~Melanie~

I stare at Ethan as he walks, his blond hair covered by a baseball cap. Bianca wasn't kidding when she said he grew. He was taller than Charlie, who was the oldest of Bianca's cousins, the same age as my sister, Marisa. I can't believe how tall he is now, at least six feet. I remember when he was still in diapers...

Why is he ignoring me? I try to brush it off as Bianca envelopes me in a wet hug. Her straight honey-blonde hair, now more honey-brown from the lake water, slaps me in the face.

I laugh as I wipe my wet cheek, "I missed you."

"I know," she says cheekily.

We pull away, and Kara hugs me next, also wet in her magenta bikini. Her curly brown hair with lilac tips tickles my nose.

"Congrats on graduating, Mellie!"

"Thanks, I love your new hair!" I smile at her.

My black bikini now shows through my wet white tank top as I turn to Sean and Graham. "There's no way both of you are hugging me. I'm already drenched from these two," I say as I point to Bianca and Kara.

"Awe, man." Graham chuckles as he runs his fingers through his light brown hair.

Sean grins, causing his dark, rugged mustache to curve, "Who's this?"

"Hey, I'm James. Melanie's boyfriend," he says as he puts his hand out.

"You know Bianca; these are my cousins, Sean and Kara, and Bianca's cousin, Graham. The others you haven't met yet are Bianca's cousin, Charlie, and the guy in the hat is her younger brother, Ethan," I say, pointing toward the canopy tent.

James laughs as he relaxes a bit, "Nice to meet you guys."

I smile as he shakes hands with Sean, Graham, and Kara.

"Nice to see you again," Bianca says as she hugs James in her wet bikini.

"He's cute," Kara whispers to me with a sly grin.

I chuckle, "Hands off."

Kara wiggles her thick brown eyebrows as she skips over to the canopy tent. The rest of us follow her. Once we arrive, we sit down at the only empty picnic table left. The bench slightly scrapes the back of my thighs. I wish I had worn longer shorts. How old are these picnic tables? They have to be as old as me. They're practically falling apart!

I look over at Charlie and Ethan, sitting next to Marisa, Kevin, and Mr. and Mrs. Page. Mrs. Page has her blonde hair in a low bun and is dressed in a black bathing suit with a red sarong wrapped around her curvy figure.

I make eye contact with Ethan's blue eyes. Years have gone by, and butterflies still slightly stir when our eyes meet. I always had a silly little crush on Ethan, but it was only that – a crush, and mostly only based on physical attraction.

I raise my eyebrows at him, trying to get a hello or some response out of him for totally ignoring me. He quickly looks away and begins talking to Charlie. I scoff. He is still the little brat I've always known – as if he's my own younger brother.

Though, his height isn't the only thing affected by puberty... I stare at his defined arms in his tight-fitted solid blue tee before quickly looking next to him at Marisa. Her brown eyes meet mine, then she stands up and walks over.

"Hey, Mellie! I didn't see ya drive in."

Marisa looks as great as ever in white jean shorts that show off her long legs and a black tank top that hugs her slim waist and broad chest. While I have a chest like hers, my hips are wider, as are my thighs and stomach.

That's what I get for being a star athlete on my high school's varsity lacrosse team and then not doing anything athletic in college after. Lacrosse just wasn't as prominent in Boston as it was in Vermont, so there was no team for me to even try out on my campus.

"Hey!" I say as I stand up to embrace her. "We parked toward the front of the drive. So many cars!"

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when all us kids grow up and start driving our own cars. Congrats on graduating!" she says and places her hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, Kevin and I couldn't come to see you walk. You'll understand how hard it is to get days off from work approved on the same days as your boyfriend soon enough."

I laugh, "Yeah..."

"Hey, Kevin! Get over here!" Marisa nods her head our way as she faces Kevin from the next table over. "James, congrats on graduating! It's so good to see you again. I hope this bunch isn't giving you too much of a hard time," Marisa says.

"Nah." James smiles.

Kevin grins as he arrives, "Hey, Melanie. Congrats on graduating!" He envelopes me in a big hug and lifts my feet off the grass.

I laugh as he places me back down, and I look into his dark brown eyes that match mine and Marisa's. "Thanks! You remember James, right?"

Kevin turns around and shakes James's hand, "How could I not? He's practically my future brother-in-law."

My stomach immediately clenches as Marisa laughs, "Come now, Kevin. Let's not rush things."

In the corner of my eye, I see a tall man in a baseball cap storm off.

"Melanie!" My mom appears by my side to hug me.

~~~