Eleven was excited it was the last week in June, and they had a day at the lake planned. Nancy had left El a hundred dollars in an envelope that read for all your fashion needs when she moved. The money was part of the care package she left for El. Eleven used the money to buy a red bikini with white polka dots that she really liked and luckily it came with a frilly, red cover-up.
The boys were downstairs waiting for her to put on her swimsuit, because they all had their t-shirts and trunks on already. El rushed down the stairs and they headed on their way. The name of the lake made El laugh. The lake was called Lake Wassatocca. First, they all placed their towels next to each other and then the boys headed to the water.
"Aren't you coming El?" Mike asked.
"In a minute." El said.
The boys were splashing each other as El sat down. She felt awkward for a second. Truthfully, she felt ugly in her swimsuit. El thought her body was ugly, so showing so much of herself made her feel uncomfortable. Finally she got the confidence to get in the water. Mike turned towards the shore about to call for El, but what he saw made his mouth drop.
El took her hair out of the ponytail she had it in, and shook her head till her hair rested in its natural position. Her hair was just long enough to be in a ponytail, because its length was just shy of her shoulders. Then, El slipped out of her cover up and threw onto her towel. She walked toward Mike as the wind blew her hair. Her swimsuit was low cut and the colors really suited her skin tone. Mike thought Eleven looked breathtaking as she walked toward him.
"El that swimsuit really suits you. You look beautiful." Mike stated.
El replied, "Thanks Mike. I picked it out myself with the money Nancy gave me for clothes." Mike was secretly so grateful his sister gave El that money.
The kids played chicken, Marco Polo, and had splash fights. They worked up an appetite, so Will, Lucas, and Dustin went to shore for lunch. El and Mike weren't hungry, so they decided they would spend some alone time together.
El and Mike swam out far and away from the others for some alone time. They went so far that El could just barely touch. She jumped into Mike's arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. She placed her arms around his neck. Eleven's chest was in Mike's face, not that he was complaining. He had noticed that she had been developing rapidly, and her chest had increased in size.
"El I'm so glad to have gotten to spend this entire summer so far with you." Mike said.
"Me too. I've made so many memories that it makes up for the time I spent with papa." El stated.
Mike replied, "I'm glad I replaced your bad memories with good ones."
El smiled as Mike walked back and tripped over a rock. He almost fell back, but grabbed onto El who he had dropped when he tripped. Unfortunately, He grabbed the tie of El's bikini top and it slipped off. Mike threw his hand over his eyes and turned around to grab the top that had begun to float off. Mike handed it to El his eyes still covered.
"I'm so sorry Eleven." Mike said his face still covered.
"Mike it's fine. You can look if you want. I want you to be the only person who ever sees me like this. We are going to be together forever anyway. I'm sure of it." El explained. Mike began to uncover his eyes, but covered them again before he saw anything.
"No it's not right. I can't look." Mike uttered.
El replied, "Mike it really is okay. I want you too see. You are the only guy who will ever see, because you are the only guy who truly thinks I'm beautiful. I don't see it, but I want to share all my beauty with you if you think I have it."
"Eleven you need to believe it you are gorgeous. You are the most beautiful sight there is. I really want a too look so bad, but it feels wrong. I feel like I'm destroying my innocent little Eleven if I do." Mike explained
"Nancy and I have a lot of deep conversation at night over the phone. Trust me my innocence disintegrated a long time ago." El stated.
Mike replied, "Okay...I don't wanna know what that means. Are you sure it's okay?"
"Yes Mike." El said as she went up and hugged him bare chested.
Mike opened his eyes as Eleven backed away. Mike's eyes basically popped out of his head. He admired all her beauty for a second as he thought about touching her, but he restricted himself.
"Go ahead Mike it's okay." El said knowing what he wanted to do.
Mike replied, "No Eleven. I want to save that thrill for when we are older and get to have that special night." He said winking at her and she smiled.
"Alright Mike." She said.
Mike eventually helped Eleven put her top on again. They headed back toward the shallow water and joined the boys who were playing with water guns. Later that night Mike was about to go to sleep when he got into bed and found a note from El.
Mike read the letter aloud to himself, "Mike thanks for always seeing my beauty and convincing me to see it too. I'm glad I got to share more of it with you today. I can't wait to share more of it with you when we are older. I can't wait to sleep next to you every night and cook breakfast for you in the morning. I'm very excited to have little ones around at some point when we are married. Love you from your future Mrs. Wheeler."
Mike smiled and began to lay there daydreaming about what happened that day. He fell asleep smiling with the letter resting in his chest.