Natasha Conklin was sweet. Sweet like peaches in the summertime, sweet like vanilla buttercream and sunsets, pulsating through her body as if it had been injected in her bloodstream. But it was often said with much regret that she was a waste of a girl. Too much sweetness and beauty lost in stubbornness and half-hearted promises. Even when all the promises led to unforgettable memories in Cousins', North Carolina.

          The Conklins have been going to Susannah's Beach House in Cousins' every summer for as long as Natasha could remember. All year long, she counted the days until she was in that house, even though it was the same every summer, that's what she loved so much about it. She missed the sound of the seabirds, waves crashing on the shore, and the feeling of sand underneath her feet. It was a heavenly feeling, as if you were drifting away from a sick and twisted reality. But, on top of all the warm memories in the beach house, Natasha Conklin missed Susannah's boys the most.

          Conrad Fisher and Natasha Conklin spent every second of every day in the summer together, even though most of their conversations revolved around Isabel Conklin, and Conrad would be either drinking or smoking a cigarette half of the time. "She's Jeremiah's, not mine. What am I doing wrong, Tasha? Why doesn't she like me?"

          Drunken words are sober thoughts. Natasha knew her sister was madly in love with Conrad. He was attracted to her, always had been, even before her big glow up. The fucked up part was that Belly didn't know that Conrad liked her back and Natasha never had the guts to say anything, because a part of her hoped that the longer Conrad went without knowing that Belly liked him back, he would move on. Maybe, he would finally realize that the girl he wasted his days with was constantly looking at him through rose-tinted glasses.

          The best part about this summer in particular was that both Belly and Tasha looked different. Braces gone, hair styled differently, the list could go on and on. For lack of better words, they were close to unrecognizable. Even so, boys in school never looked at Natasha. Belly was the one they looked at. Maybe it was her long hair and perfect smile, or the fact that she played for the school's volleyball team. And despite Tasha being nothing short of a carbon copy of her (born on the same day just a year apart but how much of a difference does that make?), Isabel Conklin was the center of attention.

          "We're leaving in ten. Are you done packing?" Steven appeared at her bedroom door, leaning against the frame as his eyes roamed over her messy room, clothes thrown all over the place as the girl struggled to pack her suitcase with decent outfits to wear all summer. "Please tell me you're done. I don't want to sit next to Belly the entire trip, we'll just end up arguing the entire way to Susannah's." Tasha laughed at his seriousness and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, dragging it out the door and towards the car, where Steven's bags were already in the trunk. Belly followed shortly after, her best friend Taylor by her side.

          "Promise me you'll finally get with Conrad." She heard Taylor whispering to Belly and to avoid looking like she was eavesdropping, quickly got into the passenger's seat of the car. She hooked up her phone to the aux, scrolling through her Spotify account before clicking on a playlist. Anything to get her mind off of the inevitable relationship between Belly and Conrad.

          Laurel got into the backseat with Belly, who waved to Taylor one last time before closing the car door, and Steven got into the driver's seat, almost immediately starting the car and making their way towards Cousins'. Natasha didn't pay attention to the time, but Steven must've stopped at a gas station three-fourths of the way through their trip because the car needed gas. Tasha got out of the passenger's seat, slightly lightheaded from looking down at a book most of the ride. She placed a crumpled up receipt in the book (The Secret History, a road trip classic she would bring with her every summer) to hold her place and made her way into the gas station store. She picked up a pack of spearmint gum and picked through the refrigerator for a drink, her ring adorned fingers running over the multitude of soft drinks, completely unaware of the cashier looking at her from behind the counter.

          "Are you new this summer?" Natasha spun around looking at the cashier, a boy around her age. He was good-looking, there was no doubt about that, but there was something about him that made Natasha feel like she shouldn't respond. "No, I'm on vacation." She awkwardly continued looking at the selection of drinks.

          "Really? I thought I knew every pretty girl in Cousins" Natasha chuckled softly at this comment, finally realizing the boy's intentions. But a part of her enjoyed it, the attention that she would never have gotten from boys at her school. Attention that would've gone to Belly. "Are you coming to the bonfire tonight? First of the season." She shook her head as a kind of maybe.

          "Come, I'll introduce you to some of my friends." He looked Tasha up and down whilst scanning her items. The girl played with the rings on her fingers, twisting them from side to side, drumming her fingers against the counter, handing a ten dollar bill to the cashier.

          "Maybe I will." She gave him a little smile, barely holding eye contact. Laurel came up beside her, greeting her with a strong side hug. "After we get settled, you want to go to Whale of a Tale with me so I can pre-sign stock before the signing tomorrow?" She looked at her daughter, a grin spread across her face as if she knew exactly what she was doing. "Remember how you used to sit on my lap when I did signings there? You insisted on drawing a little whale on every book I signed."

          "No, I don't remember that." Natasha threw her mom a death stare before looking back at the boy, who was now looking from Tasha to Laurel, concerned. He handed Natasha her change before saying cautiously, "I'll see you later."

          "What's later?" Laurel looked after Natasha who was already walking towards the door in an attempt to escape from the situation. "Nothing." She got into the passenger's seat once again, immediately reapplying a clear lip gloss to her lips and combing her fingers through her hair. Her eyes wandered to the boy, looking at him through the windows of the gas station. She felt the others get into the car but her gaze never wavered.

✿

          Natasha couldn't help but grin upon seeing Susannah's house, in all its glory. The car pulled up in the driveway and Steven honked the horn, letting the Fisher's know that they had arrived. Natasha tumbled out of the car, a little too fast, she got lightheaded, taking a deep breath of the oh so familiar sea salt air. She heard a faint "they're here" coming from inside to the house, shortly followed by Jeremiah Fisher rushing out the door, arms spread, engulfing Steven in a hug.

          "What's up?" The two boys engaged in their usual banter and Natasha looked at them, smiling. "Hi. Oh, my god!" Laurel stepped out of the back seat, walking towards Jeremiah and hugged him gently. "Hello!" He greeted her respectfully, much unlike his encounter with Steven. "Long time no see." Susannah appeared at the door of her house, running up to Laurel and hugging her tightly.

          "You've been going to the gym, bro?" Steven asked Jermiah as they looked at each other up and down. Belly exited the car last, hesitantly looking at Jeremiah before she beamed, smiling from ear to ear and displaying her brace-free teeth. Natasha watched Jeremiah focus his attention on the girl, making eye contact before chuckling and rushing towards her.

          "Look who came back all grown up." Belly did a little shuffle towards the boy, and he lifted her up into a bear hug, making her quite literally squeal. "Put me down!" Jeremiah did as she asked, finally looking towards Natasha and waving. The two had never been extremely close, not as close and Tasha was to Conrad, but nevertheless, they were like family, and Natasha waved back, mouthing a quick "hello" before Steven took over Jeremiah's attention once again.

          "Jere! Jere, Jere, Jere! Come over here! Come on!" Steven pulled Jeremiah along with him, and Natasha made her way to the trunk, grabbing her luggages and turning back towards the house, just in time to see a tall figure walking towards her as he fixed the sweater he was wearing around his shoulders. His eyes were glued to the floor, watching his feet move across the pebbled steps, but Tasha couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

          Conrad didn't change much since last summer, but that didn't take away from the fact that he was extremely good looking. He looked up, smiling slightly, his eyes met Tasha's, and the girl swore she saw his smile falter when he saw how different she looked. He rubbed his eyes and within a second, Natasha was in his arms. He embraced her with just as much, if not more, love, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around, laughing as if he hadn't seen her in ages (which was partially true considering that the school year felt like a century). And when he finally let go, his eyes scanned her figure, as if trying to memorize her new appearance. When he spoke, Tasha swore it was like angels singing a honeyed melody.

          "I miss your glasses." He held her close, as if she would disappear if he let go. Natasha scrunched up her nose, the highlighter in the corners of her eyes shimmering in the sunlight. "Too bad, I like myself better without them." They remained staring at each other, completely in a trance until loud voices caught their attention.

          "Hey, hey, guys, guys. I don't know about you ... but I think it's time for a ... Belly Flop!" Jeremiah and Steven spoke together, smiling maniacally before running towards Belly, seizing her by the waist before she had a chance to escape. Natasha looked at Conrad with a knowing expression, and the boy returned it, grabbing her hand and rushing behind the others, attempting to get a proper hold of Belly. The four carried her to the pool at the back of the beach house, shouting nonsense as they did so. "Right here, right here. Ready? One, two, three!" They swung the girl back and forth before tossing her in the pool, clutching their chests as they witnessed the girl splashing around, her clothes and hair now soaked.

          "Let's go inside." Conrad motioned to Tasha, asking her to accompany him inside and the girl nodded, following him. The last thing she heard was another splash before going up the stairs behind Conrad. Natasha walked down the hallway to her room, the one next to Conrad's, just as it had always been. She walked in, and was immediately greeted with familiar memories. The soft green wallpaper and white decor was the same as it had always been. The picture of her and Conrad sat on her nightstand from last summer when they had gone surfing together and Tasha couldn't help but smile at the memory.

          "Hey." Tasha jumped slightly, having gotten lost in her thoughts. She turned to look at Conrad, who stood leaning against her door frame, his signature smile plastered across his face. "You're coming to the bonfire tonight, right?" It was supposed to be a question, but it came off as more of an implied "you are coming".

          "I wouldn't miss it."