The Summer We Turned Pretty

Chapter 5: Debutante Proposition

Deli's POV:

Belly, Jeremiah, and I spent the rest of the day time in the water. Once the sun sets we all grab our towels and head back up to the house. Jere helps me with my board as I also carry my wetsuit.

Once inside we all go up to shower and change into normal clothes before coming can down for dinner. As we eat Steve and Jere won't stop looking at something on Steve's phone. Laurel is fed up with it.

"Steve, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time, I'm putting it in the screen basket." She warns. "It's just, we want to see your beautiful faces." Susannah says with a smile, toning down the irritation in Laurel's voice.

"Can dinner be a screen free zone? You know, like the olden days?" She jokes. Steve still doesn't look up. "Steve." Jere says. Nothing. Jeremiah rips Steven's phone out of his hands and shoots it like a basketball into a nearby chair. "Dude, are you kidding me?" Steve whines.

"Boom! Nailed it." Jere grins as the phone lands exactly where he planned. "Ok, ok, ok, we get it, you've been working out. "Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you." Belly jokes.

"Uh, no, actually, it's all bayou the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suites." Steven tries. "Oh, yeah, degfinitely." I say, sarcastically. "Sure, sure." Jere says at the same time. We grin across the table at each other. There goes my heart with it's fluttering again.

"Tailored suites." Conrad laughs. "When are you leaving for training camp, man?" Steven asks the older boy. There's a bit of silence. "Uh, he quit football." Jere says. There's an awkward silence now. I'm confused now. Conrad loves football. "Wait, really? You quit?" Steve asks him.

"Mm-hmm." Why would he quit? Something is definitely wrong. "Are you kidding me, man? I'd-I'd kill to play college ball." Steve retorts. "He can always change his mind." Susannah assures. "I'm not gonna change my mind. I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways."

"Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" Laurel asks. "Oh, dude, you can work at the club. Yeah, with me and Jere." Steve suggests. "Yeah." They both grin. "I'm not gonna work at the club." "Wait, you guys are working this summer?" Belly asks.

"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding, and Steven's working at the snack shop." Jere says as the two of them bomb fists. "Oh, Belly, Deli, I almost forgot." Susannah grins, standing from her seat and walking to her purse. She pulls out two envelopes with both of our full names on them.

"I have a surprise for the two of you." She grins, handing them to us. I take it, confused. "So this is why you had to stop by the country club?" Laurel asks her. I quickly open mine. "What, uh, wh-wh-what is that?" Steven asks. I quickly read over the letter inside, my eyes widening.

"I wrangled both Belly and Deli invitations to be debutantes." Susannah beams. "Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?" Belly asks. "Well I think they do more than that Bells." I joke. "Yeah, but do they really?" She mutters in response.

Before I can say anything in reply Susannah elaborates. "It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I-I know it sounds silly, but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be apart of it. You both will make so many new friends." She tells us.

I grin. I've always been the more girly one of the two of us and this honestly sounds so fun. Besides, I think they also do charity stuff as well which I would definitely want to be apart of. I give half my funds that I make from playing gigs to charity.

I've raised almost $10,000 since I was 13. "I can't believe you're still holding onto this archaic dream." Laurel says, standing, and exiting the room, more likely than not, going to get another bottle of wine.

"No, it used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself, and it benefits charity. It's, um, like a bat mitzvah." Laurel returns, laughing.

"It is not like a bat mitzvah. There is nothing religious about a debutante ball." Laurel takes her seat and pours more wine into her glass. "The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep." Conrad says from the other end of the table. "Yeah." Jere agrees.

"No, it's not. It's when a girl has a coming out, it's a formal recognition that she's reached maturity." Steven busts out laughing. "Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. Mature?" He laughs. "Yes." "Belly and Deli?" "Mm-hmm."

"A-a couple months ago you two had a cat funeral. You made us all wear black." He teases. "Shut up Steve." Belly calls. "Besides, I saw you crying in your room so don't even start." I add, narrowing my eyes. "Wait, Mochi died? Dang. I'm sorry, Bells." Jere says.

"No, Nala died." Belly corrects, looking at me. "Oh." His eyes widen. I almost roll my eyes at how he immediately assumed that Mochi had died. Both Belly and I got Mochi and Nala from the same litter. My mom and Laurel got them when they were pregnant with us.

She meant a lot to me. "Belly, Deli." Susannah calls. We both look at her. "Don't you two want to get all dressed up?" She asks. "It's just not Belly's kind of thing. She's our feral little alley cat." Laurel says. All the boys laugh. "I'll think about it." Belly tells her with a tight smile.

"She'll think about it." Susannah grins before turning to me. "What about you Deli?" Everyone turns to me. "I mean, it would be good to network myself and my music." I say, shrugging. "That's a great way of looking at it Deli."

"I just...I have to think about it. I'll let you know tomorrow, ok?" She grins and nods, taking another sip of her wine, a triumphant look on her face.