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looks before cautiously following Tyler’s lead. 
    “This is where you go for fun on a Saturday night?” Emma asked.  “What’s there to do out here? Get eaten alive by mosquitoes?” She swatted her leg.
    At least I wasn’t the only one who thought this was absurd.
    Before Tyler could defend himself, another car approached.
    “The boys are here,” he shouted, a note of excitement reflected in his voice.
    “Hopefully, they remembered the beer this time. This is supposed to be a B.Y.O.B. party,” Austin noted with sarcasm.
    “A what?” I asked.
    “Bring Your Own Beer, duh. Last time they didn’t bring any, the leeches. Tonight I could only muster a twelve pack, and that won’t be nearly enough.”
    “Wait.” I held up my hand. “We’re miles from civilization just to stand around and drink beer?”
    “Exactly,” Austin responded, shrugging his shoulders.
    “Don’t forget we’re also here so you can meet some friends,” added Tyler.
    “I can hardly wait,” I mumbled with sarcasm.
    “Hey guys,” Tyler called to the three unusually large guys who piled out of a black pickup truck. Tyler shook hands with two of the guys and slapped the other one on the back. 
    I waited for a secret handshake, but thankfully there wasn’t one. “I want to introduce you to my cousins who just moved here. They’re going to be starting school with us in September.” He led them over to where Emma and I leaned against his truck.
    “Hi, I’m Emma.” Emma looked at me, standing next to her, and added, “This is my big sister, Mike. Her real name’s Mikayla, but everyone calls her Mike.”
    I didn’t need Emma to speak for me, but since I didn’t want to be here in the first place, I let it slide.
    Tyler introduced us to a guy who instantly reminded me of him. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were brothers. They had the same color hair and similar haircuts, but different eyes. Tyler’s eyes were big and brown like mine, while his friend had small hazel eyes. He must be Tyler’s best friend. It was weird how sometimes best friends tended to look alike. People were always asking if Paige and I were sisters, and seemed surprised when we told them no. 
    Sure enough, Tyler introduced him. “This is my main man, Casey. He and I go way back.” 
    “We’ve been friends since the first day of kindergarten,” Casey agreed. “Tyler was so dumb back then he couldn’t even read his own name. He took my crayon box instead of his own.  I set him straight and we’ve been watching each other’s backs ever since.” Casey smiled, which caused his small eyes to close. The rest of the guys joined in the laughter. 
    I bet this whole town was full of friendships that went way back. Their camaraderie made me miss Paige more than ever.
    Tyler continued to introduce us to the rest of his cohorts. “This is Tank.” He pointed to the biggest guy. “I wasn’t sacked one time last year thanks to him.” 
    “I admit, I don’t know much about football, but even I can see why you go by Tank.” I raised my eyebrows as I took in the sheer size of him. He was easily the biggest and the thickest guy I’d ever met. I couldn’t help but wonder how many grades he’d failed.
    “And this here’s Ray.” Tyler mentioned what position he played too, but I’d stopped paying attention. Ray was the cutest of the three, with shaggy blond hair and clear blue eyes.  Compared to the other guys, he actually looked like he put some thought into what he wore. Unfortunately, he’d doused himself with way too much cologne. I could smell him from three feet away. 
    “Hi,” I said simply, without adding anything more. I wasn’t into small talk, especially when it centered around football.
    Austin opened the tailgate of the truck and lifted down the cooler. Casey noisily added two six packs and a handful of Smirnoffs that he’d brought. 
    “We have a whole case now. Hope it’s enough,” commented Austin. 
    “Wow, Aunt