Gina had traveled to just about three-quarters of the country with her mom, but unfortunately, it was never for anything fun. Apparently, F.E.M.A. didn't pay well for the small duty of disaster management--but Gina never really minded. She got to see the world--the same neighborhoods and schools, making brief aquaintances before she moved again--but the world nonetheless.

She'd never really been to a theme park before, though. Much less a waterpark.

She went to the fair once, when she was maybe nine or ten. She got to ride a couple things, like the big swinging pirate ship and the bumper cars; she absolutely fell in love with the ferris wheel and the taste of cotton candy--but she couldn't ride the bigger rides yet, the ones with height limits. Her mom told her she'd have to wait until she was older, but even now, there was never an opportunity to go to a real permanent theme park.

Which is why, when Gina first saw the sign for Hurricane Harbor, she had to cover her mouth to hold back an excited scream. Ricky leaned forward from the backseat, a hand on her shoulder, letting out a gasp of his own at the sight of the towering slides in all different colors.

"Oh my god, Eej, this is amazing!" Gina got out of the car as soon as it was parked, standing on tip-toes to get a better look. "I've never been anywhere like this before--I mean, I've been on the loop slides at public pools and stuff, but not like this...is there, like, a lazy river and a wave pool here? Because those sound like a lot of fun."

Ricky had followed her out of the car and looked out at the nearby park with a smile, beaming as he met Gina's eyes. "Last one there has to get the winner nachos," he challenged before turning and running off towards the sidewalk that would lead them to the ticket booth, effectively leaving Gina in the dust.

Gina started off after him, then paused and looked back at EJ, who was gathering their bags, looking very much like a soccer mom in a way that made Gina like him even more.

"Go on," EJ said with a dismissive smile. "When you win, we're splitting those nachos."

Gina laughed, speeding off after Ricky. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was running slower on purpose, because it seemed pretty easy to beat him to the booth. They were left in a coughing and laughing fit, and as they realized they had to wait on EJ for the tickets, it only made them laugh more, leaving the booth worker pretty confused.

Soon enough, EJ arrived, handing Ricky's bag off to him but continuing to hold Gina's--asking to carry her things herself was a losing battle, as EJ always insisted on being a 'gentleman'. They were let in the park, and Gina was at a loss for what to do first. She grabbed a map, but if she were to circle everything she wanted to do, she'd just circle every single number.

"Okay," she started. "I propose conquering the most challenging of slides first--Blackbeard's Revenge, the Dive Bomber, the Bermuda Triangle, things like that. Then, we break for lunch and take on some of the smaller slides and water activities, then end the day with the lazy river and wave pool." She paused--funnily enough, it sounded as though she'd just given choreo orders. As much as she was determined to take on every inch of the park, she didn't want to order Ricky and EJ around completely. "I mean...what do you guys think?"

"That sounds perfect," EJ insisted, wrapping an arm around Gina's shoulders and kissing her cheek--unlike yesterday, it didn't feel so purposeful and for show. It felt like he really liked her and her meticulous plans, which made her melt. "Always one for the plans--what would I do without you?"

"Alright, lovebirds," Ricky rolled his eyes with a smile. "I'm gonna set up camp at some of those pool chairs over there and put on some sunscreen before I burst into flame."

What followed was probably the most fun few hours Gina had in her entire life--not counting camp, or really any time she'd spent with the drama club back at school. She tried out every ride at least once, twice if the line wasn't bad. Ricky loved the speed and freefall of the Mega Wedgie, but Gina was half convinced Ricky just immaturely amused by repeating the words Mega Wedgie--it was probably something he'd laugh about with Big Red later.

EJ loved the speed of the Dive Bomber, and Gina loved the Typhoon Twister bowl ride; she never thought the feeling of being water going down the drain would be so fun. The Twister was a single-or-pairs ride, though, and of course Gina didn't want to go alone. She went once with EJ, then once with Ricky--then she felt bad for going twice when each of them had only went once, so she insisted on waiting for them while they went together. She braced herself for arguements, for quips or hesitant looks, but everything seemed normal. When they got down the slide, they were holding each other and laughing, which Gina gladly took a picture of.

Ricky did end up getting Gina nachos as promised, but she split them between the three of them. After lunch, they tried out the wavepool--in which EJ kept trying to stand and let the big waves hit him without moving, and Ricky and Gina kept trying to knock him over. Lastly, they ended up on the lazy river, which was super relaxing outside of the occasional waterfall Ricky and EJ kept pushing her under, as well as having to grasp each others' hands to not be pulled apart by the water. Overall, though, Gina would have stayed there forever if not for the sunset signalling that the park would be closed soon. They got out and got dried, but as they were leaving, EJ stopped at an ice cream stand, getting a chocolate ice cream cone for Ricky, strawberry for Gina, and vanilla for himself.

"You didn't have to do that, man," Ricky started, sliding his bag off his shoulders, pressumably to get his wallet.

"Don't worry about it, it's my treat," EJ replied. "Today was really, really fun. Plus, without you, we wouldn't have been able to ride the Big Kahuna."

"Or we would've had to fill the third seat with a complete stranger," Gina added, happily licking her ice cream.

Ricky laughed, seeming facinated by his sandals for a moment. "I had a lot of fun today, too, I mean...thanks for letting me be the plus one to all this, you guys are the best...oh, hey, we should get our picture by the sign!"

"Oh, yeah! Here," she pulled out her phone and asked a passerby--a nice-looking college girl with a group of friends--if she could take their picture.

EJ, Gina, and Ricky all got lined up under the sign, smiling for one picture. Then, EJ moved his hand up, and Gina assumed he was doing a peace sign, because Ricky joined him. As they walked back, though, EJ gave Ricky a weird look, which confused Gina. That is, until the girl gave back her phone and said: "I took several. Hope you don't mind me saying, you guys', like, thruple vibes are immaculate. Y'all are so cute together. Anyways, have a good one!" before walking away hand-in-hand with one of the other girls.

Gina took a look at the last picture, her face heating up more than Ricky's sunburn (she told him he needed to reapply at lunch). In the picture, EJ had held up half a heart with his right hand, pressumably for Gina to complete--only she didn't see it, so Ricky did it for her, trapping her in the false appearence of a thruple.

"Oh my god," Gina laughed, covering her mouth to hide just how much she was smiling. She was kind of in love with the picture...and kind of in love with the people in it. And it's ridiculous, but she's hit with this sudden longing: today was so perfect, and it was just what they needed.

Everything would be so much easier if they all dated each other. Boyfriend and girlfriend and boyfriend.

But it was a weird, selfish thought. It wasn't completely selfish--EJ and Ricky would be dating each other, too, in this scenerio, if they wanted. Would it be homophobic to assume Ricky would want to date EJ, even though she herself realized she was bi after her breif crush on Nini last fall?

What a mess.

"I love it," Gina settled, changing her lockscreen once more. "That was...really cute. I'm sorry I didn't see what you were trying to do, Eej," she went on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, smiling sweetly at him before going off towards the car.

That night, getting ready for bed in the hotel room, the perfection of the day started to wear off again. Maybe it was because they were all tired--or that comment hit a little close to home, at least to Gina. How could she even think about having feelings for Ricky when she was already dating EJ? It wasn't right, and she wouldn't be doing the right thing if she kept it from him. If he were to break up with her, she'd be devestated of course, but it'd be healthier than lying to him, especially while he was going through this stuff with his dad.

"Eej," Gina said finally, and her boyfriend emerged from the bathroom with his teeth brushed and PJ's on. It was those Marvel sweatpants and baggy 'Netflix & Slasher Films' T-shirt Gina always liked to borrow (read: steal). Just seeing him in that made her feel even worse; he'd watched all her favorite romcoms, and she'd watched all his favorite horror movies (even Scary Movie, which killed so many of her brain cells it should be considered illegal).

"Can you come with me to get some ice from the machine, please?" Gina asked, slipping on her house shoes and grabbing the ice bucket. "I don't want to go alone..."

"Of course, babe," EJ agreed, putting on his own slippers. "Ricky, we'll be back in a minute."

As they walked down the seemingly endless long hall of the hotel room, Gina's nerves coiled in her stomach. How could she possibly break this news to him, after they finally had one perfect day? One perfect day wasn't an indication of anything. How could she tell him this and weigh him down even further when tommorrow they'd arrive in St. Louis to see his dad? She was supposed to be there for him...but she would be. If he was supposed to know everything before making this decision, he had to know this, too.

"Hey, Gi?" EJ asked. "What's going on? You seem..." he narrowed his eyes, but his smile remained, as if he were trying to be funny. "Contemplative."

"I have something to tell you," Gina said, her voice shaking, and now she couldn't go back, because EJ's smile melted. "I'm sorry for springing this on you, with everything going on with your dad, but...this trip has been really fun, and eye-opening, and...I think I just kind of realized...I think I...I think I've developed feelings for Ricky, and--"

"Oh," EJ managed, the sound a single, hurt word that felt like a gut punch. Her eyes stung, but she wouldn't cry--she had a lot of experience with the feeling of holding back. When her brother left, and every time she'd missed him a bit too much. When her mother called to say they were moving again, and she had to say goodbye to the life she'd built over months. When EJ had rejected their first date after that misunderstanding.

But she wouldn't cry, not this time. Not in front of EJ, at least.

"You can say whatever you want about it, but just know..." Gina managed. "I still like you a lot. I still want to be your girlfriend. It's just, when that girl said that thing earlier, about all of us being a cute couple--"

"Gina," EJ shook his head, his voice surprisingly gentle. "That's--that's not how this works--that's not how any of this works..."

"But what if it was?" Gina asked, far enough off the diving board to jump off into the deep end. "If you want to break up with me...I mean, I really don't want that to happen, but I would accept it. But think about it: I like you, you like me, I...I like Ricky. And you...you like Ricky, too, don't you?"

She hadn't meant to go that far, to speak her thoughts so clearly. But she did, and now all EJ could do was process the question--and give her an answer.