Page 71 of HER SISTER

By the time Mili and I were out of the ocean, half of the bubbly champagne was gone and the night had managed to grow later.

Soon we were drying ourselves off with the towels I brought before we slipped back into our clothes.

The air was light and warm—and everything felt so perfectly right in the world.

Especially the laughter that managed to echo into the familiar beach house from the back patio where my parents and my other mothers were.

"Ana!" Nami practically jumped off the bench to walk over to me.

I laughed slightly as I hugged the woman—her usual dark braids were down and framing her face while her hazel eyes lit up in excitement.

Her dark skin looked as glowy as ever—and her wide white smile only managed to add to her beauty.

"And this is the Mili I presume?" Nami joked as we pulled away.

I couldn't help but giggle, "Yes that's the Mili," I mocked her words back.

A slow smile grew on Mili's beautiful face when Nami didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug—and as the two began chatting my mom suddenly motioned me over.

My mom's dark eyes trailed my face, "I see someone enjoyed the champagne?" she joked, clearly noticing how much looser the alcohol made me.

I smiled slightly, "Is it that obvious?"

My dad laughed slightly, "Just a little bit," he said, easily causing me to shake my head at him.

I knew it was the smallest cues that gave me away—like my flushed face, my loose smile, and how touchy I was.

"We're headed to your mom's favorite beach bar—you guys should tag along," Elyse suddenly said.

My mom laughed, "Are you inviting my daughter to drink with us?" she joked with her closest friend.

Elyse only smiled, "Our daughter," she emphasized before looking over to me, "And she's old enough to have fun with us—we should really cherish it," she tried to persuade her.

My dad nodded a few times, "I think it sounds like a great idea—" he looked over to my mom, "—Let's take a break from being responsible parents for one night," he said, and I couldn't help but nod.

"Yeah... I know it's gotta be hard being so responsible all the time," I tried to convince her even if I knew she was one hundred percent okay with it. We just liked to joke around.

My mom inevitably sighed, "And you guys say I'm the bad influence," she joked as a smile managed to grow on my face.

Elyse laughed slightly, "You're the one who sent her with a bottle of rosé to a bonfire," she pointed out, easily earning a small laugh from me.

And as they broke off into their own conversation, I walked back over to Nami and Mili who were engrossed in their own conversation.

Mili hummed when my arms managed to snake around her waist from behind, and I swear our bodies were like two missing puzzle pieces.

"We just got invited to go to a beach bar," I murmured into her ear.

Mili slid her hands over mine that rested on her stomach, "Sounds like fun," she said, leaning back into my touch.

Nami looked between us with clear amusement, "You guys are worse than me and Elyse," she determined.

I only hummed as I pressed kisses to Mili's soft cheek—and as the kisses grew softer, a beautiful laugh fell from Mili's lips.

I swear I couldn't get enough of her laughter or any other sounds she seemed to make for that matter.

Mili suddenly guided me to stand by her side, "It's the champagne—she gets touchy when she drinks," she explained to Nami as I nuzzled into Mili's side, basking in her familiar scent and warm body.

And her statement alone was undoubtedly true—I was definitely touchy, even sober, I couldn't help it, but when I had even the slightest bit of alcohol it seemed to get worse.

Nami nodded a few times, "Oh I know, Ely is the same way," she joked—just as Elyse ironically found her place by Nami's side.

"What are we talking about?" Elyse questioned as she finished the last sip of her mixed drink.

Nami hummed, "Just how touchy you get when you drink," she said, easily earning a playful eye roll from her wife.

"Not much more than you. You remember that one night when we were leaving that housewarming party and you—"

"Okay... I say we go ahead and leave for Aloha's," Nami cut her wife short, and I couldn't help but laugh at the flustered look growing on Nami's face.

It was clear that whatever Elyse was about to say was definitely not suitable for our ears.

My mom suddenly stood from the table, "Excellent idea," she said as my dad stood with her.

And within a few minutes, Mili and I were changed into clean clothes and walking off the patio onto the empty beach—heading down the shoreline towards the familiar beach bar with my parents and other mothers.

I had only been to the familiar bar once with Kiara when we snuck in to get drinks after an insane house party nearby—and even now it looked just the same.

From the wooden bar top and tacky beach decorations to the bright colors.

Even on a Sunday night, the bar was alive and packed with people all drinking and swaying to the Caribbean music echoing off the tall walls.

There were even people up on the rooftop above us, dancing and drinking from the second-level bar that overlooked the ocean and night sky.

I looked over to Mili when she suddenly handed me a drink, easily zoning me back in from my sudden nostalgia.

A smile grew on my lips as I took a sip of the sweet fruity drink while Mili sipped on her drink that looked to be much stronger than mine.

It was so sweet how she knew the smallest things about me—like what drinks I preferred over others.

I leaned into her ear, "You know me so well," I said, hoping she could hear me over the loud music.

Mili slid her arm around my waist, "Very well," she murmured back into my ear as we walked over toward the stairs where Nami was leading us all.

Within a few beats, we were all on the packed rooftop, getting situated by the corner at one of the tall tables.

The drinks were perfect, our conversation was light and filled with laughter, and the music managed to add to the uplifting environment.

"How's that?" Mili asked, carefully analyzing my face as I took another sip from the coconut that she got to get me from the nearby bar.

I hummed as the sweet coconut water invaded my mouth, "So good," I said as I took more sips.

We had officially transitioned off mixed drinks and now we were both trying to re-hydrate to come down from the insane buzz we had gotten.

"One more round?" I asked Mili as I looked over to my parents and other mothers who were passing out the round of pineapple Jell-O shots.

Mili narrowed her eyes at me, "We've already had three drinks and two rounds of shots," she pointed out, and I couldn't miss the way her words were slightly stuck together.

We were both drunk—and the best part about it was that we managed to do it together.

It was so much better drinking with Mili compared to being drunk and her being completely sober.

I slid my hands up her toned arms as I held her low eyes, "Oh, my bad, can you not go rounds?" I said, lowering my tone in insinuation as I mocked her words from earlier.

Mili scoffed dramatically as her grip tightened around my waist, "You know I can," she said, looking between my eyes carefully as one of her hands slid up my back at a dangerously slow pace, "You know what, let's do two rounds while we're at it."

I smirked slightly as my hand slid around the side of her neck, easily bringing her down for a brief kiss.

Mili easily deepened the soft kiss almost immediately—especially with her tongue that slid past my lips and her leg that subtly situated between mine as she gripped me into her warm body.

I hummed against her lips, suddenly feeling something warm grow in my lower stomach.

Except with the alcohol pumping through my body, it was so much more intense than usual.

So intense that I felt like I could find the nearest chair and straddle Mili right here.

"Two rounds—then we're leaving," I said as soon as we pulled back with breathless pants and our chests rising and falling rapidly.

"Two rounds," Mili didn't hesitate to confirm before she dragged us back over toward everyone.