Pick your words carefully.

"Hey Carly, I didn't know you surfed." Your sister and your friend stop talking and look over to you. "Sorry about the nakedness, I managed to forget my bikini when I went for a swim." You laugh awkwardly, trying to treat the whole situation as normal.

"Summer! Hey babe. You're lookin' good. Are you guys here together? I didn't know you knew Gwen." You glance at your sister, trying to read her expression to get a sense of what she's said already. You're not sure, but you might be feeling some relief that Gwen appears to be on edge and terrified about the delicate situation, and no longer angry with you. You've reached them now and reach down for your swimsuit.

"Yeah, well, we are kind of... neighbours?" Gwen nods. You **** yourself to keep the next line cool. "How do you two know each other?" They both laugh awkwardly.

"It's pretty crazy really. I used to date..."

"... my brother." You smile hugely at this, trying to look surprised.

"Oh wow, when was that?"

"You guys broke up about a year ago, right?" Carly nods.

"Oh man, so that nasty breakup you told me about?" She nods again. The guilt and tension is a massive knot in your stomach. "I'm not, uh, sure you ever told me what happened..."

"You don't wanna know princess," Gwen interjects. "The dope was a real asshole." She reaches a hand out to the redhead's shoulder.

"But it's fine because I'm so over him. You were just about to tell me where the SOB is these days Gwen?"

"Oh yeah, uh. John moved away. Gone to..." she's struggling to think of something, you can tell.

"Thailand!" You blurt out the first thing you can think of. "You told me your brother was in Thailand." Gwen agrees with relief.

Carly cracks up at this. "HA! Fuckin' LOL. I bet the horny fucker's giving all the ladyboys a hard time. Well good riddance I say." There is a moment of silence. You sip some lemonade nervously. "Did he go with that loser friend of his? What was his name... Alex?" Gwen glances at you, and shakes her head.

"Alex. Do you mean Alex Palmer?"

"Yeah that's the guy. Do you know him?"

"I know him. Quite well."

"Man, that guy was a pill. And such a shitty surfer too. I could never decide if it was him or John that was more of a tool." You stand up and walk away for the second time today. You can't quite take the bitterness oozing out of Carly just now. Gwen can deal with this shit.

"Alex is... you know. The dad." Gwen is whispering. "You know Summer is pregnant, right?"

"Paha!" Carly tries to suppress a laugh, knowing that you're still just in earshot. "I wondered who had knocked her up-" and then you hear no more from them. Just the gentle sound of the sea and your feet on the wet sand.

Despite all the rudeness and resentment, this is kind of working out ok. Carly still doesn't know that you're John, despite the increasingly unlikely fiction that you are having to construct around you. She's got you riled up right now, but you can see her point in a way. Alex had been your wingman while you cheated on her, and as far as she was concerned he was complicit. You can't really blame her, no matter how much it hurts to hear trash talk like that.