Abigail -- Friday evening, girl's weekend at Lauren's
"Nice to see you again, Abby." Mrs. Franklin answered the door for her daughter. Lauren was likely already out at the pool. "How's school going?" Platinum blonde hair and an incredible physique were obvious familial traits.
"Good, one more semester, and it's on to law school." Abigail stepped into the massive circular entryway of Lauren's house. She had spent so much time here in high school that it was hard to believe it was the first time she had been here in three years.
"You're only spending three and a half years as an undergrad?" The older woman questioned. She was busying herself, getting some pieces of luggage rolled close to the door.
"Yeah, I had about a semester of credit in high school." Abby had been in high school honors classes and kept the trend going in college.
"Do you know where you're going next?"
"Yup, I already got accepted up north." Mr. Franklin had attended the school's rival that happened to be in Abby's hometown. It was practically local law in this city, not to mention that school's name.
"Boo!" Mrs. Franklin gave a thumbs down but didn't lose her smile. "It's a good school, though. Reggie'll be going to medical school in the same city. You know if you ever need any recommendations, Dennis knows you well." Mr. Franklin was the District Attorney, and his name carried incredible weight in the region.
"Thank you, Mrs. Franklin."
"How's Kevin?"
Abby shrugged. "I haven't seen him in six months. He moved out west and took the ring with him." He was not a topic she wanted to spend any time explaining today.
Kevin had been Abigail's high school boyfriend and proposed to her last Christmas. She had said yes, but something changed a mere month after. He must've expected her to drop everything and move off to the west coast with him. There was a heated argument when he demanded that she go with him instead of letting her finish her last year at school before finding a law program out West. Abby was not one to ever give in to demands or ultimatums from anyone; she took her ring off and handed it back as her way of response.
He's lucky I didn't throw it at him.
"I'm sorry, Abby." Mrs. Franklin grasped her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry about it. I guess he wasn't who I thought he was."
"First loves are tough." Mrs. Franklin looked like she had more to say on the matter but shook her head. "Well, Dennis and I are headed to a conference. We'll be out of your hair this weekend. If any of you drink, even a single beer, you're staying here." Mrs. Franklin's countenance became dour for a moment.
"I'm not going anywhere until Sunday. Mom and my brother are off in California meeting Ray's parents." Abby felt that Ray would be asking to marry her mother soon. He was a good guy, treated her mother well, and was a retired Airforce Sgt. turned affable electrician.
"Good, Lauren misses you. It'll be nice for you to catch up in the real world."
Abby talked to Lauren almost nightly, but a computer screen was a poor substitute for their misadventures. "I've been looking forward to it for a month."
"Dennis, are you ready?" The older woman yelled up the winding staircase behind them.
"Yeah, I give up on the backyard camera." The older gentleman came down the stairs with a smile and a wave.
"Oh well, the girls will probably feel better in their bikinis if they're not being watched." Mrs. Franklin rolled her eyes. "That'll teach me to fall in love with a tech nerd." Her green eyes turned to Abby with a hint of a smile.
"I suppose. Make sure no one does anything too stupid, Abby." He gave his wife a peck on the cheek as Mr. Franklin got close. A honk came from out the front door. "We could always trust you."
"The girls are out back with Reggie."
"Reggie's here?" Reggie was Lauren's older stepbrother; he was spending a year studying abroad before he came back for medical school. He also had the prettiest blue eyes that Abigail had ever seen.
"Yeah, he's back from England for a month before next semester."
"Have fun but stay safe. We gotta go." Dennis held the door open for Mrs. Franklin.
Abigail moved through the house, hearing the thumping beat slowly become decipherable as music the closer she got to the rear of the house. She looked down at her summer dress turned cover-up before stepping into the backyard. Knowing that Reggie was here made her question her makeup choices. She hoped he would like her new bikini.
The last time she had seen any of these friends was back during her awkward, lanky days. She had outbreaks of acne and arms and legs that seemed too long for her tall form. Her body had filled out in the last couple of years. Now Abby had curves in all the right places. After months of sulking over how her engagement had almost instantly disintegrated, she felt the vibe to get out and have some fun.
"Abby!" Lauren squealed and came running when she laid eyes on her. Back in high school, they had been best friends. Ab doubted she had been demoted from the position, but all their contact now came through apps. Lauren and her family spent most of their summer in Europe or on the campaign trail, or the pandemic made hangouts impossible the last couple of summers. The magical summer after high school, they spent so much time hanging out at this house and having crazy adventures with their now ex-boyfriends.
When they were in middle school, the girls were neighbors, but Lauren's widowed mother remarried a successful lawyer and moved her daughter into an upscale neighborhood. She and Dennis met in a bereavement therapy group. Mr. Franklin's first wife passed from breast cancer. He was a good man and had been a great surrogate father for Lauren.
Abby's life went in the opposite direction. Her parent's divorce and then her mother getting laid off triggered them to move in with Abigail's grandmother. Her dad moved to the east coast with a much younger woman and now showed up once a year to see Abby and her little brother.
Her mother worked hard to keep her kids in a private high school. It was why Abby had thrown herself into the honors courses so that she could get a full ride through college. It was also why she had to decline spending time in Europe with Lauren's family. She needed to spend the summer working at a law office to afford all the things for school the scholarship didn't cover. Her brother was a college quarterback at a D-II school, he wasn't going anywhere, but it paid for his education.
Lauren was of average height with dark green eyes, and her blonde hair was in a tight bun. Her pink bikini was tiny and showed off her tan skin that must have taken half the summer to get the particular deep tone. Since the end of the summer before starting college, Lauren picked up a pair of significant enhancements. Back in high school, Lauren had been nearly flat-chested. Now, she was far from it. The girls seemed to barely stay contained in her string bikini.
Abigail accepted the hug readily and squeezed her friend back. She had missed hanging out with Lauren. Her best friend was the life of the party and always managed to pull Abby out of her shell. Since her break up with Kevin, Abby had burrowed even further into her nerdy tendencies. Spending the weekend with Lauren again could be a dose of something she needed.
The Franklin's backyard was abutted by tall trees standing sentinel to ward off the encroaching farmland behind. The large backyard, easily more than an acre in size, was bordered by a six-foot tall stone fence. The house itself was on the edge of a circular road and was not directly connected by a neighbor, so there were no second-story windows that overlooked the space. It made the pool into a private grotto where there was no need to feel self-conscious about laying out to get a tan.
"You remember Victoria, Stephanie, and Zara?" Lauren waved to the three other ladies lounging by the pool.
Victoria was about fifteen pounds overweight, but she was still a knockout in her tiny green tankini, with her raven black hair falling loosely over her shoulders. She, too, looked as if she had spent considerable time around this pool. Her usually pale skin had a luscious toasty complexion. Lounging on a white chaise, she gave a quick smile and a little wave.
Stephanie was a tall, slender, leggy woman with olive-colored skin a few shades darker than the last time Abby had seen her. Her white bikini had a linear pattern of black, and what looked like bright pops of color splattered on them. It looked great with her short black hair. She had a tattoo of what looked like cherry blossoms blowing on an unseen breeze on her exposed side. Her wave was more enthusiastic, and the smile stayed pinned to her. Abby had been on the debate team with her back in school.
Abby returned both women's smiles before she turned her attention to Zara. She tried to hide some creeping disgust from coming out on her own face. Zara had been a bully in high school, the pack leader of the mean girls. Zara's snide remarks and shitposts on social media were common throughout her schooling. Lauren had warned Abby that Zara would be here and promised that the woman had changed in the last three years.
Zara wore a metallic gold string bikini that looked good on her deep mahogany skin. Her large breasts were homegrown and barely corralled by her tiny top. She had a frown and only gave the smallest of waves at Abby.
Maybe she hasn't changed.
Abigail tried to stop freaking out and trust Lauren. She never led her astray.
"Hi," Abby waved and then went to stake out her own lounger.
"And, of course, that's Reggie."
"Hey, Abs! How's college been?" Reggie stopped playing hoops in the pool to turn in her direction with a ready grin.
Since Mrs. Franklin remarried, Reggie had taken too much real estate in Abby's sexual fantasies. Three years had transformed his tall, lanky, but muscular body into something that looked like a Greek statue. Abby wanted to feel his well-toned pecs and washboard abs. It was a wonder how he managed enough gym time to look like that and still become valedictorian of his college class. His short sandy blonde hair and icy blue eyes were an excellent addition to a strong jawline and straight white smile.
"Good, one more semester, and then it's on to law school up north." Abby tried not to stare at the captivating young man. "Who's this, though?"
Abigail waved at a second boy in the pool; he was a couple inches shorter than Reggie and thicker. In contrast, he had a hairy chest and a close-cropped beard as opposed to Reggie's baby face. His chest and arms also looked to be in fantastic shape. He smiled and waved, seeming to be waiting for Reggie to introduce him.
"This guy?" Reggie asked with a smile. "He's just a chap from school. His parents put me up in England, so I let him tag along back to America. Say hi, Jacob." He turned toward the man.
"It's a right pleasure. Abs was it?" He had an almost royal-sounding British accent. He walked toward the pool's edge and extended a hand toward Abby.
"Abigail." She had to crouch down as she shook his hand. He may not have had the smoking hot body of Reggie, but he looked good, and the accent really worked for Abby.
"Where have they been hiding you this whole time I've been here? She's smashing, Reggie."
"Abs has been working back at the capital all summer." Reggie looked on with a bright smile. "Her law firm is preparing a case before the state supreme court. Someday, she'll be the president."
"Smart on top of beautiful, eh? Nice to meet you." Jacob reddened as if he hadn't meant to blurt out the compliment. It was kind of a cute affectation.
