A Santa Cruz Summer

Chapter 1 - Greetings and Meetings

"Are we there yet?" Julia's whiny voice next to me distracts me from my music. I quickly take my headphones out, abruptly ending the song. My little sister Julia is leaning forward against her seatbelt towards the front seat where our parents sit. Her wavy blonde hair is braided to the side and I smile. I'll never get tired of doing her hair.

"Nearly, honey. Just 10 more minutes or so," my mom replies as she smiles at us. We're in the car on the way to our grandparents' beach home in Santa Cruz, California. They're filthy rich but very generous. Almost every summer we go up to their second home. Last year was an exception, though. My best friend Anna's mom had been really sick for a while, and we there was no way we could leave them to deal with her cancer by themselves. This year, however, they are doing great, and Anna is even coming with us for the whole summer! We're going to be seniors next year, so we want to enjoy our last carefree summer before worrying about colleges.

I nudge Anna, who is passed out next to me, her mouth open a little bit. We've been best friends since fifth grade, and she's practically another daughter to my parents. I'm just as close with hers, and sometimes I feel like they really are my parents.

"Psst, Anna. We're here, chica." One of our habits is to say certain words in Spanish. Last year when her mom was in the hospital, we got so good at Spanish that we could have entire conversations. Not so much anymore.

"Hmm?"

"Anna. We're almost there." I whack her arm and she flinches, then sits up, rubbing her eyes. I turn to look out the window over Julia's head and sigh in happiness. It feels like forever since the last time I was here, and I'm really glad to be back. Santa Cruz is absolutely beautiful. I admire the hustle and bustle of the streets as we pass shop after shop. I crane my neck to look at the palm trees and see the clear, bright blue sky.

We drive out of downtown and down a more secluded road. By the time we reach my grandparents' driveway, Julia, Anna, and I are practically bouncing in our seats of excitement.

"Bridget, we're almost there!!" Julia squeals, clapping her hands. I grin, tempted to clap and giggle myself.

The minute the car is parked, I push Anna out of the car and scramble out after her. Anna immediately turns to the house and stares in awe. I follow her eyes and nod in admiration myself. The three-storey (well, four if you include the basement) building is painted a light gray and must have at least twenty bedrooms. A balcony juts out over the front door, and there are a few golf carts parked to the side of the driveway. Seashells are dotted all around the manicured garden and a stone path winds around the side of the house to the back. Like I said, they're filthy rich. I let out a low whistle of appreciation.

"I know I'm attractive, you don't need to whistle at me." What? I focus my eyes on the front door to find a boy about our age standing there. He has light brown hair that falls across his forehead (now, don't get the wrong idea, he does NOT look like Justin Bieber) and even from here I can see green eyes. Wait. Green eye. The other one is a pale blue. Woah, that's cool, I think before remembering I don't even know who he is or why he's in Gramma and Pop's house. I wrinkle my nose in confusion.

"Who are you?"

"I am Nick, mi señorita bonita." He sends a flirty wink my way and I blush against my will.

"Okay, 'Nick,' but why are you at Gramma and Pop's house?" I ask, determinedly staring into his eyes and not at his perfect jawline. Geez, that thing could hurt somebody, it's so sharp. No! Stop, Bridget, geez.

"Gramma and Pop?" He raises his eyebrows. "That's cute."

"Oh, so what do you call your grandparents then?" Anna suddenly butts in. Whoops, I totally forgot she was there. Apparently Nick didn't notice her either, because he turns his eyes to her in surprise.

"Umm, Mema and Gramps." he mumbles, a blush creeping up his cheeks. Anna snorts.

"Aw, that's cute."

"Shut up." He regains his cockiness immediately and huffs. "You know, I came out to help with your bags, but I guess if you don't want help I'll just go back inside." He turns around to leave and my eyes widen. Crap. I brought so much stuff.

"Wait!" I call out, "We'll be nice, but please help us?" I fold my hands together hopefully as he pivots slowly.

"Fine, fine. Whatever." Nick rolls his eyes and walks to the trunk.

Julia and my parents have gotten their things out of the trunk and the backseat so all that's left is Anna's and my bags. We all pick up two bags and head inside the glamorous mansion.

"Dang, this is nice." Anna says, admiring the entrance of the house. It opens up into a giant first floor with a completely open floor plan. From the door we can see the kitchen and the living room, with only a few walls around certain areas. Suddenly I spy my grandparents in the kitchen, my grandma cutting something up and my grandpa reading a newspaper at the island.

"Gramma! Pop!" I drop my bags and run over to them with my arms out.

"Oh darling, you're here!" Gramma quickly puts the knife down and rushes to meet me in the middle of the room. She gives me in a bear hug and I inhale her breezy perfume. I let go after a minute and turn to my grandfather. For his age, he is surprisingly mobile and active. He claims that he still surfs, but I don't know if I believe that. He does still jetski, though. I give him a warm smile and wrap my arms around him.

"Hi, Pops. How're you holding up?"

"Even better now that my two favorite granddaughters are here." He gives me a wink and a kiss on the cheek before heading over to Julia. I laugh; Julia and I are his only granddaughters.

As I watch Anna and the rest of my family greet my grandparents, my eyes wander to Nick. I still have yet to figure out who he is and why he's here. Is he a neighbor maybe? No, that house has been empty forever. But could someone have moved in?

"I see you have all met Nick," Pops says and I suddenly snap my head up. Mystery boy no longer. Suck on that, Nick.

"He's the grandson of my best friend, Paul. Paul and his wife, Alicia, are here for the summer as well and Nick decided to tag along." my grandpa continues as I study Nick. Dang, he's really hot. He looks about 6'3", which is actually pretty close to my 6'0" frame. He isn't what I would say buff, but his simple white V-neck shirt accentuates his biceps and I can even see the outline of his 6-pack through his shirt. Actually, he kind of looks like Josh Henderson, only taller. My eyes travel up his body and get to his face. He's smirking and looking right at me. Me, who is currently checking him out. He saw me check him out for like, five minutes. Crap. I blush furiously and look at my grandma, who is explaining where Paul and Alicia are.

"They went out for lunch and will be back at about 2:00." Ah. Good to know I only have an hour or so until the grandparents of the smoking hot dude who saw me check him out will be here. Yippee-kay-ay.

"Hey, Bridge, do you wanna put our stuff upstairs?"Anna asks me, nudging me and giving me a knowing look. Oh no. She just saw all of that. Great. I smile, grateful that she's doing what she can to get me out of this awkward situation.

"Definitely."

"Great, I'll come with." Oh, no. I groan inwardly as Nick slings a bag over his shoulder and stands next to me.

"Well?" He asks, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. I sigh and trudge up the long staircase.

Soon enough we reach my room, or at least the one I always stay in. I throw open the door and what I see makes me gasp in surprise.

A/N: My first chapter!! Yay this is so cool. It's not great and the ending could be better but it's alright. That's why I'm posting the first two chapters at the same time, haha. Also, if I'm being honest, I had no idea who Josh Henderson was before starting this story. My bad. Hope you liked it!