I woke up surprisingly early the next morning. Aidan was laying in his bed, half covered. The clock read 6:45. I threw on my swimsuit, and over that, a pair of khaki shorts and a gray longsleeved Arizona State University shirt that belonged to Aidan. I put on a pair of sandals and I quietly walked out the door. It was a little chilly. It still didn't fail me to be surprised at how much colder it was around a lake. I walked through the grounds and found myself at the swimming pool deck. Nobody was in there. I wondered where Max was. I propped my arm up on the railing and I rested my chin in my hand. I became absorbed in my thoughts. I then felt two wet hands grab my sides. I jumped, then whirled around. It was Max, grinning, his sun streaked hair matted down from the water, a towel wrapped around his waist, still wearing that rawhide necklace.
"Fancy meeting you here," Max said.
"Likewise," I replied.
"Did I scare you?"
"Nope," I replied, lying through my teeth.
"Yeah," he said.
"Where were you?" I asked him.
"Had to get some goggles," he said. "Gotta do some laps."
"That's cool," I said. "I have no reason why I woke up so early."
"Think we could continue this conversation in the pool? I'm freezing," Max said.
"Awww, this is why you wear warm clothes," I said teasingly.
"You're funny," he said, grinning. He headed down to the pool area, and I followed him. He went to the deeper end and he dove in. I took off my sandals and I stuck my feet in. The water was freezing cold! I kicked my feet around a little. Max came up from a lap, and he grabbed my feet. A second later, I was in the pool with him, clothes and all. I came back up and brushed the water out of my eyes.
"MAX!" I yelled, laughing. I jumped on his back and he tried to duck me off. He didn't succeed, but he was laughing.
"Gotcha," he said. "I didn't wreck your clothes, did I?" he asked.
"Nah, these shorts are okay to get wet, and this is Aidan's shirt," I said. "I have a swimsuit on underneath."
"Okay," he said. I took my shirt and shorts off and set them by my shoes. I jumped back in, practically right on top of Max. When I came back up, Max shoved me back down. We wrestled in the water for awhile. We came up, gasping and laughing.
"Mike and I do this back home," I said.
"Who's Mike?" Max asked.
"Oh, he's my friend back home. My best friend, actually," I said.
"A boyfriend?" he asked me.
"Well, we've kissed before, but nothing ever really came out of it," I answered.
"Oh, okay," he said. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
"Nope," I responded. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Nope," he said. A slightly awkward silence filled the air.
"I should probably get back," I said. "My family's probably wondering where I am."
"All right," he said. We got out of the pool. I put my sandals on. Max gave me his towel.
"It's only fair, I did force you in," he said.
"Thanks," I said, wrapping the towel around me. "I'll run it back to you today."
"That's cool," he said. We stood around for a few seconds. "The question I asked you, if you had a boyfriend, I didn't mean it to amount to anything," he said.
"Oh, that's okay, it's no big deal," I said. "My question didn't imply anything, I hope."
"No, it didn't," he responded back just as quickly. We stood around for a few more seconds.
"Well, see ya around," he said.
"Yeah, bye," I said. Still, neither of us left.
"Want me to walk you?" Max asked.
"Okay," I replied. We walked back to my place, talking as if we were long lost friends. Max was telling me about some things that he does in Kansas City, Missouri. He told me about how swimming went this year, and I told him about some of the things that I do. We finally reached my place, even though we took our time getting there.
"I'll catch you later today," Max said. "Maybe we can go out on the lake or something."
"That'd rock!" I said.
"I better go with you, I don't want you to fall in again," he said with a grin on his face.
"Real funny, Smacks!" I said to him. He grinned back.
"What time do you want to meet?" he asked. I glanced at my watch. 8:45.
"How about at 10:00 this morning?" I asked.
"Perfect. See ya later," he said.
"Bye," I said. I headed inside. Everybody was up.
"Where have you been?" Mom asked.
"Swimming," I replied.
"With who?" Dad asked.
"A friend that I met," I replied.
"Max?" Aidan asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"When did you meet Max?" Mom asked.
"When I was at the dock yesterday," I replied. "He's a nice guy, don't worry," I said.
"Okay," Mom and Dad replied. I headed downstairs to pull on some dry clothes. I came back upstairs a few minutes later and I started to eat a bowl of cereal when there was a knock at our door. I got up to answer it. Taylor was standing outside of it.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked.
"Not much," I mumbled through my mouthful of cereal.
"Very attractive," he said. I swallowed.
"But isn't it?" I asked. I headed back to the table and started to eat my cereal again. Taylor sat across from me.
"What do you want to do today?" he asked me.
"Well, I'm going to do something with a friend of mine that I met today, but you can come if you want," I said.
"All right," Taylor said. "What time are you guys meeting?"
"10:00," I responded.
"This evening?"
"Yeah Sherlock, ten o'clock this evening. We're meeting him at 10:00 in the morning."
"Oh, that makes more sense," Taylor said.
"You're smart," I said as I ate the last spoonful of my cereal.
"I'm beautiful, too," he said.
"Gee, you're not conceited," I replied as I rinsed out my cereal bowl.
"I just speak the truth!" he insisted.
"Go blow it out your ass--k your parents if you'll be allowed to go," I said as I saw my mom come in the room.
"Nice save, Grace," she said, giving me a look. "What are your plans for today?"
"Taylor and I are going to meet Max and do something with him."
"Okay, but be careful," she said.
"All right," I promised.
"I'll make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, aunt Katherine," Taylor promised.
"Thanks, Taylor," Mom said, grinning.
"I love you too," I replied to my mom. She grinned back at me.
"I know you do," she said.
"Bye!" we yelled to Mom as we walked out the door. We headed down our steps.
"It's only 9:30 now," Taylor said. "We have a half hour."
"What are Isaac and Zac doing?"
"Isaac went somewhere with Dad, Zac was still sleeping when I left."
"Gotcha," I replied.
"Where's Aidan?" he asked.
"He's already at the pool," I replied.
"What's going on at the pool?" Taylor asked.
"Aidan thinks if he gets there earlier, he'll have first crack at all the 'chicks' there," I said dryly.
"Hmm...that's a good idea..." Taylor said. I jabbed him with my elbow.
"Or not," he added, rubbing his arm.
"Baby," I said. Taylor started to chase me. I started running as fast as I could, until Taylor tackled me. We crashed to the ground, laughing.
"Gotcha," he said, grinning. We got up and brushed ourselves off.
"Do you have your swimming suit on?" I asked him.
"Nope," he replied.
"Neither do I. We should probably go change into them," I said.
"Yeah, that'd be a good idea," Taylor admitted. We walked back to our rooms and we changed. I grabbed a towel and put on clothes over my suit. The sandals came back onto my feet. I met Taylor outside. He had on his orange swimming trunks, a gray Old Navy trademark shirt, sunglasses, and carried his own towel in his hand.
"Wonderful," I replied. I checked my waterproof watch. 9:55.
"Lets head to the pool, that's where we're meeting my friend," I said.
"Cool," Taylor replied. We started walking over.
"So, Grace, what does your friend look like?"
"Well, my friend has brown hair with some blond streaks from the sun, hazel eyes, pretty well tan, and pretty tall," I replied.
"Cool," Taylor replied.
"Is that your word of the day?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Time to change it," I said.
"Okay," he replied.
"You're such a dork," I replied, rolling my eyes. We reached the pool. I looked around for Max. He wasn't there yet.
"Is your friend here?" Taylor asked, scanning the group for someone who fit the description of my friend.
"Nope," I said. We waited a few moments.
"Is that her?" Taylor asked, pointing to a girl who could have fit the description.
"No, actually my friend is--" I saw Max running over. He finally stopped in front of us.
"Hey Grace," he said grinning. "That's gotta be Taylor, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "Taylor, Max, Max, Taylor."
"Hey," Max said.
"Hi," Taylor said. He looked a little surprised. I guess he thought I made friends with a girl.
"So, what's the plans for today?" I asked.
"Well, if you want to go out on the lake, we have two jet ski's here," Max said, motioning to the dock. "Anybody interested?"
"I am," we said immediately.
"Awesome," Max said, grinning. He walked next to me, and we talked the whole way down there. We finally got to the spaces where Max's family kept their jet ski's.
"Do either of you two know how to drive one of these?" he asked.
"Nope, it's my first time," I said.
"I've driven one similar to this one," Taylor replied.
"Okay, I'll take you out first, Taylor, since it won't take as long, then you can drive that one by yourself and I'll teach Grace," Max said.
"That's cool," I replied. Taylor and Max put on life jackets. Max got on first, then Taylor got on. Taylor wrapped his arms around Max.
"Sorry," he said.
"Taylor, I didn't know you were like that!" Max said jokingly. They drove off, and Taylor waved. I watched them as far as I could, then I dangled my feet into the water. I splashed my feet around for a few minutes, then the guys were back.
"All right, Taylor, you take this one, Grace, come with me," Max said. Taylor drove off.
"See you guys later!" he yelled.
Max adjusted himself on the jet ski. "Grab a life jacket and climb on."
I picked up a life jacket and I put it on. I then climbed onto the jet ski.
"Okay, wrap your arms around me so you don't fly off when we go," he instructed. I put my arms around him.
"Is this good?" I asked.
"Perfect," he replied. He showed me how to start it, get out of the dock safely, and head out to the lake. He went through a few other things, and then we went to the safety zone.
"Are you ready to try?" he asked me.
"Okay," I replied. Max jumped into the water and I moved forward. I held out my hand and helped to pull him up. He wrapped his arms around me.
"Lets rock," I said. I started the jet ski and did everything I was supposed to. Before long, we were out, racing around with Taylor. We were all laughing.
"Hey, slow down a little, I got an idea," Max said. I slowed down, and soon Taylor was at a stop besides us.
"Lets have a little race," Max said. "One person at a time, against the clock."
"All right," we agreed. We decided on a race course, down about 500 feet and back. Taylor went first.
"Ready...set...go!" Max yelled. Taylor sped off down the course. Max still had his arms around me. Taylor sped down the first 500 feet, then turned around by the stump. He flew back. I hit the stop button on my watch.
"20 seconds!" I exclaimed. I went next. Max got on the jet ski with Taylor. I handed my watch to Taylor.
"Ready...set...go!" Max yelled. I sped down just as fast as Taylor did, but I had a little trouble with the turn. I made it back just as fast as he did.
"27 seconds!" Taylor yelled. Then, Taylor got on the jet ski with me. I cleared my watch.
"Ready...set...go!" Taylor yelled. Max literally flew down the water, made a quick turn, and made it back just as fast.
"18 seconds! We have a winner!" I yelled. We all high fived.
"What now?" I asked.
"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Max asked. I checked my watch.
"It's 12:00 now. We've been out here for two hours," I said. "I'm kinda hungry."
"Dude, you're always eating!" Taylor yelled.
"That's funny, TAYBEAR! You should be a comedian TAYBEAR!" I yelled to him. He hates that name. It's used in many teenaged Hanson fiction stories and when many people meet him.
"Ooh, wait till we hit land, Gracie!" Taylor threatened.
"Break it up!" Max yelled, grinning. "Want to head back? We can grab lunch at my place."
"Sure," I said. We drove back to the docks and Max helped me off the jet ski. Taylor messed with my hair, and I smacked him upside the head. We headed back to Max's place. We walked in the door, and we saw his mom.
"Hi sweetie," she said when she saw him.
"Hi mom, these are some of my friends," Max replied. "This is Taylor," he said, pointing to him, "and this is Grace."
"Hi Taylor, hi Grace," she said.
"Hi," we replied.
"Are you three hungry? I was just making Ashley some lunch."
"Sure," we replied.
"Thank you," I added.
"Really, thank you," Taylor said, not wanting to seem impolite.
"Oh, you're welcome," she said. She headed off to the kitchen area. I elbowed Max.
"What's your last name?" I whispered.
"Shockley," he whispered back.
"Thanks," I replied. We all sat on the floor and flipped through the TV. Soon, Mrs. Shockley called us to lunch.
"Is peanut butter and jelly okay?" she asked.
"It's great," we said. We saw Ashley sitting at the table.
"Hi, I'm Ashley," she said.
"Hi, I'm Grace," I said.
"Hi, I'm Taylor," he replied.
"Hi, I'm Max," Max said.
"Funny," Ashley said. "Are you Taylor Hanson?"
"Yeah," Taylor replied.
"I have your CD. You sound different now," she replied. I snickered.
"Yeah, I was younger then," he replied, after giving me an elbow to the ribcage.
"Oh, okay," she said. We sat down at the table, by a plate. I sat down next to Ashley, and Max sat next to me. Taylor was on the other side of Ashley. We all ate our lunches and talked a little.
"So, Max, you're from...." Taylor asked.
"Kansas City, Missouri," he said. "Awesome place."
"That's cool, I think that's one of the few places we haven't been to," Taylor replied.
"Dude, you should go, it's awesome!" Max said. "Just make sure you bring Grace with you."
I felt my face get a little bit red. I grinned, and I saw Max grinning at me.
"Ooooooh!" Ashley said. "Max li--"
Max covered her mouth, then she bit his hand.
"Owww!" Max yelled. He moved his hand, and Ashley grinned.
"That's what you get for doing that," she said.
"I love you too," Max said. We finished our lunches and put the dishes in the sink.
"Feel like going back outside?" Max asked.
"Sure," we both answered.
"All right," Max said. "Mom!"
"What, sweetie?" she asked.
"We're going outside for awhile."
"Okay, just set the alarm on your watch and be back by 5:00," she said. "Are you going out on the lake?"
"Maybe, I'm not sure," he said.
"If so, then set your watch for 4:30, so you'll know when to start heading back to the dock," she said. "Taylor, Grace, it was nice meeting you!"
"It was nice meeting you too, Mrs. Shockley!" I said.
"Yes, thank you again for lunch!" Taylor said.
"You're welcome! Come back anytime!" she said.
We left the cabin then and headed for the pool. We lounged around in a few chairs.
"So Taylor, I know you get asked this a lot, but what is it like, travelling around the world, performing for thousands of people?" Max asked.
"It's totally...exhilirating," he said. "It's nerve wracking as hell, but once you get going..." he trailed off.
"That's gotta be killer," Max replied. "Have you ever seen him play, Grace?"
"Nope, not actually being at a concert or anything," I said. "This is the first time I've seen Taylor in about...oh, five years."
"Wow, really?" Max asked. "I never would have guessed it."
"Well, we've been talking over the computer for awhile," I said.
"That's cool...I'm not really close to any of my cousins anymore," Max said. "I used to talk to Lara a lot..."
"What happened to Lara?" I asked. Max kinda blushed and looked down at his feet.
"So, what did you guys think of jet skiing?" Max asked.
"I loved it," Taylor said. "I mean, I've done it before, but it's one of those things that never gets old."
"Exactly," Max said. "Grace?"
"Oh, it was great. You're an awesome teacher," I said, grinning.
"Thank you," he said, returning the grin. "I love it when we come here. It's so relaxing."
"Yeah, we haven't been here in awhile," I said. "I'm glad we still have a lot of time ahead of us."
"Me too," Taylor replied. We saw Taylor's younger brother, Mackie, heading over to us.
"Taylor, Mommy wants you, she needs you to watch Zoe," he said.
"All right," Taylor said. "I'll catch you all later, I had an awesome time," Taylor said.
"See ya," we said, giving him a high five. Taylor headed back with Mackie.
"Your cousin's a nice guy," Max said.
"Yeah, we didn't get along too well the first few days," I said. "It was him, Isaac, and Zac against Aidan and I."
"Aidan's the guy who came to the dock yesterday, right?" Max asked, turning on his chair so he was facing me.
"Yeah, that's my brother," I replied.
"Yeah, he wasn't too friendly yesterday," Max said.
"He can be overprotective of me," I said. "Think of Greg Brady times a million, but minus the stuff he did with Marsha, add in some mischief, and sports talent, and you got Aidan."
"Good lord..." Max said. "You know, I kinda hate to admit this, but when I first met Taylor, I thought that he was gay."
"Yeah, I can see how you could think that. Sometimes, I wonder if he's bisexual, but I really don't think he is. Just a little....flamboyant," I said with a grin.
"Possibly," he said. "But after I got to know him slightly better, he just was very friendly."
"Yeah," I replied.
"At least he's cooler than the type of music he chooses to play," he said with a grin.
"It's not that bad!" I protested.
"Yes it is!" Max said, grinning.
"Whatever," I said.
"Hey, you want to go back out on the lake?" Max asked.
"Sure!" I replied.
"Lets go!" he said. We ran to the dock, but we only saw one jet ski.
"One of my parents must be on it," he said. "Do you want to drive?"
"No, that's okay, you can," I said. We strapped life jackets on and Max got on first. I got on right behind him and I wrapped my arms around him. We left the boat dock. The water was choppier than before. I hung onto Max tighter. I rested my chin on his shoulder.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"Yep. Is it bothering you?" I asked.
"Nah, you're fine," he said. We went back to a small cove where it was calm. Max slowed the jet ski to a stop.
"Wanna swim?" he asked.
"Okay," I said. Max jumped in first, then I slid my way into the lake. This part of the lake was a little chilly, but otherwise not too bad. I floated on my back for a few seconds, then I felt my ankles being grabbed. It startled me, to say the least. Then, I tickled Max under the arms.
"Hey! Not fair!" he said.
"Yes it is!" I replied. I kept tickling him. He started to try to tickle me back.
"Wait! You can't fight back!" I said, laughing.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because!" I replied.
"Okay," he said. He stopped tickling me. I stopped tickling him as well.
"Do you miss Kansas City?" I asked him.
"Right now, no. There are times when I'm looking forward to going back, but I'm having the time of my life now," he said. "Do you want to go back to St. Louis?"
"At first, I couldn't wait, but now, things are a lot better." I squirted some water through my hands.
"What was going bad?" Max asked.
"Well, my brother and I were in a huge fight with Taylor, Isaac, and Zac, things just weren't going well," I said. "Things have improved tremendously."
"That's good," Max said. "I'm glad, having a horrible time down here is practically a crime."
"Tell me about it," I said grinning. "I'm having a blast now."
"Me too," he said.
"The only bad thing is that I miss a few of my friends," I said.
"I miss a bunch of my friends too," Max said. "But, the one good thing is that I've made two friends on this trip, one who is already a really good friend," he said.
"I've made a really good friend on this trip, too," I said, smiling. We smiled at each other. It would have been a great moment if Max's watch wouldn't have beeped.
"Oh...we gotta go back," he said.
"All right," I replied.
"Why don't you drive this time? I'll tell you where to go," Max said.
"Okay," I replied. I climbed on first, then helped Max up. He wrapped his arms around me, and I started the jet ski. He directed me out of the cove and then put his chin on my shoulder.
"If you can do that, then so can I," he said.
"Fine by me," I replied. Max continued to direct me back to the dock. We finally got there and we hopped off. Max chained the jet ski to the dock.
"I had an awesome day today," I said.
"So did I," he said. "It was fun watching you get frustrated when you were starting to learn how to work the jet ski," he said with a smile.
"It was hard!" I protested. I was smiling too, though.
"You're room 19, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"I'll call you tonight. Maybe we can work some stuff out to do tomorrow," he said.
"That'd be cool! I'll have to see what we're doing, but otherwise, it sounds great to me," I said.
"Great," he replied. "Well...I guess I better be heading off."
"Me too," I replied. "Thanks for the awesome day," I said.
"The pleasure was mine," he replied. We grinned and walked away.
Chapter 9
Chapter 7
Vacation
While We Grow
