6/6

Great day at the lake today. There was a whole group of people from school hanging out today, so it ended up being like a big party all afternoon. Sophie and I took the bus and got there about noon. We were just stretching out on our towels when Sammie and Kelly showed (Kelly was wearing a neon green two-piece…I felt like a 5-year-old in my pink one-piece…sigh). After that, Heather and Tessa came, then Jennifer and Megan. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one in a one-piece, but EVERYBODY filled theirs out better than me.

Anyway, after a little while, Jon showed up with his “posse” of drummers and trumpet players (Matt and Chase + Dillon, Jason, and Kirk). Jon noticed Sophie and me and immediately came over to say hi, and asked me if I’d heard from Gray yet (okay, I blushed bright red), and I had to admit that I hadn’t…but he hadn’t either so I didn’t feel so bad. He kept looking at Sophie, and I could tell he really wanted to hang around longer, so without even thinking about it I asked if he and the other guys wanted to hang out with us girls. It was so cute the way he jumped at the invitation (although I could tell that several of the other guys were VERY uncomfortable with the idea of hanging out with girls). It wasn’t long before Gray’s baseball buddy, Evan, turned up with a couple of their teammates (can’t remember their names at the moment), and pretty soon we had almost 20 people sitting and lying around. Somebody had one of those iHomes for their iPod, so we even had music. Wild.

Most of us played volleyball for a couple of hours. Man, did I get trampled on at the net, but I did pretty good when I was on the back row (I even learned how to dive for the ball…it totally doesn’t hurt in sand!) Of course, most of the guys made huge….donkeys…of themselves around Kelly (and Tessa….that girl looks FINE in a swimsuit…just sayin’). They sure don’t act like that around me. In fact, they treat me like one of the guys…..I think I prefer that….mostly. But Jon only had eyes for Sophie. He made sure he was on her team and right next to her. He gave her a hand whenever she ended up in the sand and they were doing this funny high-five when their team won a point. Since I was on the other team, I was really trash-talking the whole time, and they had a great time double-teaming me on the teasing (they played off each other a little too well…but at least Jon was more relaxed around her!).

After volleyball, a bunch of people were going in the lake, but Sophie and I decided to sit in the shade for a bit and rest, and Jon stuck right with us. He offered to get us all a snow cone, and Sophie smiled and said sure. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow (careful not to touch her…I really didn’t want her to think I was being too nosy…not that it mattered, I knew she’d tell me what she was thinking anyway).

Sophie: What? (she tried pulling that innocent look, but I wasn’t buying it)
Me: You know what. (now raising both brows)
Sophie: Oh, you mean Jon? (still playing innocent)
Me: Who else?
Sophie: He’s pretty cute. (putting on her sunglasses to hide her eyes)
Me: Come on, tell me. Don’t make me grab your arm! (she knows I’m bluffing)
Sophie: Okay, he’s very cute. I’m just not sure yet if he’s my type.
Me: Your type?And what type would that be? (I already know what she’s going to say)
Sophie: The type that’s not an idiot or a jerk. The kind with a brain.
Me: That’s pretty hard to come by in a fourteen-year-old.
Sophie: Don’t I know it? That’s why I plan to date seniors in high school, and college guys by the time I’m a junior (I know her…she could do it too).
Me: So Jon doesn’t stand a chance with you?
Sophie: I didn’t say that. We’ll see.
Me: Are you sure you’re not 25 instead of 14?
Sophie: Hey, I just know what I want, that’s all. He seems very sweet. I’ll give him a chance, okay?
Me: Fine, just be nice and don’t crush the poor guy, okay? I think he’s totally gone over you already. (I actually know this, but I’m not about to tell her…I did promise)
Sophie: I’ll be sweet as pie. (I swear that girl would have been a vamp in the 40′s)

The rest of the afternoon was so fun, swimming, playing Ultimate Frisbee in the grass for a while (it was too HOT for me…I subbed out within about 10 minutes…too much running….and SUN). Eating nachos and Red Vines…perfect lake food. Even the guys who were skittish around the girls were a lot more comfortable by late afternoon, and I could see the beginnings of several “summer couples”, not just Jon and Sophie. It made me wish, for like the hundredth time today, that Gray was here. We could have so much FUN! Anyway, Sophie and I gathered up our stuff around 5, with several other people ‘cuz the last bus run is at 5:30. Jon walked with us to the bus stop bench and stayed with us until the bus came. I noticed he didn’t try to hold her hand or anything…it was almost as if he had been watching how Gray handled himself (cute! Or maybe he’s just too shy). He really is a nice guy. I hope she doesn’t break his heart. With Sophie that is a real possibility. It’s not that every guy in the world wants her or anything, but the ones that do seem to develop a total devotion to her. It’s kind of freaky. She inspires guys to write sonnets about her or get in fights over her, practically. She’s just one of those girls that have IT, whatever IT is. I don’t really understand it.

My nose and shoulders are totally RED…ouch! I put aloe vera all over which helps. Oooooo, I need to check my email….nothing.