Page 102 of HER SISTER

"I was thinking we all go to this pottery class."

"Yes that's such a good idea—I also had a group baking class on the itinerary."

Mya's smile grew, "I did too," she gushed, easily making Cher's smile grow.

Meanwhile, we all seemed to be gathered in Mya and I's apartment, which seemingly felt small—while we all stared between the two who had a little too much in common.

"This feels like Freaky Friday," Davis whispered.

Jaden rolled his eyes, "Freaky Friday means they switched bodies," he retorted.

Davis made an oh sound before saying, "Then this just feels freaky."

Karter rolled her eyes, "And to think he's graduating from Harvard soon," she mumbled under her breath as she leaned into Sloan's side.

Arielle only laughed from beside me as she took in the group of people that just arrived a few minutes prior.

"Stop they're so funny," Arielle said to me, which easily earned a nod of agreement from Damon beside her.

Meanwhile, Ryder only shook his head, "I don't know if this is a good or bad thing," he determined as he looked between Mya and Cher who already swapped itineraries to look over.

Davis laughed, "Facts—" he suddenly turned to Ryder, "—You're Mya's boyfriend right?" he asked as he chewed on his chips.

Ryder nodded as he held out a hand, "Yeah, I'm Ryder," he said.

Davis switched the chip back to his other hand to shake Ryder's hand with his clean hand, "I'm Davis, Cher's boyfriend," he said before suddenly holding the cool ranch Doritos out to Ryder, "Want some?" he offered.

Ryder didn't hesitate to nod, "Hell yeah—you got shots too?" he asked as he stuck his hand in the bag.

Davis didn't hesitate to nod, "Oh yeah, we brought vodka and tequila. We weren't sure what you guys preferred," he said.

"Trust me, anything with alcohol is what we prefer," Willow managed to add as Marco helped fix her swimsuit cover-up.

Jaden laughed, "I already love this," he said as he began following Ryder and Davis into the kitchen to pour shots.

Karter only gave Davis a suspicious look, "Is it just me, or is Davis actually sharing his chips for once?" she questioned with a tilted look.

Jalen tilted his head, "I feel a little offended," he determined as he walked over to the kitchen as well.

Sloan shrugged, "Davis shared his chips with me that one time at after prom," she determined, clearly unfazed as she and Karter managed to transition to the kitchen as well.

I looked over to Arielle, who seemed to purse her lips, "Guess it's time to take shots?" she said to me.

"Shots? Absolutely not," Cher suddenly said, easily snapping out of her conversation with Mya.

Oh no...

Mya seemed to walk over to everyone in the kitchen, "Guys we have stuff planned for today," she pointed out as Davis passed shots out to everyone.

Ryder only gave his girlfriend a smile, "I say the beach first," he said, which earned an eye roll from Mya.

Meanwhile, Cher managed to say, "How have you guys already fucked up our itinerary?"

Mya laughed, "Facts," she shook her head as she took the filled shot from her boyfriend, "But I guess we can head over to Laguna—you guys would love it there."

I felt my eyes automatically snap to Mya upon hearing the familiar name fall from her lips.

It easily sent me back to the only other time that I had been to Laguna.

With Mili.

We had yet to get together—she didn't even know about the promise at the time.

Everything was so new, especially since we had yet to kiss more than once.

It felt strange to think about a time like that, especially since it felt like so long ago.

Arielle suddenly nudged me, easily snapping me from my thoughts, "Did you want a shot?" she asked me as Mya held a shot out for me with a raised brow.

I shrugged, "I guess, since we're all starting to drink now," I determined.

Mya smiled happily as she handed me the filled shot.

And soon we were all clinking our glasses together before throwing our shots back.

"Ana, you're going to absolutely love Laguna—seriously my sister and I love it over there," Mya said, and I couldn't help but purse my lips awkwardly.

And upon my silence, Mya managed to tilt her head slightly.

"Mili already took you didn't she?" Mya suddenly pieced it together.

My pursed lips grew into a smile, "Basically—you remember the photoshoot project I helped with?" I filled her in.

Mya nodded a few times, "Oh yeah, I didn't realize that at Laguna," she said as she opened one of the small apple juices that were on the counter, "Either way, we'll all still have fun," she determined as she sipped her juice.

Arielle nodded, "Oh yeah, we could also play beach volleyball," she offered.

"I'm on Sloan's team!" Karter suddenly interjected.

Just like that everyone seemed to groan—excluding my friends who didn't realize how seriously Sloan and Karter took games.

"Here we fucking go," Cher sighed as she grabbed the bottle of vodka.

Mya tilted her head along with all my friends who seemed to be confused.

"Sloan and Karter... can be a little competitive," Davis suddenly explained, clearly noticing everyone's confusion.

Jaden gave Davis a deadpan look, "A little?"

Jalen suddenly looked to all of us, "Be prepared to be accused of cheating if you win against them," he warned.

Sloan rolled her eyes, "Sorry we want to win fair and square," she retorted.

"You do," they all managed to say in sync.

And just like that, we were all falling into laughter—even my friends, who seemed to be entirely amused by all of this.

—

After packing into two different Ubers with numerous coolers and bags filled with snacks—we were all headed to Laguna.

And as soon as we even stepped foot on the warm sand, Karter and Sloan had us all over at a volleyball net starting a game of volleyball.

The first and second games were fun.

But after five games in a row, I had seemingly hit my limit among everyone else.

So after the sixth game, we managed to convince the competitive couple to go swimming instead.

But what really seemed to convince them was the idea of taking another round of shots.

So that's exactly what we did—

We took not just one, but three rounds of shots before heading out to the ocean to wavehop.

Which Sloan and Karter still managed to turn into a game—between only them luckily.

The rest of us seemed to be done with playing games.

"So... when are we going to meet your girl?" Cher wiggled her brows at me as she ate some of the snacks that Frankie and Cam recently showed up with.

Currently, Mya, Ryder, Sloan, and Karter were all seated on the large sheet with me and Cher as we snacked on various foods.

Everyone else seemed to either be in the ocean or back playing volleyball.

Except for Arielle and Damon who were now ordering drinks and food for us at a nearby beach restaurant.

I hummed, "She's actually in Tulum right now," I said, knowing that she went there for spring break.

"Yeah, I'm meeting Mi down there with her friends when Ana steals Mya away to Islamorada," Ryder added as he sipped on his mixed drink.

Mya jokingly rolled her eyes, "No one is stealing anybody," she laughed.

"Yeah, she's coming willingly," I said, flashing him a smile.

Sloan swallowed her sip of water, "Well, that's a bummer, we were all hoping to meet her," she determined.

"Facts, she sounds really cool," Karter said before she suddenly raised a brow in realization, "What if—"

"We're not going to Tulum," Cher shot her idea down.

I couldn't help but laugh at them both, finding it hilarious how Cher knew exactly what she was about to say.

Mya shrugged, "It's really just another excuse for us all to link up again once she and Ana get back together for real," she determined.

Sloan nodded, "That's a good point," she determined as she laid her head in Karter's lap.

Cher suddenly looked at me, "Speaking of..." she trailed off with a tilted look.

Mya smiled slightly, "Yeah, speaking of..." she jokingly trailed off.

I playfully rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling my face grow warm at the indirect question.

Obviously, I wasn't exactly sure when we'd make our comeback.

Clearly, it's already been close to four months with April almost being over, but I was still working hard in therapy and directing my focus towards school.

"So... who's up for a game of volleyball?" I suddenly turned to Sloan and Karter, clearly in desperate need of a topic change.

Sloan only managed to laugh, "Nice try, but we want to know too," she said, easily making my lips purse into an awkward line.

"Yeah, I mean it's been since January right?" Karter asked.

Mya nodded, "Yeah, but it feels like years at this point," she laughed.

Ryder didn't hesitate to laugh with her, "Facts, I'm tired of you guys being apart," he said, with a stressful sigh—as if our break actually stressed him out.

But honestly, it probably did—along with Mya as well.

I mean, they had to plan separate stuff with us since we weren't currently talking.

Cher chuckled, "Hey, I feel it for real—Sloan and Karter had us in shambles for months," she determined.

And her statement alone easily earned a side-eye from both Sloan and Karter seated beside me.

"Months?" Mya questioned as she managed to look over at me expectantly.

They wanted a number or some sort of estimate, but truth be told—

I didn't have one.

We didn't have one.

"You're dragging it at this point," I laughed at my dramatic best friend as I ate more of the fruit.

And before Mya could say anything else, both Damon and Arielle were calling us over to come eat the food they just ordered for us.

Just like that, we were all seated in the familiar restaurant that Mili had once taken me to—and I couldn't help but consider if the Universe was doing this on purpose at this point.

But aside from the heavy nostalgia, I still seemed to enjoy my time with my friends, and the friends that I had made while I was away.

The conversation was never dull and we always seemed to be laughing over something.

It seemed to be the group of friends that I imagined I would have one day.

And even with being on Mya and Cher's seemingly strict itineraries, we still had more than enough fun at all the different spots in LA.

We had so much fun, that the Islamorada trip with Mya seemed to sneak up on me.

But even still, I was excited to spend a few days with Mya laid out on a beach.

She'd also be meeting my parents and godmothers, which I knew would be fun.

I already knew she'd love my dad's stone oven pizza—or my mom's coconut cookies.

Meanwhile, Ryder would be in Tulum with Mili, which I seemed to feel slightly jealous of.

Mostly because I had imagined us spending our spring break together.

But either way, I knew Mili would have fun, especially with Ryder by her side.

Islamorada definitely won't be the same without her, but it'll still be more than fun with my best friend by my side.