Summer at the Cottage

chapter 1

        The car ride to the cottage was long and boring with nothing but empty fields and boring mountains painted across the highway, but it was worth the 6-hour drive from Seattle. We went to Kelowna every summer and we as in our whole family plus my brother Lucas and I were each allowed to bring a friend. This year we had to take two cars because we were staying for the whole summer. Me, my mom and Kate, my best friend, were in one car with all of the clothes and beach gear so it was pretty squishy, but we survived, blasting 5 Seconds Of Summer the whole way there.

         When we arrived at the cottage it was around lunchtime, Mom always liked to get an early start so we had left at some inhumane hour in the morning, but that was the routine, so we stuck to it.

         “Alright everyone, we’re here, so start unpacking the car! The faster we’re settled the faster you can eat lunch!!!” Mom announced whilst stretching out her arms and legs. Everyone quickly got to work with unpacking the 2 Jeeps and getting everything into the cottage.

         I had always loved the cottage, it was so much bigger and nicer than our house, probably because we only needed to pay rent when we were actually there. I grab my duffel bags and hike up the stairs to my bedroom, it’s the second biggest with huge glass windows and even the tiniest little patio looking onto the water. When I walk in my eyes close and I take a deep breath, we’re finally here, 3 months of stress free living, relaxing and of course, partying! The house 4 doors down throws crazy parties and there are almost always cute boys there.

         “Brynn come help Kate with her stuff!” my mom calls from downstairs, “Coming mom!!!” I meet Kate halfway up the staircase and take one of her bags.

         “I have a queen bed so we can just share and you can put your stuff over-“ Kate drops her bag and immediately rushes over to the balcony, she starts to flail her arms and motions me over towards her “oh my god, do you see him, do you see that guy over there?!” She points over to the cottage next door to us, there’s a boy that seems about our age sitting on the dock. “It’s kind of far away to tell don’t you think?” I say, snapping Kate out of her daze, the boy must’ve heard us because he looks around and then spots us on the balcony and waves; we wave back and rush into the house. “He is definitely going to be your summer hook up” Kate collapses onto my bed “sure he is..,” I roll my eyes and we both erupt in a fit of laughter.

         By the time Kate and I have unpacked our stuff, everyone else is finished unpacking the car so we head downstairs for lunch.

         “I’m going to do a grocery run, be back in an hour!” Mom yells from the kitchen and she scoots out the door as Dad follows. “I’m so hungry I’m going to die” I mumble, Kate rolls her eyes and gazes out the window that hangs overtop of the sink, “I think we should go talk to that guy, and by we I mean you.” She turns around with a smirk on her face, and she drags me upstairs.

        Kate and I both freshen up. I brush my hair, touch up my makeup and change into a more presentable outfit. “What are you wearing?!” Kate yells from the bedroom “A bikini and then shorts and a t-shirt!” I yell back, she might’ve yelled something back but I couldn’t hear because of all the drawers being pulled open and closet door slamming open and closed. “Okay I’m ready,” she grins and we run downstairs.

         “what are we going to do, go over there and be like ‘we stalked you from our balcony you’re hot, make my babies’?!” I exclaimed “No stupid, just follow my lead” Kate pushes open the back door and walks out onto the patio. Coincidentally there’s a small path between both of our cottages. It’s a nice day, not a cloud in the sky and the water glimmers as people swim, boat and fish their day away. We are almost at the end of the path when I stop Kate, “can we just go swimming or something, I want to decorate our walls” “you’re crazy, I didn’t say anything before but I think that’s Nash Grier…” and suddenly--- nothing changes.

         “Who is that again? Some twitter famous guy?” Kate is obviously annoyed, she always talks about Nash, Cameron, Carter and whoever the other guys are, but I never quite understood the obsession. Only like 3 of them were attractive anyways and as far as I was concerned a couple of them were quite rude. Cameron was Kate’s favourite, she constantly talks about him and she was convinced he was in love with her after he followed her twitter account. Whenever she showed me pictures I always noticed one with bright blue eyes, he was a cute, but I never thought I would have a chance with him, I mean he has like over a million girls at his beck and call, but here he was,  at the cottage next door. “

         “It’s vine first of all, and second of all that’s the one with the blue eyes, that you like.” “It’s not like I have a chance with him, and I’m not the prettiest girl in the world, he has like a million girls to choose from I hardly know his name” Kate sighs and continues walking on the path. When we break from the path Nash is still on the dock so we decide to go over and say hi, well Kate decides.

         It’s not until we get closer that I realize how attractive he is, and then I can’t speak. It’s not that his beauty overwhelms me; I’ve just never been good at talking to boys. One time in 7th grade I went to the fair and met up with some friends who were supposedly hooking me up with this guy and as soon as I saw him I turned my back to him and started talking to my friend, I completely ignored him the whole night. Let’s just say it didn’t end well…

         “Hey!” Kate calls and Nash turns towards us, he stands up and starts heading back from the end of the dock. “I’m Kate and this is Brynn, we’re just at the cottage next door and wanted to say hi” she smiles. Nash is actually really tall, which surprises me because almost every meet and greet Kate has taken me to, all the boys had been shorter than me. I wasn’t overly tall but I guess I wasn’t short either, at 5’9 it was hard to find a guy that liked tall girls these days.

         “Hi, I’m Nash”