I was a self-proclaimed loser, and honestly, I didn't mind. I had my close-knit group of friends, but we were all social misfits, clinging together at the bottom of the high school hierarchy. While others chased after varsity letters, drank at parties, or reveled in teenage delinquency, I preferred spending my free time with Nora.
Nora was my my partner in crime. We bonded over our shared love of gaming, spent afternoons competing fiercely in Mario Kart, and roamed our town hunting for Pokémon together. Our easy laughter filled those moments, a little relief against the teasing we sometimes got from the popular kids.
The first time we met was in middle school band class, both of us trumpet players. She stood out, tall and slender, with long, flowing strawberry blond hair, thick glasses, freckles, and an infectious smile that could brighten anyone's day. Over the years, those smiles became shared secrets, late night talks, and numerous inside jokes that only we understood. Little did we know that on that hot June night, we would cross the line of just friends.
A few weeks after graduation, Nora invited me over to hang out at her new pool. Her parents decided to head to their cape house that weekend and left Nora in charge of the house. When I got to the door, Nora opened it with a suspicious look on her face.
"Sup Nor. Everything alright?"
"Yeah...just come inside." She replied pulling me into the house.
"Ummm, what is going on?" I asked her raising an eyebrow with suspicion.
"Just come to the kitchen!" She replied motioning me over. She brought me over to the marble top kitchen counter, me being still completely lost about why she was freaking out. That's when she reached into a bag and pulled out what looked like a prescription bottle.
"Check this out!" She exclaimed presenting it to me cupped in both hands like it was the holy grail.
"Uhhh what is that?" I replied scratching the top of my head.
"They're gummies. Weed gummies!" She replied with excitement. "I may have nabbed them from my sisters room" she admitted chuckling cutely with her palm covering her mouth. Now to most people my age this probably wouldn't have been a big deal, but I've never done any drugs and I was almost positive Nora hadn't either.
"Do you wanna try one with me?" She asked with a devilish smirk. I hesitated, my head spinning as it debated if I should indulge.
"I don't know Nora, I've never done anything like this" I replied apprehensively. "Oh come on Luke, you're being a magikarp about it"
"No im not!" I replied quickly and defensively. Nora smirked and put her palms on my chest. "Magikarp, Magikarp, splash, splash, splash!" She mocked teasingly.
I sure as hell was no fucking Magikarp! She struck a nerve with me, which is probably why I did possibly the most reckless thing I've ever done, taking the bottle, popping a handful into them and swallowing them whole!
"Woah!" She replied. "I don't think you're supposed to take that many...". Instantly regret ran through my body as I tried not to freak out. "Oh well...fuck it" she continued copying me and popping several gummies as well. Ok guess we're going all in then...
We made our way over to the pool and threw our towels on the ground. I threw my shirt off and cannon balled in, the recoil soaking Nora with water. I came back up to the surface and smiled at her, Nora crossing her arms annoyed that I had drenched her t-shirt and shorts. "It's super effective"
I replied laughing, Nora rolling her eyes and trying to hide a smirk.
She threw off her shirt, revealing the black poka dot bikini underneath. Honestly to that point I never thought of Nora as anything more than a platonic best friend, but I had to admit her boobs looked really good in it. I didn't realize they had grown into solid c cups, I'd never been able to tell really considering the hoodies and t shirts she would wear constantly. She also looked like she'd added some weight, which made her fill out her rail thin body. I won't lie she looked hot!
She then threw down her athletic shorts revealing her smooth, recently shaven legs before sprinting into the pool with a cannon ball of her own. I guess I never realized how pretty my best friend was, especially because it always seemed like she tried to hide her body.
We swam around for a bit, taking in the new pool in the hot summer sun, splashing eachother, playing Marco Polo, and seeing how long we could hold our breaths. It was on the last go that my brain flipped a switch.
