my 'the summer i turned pretty'

the beginning of it all

as i've previously said, jeremiah has always come first.

i didn't see the boys as much as now when i was younger. we usually only saw each other once or twice a year. but the first memory i have of my jeremiah also just so happened to be the day time i realized i liked him.

Sometime around 2010-2012:

i think i was about four or five at the time and it was the fourth of july. our families always, always got together to celebrate. it would always be at his house and us kids would play in little kiddie pools and play in their backyard playground while the parents talked in the kitchen.

i remember jeremiah being obsessed with unlocking doors at the time. he would always show me how cool he was since he could unlock the doors even if they were locked on the outside. he would grab the key and unlock it right in front of me to show off his talents.

i was changing into my bathing suit when i heard the door knob moving. i immediately knew that it was jeremiah. 'stop!' i said, but he continued to come in. so i hid behind the shower curtain while he chased me around the bathroom.

thinking back to it, it was a little weird, but that's just how we've always been. he was the trickster always playing tricks on me. and us laughing together. it was our friendship. we were always so comfortable with each other when we were younger.

i did end up telling his mom when we got back upstairs and they had a little talk..... but everything was fine after that. he didn't get mad at me for telling, and we acted like it had never happened.

that night while watching fireworks, we ran inside to grab cups of chips for the show. i was about to grab a cup when he told me it was okay and that we could just share his.

my heart skipped a beat.

and then we went back outside and sat together sharing a blanket and chips, watching the sky as we watched the fireworks. exactly what he made me feel that day.

and that was it. it was jeremiah, the first boy to make me feel this way. the first boy that shared his food with me. the first boy i have ever shared a blanket with. the first boy i have ever liked,

and i guess you could say, the first boy i have ever loved.