Becoming Flynn - Noah's Story

Three - Firsts.

Well, mostly thesuperficial relationships were fine with me. There had been this one time, this one girl before Elle, where I had gotten all gooey-mushyfeelings. And like almost my entire life, Elle had been there, too. At the time, she was just too young to fully understand what was going on – at least, I thought so.

We spend yet another summer at my family's house at the beach – my parents, my brother,Elle and me. Her dad and little brother came by to visit while her mom had to stay back to undergo treatment. Lee and Elle stuck to each other like glue and I felt more than ever like a third wheel and too mature for their kind of fun. I hung out at the beach by myself and met some older kids who assumed I was there age. They played beach volleyball, swam and partied at night. I started to sneak out at night to meet up with a crowd consisting of maybe half a dozen guys and some girls. Pretty much all the guys had a crush on Gina Altobelli and so did I. She just filled her bikini much better than any of the other guys and her wide smile could give you wet dreams when she focused her attention on you.

Only Brad kept talking about a girl named Brianna who waited tables in a restaurant in town.He had been trying to get her to go on a date with him but she somehow hesitated. One day, he came to the beach all excited, she had agreed to go out with him if she could bring a friend. He needed a wingman and had tried recruiting guys for the job all afternoon. I had only paid little attention, considering we barely knew each other I was not his first choice – or second, or third. At the end of the afternoon, he still had not found anyone to entertain Brianna's friend. So, he ended up asking me.

"Who is her friend?", I asked suspiciously.

"That Altobelli girl, maybe you know her?", he said nonchalantly.

My heart skipped a beat. Brad could not find anyone to spend time with Gina Altobelli? That did not sound right.

"It is kinda last minute. Brianna was able to change her shift tomorrow morning but needs to be back at work at 2 o'clock", Brad explained and repeated the excuses the others had given him for not helping him out. I tried to hide my excitement and eventually agreed to meet them on the boardwalk at 10:00 a.m. Brad grinned and gave his buddies a thumps-up. Later that night at the bonfire, the guys told me broadly grinning how lucky I was.

When the next morning came, I took extra care in front of the bathroom mirror to contain my excitement. My nerves almost got the best of me on my way to the boardwalk. Then I saw them. Or, to be precise, I saw Brad and Briannaand a skinny girl with brown hair. Brad smiled at me widely and waved, so I went over to greet them. Brad introduced me to Brianna, a shy blonde with a pretty smile, and turning to the brunette, said:"Well, you two know each other already, right?"

I looked at the girldumb founded and saw the surprise register in her face.

"You said you knew Dina, Dina Altobelli?", Brad tried to clarify.

"Gina," I correctedhim automatically.

"Oh, Georgie", thegirl sighed. "That is my sister."

 I looked at her in confusion.

"Her real name isGeorgina, we call her Georgie at home, but she likes to call herself Gina," Dina volunteered. An awkward silence followed during which Brad and I entered in a staring match. I could have just punched him in the face right then and there but this would have seemed awfully rude to Dina. She had kept her head down and stared at her worn outsneakers since the moment it had become clear that I had expected her sister. Brianna looked upset and stroked her arm. Brad pulled me aside, begging me to spend three hours with Dina to get him a shot with Brianna.

"You knew that the wrong sister would come," I accused him.

He was smart enough not to deny it. Dina was no Gina but there was no way for me to get out of this situation without looking like a jackass. Since I had no plansfor the morning anyway, I went along.