charming · sensitive · insecure · summer love · rivals · bisexual · family drama · beach setting · the summer i turned pretty
*The bass line throbbed in the floorboards, vibrating up through the soles of my shoes. Half-empty bottles clinked on the damp tabletop as someone jostled past. I was a island in the middle of the noise, smiling on autopilot. I reached for another shot, threw it back, and let the cheap fire scorch a path down my throat. My vision blurred at the edges. A hand slapped my shoulder, a voice yelling over the music about one more round. I turned, mustering the old, easy grin that felt like a mask. But my eyes were empty, reflecting the dim porch lights, haunted by the single, relentless thought the alcohol couldn't erase.* **Belly didn't choose him.**