Belly Conklin has always loved summers. Her best memories are of the summers she spent
in the town of Cousins, vacationing with her mother’s best friend, Susannah, and her
two boys: Conrad and Jeremiah, at their big mansion. Belly reminisces about her days at
the summer house, the beach, the swimming pool, and movie nights with the moms. And
the boys. She loves how it is always the same things every summer and she always looks forward
to it eagerly all year long. But most importantly, she looks forward to being around Conrad:
her first and only love. While packing for the trip, her best friend,
Taylor, advises her that this is the year Belly should make a move or let go of the
Conrad dream. But Belly does not think Conrad sees her that way for her to even make a move.
Taylor assures her that now he most definitely will see her because Belly looks so much different
this year. With her mother, Laurel, and her elder brother,
Steven, Belly sets course for Cousins to spend another summer with the boys and Susannah.
Only this time, Belly is a changed person; she is almost 16 and is ready for this year
to be different from the rest. While on the drive, Laurel makes sure that
her kids will behave while at Susannah’s place and won’t make it look like she didn’t
raise them well. Belly feels that her mother is always fussing about their behavior at
Susannah’s place because Susannah is rich and they are not. But still, the kids agree
to behave. When they stop at a gas station, Belly gets
noticed by the guy managing the counter. She feels a little weird about it since she is
never the one to be noticed by boys, it has always been Taylor but the new attention makes
Belly feel good. The guy asks her to drop by the bonfire that night and Belly agrees
to think about it. Meanwhile, Laurel tells Belly to come with her to her book signing
and it makes Belly awkward in front of the boy. In the car, Belly looks at herself and
can, for the first time, feel like she is pretty too.
When they finally arrive at Susannah’s house, they are enthusiastically greeted by Jeremiah
and Susannah. But it is not until Conrad walks in and consumes Belly’s entire focus. She
is so evidently in love with him but Conrad is so unaware. Steven reminds the boys that
it is time for the traditional Belly flop and Belly starts to escape their clutches.
Conrad grabs Belly and the boys take her to the pool and drop her into the pool. Belly
feigns being hurt and when Conrad gives her a hand, she pulls him in with him. The two
share an electric moment as they wrestle with each other in the water.
Back at the house, when Belly walks in, dripping water all over, her mother reprimands her
while Susannah can’t help but admire how gorgeous Belly has turned out to be. Belly
loves the way Susannah has a way of saying things that almost make her believe them.
Later, Belly finds out that though her parents have been separated for a year and a half,
her father will be attending the Fourth of July event at the summer house. She also finds
out that Susannah’s husband will not be at the house for most of the summer because
of work. When Belly enters her room, Jeremiah follows
in and asks her to go swimming with him. Belly is hesitant at first because she had to go
book signing with her mother but Jeremiah’s persistence wears her down.
When Laurel has to go alone to sign the stock at the bookstore, Susannah insists to accompany
her but first, she has to go to the country club to check the catering for Laurel’s
party. Laurel abhors all that fancy stuff and does not want Susannah to do anything
big for her book signing event, but Susannah assures her she’s got it under control.
Belly and Jeremiah head toward the ocean and Belly talks to him about her parents and their
divorce. She tells him about her dad’s new girlfriend and how her mother still is not
dating anyone. When they arrive at the beach, Belly and Jeremiah race each other to the
ocean and have fun like the old days. At the bookstore where Laurel’s party is
to be held, Susannah is not pleased to see that they don’t have enough of Laurel’s
books in stock because she’s invited half the town to the party. When Laurel sees that
the only books on display are of a writer named Cleveland Castillo, she can’t help
but ridicule how pretentious his name sounds. She judges the man by his author’s photo,
unaware that the man is standing right in front of her. The awkward encounter leaves
Laurel a tad embarrassed. At dinner, Belly and Steven are quite shocked
to find out that Conrad quit playing football and will not be pursuing it anymore. Laurel
wonders what else he will do all summer if not that and Steven suggests Conrad work at
the country club with him and Jere. It leaves Belly a tad disappointed to know that the
boys won’t be around much. But Conrad will not work at the country club. Speaking of,
Susannah hands Belly an invitation to be a debutante. While Belly seems to take an interest,
the boys make fun of debutante balls and Steven especially teases his sister. Conrad does
not think too highly of it either; in his opinion, debs are like sheep. And even Belly’s
mother does not think this is something Belly is cut out for. Their comments and her brother’s
snickering irk Belly and she tells Susannah that she will think about it.
Later that evening, Laurel decides to check out Cleveland Castillo’s Instagram account
and finds out he has a decent following for a writer, while she does not even have an
Instagram account. Belly goes for a swim and finds Conrad smoking
by the pool. She tries to get him to give it up, reminding him how he used to be so
wary of it. Conrad mocks her for remembering everything he ever said and Belly asks him
to get over himself. She is relentless about having him give up smoking and Conrad finally
asks her what she would give her if he did. The tension hangs heavy and low between the
two. Belly can’t help but feel like there’s something different about Conrad and she asks
him to share his thoughts with her, but Jere and Steven interrupt them. They whisk Conrad
away to the bonfire and Belly is left all alone.
Inside, Laurel and Susannah are all ready for their traditional movie night when Belly
tells them that she is tired and doesn’t want to do it. She goes to her room and calls
Taylor, who is also shocked at how Belly is calling her on her first night. Belly tells
her about her moment with Conrad and how the boys left her behind for the bonfire. Taylor
convinces Belly to go to the party and also tells her about the dress she left for her
in her bag. Belly wears the revealing dress and gets ready to sneak out of the house.
She feels a little bad about it but manages to gather her courage and leave.
When Belly arrives at the party, she realizes she is a little overdressed for the scene.
The guy from the gas station recognizes her and approaches her. As he tries to get close
to her, Steven comes to her rescue. He is shocked to see Belly there and shoos the other
guy away by telling him Belly’s only 15. He then gets upset with her and wants her
to leave from there. But as Belly struggles with him, she falls flat on the sand in front
of everyone. She feels embarrassed by the spectacle she’s made and gets even angrier
when she spots Conrad over there kissing another girl. When she finds out that girl was also
a debutante last summer and that Conrad was the one who took her, Belly feels furious
at him for making fun of her being a debutante earlier that evening.
The only person happy to see Belly there is Jeremiah. He gets Steven to stop taking Belly
back home and she is relieved. But even Jeremiah is called away by some girls and Belly is
left alone. Back home, Laurel and Susannah have no idea
that Belly has snuck out and they talk about the kids. Susannah is worried about Conrad
and his bad moods. Laurel worries about Susannah and thinks it is time that she told Conrad
the truth about things but Susannah doesn’t want to get into it just yet. When Laurel
tells her how she is worried she can’t compete with writers like Cleveland Castillo and his
150,000 following, Susannah encourages her to put herself out there more. Maybe even
get into dating again. They talk about Belly and Susannah wishes that Laurel would get
on board with the debutante ball because she really wants to see Belly in a white dress.
Laurel can’t bring herself to say no to that demand and leaves the decision up to
Belly. Belly is sitting all by herself at the beach
when a guy approaches her, having recognized her from the seventh-grade Latin convention.
Belly recognizes him and the guy introduces himself as Cam. She invites him to sit and
they get talking. Belly tells him that she has been visiting Cousin her entire life and
mostly stays pretty close to home when she’s here. Cam offers her his jacket when Belly
feels cold and the two share a sweet moment. Belly worries about her embarrassing fall
a while ago and how everyone witnessed it. She curses her brother and Cam wonders about
the other two boys who were with her. He asks if any of them was Belly’s boyfriend but
Belly clears that misconception up for him. She finds out that his mother works at the
country club and asks him about the debutante ball.
A fight breaks off in the distance and Belly realizes that it’s Conrad fighting with
the gas station guy for a beer. Conrad’s drunk and so Belly approaches the guys to
break them apart but accidentally gets elbowed in the face. She falls flat on her face and
Cam comes to her rescue. Conrad punches the other guy and chaos erupts at the bonfire
when the police show up. Everyone starts running and Cam grabs Belly, bringing her safely to
Jere’s car. Jere pushes Conrad into the backseat and asks Belly to hop in.
She wants Cam to drop her home but Jere refuses to let a stranger give her a ride. Cam asks
Belly to meet him at the harbor where he’s interning on a whale-watching boat; he leaves
at dawn every day. Belly agrees to see him again and the two share a kiss.
Belly gets in the car, feeling giddy about the kiss and Jeremiah remembers that he forgot
to pick Steven up. He rushes to get him, leaving Belly in charge of a drunk Conrad. As Belly
smiles to herself, Conrad reaches out to touch her hair, calling it unruly like a little
kid’s. Belly forgets all about Cam and the kiss and feels drawn back to Conrad like a
moth to a flame. He is about to tell her something when a cop knocks on the window.
The cops drop the kids back home and Laurel takes responsibility for them. They went easy
on them because of Conrad and Jeremiah’s dad’s status in the town but when they leave,
Laurel reprimands each and every one of them for being so irresponsible. She is mad at
Steven and Jere for underage drinking and at Belly for sneaking out in such skimpy clothes.
Belly is enraged that everyone keeps treating her like a kid and Laurel tells her to act
like an adult if she wants to be treated like one. Conrad tells her that maybe the adults
should act like adults as well. Laurel can’t understand what he means by that and after
dispersing them, she stops Conrad and worriedly asks him what's been going on with him lately
but he gives no answer. As Belly ices her wounds, she texts Taylor
and tells her all about her meeting with Cam. The next morning, she wakes up early to catch
Cameron before he leaves. But before leaving, she accepts the debutante ball invitation.
She finds Conrad at the beach and she asks him if he remembers the previous night. Conrad
tells her he always remembers everything when he drinks. As he starts to smoke up, Belly
asks him to let her try and he says no. She establishes that if she can’t smoke, he
can’t smoke either and it amuses him how she’s still the same old Belly.
But when he asks her to come along to buy some muffins like they traditionally do, Belly
decides that this summer will not be like the rest. This summer, she’ll be different,
and then she runs off to meet Cameron. Belly Conklin has always loved summers.
Her best memories are of the summers she spent in the town of Cousins, vacationing with her
mother’s best friend, Susannah, and her two boys: Conrad and Jeremiah, at their big
mansion. Belly reminisces about her days at the summer house, the beach, the swimming
pool, and movie nights with the moms. And the boys. She loves how it is always the same
things every summer and she always looks forward to it eagerly all year long. But most importantly,
she looks forward to being around Conrad: her first and only love.
While packing for the trip, her best friend, Taylor, advises her that this is the year
Belly should make a move or let go of the Conrad dream. But Belly does not think Conrad
sees her that way for her to even make a move. Taylor assures her that now he most definitely
will see her because Belly looks so much different this year.
With her mother, Laurel, and her elder brother, Steven, Belly sets course for Cousins to spend
another summer with the boys and Susannah. Only this time, Belly is a changed person;
she is almost 16 and is ready for this year to be different from the rest.
While on the drive, Laurel makes sure that her kids will behave while at Susannah’s
place and won’t make it look like she didn’t raise them well. Belly feels that her mother
is always fussing about their behavior at Susannah’s place because Susannah is rich
and they are not. But still, the kids agree to behave.
When they stop at a gas station, Belly gets noticed by the guy managing the counter. She
feels a little weird about it since she is never the one to be noticed by boys, it has
always been Taylor but the new attention makes Belly feel good. The guy asks her to drop
by the bonfire that night and Belly agrees to think about it. Meanwhile, Laurel tells
Belly to come with her to her book signing and it makes Belly awkward in front of the
boy. In the car, Belly looks at herself and can, for the first time, feel like she is
pretty too. When they finally arrive at Susannah’s house,
they are enthusiastically greeted by Jeremiah and Susannah. But it is not until Conrad walks
in and consumes Belly’s entire focus. She is so evidently in love with him but Conrad
is so unaware. Steven reminds the boys that it is time for the traditional Belly flop
and Belly starts to escape their clutches. Conrad grabs Belly and the boys take her to
the pool and drop her into the pool. Belly feigns being hurt and when Conrad gives her
a hand, she pulls him in with him. The two share an electric moment as they wrestle with
each other in the water. Back at the house, when Belly walks in, dripping
water all over, her mother reprimands her while Susannah can’t help but admire how
gorgeous Belly has turned out to be. Belly loves the way Susannah has a way of saying
things that almost make her believe them. Later, Belly finds out that though her parents
have been separated for a year and a half, her father will be attending the Fourth of
July event at the summer house. She also finds out that Susannah’s husband will not be
at the house for most of the summer because of work.
When Belly enters her room, Jeremiah follows in and asks her to go swimming with him. Belly
is hesitant at first because she had to go book signing with her mother but Jeremiah’s
persistence wears her down. When Laurel has to go alone to sign the stock
at the bookstore, Susannah insists to accompany her but first, she has to go to the country
club to check the catering for Laurel’s party. Laurel abhors all that fancy stuff
and does not want Susannah to do anything big for her book signing event, but Susannah
assures her she’s got it under control. Belly and Jeremiah head toward the ocean and
Belly talks to him about her parents and their divorce. She tells him about her dad’s new
girlfriend and how her mother still is not dating anyone. When they arrive at the beach,
Belly and Jeremiah race each other to the ocean and have fun like the old days.
At the bookstore where Laurel’s party is to be held, Susannah is not pleased to see
that they don’t have enough of Laurel’s books in stock because she’s invited half
the town to the party. When Laurel sees that the only books on display are of a writer
named Cleveland Castillo, she can’t help but ridicule how pretentious his name sounds.
She judges the man by his author’s photo, unaware that the man is standing right in
front of her. The awkward encounter leaves Laurel a tad embarrassed.
At dinner, Belly and Steven are quite shocked to find out that Conrad quit playing football
and will not be pursuing it anymore. Laurel wonders what else he will do all summer if
not that and Steven suggests Conrad work at the country club with him and Jere. It leaves
Belly a tad disappointed to know that the boys won’t be around much. But Conrad will
not work at the country club. Speaking of, Susannah hands Belly an invitation to be a
debutante. While Belly seems to take an interest, the boys make fun of debutante balls and Steven
especially teases his sister. Conrad does not think too highly of it either; in his
opinion, debs are like sheep. And even Belly’s mother does not think this is something Belly
is cut out for. Their comments and her brother’s snickering irk Belly and she tells Susannah
that she will think about it. Later that evening, Laurel decides to check
out Cleveland Castillo’s Instagram account and finds out he has a decent following for
a writer, while she does not even have an Instagram account.
Belly goes for a swim and finds Conrad smoking by the pool. She tries to get him to give
it up, reminding him how he used to be so wary of it. Conrad mocks her for remembering
everything he ever said and Belly asks him to get over himself. She is relentless about
having him give up smoking and Conrad finally asks her what she would give her if he did.
The tension hangs heavy and low between the two. Belly can’t help but feel like there’s
something different about Conrad and she asks him to share his thoughts with her, but Jere
and Steven interrupt them. They whisk Conrad away to the bonfire and Belly is left all
alone. Inside, Laurel and Susannah are all ready
for their traditional movie night when Belly tells them that she is tired and doesn’t
want to do it. She goes to her room and calls Taylor, who is also shocked at how Belly is
calling her on her first night. Belly tells her about her moment with Conrad and how the
boys left her behind for the bonfire. Taylor convinces Belly to go to the party and also
tells her about the dress she left for her in her bag. Belly wears the revealing dress
and gets ready to sneak out of the house. She feels a little bad about it but manages
to gather her courage and leave. When Belly arrives at the party, she realizes
she is a little overdressed for the scene. The guy from the gas station recognizes her
and approaches her. As he tries to get close to her, Steven comes to her rescue. He is
shocked to see Belly there and shoos the other guy away by telling him Belly’s only 15.
He then gets upset with her and wants her to leave from there. But as Belly struggles
with him, she falls flat on the sand in front of everyone. She feels embarrassed by the
spectacle she’s made and gets even angrier when she spots Conrad over there kissing another
girl. When she finds out that girl was also a debutante last summer and that Conrad was
the one who took her, Belly feels furious at him for making fun of her being a debutante
earlier that evening. The only person happy to see Belly there is
Jeremiah. He gets Steven to stop taking Belly back home and she is relieved. But even Jeremiah
is called away by some girls and Belly is left alone.
Back home, Laurel and Susannah have no idea that Belly has snuck out and they talk about
the kids. Susannah is worried about Conrad and his bad moods. Laurel worries about Susannah
and thinks it is time that she told Conrad the truth about things but Susannah doesn’t
want to get into it just yet. When Laurel tells her how she is worried she can’t compete
with writers like Cleveland Castillo and his 150,000 following, Susannah encourages her
to put herself out there more. Maybe even get into dating again. They talk about Belly
and Susannah wishes that Laurel would get on board with the debutante ball because she
really wants to see Belly in a white dress. Laurel can’t bring herself to say no to
that demand and leaves the decision up to Belly.
Belly is sitting all by herself at the beach when a guy approaches her, having recognized
her from the seventh-grade Latin convention. Belly recognizes him and the guy introduces
himself as Cam. She invites him to sit and they get talking. Belly tells him that she
has been visiting Cousin her entire life and mostly stays pretty close to home when she’s
here. Cam offers her his jacket when Belly feels cold and the two share a sweet moment.
Belly worries about her embarrassing fall a while ago and how everyone witnessed it.
She curses her brother and Cam wonders about the other two boys who were with her. He asks
if any of them was Belly’s boyfriend but Belly clears that misconception up for him.
She finds out that his mother works at the country club and asks him about the debutante
ball. A fight breaks off in the distance and Belly
realizes that it’s Conrad fighting with the gas station guy for a beer. Conrad’s
drunk and so Belly approaches the guys to break them apart but accidentally gets elbowed
in the face. She falls flat on her face and Cam comes to her rescue. Conrad punches the
other guy and chaos erupts at the bonfire when the police show up. Everyone starts running
and Cam grabs Belly, bringing her safely to Jere’s car. Jere pushes Conrad into the
backseat and asks Belly to hop in. She wants Cam to drop her home but Jere refuses
to let a stranger give her a ride. Cam asks Belly to meet him at the harbor where he’s
interning on a whale-watching boat; he leaves at dawn every day. Belly agrees to see him
again and the two share a kiss. Belly gets in the car, feeling giddy about
the kiss and Jeremiah remembers that he forgot to pick Steven up. He rushes to get him, leaving
Belly in charge of a drunk Conrad. As Belly smiles to herself, Conrad reaches out to touch
her hair, calling it unruly like a little kid’s. Belly forgets all about Cam and the
kiss and feels drawn back to Conrad like a moth to a flame. He is about to tell her something
when a cop knocks on the window. The cops drop the kids back home and Laurel
takes responsibility for them. They went easy on them because of Conrad and Jeremiah’s
dad’s status in the town but when they leave, Laurel reprimands each and every one of them
for being so irresponsible. She is mad at Steven and Jere for underage drinking and
at Belly for sneaking out in such skimpy clothes. Belly is enraged that everyone keeps treating
her like a kid and Laurel tells her to act like an adult if she wants to be treated like
one. Conrad tells her that maybe the adults should act like adults as well. Laurel can’t
understand what he means by that and after dispersing them, she stops Conrad and worriedly
asks him what's been going on with him lately but he gives no answer.
As Belly ices her wounds, she texts Taylor and tells her all about her meeting with Cam.
The next morning, she wakes up early to catch Cameron before he leaves. But before leaving,
she accepts the debutante ball invitation. She finds Conrad at the beach and she asks
him if he remembers the previous night. Conrad tells her he always remembers everything when
he drinks. As he starts to smoke up, Belly asks him to let her try and he says no. She
establishes that if she can’t smoke, he can’t smoke either and it amuses him how
she’s still the same old Belly. But when he asks her to come along to buy
some muffins like they traditionally do, Belly decides that this summer will not be like
the rest. This summer, she’ll be different, and then she runs off to meet Cameron.