07/11/2025
Matching Swim Suits … It was the first real day of summer.
Luca, Nico, and Adrian had planned this trip for months, just the three of them, one last escape before college sent them spiraling in different directions. They arrived at the villa by noon, tossing their bags aside and heading straight to the infinity pool that glistened like liquid sapphire under the afternoon sun.
“Okay, admit it,” Nico said, adjusting his palm-leaf trunks. “The matching suits were a great idea.”
Luca rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the grin. “You mean your idea.”
“Our idea,” Adrian chimed in from the water, splashing them both. “Now come on, we’re wasting sun.”
They’d been best friends since they can remember, inseparable, like a constellation only complete with all three stars. But lately, change loomed. Nico had been accepted to a university on the East Coast. Adrian was joining a surf program in Australia. Luca, staying behind, had enrolled at a local school, the weight of expectations pulling him back home.
So this trip wasn’t just a getaway. It was a pause button. A way to breathe.
They spent the afternoon swimming, laughing, tackling each other off floaties, and taking photos that would end up in their private shared album titled “For When It Gets Hard.” The sun dipped low, painting their skin gold and setting the water ablaze with light.
Later, as they dried off on the pool deck, Luca looked at the others and said, “Promise me we’ll come back. No matter what changes. This place. Us.”
Adrian gave a mock salute. “Cross my heart and sunscreened chest.”
Nico leaned in, arm slung over both their shoulders. “Promise. Even if we’re thousands of miles apart, we’ll find our way back. Always.”
Their matching trunks—stamped with tropical leaves felt like more than fabric. They were a symbol of this moment: fleeting, bold, and beautiful.
Three friends. One summer. A memory that would hold them together, long after the sun set.