Lauren didn't bother knocking on the door before pushing it open and walking into her best friend Sarah's house. She slipped off her sandals then walked into the living room looking for her friend. They were supposed to go to the lake and she was eager to get there early and work on her tan. After determining that Sarah wasn't downstairs she yelled up at her to hurry up then plopped down on the couch to wait.
"I'll be right down!" called Sarah.
Lauren couldn't help smiling to herself, she and Sarah had been best friends since they started elementary school and Sarah was always running behind schedule. A few minutes latter Sarah came bounding down the stairs, beach bag in hand.
"Ok, I'm ready. Sorry for making you wait."
"No problem, I'm used to it." Lauren laughed.
The two girls headed outside and piled themselves and all their stuff into Lauren's car. Lauren had just reversed onto the street when Sarah turned to her and said "Hey guess who's coming home today? Dan!"
Lauren felt a blush creep up her neck and take over her face. Dan was Sarah's older brother and Lauren had had a crush on him for as long as she could remember. He was four years older than her and Sarah, and growing up she had idolized him.
Sarah looked over at her friend's reaction and grinned. She knew Lauren was crazy about Dan and couldn't resist teasing her over him.
Lauren finally composed herself enough to choke out "Oh wow. I didn't think he was coming back for another couple weeks. Wasn't he supposed to stay until the end of the month?"
"Yeah he was going to finish out the lease on his apartment but the new tenants agreed to sublet from him for the last little bit. He should be on his flight right now. My parents are on their way to pick him up."
Lauren was shocked. She couldn't believe Sarah had withheld this information from her until the very day Dan would be arriving back home. She needed to pull herself together, at 19 she shouldn't fall apart just hearing his name.
"I left him a note saying we would be spending the whole day at the lake so he should join us when he gets in."
"Ok great" Lauren managed to get out as her heart started beating even faster. She quickly changed the topic and the girls chatted and gossiped for the rest of the drive.
Dan stumbled off the plane and made his way through the airport. He was glad to be back home. After taking a year off after high school he had picked an east cost school and with the exception of holidays he hadn't spent much time at home over the past four years.
He was just walking up to the baggage carousel where he noticed his mom and Dad standing there. He mom was waving and smiling. She waved him over and wrapped him in a big hug, obviously glad to have him home.
They waited for his bags to come and then headed out to the car. The ride to their house took just over an hour so the three of them were able to catch up on everything going on in their lives.
Dan let out a huge sigh when they pulled into the driveway. He grabbed his bags and headed in. It didn't look like Sarah was home, he couldn't help but feel a little bit upset that she wasn't there to welcome him back. He took his bags upstairs and saw a note posted to his door.
"Hey Dan! Hope you had a nice flight. Lauren and I are spending the day at the lake you should come meet us if you're feeling up for it. If not I'll see you later tonight!"
Dan grinned as he read the note. A nice relaxing day at the lake was just what he needed.
After quickly unpacking he got changed into his suit and grabbed a beach towel from the hallway closet then bounded down the stairs.
"Hey dad to you mind if I take your truck? I'm going to go meet Sarah at the lake."
"No problem. Have fun" came his dad's reply.
This was Lauren's favorite kind of day. The sun was beating down and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. They were sitting in their usual spot, Lauren reading a novel and Sarah flipping through some trashy magazines. The heat quickly got to her though so she decided to take a quick dip in the lake.
"I'm going to go for a swim, want to come with me?" she asked Sarah.
Sarah just shook her head and went back to her magazine "Sorry, I'm not quite warm enough to brave the water yet"
Lauren quickly waded in then dove under water. She began to swim out away from the shore. She had been a competitive swimming all through high school and loved the feeling of slicing through the water. She did a mini IM going through all the strokes. After about 10 minutes of swimming she headed back into shore.
Dan saw his sister lounging on her beach towel in their usual spot. She looked totally engrossed in her magazine and didn't notice him approaching. "Gotcha!" he called at her, making Sarah scream. She quickly started laughing and playfully swatted at him.
"I'm so glad you came! How was the flight? Are you happy to be home?" She bombarded him with questions.
"Woah, slow down. The flight was uneventful, I watched the in flight movie so the time went by fairly fast. And yes I'm happy to be home." He noticed the empty towel beside her. "Where's Lauren?" he asked.
"She just went in for a swim"
Dan looked out into the water just in time to see Lauren doing butterfly through the water. He had been on the swim team with her and he couldn't help admiring her stroke, she had flawless technique.
Lauren was just about at the shore now and Dan busied himself by setting up his towel and taking off his t-shirt. He had just settled in when Lauren starting walking out of the water. His breath caught in his chest. Where had the dorky young girl with braces gone? The girl walking towards him was a goddess. She was wearing a fairly modest yellow bikini but it did nothing to hide her luscious curves. The colour set off her early summer tan beautifully.
As she walked to where they were sitting she pulled her long brown hair out of its ponytail and shook it out. Dan couldn't stop staring at this gorgeous creature in front of him. His shorts were starting to feel uncomfortable and he hoped no one would notice his current condition.
Lauren finally reached her towel and smiled and waved at Dan. "Hi Dan. Long time no see. How's it going?"
The blush that touched her cheeks when she talked to him did not go unnoticed. Dan knew she had had a crush on him when they were growing up but he thought it would have burnt out by now. He was thanking his lucky stars that she seemed to still be affected by him.
