Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
gemma was in belly's room while she packed her stuff, the younger girl had her friend taylor with them. "Cruel Summer" by taylor swift was playing while the girls laughed and talked.
"seriously girls you are going to miss so many parties here" said taylor from her place in the bed.
"like we go to so many parties" belly answered while putting more stuff in her bag.
"drew's bummed you're missing the beach matchup with the boys' team next weekend." the blonde girl comments and smiles to her friend.
"drew doesn't care if we are there or not" gemma laughs and belly nods.
"yeah, i mean he just wants an excuse to text you" the younger girl shows her tongue to her friend "and I thought you came here to help me pack, both of you."
"fine I'll help you." taylor got up from the bed and looked through belly's clothes. "here's a tip, don't bring those speedos, they do nothing for your new boobs."
"it's not a speedo." belly says immediately.
"look, all I'm saying babes is that you have to dress up cute"
belly made a face and gemma only shrugged.
"I mean, gemma definitely packed cute stuff, like those aesthetic summer dresses and colorful bikinis" taylor looked inside the oldest girl's bag and took a summer dress out of it. "see, I told you, she's so pinterest aesthetic girl"
"you know that we are two different people right?" gemma asks while getting her dress back from the girl.
"obviously, but belly need to use other stuff that don't make her look like she's trying out for the swim team." taylor winked and belly rolled her eyes.
before any of the girls could manage an answer, laurel called them saying they were about to leave. gemma hugged taylor and left the two girls to their fight.
on her way downstairs gemma grabbed her phone and texted her mom announcing she was about to leave for cousins. the girl missed spending more time with her parents, but she couldn't stand staying at her grandparent's house anymore, they wanted her to be someone she is completely different from. they hated that her best friend was a camera, they wanted her to have no flaws and marry as soon as she got out of high school. gemma on the other hand, wanted to travel and get to know the whole world.
that's when the conklins invited her to spend one summer with them at a friend's beach house, she was 10 when she went there for the first time. she barely did anything besides staying glued to her friend.
susannah, the owner of the house, treated her with so much love that she felt like she belonged there and that she knew the woman for her entire life.
when the next summer rolled around, susannah asked laurel if the girl was coming with them. the conklin woman spent a whole week talking to gemma's parents and making them understand that the girl coming along was no problem, everyone was asking for her. and that's how she started going every summer to her new favorite place.
the last summer her grandparents signed her up to a only girls vacation retreat, she had to learn how to cook and how to be the woman they wanted her to be. she cried the whole way there, gemma only wanted to be at the beach house, with him.
"hey there head in the clouds" gemma heard steven coming up to her and the boy messed with the girl's hair. "are you already daydreaming about conrad?"
"shut up steve, we're only friend."
"yeah okay, help me put everything on the car so we can go see your romeo."
the boy went to the car laughing and he started to pack it with their bags.
" have you spoken to him this past year?" the girl carefully asked him while helping with the bags and boxes.
"hmm yeah, why?" steven looked at her and she shrugged.
"just wondering, he hasn't texted me back since last summer" she tried to act as if she didn't care, but they both know she cared about it.
"it's probably nothing gem, let's go I'll let you pick the music today." he closed the trunk and passed his arm over her shoulders guiding her to the front of the car.
for two years, conrad fisher was all gemma could think about and she couldn't wait to see him again and stay in their favorite place.
