folklore; conrad fisher

12: babybel

The following day, Steven and I woke up early to go to the beach. We walked down the trail as Steven began recounting the events of the previous night to me. Apparently, that big idiot had lost all of the money he'd earned this Summer in a poker match against Shayla's friends. Steven was freaking out, because he could no longer afford a nice tuxedo to wear to the deb ball, and he had no idea how to tell Shayla the news. I offered to cover half of it, so long as he promised to pay me back, but Steven refused. He'd rather just own up to his mistakes, which was quite the mature option for the boy to choose.

As we laid down our beach towels, Steven finally brought up our little 'taboo' subject: Conrad Fisher. I could lie to everyone at Cousin's Beach, but not Steven. I ended up telling him everything. The secret meetings, how we lied to our other family members, and how we told each other how we felt last night. Of course, I left out the bits about Susannah, as I had no right to spread that information to anyone. Steven wiggled his eyebrows, excited to hear how this romance was playing out between Conrad and I.

I jabbed his arm, "It's not a romance."

"It totally is. Hello, late night meetings? That's so cute."

"Right, cute." I laughed.

He rolled his eyes, "Listen. You two are my favorite people. There's nothing I'm going to love more than seeing the both of you realize you've had feelings for each other all of this time."

"Realize?"

"Oh please," Steven grinned, "Nearly every time we'd call, you'd ask how Conrad was doing. He'd do the same. It's obvious the two of you thought about one another a lot over the past few years."

I knew Conrad had already given me verbal confirmation that I was in his mind throughout our time apart, but hearing it from Steven was a whole other thing. This wasn't something I made up, it was real. This was happening. Conrad and I were happening

"Alright, stop cheesing you big loser," Steven teased, causing my cheeks to burn up "Let's go swimming."

Steven grabbed me by the arm before running towards the ocean. We jumped inside its cool waters as a wave crashed onto the shore. We swum further in, until our feet couldn't reach the ground any longer. We splashed one another as we treaded water underneath us, roughhousing until we were out of breath, unable to keep ourselves up for any longer.

I'd never understood how I had gotten so lucky to meet someone like Steven. He truly was my best friend.

We picked up our towels, now full of sand, and shook them for a bit before tucking them underneath our arms. Steven and I, still wet, made our way up the path to the backyard. By the time we got back, the air had sufficiently dried us. Conrad was outside, sitting on one of the pool chairs and reading Kafka. Steven smirked at me as he snatched my towel and took it inside to wash, leaving me alone with Conrad.

He gave me a small wave, and then gestured for me to come over. I sat at the end of his chair, cross-legged. He got up and rubbed my knee, a gesture that seemed friendly enough to the unknowing observer, but meant so much more to the two of us.

"What're you doing tonight?" He asked.

"Nothing. You?"

"I thought we could hang out. Meet me right here in the evening."

I was a bit confused by these vague plans, but I agreed anyway. The thrill of seeing Conrad for a secret meeting was enough to make me happy to go along with whatever plan he had. I spent the rest of my day lounging around the house alone. Conrad left to do errands for Susannah, who was getting mani-pedis with Laurel. Belly, Jeremiah, and Steven were all busy with debutante practice. Steven ran a bit late after our morning swim, but he assured me it would be 'worth the death stares from Shayla.'