A Summer to Remember

chapter 8





When I walked downstairs, Adrian was sitting on the couch. He must’ve changed too, because he now wore sweats and a gray t-shirt. I couldn’t help but notice how defined the shirt made his muscles look. Lily was right, he was totally hot and I needed to have a little more fun. I spent pretty much all of high school with Jason so I’d never really gotten to date anyone other than him. I needed to just chill out and see where this was going. If all else failed, I could at least be lucky enough to end up with a new friend. A new, hot friend.

“Sorry, I ran into Lily in the hallway and got a little distracted.”

“No problem.” He opened the door and we walked outside.

We had to walk a little over a mile before we reached the turn that would take us to the beach. The nice thing about where the cabins were was that you didn’t have the noise of regular campgrounds. All you could hear was the crickets chirping in the background.

“Wow. It’s so beautiful out tonight.” I admired the moon beaming off the water as we found a spot and Adrian laid down a blanket.

“Yeah, it sure is.” He sat down next to me. “You don’t get to see the sky like this in the city. It’s so nice to get away every once in awhile. You cold?” He must have noticed I had my arms wrapped around myself.

“A little,” I lied. He picked up the extra blanket he brought and wrapped it around us.

“Is that better?”

“Yeah, thanks.” I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. The tingling in my stomach started up again.

“Okay, this may sound strange since we just met, but I want you to know something. I like you. I don’t know what happened the night we met, but something told me you were different than any girl I’ve ever met. There was just something, I can’t really explain, but I have to tell you because we leave tomorrow and I don’t know if I’ll get another chance. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t. Sorry if that’s weird and I just freaked you out.” I could feel him looking at me, waiting for my reaction, but I wasn’t sure what to do or say. I’d never had a guy completely just lay it out on the table for me. The weird thing was that it actually seemed real and genuine, not like he was just trying to get in my pants or something.

“I like you, too,” I managed to get out. Before I even had a change to react, I felt his warm lips press against mine.

My mind was still trying to process what was happening, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t deny our connection was very real. Every thought I had faded away, none of my worries seemed important anymore. This was right where I wanted to be, right here, right now. I decided to embrace the moment, so I ran my hands through his hair and pulled him closer. His arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me onto his lap. We continued to kiss as I pushed him back on the blanket.

Here I was sitting on a beach, or the closest thing we have to a beach around here, under a beautiful full moon, making out with a gorgeous guy I just met. This was something I didn’t do often and I felt semi-guilty about, but I couldn’t help the fact that it just felt right, like I was supposed to be here with him.

I pulled away so I could catch my breath. Neither of us could manage to get out a word, we just sat there staring at each other for a good thirty seconds. I tried to suck in every detail I could about this moment.

“I really wish this weekend didn’t have to end.” He brushed a strand of hair away from my face.

“Me too. You know, just because the weekend has to end doesn’t mean this has to end.” I gave him a little smile.

“You’re right about that.” He reached up and grabbed my face and pulled it toward his. This time when we kissed, it wasn’t hungry. This was more passionate and soft. I really didn’t want this weekend to end. He pulled away and looked at me with disappointment in his face. “We should probably head back to the cabin. We have to leave early, and by the look of everyone tonight, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be the one driving back tomorrow while everyone else gets to sleep.” I was finally with a guy who was actually mature and responsible and I was wishing he wasn’t. I had to smile a little at the irony.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s getting late.” I stood up and wiped the sand off my legs. It was probably a good thing that he put a stop to things. I needed some time to get my thoughts together before I did anything too crazy.

We walked back to the cabin as slowly as we possibly could. The walk was rather quiet as we realized the night was coming to an end. When we finally reached the cabin, we noticed all the lights were turned out.

“Everyone must be sleeping.” He turned the knob on the front door and pushed it open. I followed him in and shut the door behind us.

“I can’t see a thing.” I put my arms out in front of me to find my way to the stairs. I ran into an end table. Adrian laughed behind me.

“Here give me your hand. I know this place like the back of my hand. Brian and I used to sneak out and go down to the campgrounds where our buddies used to party and sneak back in before his parents woke up.” I grabbed his hand and he led me up the stairs to my room with minimum noise.

I turned on the lamp in my room and noticed I had three missed calls and a text on my phone. They were from Jason. The text read:



We need 2 talk.

I miss you.

I’m sorry.



“Everything all right?” Adrian came up behind me.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just a friend seeing how our weekend is going.” I set my phone back down on the nightstand. Right when I was starting to get my mind off of him, he had to go and text me. Typical Jason move. “Thanks for getting me up here with no major injuries.”

“Not a problem.” He wrapped his arms around my waist.

“I think I’m going to go to bed. I’m really exhausted.” I wasn’t totally lying, I was pretty tired. But the fact that Jason thought he could just text or call whenever he wanted and everything would be how it used to be really pissed me off!

“Okay. Are you sure everything is all right? You seem a little distracted.” He couldn’t hide the worry in his voice.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m just tired.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible. “I’ll see you bright and early.” I stood on my tippy toes and gave him a simple kiss on the lips, hoping it would help him believe me. Leave it to Jason to ruin a perfectly good night.

“See you in the morning.” He walked out of the bedroom and pulled the door closed behind him.

I laid down on the bed and shut off the lamp but I couldn’t get Jason’s text out of my head. My mind was racing with all the whys and what ifs. I was so sick of going back and forth with him. Just when I was finally having fun and enjoying myself with someone else, he felt the need to barge back into my life!