ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥 °•*⁀➷

"𝖎𝖙'𝖘 𝖆 𝖈𝖗𝖚𝖊𝖑 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖞𝖔𝖚"

(Y/n/n: your nickname)

——— ❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ———

Belly and I make our way inside the house dripping water all over the floor from being thrown into the pool earlier. Both of us sit down on the chairs by the kitchen counter while our mom and Susannah stand infront of us.

"Laur, they're gorgeous." Susannah whispers to my mom with a huge smile.

"I know." Our mom replies proudly standing by the counter.

"You guys have always been lovely, but, oh honey, look at you guys!" Susannah says coming over to us and hugging us both.

"I think we look pretty much the same." I reply laughing.

"You guys do not look the same at all. You guys are growing up." She says tearing up while hugging us both again and stroking our hair.

"You guys are in bloom." She says with a genuine smile, which both Belly and I smile back at. Susannah has always had a way of saying things that almost make me believe her.

"Laur, Belly is you all over and Y/n looks so much like John." She comments.

"People always say that I look like my dad." Belly intervenes.

"No, when your mom and I first met, she looked just like you."

"Except, I had no boobs at all." Mom says, which I laugh at.

"Gross, mom." Belly says while also laughing.

"You guys should call your dad and tell him you got here safely." Mom tells us.

"Uh, why don't you tell Steven to do it?" I question.

"Because I'm telling you guys. He misses you guys when you're gone." She replies frowning.

"Yeah, but he'll see us at the end of the summer." Belly remarks.

"No, he'll be here for the 4th." Mom says, which is new information.

"Wait, he's coming here?" I ask confused.

"Of course, he always comes for the 4th." She says like it's obvious.

"He didn't come last summer." Belly responds while my mom sighs.

"Because we had just gotten divorced. We're good now." She says and smiles at us both which we eventually mirror and do the same.

"Where's Mr. Fisher?" I observe looking around the kitchen with no sight of him around.

"Oh, he's in London. They got him going back and forth. He'll join us later in the summer. For now it's just the women and the children, just the way we like it." She reassures us with one of her signature smiles.

——— ❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ———

After a while of catching up with the moms, Belly and I make our way up to our shared room. I've always loved it so much. The white walls with light blue designs, the beautiful curtains, as well, as the, oh so comfortable bed that Belly and I share. We set our bags down and take everything in. Belly goes over to our dresser where Junior Mint rests and I sit down on the bed. Junior Mint is a white polar bear plushie with sunglasses and a red scarf that Conrad won Belly a few summers ago. It's so cute that she still has it.

"Hi Junior Mint." Belly greets the bear, holding it up showing me and then squeezing it. All of a sudden I feel the bed dip and I hear a grunt behind me.

"I can't believe you still have that bear." Jeremiah chuckles getting comfortable beside me.

"Well, duh, she would never throw away Junior Mint." I say teasingly while looking at both Belly and Jere.

"Come on, let's swim before dinner, please." He asks both of us begging.

"We.. uh can't." Belly replies sadly.

"We have to go with our mom to Whale of a Tale." I say disappointed.

"Aw, man. I've been wanting to go in the ocean all day, but I've been waiting for you guys to get here." Jere replies saddened. He waited for us?

"Please. Pleaseeee. Pretty please." He starts to beg holding up Junior Mint trying to convince Belly and I.

"Um how about this, Y/n can go with you and I'll go with our mom." She says smiling at me with a glint in her eye.

"Are you sure Belly?" I ask frowning. It felt wrong leaving her here to go with mom while I get to enjoy going to the beach with Jeremiah.

"Yes, of course, now go!" She chuckles at both of us. I spring up from the bed and hug her tightly.

"Okay, well I gotta change." I say to Jeremiah letting go of my hug with Belly.

"Alright, cool, I'll meet you downstairs. And don't take too long Y/n/n!" He replies smiling while getting up from the bed.

"I won't I promise!" I smile back, while he leaves out the door running downstairs.

"Belly! Oh my god, why did you do that, now I have to go swimming with him alone!" I whine flopping down on the bed.

"Y/n it's gonna be fine, I know how much you like him and this is the perfect opportunity to have some alone time with him." She says sitting down on the bed next to me.

"Thank you so much Belly, I love you. Now help me pick out something to wear!" I say panicked getting up from the bed to rummage through the clothes we brought with us.

——— ❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ———

Belly picked out a light blue one piece for me to wear which showed off my boobs just the right amount. I walk out of the house and there he was standing waiting for me. Wow. I guess he really did work out since last summer. I can see the faint abs lining his stomach and his biceps look huge. For a second I get self conscious and cover myself in the towel I'm holding but then I remember the glow up I've had since last summer and lower the towel.

"Okay, I'm ready!" I say running out to him. All he does is stare at me with his gorgeous blue eyes that are sparkling in the sun. I don't know if it was just me, but was he checking me out?

"Is something wrong?" I question him as he doesn't say anything but stare. He snaps out of his daze.

"Uh, n-no, let's go!" He says with a smile and then we're off walking down to the beach together.

"Hey, did you know my dad's coming up for the 4th?" I ask walking next to him. He looks down at me. Wait, woah. Has he gotten taller? I'm pretty sure I remember that he was not this tall last summer. He's about a head taller than me which means my head is about shoulder height for him.

"Cool." He replies.

"Don't you think it's weird?" I retort looking at him confused.

"Not really, I mean, I love your dad." He says with a smile.

"Yeah, but like, they've only been divorced for like a year and a half."

"Well, that's what's so cool about your mom, you know? She just doesn't give a shit." He says laughing and glances over at me.

"Exactly! She doesn't give a shit because she's the one who wanted the divorce in the first place." I sigh.

"I think if you don't want to be married, you just shouldn't be married." He answers.

"Well, tell that to my grandma. She basically collapsed when my mom told her." I say which we both chuckle at.

"Did you know my dad has a new girlfriend already?" I comment looking up at him. He stares for a bit and then looks away.

"Well, what about your mom? Is she dating anybody?" He replies questioningly.

"No." I laugh. "Oh and he has a beard now." I state referring to my dad.

"Your dad has a beard?!" Jere shrieks.

"Yeah, he thinks it makes him look cool." I laugh while looking out over our surroundings. This place is beautiful.

"Well, does it?" He inquires. I look over at him.

"Kind of." I giggle, which he smiles at. Our convo gets cut off by us arriving at the beach and wow I've waited all year for this. I can feel the wind blowing my hair out of my face and I can smell the fresh taste of the ocean on my tongue.

"You want to race?" Jeremiah questions glancing over at me. The sun hits his hair perfectly and really brings out his eyes. I now realize how tan he actually is standing beside me, who hasn't had the chance to tan yet.

"No, no, I can't, you..."

"Oh come on Y/n/n!" He pleads.

"Your legs are too long now Jere, I can't do that!" I tease and then set of running towards the sea throwing my shoes off in the process, my towel landing somewhere in the sand.

"Oh, you cheater!" I hear Jere shout from behind me with laughter. I run faster so that he won't catch me, my legs carrying me into the water. It's kind of cold but in a nice way. The splashing of water and laughter can be heard from behind me which makes it known that Jeremiah has caught up with me. I turn around and I suddenly get pushed into the water by his weight towering over me. I grab onto his biceps to keep myself from sinking under. We both come up for air and start splashing each other with water. Our laughter could probably be heard for miles. I really loved this moment with him. I'd make sure to thank Belly later.

——— ❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ———

When Jere and I got back to the summer house I took a shower and changed into shorts and a navy tank top. We're eating dinner and I'm sitting next to Belly, facing Jeremiah. Steven keeps looking at his phone and laughs to himself every few seconds, which makes Jeremiah lean over his shoulder to check out what he's looking at.

"Steven, I swear to god, if you look at that phone one more time I'm putting it in the screen basket." Mom says in a strict tone annoyed.

"It's just, we want to see your beautiful faces. Can dinner be a screen free zone? You know like the olden days." Susannah asks. Steven once again keeps looking at his phone, not paying attention to what any of the moms just said.

"Steven, Steven!" Jeremiah yells while snatching up Steven's phone and throwing it into the screen basket.

"Dude, are you kidding me?"

"Boom! Nailed it." Jeremiah replies laughing.

"Okay, okay, okay, we get it, you've been working out." Steven remarks rolling his eyes and then looking over at Jeremiah.

"Oh, you're just jealous, because Jere has a better body than you." I say sarcastically looking at both of them, resulting in Jere and I making eye contact. Shit, did I actually just say that out loud?

"Uh, no, actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits." Steven says which makes all of us laugh.

"Tailored suits." Conrad says with amusement. This is the first thing he's said all dinner and I can't help but notice that he seems different from his usual self. I hope he's okay.

"When are you leaving for training camp, man?" Steven questions. This results in silence.

"Uh, he quit football." Jere answers for him as Conrad didn't say anything. I glance over to Jere and then Conrad.

"Wait, really? You quit?" Steven asks surprised.

"Mm-hmm." Conrad replies looking down at his plate of food.

"Are you kidding me, man? I'd kill to play college ball."

"He can always change his mind." Susannah intervenes.

"I'm not gonna change my mind. I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways." He replies in a solemn tone playing with his food.

"Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" Mom comments.

"Oh, dude! You can work at the club with me and Jere." Steven adds.

"Yeah!" Jere says agreeing.

"I'm not gonna work at the club." He retorts chuckling.

"Wait, you guys are working this summer?" Belly questions surprised.

"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding and Steven is working at the snack shop." Jere responds, fist bumping Steven. I didn't know Jere was lifeguarding. Damn there's probably gonna be so many girls there...

"Oh Belly and Y/n, I almost forgot! I have a surprise for you guys." She says while standing up and getting two white envelopes from behind her on the counter. She gives them both to us and Belly and I share a confused look.

"So, this is why you had to stop by the country club." Our mom sighs and Susannah hums a yes.

"Wh-what is that?" Steven asks curiously.

"I wrangled Belly and Y/n invitations to become debutantes." She says smiling at both of us as we open the envelopes.

"Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?" I ask looking over at Susannah for an answer.

"It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I-I know it sounds silly, but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be apart of it. You'll make so many new friends." She says trying to convince us.

"I cannot believe you are still holding on to this archaic dream." Mom butts in while standing up.

"No, it used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself, and it benefits charity. It's, um, like a bat mitzvah." She informs us excitedly.

"It's not like a bat mitzvah." My mom laughs coming back with a bottle of wine. "There is nothing religious about a debutante ball." She adds while sitting down.

"The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep." Conrad says with a bored tone.

"No, it's not. It's when a girl has a coming out. It's a formal recognition she's reached maturity." Susannah replies. At that Steven starts laughing.

"Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. Mature?" Steven says dying with laughter.

"Yes" Susannah says.

"Belly and Y/n?" Steven questions.
"Mm-hmm"

"A-a couple months ago Y/n had a cat funeral and Belly made us all wear black." He informs everyone at the table dying of laughter yet again.

"Shut up Steven!" We both shout embarrassed.

"I saw you crying in your room." I add looking at Steven.

"Wait, Mochi died? Dang. I'm sorry, Y/n/n." Jeremiah comments. I smile at him in recognition of what he just said.

"Belly, Y/n, don't you guys want to get all dressed up?" Susannah interrupts smiling with hope.

"It's not just Belly's thing. She's our feral little alley cat. Y/n might do it though." Mom replies. At the word "alley cat" of course, both Steven and Jere crack up over it trying to hide their laughter.

"I'll think about it." Belly answers.

"Yeah, me too." I say looking over at Susannah with a smile.

"They'll think about." Susannah says to our mom holding up her wine glass in the air.

——— ❀。• *₊°。 ❀° ———

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm really enjoying writing this fanfic and I hope you guys are enjoying reading it. Thank you guys so much for the nice comments and votes on this story. Keep voting, commenting and adding it to your reading lists!

- em