About Last Summer

by Patricia B Tighe

Kenzie ninja’d the dish towel from Geoff—who mock-glared at her—and hung it on the oven door handle. “We need something more interesting. Let’s go to Ski Apache and ride the gondola.”

  Geoff frowned. “Fun, but expensive. Plus, it would seriously cut into my sitting around time.”

  “We have to do something,” Amanda said. “You heard Mom.”

  “She didn’t say we had to go anywhere,” he said.

  Amanda huffed. “She said outside!”

  Geoff leaned toward her. “She said ‘preferably’ outside. That doesn’t mean we have to go anywhere.”

  Kenzie moved between them. “Okay, you guys, no fisticuffs.”

  “Fisticuffs?” Amanda’s friend, Haley, asked in a quiet voice.

  “We weren’t even touching each other,” Geoff said.

  But Kenzie didn’t respond to him. “It might rain tomorrow, so let’s do something outside while we can.”

  “Yeah,” Noah said.

  His voice was so close that I jumped. I tried to cover by turning toward him. Had a grin just left his face?

  Noah lifted an arm toward the window. “Why not just hike around here? That is if everyone’s up to it.” His gaze slid across the group, finally landing on me with a smirk twisting his lips.

  “Ohh,” Amanda said in a breathy voice. “That sounds fun.”

  I fought to keep my face emotionless. He didn’t think I could hike? Just because it wasn’t one of my favorite things didn’t mean I couldn’t do it. I slid my fingers into my jeans pockets so I wouldn’t clench them. “I love—” I caught myself just in time. I’d been about to respond in my normal voice, not the slow, accented speech of Gabriela. Six pairs of eyes stared at me. I took in a long, deep breath, then let it go. Focus. “I would love to go on a hike to these woods.”

  Kenzie winked and mouthed something that looked like Perfect.

  Noah lifted one dark eyebrow, and I had to push away the sudden memory of smoothing his eyebrows with my fingertips.

  “Hiking it is!” Geoff said.

  Molly made a face at him.

  He winked at her. “And because of Molly’s artistic need to get back to her work, we’ll keep it short.”

  “Ha,” Molly said. “I can hike longer than you.”

  “Probably,” he said, and then turned to the group. “Everybody good with plodding along a trail while trying to avoid bears and poison ivy?”

  Varying degrees of yes sounded through the room.

  “All right,” Geoff said. He bent over and stuck his arm out. “Put your hands in, c’mon. It’s go-team time.”

  Noah laughed, and the warm sound made me want to drift closer to him. Stop it, Gabby. That was all in the past. He hated me. And I wasn’t too psyched about him, either.

  Kenzie shook her head. “Forget it, Oh Fearless Leader. We need to get ready. Let’s meet back in fifteen.”

  “Aaaaand break!” Geoff yelled, raising his arm high.

  I laughed with everyone else. But wait. I probably should’ve looked confused instead. Like I didn’t understand what Geoff was doing. Oh, well. Too late to do anything about it.

  People headed off. I followed Kenzie, and once the bedroom door shut behind us, I stormed over to my suitcase. I was going to hike the hell out of this stupid group activity.

  “That was so great,” Kenzie said. “You did so great. ‘A hike to these woods.’ Awesome. I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

  I pulled out my sneakers, then tossed pajamas, T-shirts, and underwear to the floor. Where were my socks? I threw a pair of shorts toward the bed.

  “What’re you doing?” Kenzie asked.

  “Looking for socks.”

  Kenzie’s warm hand grabbed my wrist. “Stop. You’re making a mess. And you hate messes. What’s wrong? Did Noah say something? I saw you talking.”

  I let out a shaky laugh. “Oh, he said something, all right.”

  Kenzie sat on the floor beside my suitcase. “What?”

  I sank to my knees and told Kenzie about the conversation with Noah. When I finished, I sighed. “I can’t believe he’s trying to blackmail me.”

  “There’s no try about it. He is blackmailing you.” Kenzie tilted her head. “I take it you don’t want to go home anymore?”

  “No way. He’s not ruining this week for me.”

  Kenzie smiled evilly. “Good. So how do you want to handle this? I mean, I can run interference if I see him giving you orders, but what if I’m not around? What’re you gonna do?”

  “Play it by ear, I guess. It depends on what kind of stuff he wants me to do.”

  Kenzie laughed. “I’m not touching that line.”

  My cheeks burned, and I threw a pair of balled-up socks at Kenzie. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Aren’t you looking for these?” she asked, holding up the blue and white socks.

  Good grief. What was wrong with me? Just the thought that Noah might want me to do sexual stuff had fried my brain. It was stupid. He was pissed, but he wouldn’t be that sleazy. “Yes. Just a little distracted by a blackmailer.” I held out my hands. “Toss them here.”

  Kenzie did and then stood with her hands on her hips. “Speaking of being distracted, maybe we could sidetrack Noah with Amanda.”

  I slid one foot into my shoe. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, she already thinks he hung the moon. We could tell her he thinks she’s really cute. Then she’d never leave his side. He wouldn’t have any time to order you around.”

  I stopped tying my shoe and looked up at Kenzie. A couple of long moments passed, but then we shook our heads in unison. “No,” I said. “I wouldn’t do that to anybody.”

  “Yeah, too mean. We’ve all done stupid stuff when we crushed on someone. Remember Justin Kaufmann our freshman year?”

  I groaned. “Don’t remind me. The fact that I stood next to his locker every morning for a month still makes me want to throw up. How old is Amanda, anyway?”

  “Fourteen. She’ll be a freshman.”

  “Horrible year,” I said, and then got up. “We’ll leave her out of this. Once I find out what my blackmailer wants me to do, I can figure out how to act.”

  “Right,” Kenzie said. “Just think of this week as one super-long improv session.”

  “I’d rather tear my hair out.”

  “Nah. It’ll be fun.” She pulled hiking boots out of her suitcase. “Oh, we should have a code name for Noah, so we don’t have to worry about someone overhearing us.”

  “Like Alpha One or Bald Eagle?”

  She snorted. “Right. As if we’d be talking about a bald eagle.”

  I laughed. “You have any better ideas?”

  “It should be a different guy’s name. Something Spanish, so anyone who hears will think we’re talking about someone from your hometown.”

  “Hmm. I’ve always liked the name, Alejandro.”

  “Ooo, good one. Alejandro it is!”

  “Let’s just hope I remember to use it.”

  Kenzie grinned. “I’ll help.” She finished tying the laces on her boots and jumped up. “You ready for this?”

  Of course not. I had to be someone I wasn’t. I handed her a hair tie and presented her with my back. “Yeah, but twist my hair up on the back of my head. It’ll only stick out everywhere if I do it, and my hands are shaking anyway.”

  Kenzie’s capable fingers smoothed through my hair, gathering it up, and in seconds it was done. I raised a hand to feel the bun, but she stopped me. “Don’t mess with perfection.” A huff of air came out of me, and Kenzie twisted me around. “You don’t need to be nervous. Inhale, slow and long.”

  “Really? Acting prep?”

  “Do it. At least three times.”

  I obeyed her instructions, and she squinted at me the whole time. “There,” I said. “You happy?”

  “Who are you?”

  What? Oh. “Gabriela Vega, from Spain.”

  “Accent.”

  I repeated with as light an a
ccent as I could. I didn’t want to go overboard.

  “And do you like to hike, Gabriela?”

  Did Gabriela like hiking? I had no idea. But I should probably decide. “It is not my favorite thing.”

  “Good. Awkward formal sentences for the win.”

  I laughed. “I can do awkward.”

  Kenzie’s smiled stretched wide. “Perfect. Let the games begin.”

  Noah

  I needed to switch places with someone. Anyone. I stepped over a downed tree limb on the deer path we were hiking. Sunlight filtered through the trees filling the area with hazy light. A light breeze slid across my neck. I shouldn’t be sweating, but I was. Warm and sticky, it made my shirt stick to my back. My position in line had to be the problem. Geoff was way at the back of the group with Molly because she kept stopping to examine tiny ferns or some insect scrabbling along the side of the trail. So talking to him was out.

  Gabby was five yards ahead, listening to Kenzie tell stories about stuff she, Geoff, and Amanda had done in that forest as kids. I couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, so I made do with staring at Gabby’s tight jeans. Hence the sweat.

  Not that I minded. Much. It was just that whenever the path widened—more often than I expected—Amanda and Haley, who’d been on my heels, moved up on either side of me, and I had to pretend to listen. Which I was doing at that moment.

  “So what do you think, Noah?” Amanda asked.

  Um, that I have no idea what you’re talking about? I glanced at her and had to look away. That worshipping expression was getting harder and harder to take. “I, uh—”

  “I mean,” she continued, “we’re planning on either a chocolate cake or a lemon one for Geoff’s birthday.”

  “Oh,” I said, and Haley giggled, ducking her head as though trying to hide it. Her dark blond ponytail swung with the movement. She could probably tell I hadn’t been listening.

  “Which kind do you like better?” Amanda asked.

  “Either. What kind does Geoff want?”

  She waved a hand. “He doesn’t really care.”

  A straight-up lie. Geoff cared about everything. He obsessed over the tiny details of everyday life so much that half the time he drove me nuts. Who cared whether the stoplight at Tuxedo Avenue and Broadway stayed on red three seconds longer than it used to? Geoff would absolutely care what kind of cake he had. “I think you’d better ask him to be sure.”

  “If you really think so,” she said, her voice lifting in a teasing tone.

  The path narrowed again, and the girls had to drop behind. Thank God.

  “Let’s ask Geoff now,” Haley said.

  “Okay,” Amanda said, sounding reluctant.

  I took the opportunity to catch up with Gabby and Kenzie. Well, not all the way up, but closer than I was to the group behind me. The trees were thicker here, sticking their branches across the path as though they wanted to keep people out. Laughter rang out up ahead. I increased my pace, ignoring the scratch of pine needles. And just like always when I was about to see Gabby, my heart beat so hard I thought it might do an Alien exit out of my chest.

  I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do more—hug her or strangle her. Probably both. Or neither. Ugh. I just had no control over my feelings. I should stay completely away from her this week. Have next to no contact. But that was impossible. Plus, my plan to boss her around would be in the crapper if I avoided her.

  And the plan was the important thing. I had to stick to it. Had to make it work. It was my only chance for payback. She had to hurt just like I had.

  Kenzie’s voice floated back, but I couldn’t understand what she’d said. It felt strange to see Gabby laughing and talking with someone she’d obviously known a long time. Last summer, neither of us had known anyone at camp, which made our connection that much stronger. And, other than the Gabriela thing, Gabby seemed normal and happy.

  Like she’d moved on.

  I snatched a dangling twig from a tree as I passed and broke it in two. Maybe I was being stupid. Maybe I should just forget revenge. Take the high road. Forget last summer. Forget the pain of last year and treat Gabby like someone I used to know, but didn’t have much in common with anymore. A great goal, but I honestly didn’t think I could do it.

  More laughter. I rounded a corner to see Gabby standing there holding back a branch for me. Humor gleamed in her dark eyes and across her pink lips. I froze. Watching. Waiting. Hoping my heart wouldn’t really fly out of my chest.

  And then she jerked the branch as though she were about to let it go. I flinched as everything inside screamed for me to grab her hand and make her stop screwing around. To finally get the answers I needed. But I didn’t. After a long moment, she shrugged and slowly returned the branch to its place. Then she strolled away.

  I cursed under my breath. I had to stop thinking about Gabby as if it were last summer and we were still madly in love with each other. We weren’t. Not anymore. I couldn’t let myself forget it again.

  Another five minutes of walking and we reached a small, sunlit clearing.

  “Ah,” Kenzie said, rolling her shoulders. “Water break,” she called.

  Avoiding eye contact with Gabby, I unclipped the water bottle from my belt loop. Chill. Be totally chill. I pressed the aluminum bottle to my lips and let the cool liquid slide down my throat. A little too fast. I choked and coughed, covering my mouth with my forearm.

  Kenzie banged my back with one hand, practically rattling my teeth. “You okay there, champ?”

  I lifted a hand and moved away from her. “Fine, fine,” I choked out.

  So much for being chill.

  Molly staggered into the clearing carrying Geoff piggyback, Amanda and Haley laughing behind them. “We have arrived!” Geoff yelled. He slid off, then dipped Molly over his arm for a quick kiss. Per usual, when they straightened, she just shook her head at him. No blushing, no embarrassment at all.

  “You shouldn’t carry him like that,” Kenzie said. “You’ll hurt your back.”

  Molly stretched her arms up in the air. “It wasn’t very far.”

  Geoff stopped gulping down water and said, “My woman has the strength of ten men.”

  Kenzie huffed out a laugh. “Right.”

  A quiet chuckle came from my left and, without thinking, I looked. A light pink flush filled Gabby’s cheeks, and a couple of dark curls had slipped forward from where they’d been pinned up on the back of her head. The dimple that I’d fallen in love with dented her left cheek. A warmth grew in my chest. I forced myself to turn away. I needed to order her to do something soon, or I’d probably give up the whole plan and end up on my knees begging for her forgiveness. Even though she was one who should be doing that. Crap.

  “So, we’ve been at this for over an hour,” Kenzie said, her phone in her hand. “Y’all want to keep going or head back?”

  “Head back, head back,” Geoff said, jumping up and down.

  Kenzie slid her phone back into her pocket. “Wow. It’s like you’re about to be eight, not eighteen.”

  “Don’t be jealous,” he said, still jumping. “Head back, head back.”

  “Molly, could you?” Kenzie asked.

  Molly smirked and grabbed Geoff’s moving forearm. He stood still.

  I shook my head. “Sad, man, truly sad.”

  Geoff grinned. “You mean because my body responds to her every command?”

  “Ugh,” Amanda said. “TMI.”

  “I do not have the understanding of this,” Gabby said, her Spanish accent a little heavier than before.

  “Don’t worry, Gabriela,” Kenzie said. “Nobody understands Geoff.”

  They laughed. I leaned against a tree, ignoring the rough bark biting into my back. What could I make Gabby do? Right there, right then. No evil genius ideas came to mind.

  Amanda sat in the grass and Haley joined her. “We can head back now,” Amanda said, “but we need to make sure to learn the ‘one new thing’ from everyone in case Mom
and Dad ask.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Geoff said, resting his hands on his hips. “Okay, here’s how this goes—everybody has to tell one thing about themselves that people don’t know. Obviously easier for you neophytes.”

  “What?” Haley and Amanda said at the same time.

  “Beginners,” Kenzie said.

  Geoff cleared his throat. “I’ll start. I’m thinking about dying my hair purple to match Molly’s streaks.”

  Molly laughed.

  “You are not,” Kenzie said.

  “Yes, I am. I mean, not all of it. Just pieces.”

  “Pieces,” I said, letting a little snark into my voice. “That’ll look beautiful, bro.”

  Geoff bowed. “Thanks, man. Okay, who’s next?”

  “I’ll go,” Amanda said. “I’m gonna get my belly button pierced on my next birthday.”

  “Nice,” Geoff said. “Going old school, huh?”

  “Shut up,” she said.

  Haley dusted dirt off her hands. “Me too. I’m doing the same thing on my birthday.”

  “Yay,” Amanda said. “That’ll be so cool.”

  “Great,” Geoff said. “We’ve got hair dying and piercings. Anybody getting a tat?”

  “I am,” Molly said.

  He swung toward her. “Really? Where? What’s it gonna be?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Not telling yet.”

  “Oh, you vixen,” he said and pulled her closer.

  Kenzie let out an exaggerated cough. “Okay, okay. Enough from you two.” She fastened her gaze onto me, and I tried not to cringe. What could I say? “Noah, you ready?”

  “Um …” Scrambling, scrambling. “I, uh, play guitar, and I’m planning on taking private lessons this year.” Not a total lie. I wanted to, but I hadn’t done anything about it yet.

  “Really?” Geoff asked. “That better not interfere with basketball practice.”

  “What’re you, my mother?”

  Amanda and Haley laughed.

  “My turn,” Kenzie said. “I’m hoping to get a scholarship to play college ball.”

  Geoff shook his head. “Doesn’t work, Kenz. I already knew that. Pick something else.”

  Kenzie wrinkled up her nose. “Hmm.” She lifted her chin. “Here’s something. I’m going to Spain again next summer after I graduate. I’ll get to visit Gabriela.”