Every Summer After

The tables were full from the moment we opened the doors, and by the time the last customers had been served, Sue was exhausted. Julien told her she looked like shit and forced her out the door while the rest of us closed up.

“I feel like I’ve been boiling in pierogi water all night,” I told Charlie and Sam when I was done, joining them outside the back door, where they always waited for me, sitting with their backs against the wall, once they had finished in the kitchen. I handed them their tip-outs.

“I’ve been standing over pierogi water all night,” Charlie said, standing to tuck the money in his pocket and pulling on his shirt to show me how damp it was. “You’ve got nothing to complain about. I’m jumping in the lake when we get home.”

He wasn’t joking. As soon as we tied up the boat, he jumped onto the dock, unbuttoned his shorts, and peeled off his shirt. Sue had left the porch light on, but it was dark at the water, the moon casting enough of a pale glow that I could just make out Charlie’s bare ass when he pulled down his briefs and jumped into the lake.

“Shit, Charlie,” Sam said when his head bobbed back up. “Give us some warning.”

“Just doing Percy a favor,” he laughed. “You kids coming in?” I’d skinny-dipped on hot-hot nights when I couldn’t fall asleep but never when anyone else was around. I smelled like cabbage and sausage, and my clothes were plastered to my body. A swim sounded amazing.

“I am,” I said, unbuttoning my blouse, ignoring the knots in my stomach. “Turn around while I get undressed.” I dropped my shirt on the dock. Charlie swam out farther, and I checked behind me, finding Sam staring at me in my white cotton bra.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, then turned away, pulling off his own T-shirt.

I stepped out of my skirt, slid off my underwear, unfastened my bra, and then dove into the water. Sam jumped in seconds later, a flash of white limbs. We kept our distance from each other, but I paddled away further still and turned onto my back, spreading my arms and legs, floating under the open sky. My feet tingled with relief. The water swirled around me, and my eyes grew heavy. Eventually someone splashed me, and Charlie said, “I think it’s time to get Percy to bed.”

He ran up to the house in his underwear and came back with towels, and Sam walked me home through the path.

“Ready for the swim tomorrow?” he asked when we got to the bottom of the steps.

I hummed in response. “You might have to give me a wake-up call.” I said good night, climbed the stairs up to the cottage, and sprawled out naked on my bed.



* * *





THE SOUND OF knocking woke me suddenly. I glanced at the clock: 8:01 a.m.

“A phone call would have been fine,” I grumbled after I threw on a cotton robe and trudged downstairs to open the door. Sam gave me a guilty half grin, and I motioned for him to come in.

“Thought an in-person alarm would be more effective. You seemed really tired last night.” He shrugged. He was wearing a bathing suit and a hoodie. His light brown hair fell over his face in a tumble.

“You know, for such an anal guy, your hair is extremely messy.” I glowered.

“Someone’s grumpy this morning,” he said, slipping off his sneakers.

“I just woke up, and I’ve really got to pee.” I walked to the bathroom. “There are Cheerios in the cupboard and bagels in the bread drawer if you haven’t eaten yet.”

The phone started ringing mid-pee. “You mind getting that?” I yelled to Sam. “It’s probably Mom or Dad.”

When I came out, he held the receiver in my direction.

“Hello?”

“Percy, it’s Mason.” My eyes skipped to Sam’s.

“Hey. I didn’t think you woke up this early,” I replied as Sam turned and busied himself with the toaster. There was no privacy on the main floor of the cottage, and Sam was going to hear every word.

“It’s your swim today, right? I wanted to wish you good luck.” Mason called the cottage to talk about once a week. If he hadn’t, I think I would have forgotten about him almost entirely, the same way I forgot about nearly everything to do with my life back in the city when I was at the lake.

“It is, thanks. It’s looking a little gray outside,” I said, peering out the window, “but it doesn’t seem like there’s wind, so I should be good.”

“Who was that who answered the phone?”

“Oh, that’s Sam.” Sam glanced over his shoulder. I’d mentioned him to Mason before, and he knew that we were friends—I just hadn’t told him Sam and I were best friends or that I was harboring a not-insignificant crush on him. “He’s spotting me while I swim, remember?” Sam pointed to himself like, Who me? and I bit back a laugh.

“He’s there early.” It wasn’t an accusation. Mason was too sure of himself for jealousy.

“Yeah.” I laughed nervously. “He wanted to make sure I got out of bed. Busy night last night.”

“Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to check in before your swim. And”—he cleared his throat—“to tell you that I miss you. I can’t wait to see you when you come back. I want to hold you, Percy.” I watched Sam smear cream cheese on a bagel. His forearms were thick and covered in fine, fair hair that glowed in the sun. He looked big in our small kitchen. There wasn’t a hint left of the gawky thirteen-year-old boy I met three years ago.

“Me too,” I replied, feeling guilty for the lie as it left my mouth. I hadn’t really missed Mason at all.

When I hung up, Sam handed me the bagel on a plate.

I thanked him and sat on a stool chewing while he prepared one for himself. When he was done, he stood on the other side of the counter and took a bite out of his breakfast, watching me while he ate.

“Was that the famous Buckley?” he asked, his mouth full. I gave him a flat look.

“Mason.”

“Does he call a lot?”

I took a big bite of my bagel to stall. “Every week,” I said after a minute. “It’s probably good he does, otherwise I might forget he exists.”

Sam stopped midchew, his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“What’s with the face?” I asked.

He swallowed and then cleared his throat before answering. “Nothing. It just doesn’t sound like you’re that into him.”

“It’s not that I don’t like him—he’s been sweet.”

“Good, Percy. He should be,” he said with a hint of exasperation.

“I know. That’s not the issue.” I looked down at my half-eaten bagel. “I told you before—I like someone else more.”

“The same guy you emailed about?” Sam asked quietly as I moved sesame seeds scattered on my plate with my finger. “Percy?”

“Yep, same one,” I replied without looking up.

“Does he know?” I looked up at Sam. I couldn’t tell if he knew we were talking about him. His expression was impassive.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “He can be hard to read.”

We finished breakfast in silence, and then I changed into a racer-back swimsuit Mom had bought. She had decided swimming was the perfect hobby and wanted me to try out for the swim team in the fall. I was considering it.

You couldn’t call it a nice day—it was muggy and overcast, but at least the lake was flat.

“You seem a lot less antsy today than you did last year,” I said as we stepped onto the Floreks’ dock.

“I actually had nightmares about it for a full week before you did that swim,” he said. “I thought you were going to drown and that I wouldn’t be able to save you. Now I know you can do it without breaking a sweat.” He kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, leaving both on the dock. He rolled his shoulders in backward circles a few times.

“And now you’ve got all that,” I said, motioning at his bare torso, the shadows playing off the ridges of his chest and stomach. He chuckled.

“I’ll do a couple of warm-up laps with you, and then we’ll head out?”

“Whatever you say, Coach.”

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