the ball, of course, the rehearsal." Susannah listed before gasping. "We need to go shopping!" The girls laughed at her enthusiasm.

          "This sounds ... expensive." Laurel spoke up. "Especially for two girls."

          "Don't worry Laur, it's on me." Susannah smiled at her best friend. "It was my idea after all, and we still need to style you for your book party so, ..." She turned to her sons. "Conrad, could you please be a little more supportive?" She rolled her eyes at the boy in annoyance, seeing that he hadn't said a word. "Now, which one of you is going to be Belly's escort, and which one is going to be Tasha's?"

          "I could take Tasha." Conrad looked up from his phone rather suddenly.

          "Great. Jeremiah?" Susannah looked at her second son expectantly. "Nope, I swore off of balls." He responded and immediately understood the second meaning. "The dances, dude." He glared at Steven who was laughing heartedly.

          "Yeah, I wasn't going with him anyway. I'm going to find my own date." Belly stated. Tasha couldn't help but think how impossible that would be. Her mind wandered to the mystery boy from the bonfire. Maybe Belly was planning on asking him. Whatever his name was, Tasha could care less.

          "I'm going for a swim. Care to join me?" Conrad whispered in Tasha's ear and she nodded in agreement.

          "I'm going to get ready and then we'll leave to go shopping for dresses, alright?" Susannah looked between the other females in the backyard and Tasha's smile faltered. She turned back towards Conrad and gave him an apologetic look for not being able to swim with him. He smiled softly in understanding and gave the girl a light hug before she left to get ready to leave.

✿

          Natasha walked along the sidewalk in the Cousins marketplace, her converse clad feet hitting the pavement in a rhythm. She window shopped, pointing out dresses she liked before heading inside the store to get a better look. She wore a pair of Brandy Melville jean shorts, gifted to her by Susannah for her last birthday, and a crochet top she made herself. She carried a canvas tote bag in hand and a pair of green sunglasses sat atop her head as her ring adorned fingers ran along the fabric of multiple dresses.

          "Oh my god! Look at this one." Her eye caught a rather expensive looking mini dress. It was a beautiful shade of light green, purple flowers embroidered in a rough pattern. There was a corset shape in the middle which fit Tasha's curves perfectly, hitting the middle of her thigh. "It's beautiful."

          "Oh, that's gorgeous." Susannah and Laurel came up behind her nodding in approval. "You can try it on and buy it if you'd like. Unless you want to look around a little more, of course."

          "No, it's okay. I like this one." She looked through the selection and pulled out her size, bringing it to a dressing room and trying it on before taking it to the register to buy.

          They went to a fancier boutique next. White dresses filled the shop, almost as if it were created for a wedding. Natasha looked around once again. Everything was so detailed, the brunette almost got a headache looking at all the pieces. She dug through some of the more simpler dresses, not wanting to wear anything too elaborate. Her eyes landed on a beautiful floor length dress, tight at the top with thin straps and flowy past the waist. Natasha pulled it into a dressing room, trying it on and admiring it in the mirror. Susannah and Laurel called from inside, eager to see the look.

          "You look like a princess." Were Laurel's first words when Natasha stepped out of the dressing room, giving the mom's a little spin before standing still so they could see it properly. "It's very much your style too."

          "I love it." Susannah was nearly speechless, looking Natasha up and down. "Everybody's eyes will fall out of their heads when they see our girl."

          Belly came out of her dressing room, walking back and forth multiple times before finding the perfect dress. They paid for the two before heading home to the beach house.