Just as expected, the lodge was beautiful. The exterior was made up of light-colored stone, an enormous white marble-like deck looming over the lake. Its windows were warmly alight and party guests were visible through the glass, gliding past the windowpanes in their formalwear. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outward appearance. It had an enormous glossy floor surrounded by walls covered in cool green paint. Flowing white linen curtains framed the sides of the huge windows and another set of double doors, all of which overlooked a spacious stone balcony that hung over the lake. On the roof over the balcony, there hung Japanese lanterns, already lighting the deck in the evening dimness.

One tuxedo after another came through the double doors, followed by just as many evening gowns that traipsed through. Guest after guest filed in until John Gates finally entered, awkwardly adjusting his tie. He looked uneasily around the room for someone he knew, hoping that he wasn't the only person who felt a bit out of place at the upscale gathering. Almost all of the guests looked flawless and practically exuded importance, making him feel insignificant and small. John especially felt apprehensive about meeting Tony's children, considering that Tony and his wife were practically movie stars.

John, unsure of what he should do, headed over to a long banquet table which was covered in small hors d'oeuvres. He grabbed a small plate, piling on some cookies that were unrecognizable, when suddenly someone cleared their throat behind him.

"You're going to have to hurry, sir, some of us are waiting," the voice said. John felt himself grin.

"I'm just keeping you away from all the food, Andi, you know how you get with finger sandwiches," he responded. Andi smiled behind him.

"Sure you are." John turned around, laughing, but felt his laughter subside after he saw Andi.

Her hair was loose, but it flowed in carefully styled waves down her shoulders. She stood closer to his height due to the shoes she wore; tall silver heels. John rarely saw Andi in heels. Her navy blue dress streamed down to the floor, moving as she walked. And she was wearing more makeup that usual. Even lipstick. She was Andi, but she looked completely different. And she was incredibly beautiful. John had always found Andi to be very pretty but this was another kind of pretty. He preferred laid-back Andi because that's who she was. Andi was never one to dress up or try to impress others with her looks, sometimes even insisting that she wasn't an attractive girl. But seeing her dressed like this made him realize what Andi denied about herself and tried to hide. She glowed.

"Everything alright?" she said, her eyebrows raised in a classic Andi expression. John felt his ears burn red from embarrassment, hoping that he hadn't been staring at her too blatantly.

"I've got food in front of me so I'm fantastic," he replied. Andi chuckled.

"Well, what do you think? It's beautiful, isn't it," she said, glancing around the room. John nodded.

"Oh yeah, very beautiful…hey, have you met Tony's kids yet? I heard that he's wanting us to meet them."

As soon as the words left John's mouth, the room grew silent. Everyone's attention was directed towards the large double doors of the hall; Tony Banks stood there with his wife, looking as immaculate as ever. He sported a full tuxedo and his wife wore a form-fitting floor length silver gown, no doubt attracting the eye of every man in the room. A young girl, about 18, stood behind them in a purple dress, most likely Tony's daughter.

"Good evening," Tony said to the crowd. There was no need for him to shout, the room had grown silent. The guests all echoed his reply. "Thank you all for coming to my event this evening. I hope you all enjoy yourselves and become acquainted with each other, as well as the food we have prepared." The room laughed back at him, and John gave a sarcastic chortle. The room suddenly moved back into action and Tony, much to John and Andi's surprise, made his way towards the two of them.

"Hey, guys," Tony said, a friendly smile on his face. "I'd like for you to meet my daughter, Katie."

Katie extended a tan arm to John first, who shook her hand tentatively, and then shook hands with Andi. Andi eyed Katie, who was, indeed, a pretty girl. Katie had auburn hair that was down much like hers but somewhat poofier. Andi glanced at Katie's purple dress. Purple isn't her color Andi thought, reassuring her now-self-conscious-self that she still looked presentable next to Katie Banks.

"I have to go greet some guests, but my son," Tony said, "is wandering around here somewhere. He will probably introduce himself soon."

"One step ahead of you dad," a voice said behind the group. Andi and John turned around and came face to face with the second Banks child.

John immediately noticed that he was even more impressive than his entire family. The man was his age, a bit taller, and had incredibly white teeth. His eyes were a perfect blue and his shorter dark hair looked as if it had been done by a stylist. But John barely had any more time to decide what he thought of this man due to his thoughts being interrupted by a shriek next to him.

"OH MY GOD!" Andi nearly screamed, attracting the attention of several party attendees. She flung herself at the boy, wrapping her arms around him and holding onto him tightly. John noticed that the man didn't mind and only smiled, hugging Andi back. John looked around uncomfortably.

"Um, Andi?" John said in a confused manner, "is this normally how you greet other guys?"

"No! John, this is Keagan!" Andi said as she let go of her captive, beaming.

"Keagan?"

"Yes! You know, my boyfriend! From college! This is him!"

"Wait," John said, feeling suddenly nauseated, "Keagan? Your college boyfriend is Tony's son?" Andi shrugged and smiled in disbelief.

"Surprise!" Keagan said, flashing his perfect teeth towards John. John stretched his mouth into a smile back at him. Andi stood there in giddy disbelief.

"I had never met Keagan's parents so I guess…I guess I just had no idea and…Keagan, did you know I was coming?"

"Guilty as charged," Keagan said, raising his hands in a surrender. Andi squealed again, putting one arm around Keagan and one around John.

"Ohhhh this is so exciting! Having my two favorite boys here with me for the summer…this is going to be the most fun ever! We're gonna do all kinds of stuff together. And John, you and Keagan have to be best friends. It's mandatory. Oh, by the way, Keagan, this is John, John, this is Keagan."

The two boys shook hands, John's grip noticingly limper than Keagan's. He was in a bit of a daze after Andi's explosion of excitement, taking in the entire situation. Keagan is a Banks? John thought, go figure that the one serious boyfriend she has in college is the epitome of the perfect man. It was true that Keagan was extraordinary, John couldn't deny it. What was he saying? He wanted Andi to be happy! But John felt a sting at the same time due to the fact that Andi had another special boy in her life besides him. Even though John and Andi were only friends, John always felt protective over Andi and felt a sense of specialness about his relationship with her. They had known each other their entire lives and most of her other friends were females, so he felt unique. With Andi having another boy in her life, he felt somewhat jealous. Deep down, he worried that his jealousy was caused by other feelings, but he had always dismissed those in order to keep their friendship uncomplicated. After all, Andi seemed to be happy standing there, arm in arm with Keagan. John couldn't compromise that, could he?

"Well, this was a surprise," John said with a forced laugh. Andi beamed at the two boys, pulling them close to her in a somewhat awkward group hug.

"I'm so excited! Oh, I'll be back, I have to tell my parents that you're here, Keagan. You boys can get to know each other some and start on that whole best-friends thing, ok?" With that, Andi, scampered off to find her family, disappearing somewhere in the crowd. John watched as she sprinted away, smiling grimly to himself.

This was going to be an interesting summer.