Ever since I turned eighteen, I've been thinking a lot about falling in love. Did it happen like in the movies I watched? Girl meets boy. Boy sees girl and it's first love at first sight? And how did it feel? Would I feel butterflies in the pit of my stomach? Would I be obsessed with his voice, his touch, his smell? Would I fall rapidly and desperately for the boy I've only known for a couple of weeks? Would it wreck me? Leave me brokenhearted? I hope the latter. How does one fall in love? By accident? On purpose? I don't know, but I want to fall in love. I ache for the stories I read to become my reality. I ache so badly that I now feel it in my entire body. Love.
"Aria, are you ready to go?"
I look up from my journal and nod at Lila who is standing at my door carrying a clipboard in her hands. She's been my family's personal assistant since I was twelve. She is the youngest one who works for my family, and sadly one of two of my only friends. Being homeschooled didn't really give me a chance to meet people. Neither did being an only child.
"Your bags are already packed in the car. You will have approximately twenty minutes to eat your breakfast before we leave," she says before she closes my door and exits my room. I put my journal in my small handbag and make my way downstairs.
Like most days, the table is filled with plenty of food. Eggs, turkey bacon, fruits and pancakes rest on the breakfast table.
"Good Morning sweetheart," my dad greets me at the breakfast table as he reads the newspaper.
"Morning, daddy," I say kissing him on his cheek.
I sit at the table and my mom joins soon after.
We exchange greetings.
I blame not getting the chance to fall in love on my mom. She is the biggest love-block. She kept me homeschooled so I wouldn't be distracted, and busy with piano, violin, STEM, and tennis so I wouldn't have time to get into trouble. I think she was just scared that I'd get pregnant young and drop out of school like my aunt Kassidy, to who no one in the family speaks.
"Wow, slow down Ari. The food isn't going anywhere," my mom says in response to me stuffing my face.
"Why the rush babygirl?" My dad asks.
"Sorry, I'm just really excited to go to the beach house," I say.
My family and I go to the beach house every summer, except for last year. We didn't go because my grandmother got sick. Going to the beach house is the most fun I have throughout the year. The beaches are beautiful, the fairs are entertaining and my best friend Maddie lives nearby, so she visits often.
"Great, glad to hear. Oh and guess who will be accompanying us in the houses nearby?" My mom asks excitedly.
"Who?" I respond
"You remember Leonard, don't you? His father Joseph plays golf with your father on Sundays."
I nod, not fully understanding why I would be excited to see him. He is one of the boys who live in my neighbourhood. I've known him since I was little. We had many play dates when we were younger, and apparently, we were best friends. I remember him being such a nice kid. One time when we were forced to have a play date with Jordan Myers from next door. Jordan pulled my hair so hard that it made me cry. He then pushed me down because I was acting like a baby. Leonard pushed him so hard that he was the one crying like a baby. This wasn't the only time Leonard stood up for me. He was a nice kid till maybe about ten.
We grew up and hardly spoke. He went to the rich prep school that almost all the kids in the suburbs attended and I was home-schooled. The older he got, the more rebellious he became. He would steal from his parents and he got into a lot of trouble in and out of school, mostly in. The amount of money his dad had to give to the school to get him out of trouble is ridiculous. The only reason he never got expelled was because his dad practically paid to maintain the whole school. When the school needed a tech upgrade, it was his dad who bought the new laptops and iPads for the entire school. He probably bribed some of the teachers for marks. I wouldn't be surprised. He's also a man whore. He messed around with a few girls at the pool club, a few more from the school and a couple more in our neighbourhood. He acts like a spoiled snob who thinks he can get whatever he wants because his dad is wealthy and powerful. My dad is also wealthy and powerful in the community and I've never acted in such a disgraceful manner. Maddie filled me in on all the gossip since I was actually never around to witness any of it. She used to attend the prep school. She graduated last year then she moved near my beach house.
The last time I actually spoke to Leonard was sometime last year when we saw his family at a charity event. I was surprised by how sexist and dirty his jokes and comments were toward me. That day, I knew he was just how the rumours described him and nothing like the boy I used to know when we were little.
"Why is he accompanying us?" I ask my mother.
"Well he too wants to be a doctor and he's about the same age as you. It wouldn't hurt to rekindle your friendship from when you were younger and get to know him a bit more."
"Um... I guess?" I say as a slowly shrug.
"Good," she said. "This is so exciting. I feel like this is going to be a lovely summer."
When breakfast is done, we get ready to leave the house.
"Did you pack your advanced copy of Anatomy?" My dad asks me. "I know school hasn't started yet but it doesn't hurt to get ahead."
"Yes daddy, Lila has assured me that Margery packed it for me. Also Bioethics."
"That's my girl," he says as he kisses me on the forehead.
We get into the sedan and we depart. Our driver, Lance, whistles while he conducts. I roll down the window a few inches and plug my earphones in. I like listening to music while the wind blows on my face. I love the wind. I love how it is so light and free. It travels in different directions at different speeds. No matter how slow or how rapid the speed, it is never visible, however you can feel its presence. It's nowhere but everywhere at the same time. Sometimes I wish I could reincarnate and become the wind.
We drive hours before we finally arrive at the beach house. As soon as the car pulls up to the front door, I bolt out of the car and into the house. I run up the stairs and jump on my bed.
It feels nice to be here.
This beach house is almost as big as my home in Longwood Heights. Instead of seven rooms, it has five. Instead of eight bathrooms, there are only four. Even though my other house is bigger, I prefer this one. I can see the beach from my room and the weather here is a lot nicer. I look out my window and see the sun shining bright glistening over the bright blue waters. I smile. I lay on my bed and call Maddie. I sigh when she doesn't answer. I should have told her I was coming earlier. A knock on my door makes me jump. It's Margery.
"Hello miss Aria, is it okay if I drop off your luggage?."
"Sure Margery, bring it in."
She brings in the luggage and when she leaves, I immediately go digging for my bathing suit.
The first thing I always do when I get here is head to the beach. I put on my favourite blue bikini and wrap and stand in front of my long mirror. I step closer looking at my large gray eyes and my eyebrows which are a bit uneven. I go into my bag searching for my tweezer. Once I finally find it, I pluck it to perfection. I'm a perfectionist, with a little bit of OCD and the unevenness would definitely drive me crazy the entire day. When I finish, I head downstairs. I'm about to exit the door when my mother calls me.
"Aria! Darling, can you come here a second?"
I contemplate leaving and pretending I didn't hear her but I know that isn't the kind of person I am. Instead, I head to the kitchen.
"Look who's here!" She says in excitement.
I look to her left and Leonard is standing by her with a smug look on his face. His face makes me want to punch him.
"Nice, you really know how to rock a bikini," he says winking at me, staring almost exclusively at my breasts. My breasts are probably the biggest part of my body. Not gigantic like Marjory's but a good handful. Actually, the biggest thing on me is probably my hair. It's curly and thick and a hassle sometimes. It's probably good I don't go to high school because doing it everyday would probably give me a headache, especially because it had to look perfect. Or at the very least, symmetrical.
He continues to stare at me, his eyes examining my whole body. I quickly close my wrap which covers up my half-naked body. I look at him surprised that he said that in front of my mom and she didn't even flinch.
Even though I hate him, I have to admit that he is very attractive. He has deep bright blue eyes that remind me of the ocean and shaggy dirty blond hair, the colour of sand. He reminds me of the beach, and I love the beach.
"I was just heading to the beach," I say.
"Would you like me to accompany you?" Leonard asks.
I want to say no, but my mom keeps giving me signals, indicating that I should take him with me."Sure why not," I say.
"Great!" My mom says. "I'll see you two later. Have fun," she says before she leaves the kitchen.
"Alright, let's go," he says.
"Aren't you going to change first?" I ask, noticing he's not wearing proper beach attire.
"You're right," he says as he takes off his shirt. He then unbuttons his pants.
"Wha-what are you doing?"
"I'm changing," he says grinning at me.
I'm not surprised to see that he has a six-pack. What catches me by surprise is the bulge in his shorts that is distracting me from looking anywhere else. He doesn't mind me looking. In fact, he's loving how awkward this moment has become and how my eyes have remained glued to his private area.
"Would you like to see more?" He says to me.
I snap out of my thoughts and immediately look up at him.
"Ew, n-no," I say.
He smirks. "Ew? What, are you scared of it?"
"N-no," I stammer, not knowing how to react.
He comes closer and it makes me uncomfortable. He takes amusement in this.
"You've never seen one before, have you?"
"I-I uh, that's really none of your business." He comes in closer to me and I back up.
"Let's just go," I say as I storm towards the front door.
He trails behind me.