CHAPTER 3: COOLING OFF FOR A BIT AND TATE'S SECRET
A little while later, as the summer sun was beating down, Schroeder, Lucy, Sadie, and Tate went to a lake on the outskirts of town. Schroeder was dressed in swim trunks, Lucy had on her navy blue bikini, Tate sported some jean shorts, and Sadie had on a bikini bottom and a crop top.
"Here it is," said Sadie. "This is where we like t' swim durin' th' summer."
"Looks nice, Stretch," said Schroeder.
"I'm ready to cool off," added Lucy. And the teens went into the lake to play in the water for a while.
Later on, Lucy and Sadie were laying out on the dock getting some sun. Schroeder and Tate were doing some fishing, as Tate also brought along some fishing poles and buckets to put the caught fish in. Schroeder noticed that Tate was looking back at Sadie quite a bit. That peaked his interest.
"Hey, Tate," Schroeder began, "I noticed you've been staring up at the girls for quite a while. What's up?"
"Well, Schroeder," Tate started, "as you know, your cousin an' I have been friends since we were still in diapers."
"Yeah?"
"And we've always been good friends t' one 'nother."
"But…"
"But now I'm startin' t' feel things. Funny things. Somethin' I've never felt before."
"Tate. Do you have a crush on Stretch?"
"I think I do, Schroeder."
"Does she know?"
"Hadn't told her yet."
"How long have you've known?"
"Since we became teens, I reckon. I just can't seem t' get th' words out t' tell her."
"You remind me of my friend Charlie Brown. For years before he was dating his current girlfriend, he had the biggest crush on this girl that used to go to our school, but could never seem to tell her how he felt. They did eventually become friends, but it was after he was dating Frieda that they started talking to each other. And now it seems you have the same issue that he had. Don't be afraid to tell her how you feel."
"I know, I just don't wanna ruin our friendship."
"The worst that can happen is that she'll tell you that she just want to stay friends and not date you. She won't hate you or anything. You two have been friends for this long, it would take something extremely bad to happen to ruin your friendship. Trust me, Tate. You got nothing to lose." Tate thought about what Schroeder had told him. He really liked Sadie and wanted to be her boyfriend.
"I will, when th' time is right," Tate finally said. "Deal?"
"Deal." And both boys shook hands. Lucy and Sadie walked up to the boys.
"How's the fishing, babe?" asked Lucy to Schroeder.
"Still haven't caught anything yet," said Schroeder. "Then again, Beethoven never fished."
"What were y' two fellers talkin' 'bout jus' now?" asked an inquisitive Sadie.
"Just yer usual guy talk," Tate replied.
"Well, looks like th' fish is elsewhere in th' lake," said Sadie. "We should head back t' maw and paw's for some dinner." And the teens packed up everything into Sadie's truck and headed back towards the Klimt Farm.
NEXT CHAPTER: PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION