"Knock it off, Cam! I'm sleeping!" he groans out, his voice raspy.
"Get your lazy butt up! It's summer, and you're sleeping. What's wrong with you?" I roll my eyes, somehow managing to jump so high I nearly touch the ceiling.
"Exactly.” He pulls the blanket over his head, curling into the fetal position. "It's the first day of summer vacation, which means we should both sleep in."
"It's noon! You've slept enough. Now, get up. We're going to the lake today." I reach down, grip the blanket, and force it down from his face. His arm reaches out, and he grabs my ankle, pulling me down onto the bed on my back. Laughter flows freely from my open mouth.
Dean's hands grip my waist as he pulls me closer to him, raises the blanket, and covers us both.
"Stop, we're not sleeping. Come on, get up!" His only response is a groan. "Fine. Your choice." I reach across to his nightstand, take the half-empty water bottle, unscrew the lid, and pour it over his head. If he's going to waste his day sleeping, that's what he gets.
"Camille!" he yells, jumping out of bed, shaking his wet head of hair at me. Droplets of water land on my cheeks, causing me to laugh even harder.
"Oh good, you're up. Get ready. We're leaving in five minutes." I lie back on the bed, put my hands behind my head, and cross my legs. His furious hazel eyes look me over, but he eventually disappears into the bathroom.
While Dean is getting ready, I run downstairs searching for Lydia, finding her in the kitchen as always.
"What are you two doing today?" she asks once she spots me. She's leaning over in front of the oven, removing a tray of delicious-smelling cookies. My mouth waters from the sweet aroma. She's so like my mom, always having freshly baked goodies around.
"We're going to the lake with Spencer and Dallas. My parents are at the country club today," I explain, earning a sweet smile from Dean's mom, who has become my second mother in the few years I've known them.
"I'm meeting your parents there later when Paul gets home. I'll be sure to tell them you said hi.” She reaches toward me and rubs a thumb across my cheek. "Come on, let's make some lunch for you four then." She disappears into the pantry, returning with a large picnic basket seconds later. She sets it on the marble island, then walks around to the fridge and takes out all the ingredients for sandwiches.
Side by side, we make sandwiches and pack veggies, cookies, and water.
Lydia's loading all our food into the picnic basket just as Dean comes into the kitchen dressed in black swim shorts and a white T-shirt. He takes a warm cookie from the baking sheet and hugs his mother goodbye.
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye, Lydia. We'll be home around dinner time."
"Okay, kids. Be safe and have fun. Call if you need anything." Dean and I nod in sync, and he carries the picnic basket next door to my house.
"There you are. Let's go!" Spencer yells from where she's standing and waiting with her boyfriend, Dallas, in our driveway. She's not sixteen yet, but our parents like Dallas, so they agreed to them dating because she will be sixteen in a few weeks. I asked Mom if I could date Dean since they like him, but they both said no.
It's totally unfair. I can't date, but Spencer can. I wonder if they’d change their mind if they knew that Dean and I kissed. I make a mental note to ask my sister for her advice later.
She's the best big sister. She always gives great advice, and I know she’ll steer me in the right direction.
Dallas is sixteen and has his license. His parents bought him a car, so he came over today to drive us to the lake. He takes the picnic basket from Dean and places it in the trunk next to the cooler of drinks he brought. Once all four of us are buckled, we set off for the lake.
Luckily for us,there aren’t many people at the lake. Since today is the first day of summer break, I thought there would be a lot of other kids from school here, but there's no one. It's great because I'm not too fond of crowds.
There are only a few other people here that I can see, but they're not in our area. Dallas opens the trunk of his car to allow us access to the swimming supplies, food, and drinks. He and Spence grab a few pool noodles and run off together.
Dean and I opt for the inflatable floats, but blowing them up takes forever because Dallas forgot the air pump.
Such a dumbass.
I give up about halfway through blowing mine up, but lucky for me, Dean takes over and finishes it. Once they're both fully inflated, we're ready to roll.
Dean holds both of our floats, one under each arm, and walks toward the water. I'm ready to follow him when I remember something and pause. "Wait, we need sunscreen first." I remove my tank top and shorts, revealing the hot pink bikini that Spencer let me borrow. It's a little big in the chest, and we had to tie it a few times to fit me since I don't have boobs yet like she does.
Once, I overheard Dallas say on the phone that he likes her boobs. Thankfully she didn't know I was listening in on her conversation. In my defense, I had picked up the landline to call Dean, unaware that she and Dallas were on it doing something called phone sex. I hung up after Dallas’s boobs comment.
But now I wonder when I'll get boobs, and when I do, will Dean like them?
Shaking the thought away, I grab the bottle of sunscreen from the car. Last summer, I got a horrible sunburn, so I'm not taking any chances this time. Waving the white sunscreen bottle in the air, I yell out to Dean, "Can you lotion up my back, please?"