Two years ago, each of us had to get our hands on a Playboy and show it to the others. Over the past few years, the goals have become more centered around girls and sex. When we were twelve, it was going to the Fern Creek Golf Course every day until we collected a thousand golf balls. When we were ten, it was riding our bikes fifteen miles away to Perry Lake and skinny-dipping. But as long as I can remember, we’ve always come up with something we had to accomplish before the start of the new school year. You do want to have sex someday, don’t you, Matt?'Įvery summer there is a goal.

First there’s Internet porn, then there’s seeing your first real naked girl, and finally it’s the dirty deed. It’s like that picture in our bio textbook. Don’t you get it? You have to follow the natural way of things. 'That kind of attitude will get you nowhere in life. 'Matt, Matt, Matt.' Cooper puts his arm around me like he’s my wise uncle. 'Maybe we better set a more realistic goal for the summer. 'How are we supposed to see a live naked girl?' I say. 'Whatever.' Sean shrugs and looks off at the rundown ranch houses like he doesn’t care what we think. 'And she wasn’t wearing a bra and her left one popped out and you saw the entire thing, nipple and all, and even if I didn’t think you were lying to us, it still wouldn’t count,' Cooper says. I saw the whole thing when she was taking off her sweatshirt during gym. 'He’s talking about Tina Everstone’s left boob,' I say as we turn onto Maple Drive and walk along the curb. We’ve been on swim team since third grade. It’s our first day of swim practice, which means that summer’s really started. Bare feet tucked into untied sneakers, ragged towels draped around our necks. And that’s not what I was talking about,' Sean says. I haven’t done that since I was, like, two, okay. 'Taking baths with your sister -doesn’t count, either, Sean.' Cooper snorts.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame