The Teal Beach House

The house smelled like gooey, soft chocolate chip cookies

Fresh baked for 17 hyper girls to gobble up

It smelled like wet towels, damp from the ocean and 

aloe vera for the ones who crisped in the scorching sun

It felt like one giant sleepover

complete with fuzzy socks and soft pajama pants and big, velvety blankets

cuddled up watching romantic comedies and snacking on sugary treats;

a constant “shhh, we’re trying to watch the movie” and tiny giggles and new inside jokes

It sounded like screaming after winning at a card game

and whisper conversations well into the night that formed stronger bonds

talks about the future and the past and the boy in our math class and the intricacies of our family

the light snore of a teammate exhausted from a day at the beach

It tasted like the salty ocean, the grimy sand on our mouths after being pushed into the crashing waves

the saccharine, cool taste of crunchy watermelon and the gulping of a water bottle

the creamy vanilla ice cream topped with sprinkles galore we ate before dinner

and steamy pizza that bounced between our fingers after being plucked hot from the oven

It looked like our wrinkled toes after the ocean sucked the life out of them

or the mess of shirts and bikinis scattered across the room floor

It was friendship and love and laughter and

girls who fought and made up right after because, really, we couldn't stay mad at each other

It was the home away from home with the people who felt like family

a quaint teal beach house, a few yards from the beach

And while we were only there for a weekend,

the memories we made would last a lifetime