Eric's family, the Millers, had owned the cottage across from my grandparent's since I could remember. His family spent a majority of their summer out at the lake. We had become friends instantly and spent our time on the beach or off on adventures, typical kid stuff. When we met, he was a gangly kid with mousey brown hair and sharp blue eyes. I was a tomboy, freckle faced, with auburn curls and greenish brown eyes. We had changed so much over the years; this summer was going to be no exception.
When I pulled into my grandparent's driveway, the day after my high school graduation, the first thing I noticed was Eric out in front of the Miller's cottage mowing the grass. He waved and my stomach fluttered. The second thing I noticed was the For Sale sign and my heart sank.
The mower ceased as my sister Lila and I stepped out of my SUV and a familiar voice called out "Hey Grub!" His adoring nickname for me. "I hear you actually graduated. Congratulations!" Eric ran up and wrapped me in a hug from behind and the smell of fresh cut grass and salty sweat filled my nose causing my head to spin. I felt a wave of heat pulse between my legs. He greeted my sister and I heard them exchange a high five.
"I did!" I exclaimed, still dizzy. "Is med school going to cost too much, Lena and Ed have to sell?" I composed myself before I turned around to face him. I caught the sadness in his eyes. "Yeah, looks like this is our last summer to cause some mischief around Akita Beach. My mom thinks her next adventure is waiting for her in Florida, closer to her family."
I held him at an arm's length and looked into his eyes. I smiled as genuinely as I could. "We'll just have to get everything accomplished in these 4 weeks we said we would do when we were 6."
He laughed heartily, "So we're going to build a fort, finally camp in the woods, AND get married?" I couldn't believe he remembered the deal we had made. I felt my cheeks grow hot and I played it off, "Yeah hubby, grab my bags."
As he lifted my suitcase, I couldn't help but notice his rippling biceps. The humidity left small drops of sweat on his evenly tanned skin and they glistened in the morning sun. I desperately wanted to smell his natural musk again.
He had changed so much over the past year. He was taller, he had cut his hair so his brown locks curled slightly around his handsome face, and his muscles had filled out quite nicely. He wasn't the only one who had changed. I had grown out my hair so the curls bounced around my chest, I got my braces off and now sported a size C chest that I was extremely proud of. My body had formed into that of a woman and had given me all the urges, too.
I had always denied my feelings about Eric to myself and others. I would lie and say I regarded him as a brother until last summer at the Beach Slam party that closed out the season. He had grabbed my hand during the fireworks show and held it until it was over, signifying the end of our summer. He had then leaned in, with his hot breath on my neck, and whispered "I wish this could last forever." I had wanted to kiss him but instead gave him a simple hug and promised to text him as often as possible.
I smiled at the memory as I followed him up the walk.
