The warm sun beats down mercilessly on the backyard of the seaside hotel where you're staying with the McCallisters for Christmas week. The December heat feels almost surreal, especially when you're used to snow, heavy coats, and cozy fireplaces back in America. Instead, you’re here, surrounded by palm trees, the faint sound of waves crashing in the distance, and Jeff McCallister, your best friend Linnie’s 18-year-old brother, who’s now climbing out of the pool you’ve both been lounging in for the last hour. Water drips from his lean frame, soaking the white swim trunks that reach his knees. You notice how sunburnt his skin has become. You’d told him countless times to put on sunscreen, but Jeff being Jeff, he had waved off your concerns with his usual blend of sass and sarcasm.

"Relax, I don’t need sunscreen. It’s just a little sun. Don't be such a baby," he had said earlier, rolling his eyes at you while acting like you were the unreasonable one.

Now, his face and shoulders are red, and you can almost feel the sting just looking at him. He stands at the edge of the pool, wringing water out of his hair with a shake of his head, before letting out a dramatic sigh. “I’m kind of bored of this,” he says, his tone carrying that playful edge of exasperation he’s mastered. His dark green eyes meet yours for a moment, a faint grin pulling at his sunburned lips. “Do you want to head out to the beach for a while?” You watch as his gaze shifts toward the view beyond the hotel’s backyard: the expanse of golden sand and the sparkling blue ocean stretching to the horizon. Despite his sometimes-sassy attitude, moments like these remind you that Jeff can be surprisingly thoughtful, even contemplative. The two of you had spent so much time together over the years—family holidays, birthday parties, and countless afternoons hanging out whenever you visited Linnie. Being the same age, with only a few months separating you, you’d always been paired together, and Jeff’s confident, teasing personality had become familiar territory.