A Summer to Remember

chapter 26





The next night we made plans to meet with Lily and Steven to attend one of the concerts at the fairgrounds. We agreed to meet at one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and drinks beforehand. It was nice to have something to do other than go to the same places and parties.

I wasn’t feeling as chipper as usual because I only had one more weekend left with Adrian before he was off to Florida. I was trying to enjoy myself and have a good time, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. When Adrian left the table to go to the bathroom, Lily used it as her time of attack.

“What’s your deal? Are you upset about what happened with Jason last night?” she asked as she took a bite of her French fry.

“Ha! Uh, no!” I looked at Steven. “No offense.”

“None taken. I know as well as anyone how big of an a*shole my brother can be.” He smiled and took a drink of his beer.

“Then what’s the problem?” Lily asked.

“I only have one more weekend with Adrian before he goes to Florida.” I looked down at my plate and used my fork to push around the food that was left.

“Well then, go with him! I’ve told you this a hundred times! You know he really wants you to. You’re making this a lot harder on yourself than it needs to be. I mean, come on, it’s Florida! How bad could it be? I would love to move there!” She looked over at Steven to see if he caught her hint.

“And I’ve told you a hundred times I can’t do that, Lil.”

“Why? What’s stopping you?” She took a drink of her soda.

“Same thing I always tell you—school and my family. I’m just not ready for something like that.” I saw Adrian across the room coming back toward our table. “Now drop it. Please.”

“You guys about ready to head out?” Adrian asked. “We should leave soon so we can find parking.”

“Yep. I think we’re good to go.” I stood up, grabbed my purse and jacket off the back of my chair, and we all walked out to the parking lot.

The ride to the fairgrounds only took about a half an hour. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk but we tried to hold a few conversations about things other than the fact he was going to be leaving next weekend. I was glad we left earlier because Adrian was right; by the time we had parked and headed toward the gates, the parking lot was crazy.

We met Lily and Steven at the front gate and walked into the concert together. The place was filling up quickly so we found our seats while the guys went and got us some drinks. I wasn’t usually a fan of crowds, but after the incident last night, I was actually happy there were so many people because we had less of a chance of running into someone we knew.

The concert was amazing! It was dark when the concert was over and the smell of funnel cakes and popcorn filled the air. I loved the fair at night. It reminded me of a time before things were so complicated. I wasn’t ready to go home yet, so Adrian and I decided to get some tickets to ride the Ferris wheel.

Lucky for us, there weren’t a lot of people in line because it was late and the roller coasters were more popular. We had a whole bucket to ourselves. I’d never been a huge fan of Ferris wheels because I’m afraid of heights. I think I’d only actually ridden on it one other time before. As we started to rise into the air, I thought I was going to become uncomfortable, but with Adrian by my side, I didn’t. I felt safe.

“It’s a beautiful night.” Adrian broke the silence as he looked up into the sky.

“Yes, it is.” I followed his gaze.

“Look, you can see Jupiter.” He pointed to the brightest star in the sky.

When we finally reached the top of the ride, it came to a stop. The view was beautiful with all of the city lights in the distance. It reminded me of the night we had together at the Rooftop Terrace. It seemed like a lifetime ago. I laid my head down against his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around me.

“I really wish you didn’t have to go.” I could feel the sadness washing over me.

“Me too.” He kissed me on the forehead.

“I don’t get it. Why did we have to meet when we did? Why couldn’t we have met like a year ago? Then we would’ve had more time together, and who knows, maybe I would be going to Florida with you.”

“Well, because everything in life is about timing. Think about it, if we had met a year ago, you probably wouldn’t have even given me a second glance because you were with Jason. There’s a reason why we met when we did.” The Ferris wheel started to move again.

“That’s true, I guess. But this still seems like bad timing.”

“Maybe. Or maybe it’s just one of the many lessons of life.”

“What kind of lesson could this possibly be teaching us? That moving sucks?” He turned and looked me in the eyes.

“That our relationship is strong, and if we can get through this move, then we can get through anything.” I suddenly didn’t feel so sad about it. I mean, it still sucked, but he was right. This move was going to be the ultimate test, and if we lasted through this, we’d last through anything.

“How do you always know the right things to say?” I asked him.

“It’s just the way I think, I guess.”

When we reached the bottom of the Ferris wheel, I had a new perspective on our situation. I was wasting time being sad about him leaving instead of enjoying the time we had left together. I couldn’t let my feelings get the best of me. I had to think of the positive and take in every minute I could with him.