“I’m sure everything will be okay.” Prue reassured Jade, hesitantly.
“I said the worst things to you. To both of you.”
“But it’s forgotten about now. So long as you’ve said what you needed to say…to me, you’re welcome here. I don’t want you two to fall out, especially not over me.”
“We’re okay.” Jade nodded, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup. “And you and I are okay…because you have such good coffee.”
“It’s how I lure the ladies in.” Prue winked, laughing.
“I knew it!” Jade grinned. “Summer knows her coffee. One taste of this and I’ll bet she was putty in your hands.”
“Oh, I wish it had been that simple.” Prue rolled her eyes, something she didn’t make a habit of. “Your best friend was a right pain in my ass in the beginning.”
“She’s been through a lot.” Jade shrugged. “But I see the difference in her here.”
“That means a lot.” Prue gave Jade an appreciative smile. “I won’t hurt her. I hope you know that.”
“Deep down, I already knew.”
“And I understand that as her best friend, you’re supposed to worry about her.”
“I’ve never had to worry about Summer. She’s always got everything under control. But for the two weeks I was here with her, she was in her own world. Busy friggin’ staring at you in that bikini.”
“Mm, she did mention that.” Prue’s smile grew wider behind her coffee cup. “Can’t say it wasn’t the same for me.”
“I know you used to watch her. I’m very good at reading people. You were easy.”
“Oh, do tell.” Prue placed her cup on the table, dropping her feet from the chair and crossing her legs. “Tell all.”
“It was just obvious.” Jade shrugged. “You used to lie on that lounger at a particular angle. Every day. Whenever I watched you—inconspicuously, of course—you’d angle your chin a certain way to make it look like you weren’t watching in our direction. The problem was, you often had a slight smirk while you were biting your lip. So, unless you were looking at the elderly couple in the room next to us…you were watching Summer.”
Prue gasped. “Wow, okay. You caught me. I was planning a threesome with the elderly couple. Couldn’t keep my eyes off the wife.” Winking, Prue and Jade burst into a fit of laughter.
“You know what, I was completely wrong about you. You’re actually pretty nice.”
“Don’t believe it. I’m the ultimate bitch ninety-nine percent of the time.” At least, that was the impression she’d tried to master over the years. Now, things were changing.
“Mm, or that’s what you want people to believe.”
“Easiest way to be…” Prue said matter-of-factly. She stood, taking her cup. “Would you like another?”
“Another would be great and then I’ll get out of your way.”
Prue moved into the villa, turning back to face Jade. “You and Summer have plans today, don’t you?”
“I asked if she wasn’t busy but I’m not sure what her plans are yet.”
“She’s not busy.” Prue shrugged. “I have plenty of work today. I was away from the hotel for a few days when Summer was considering leaving. I’m still catching up.”
“Is everything okay?” The concern in Jade’s eyes warmed Prue.
“It is now.” Prue smiled. “Needed some time away when I had to follow Summer to the airport. I couldn’t face work while I had her on my mind.” Prue was shocked. She’d never been this honest and open with anyone, least of all the friend of a partner. “Sorry. I overshared.”
“Not at all.” Jade lifted her legs, pulling her knees up to her chest. “When you open up, you seem quite human.”
“Okay, I like you.” Prue pointed towards Jade. “But I don’t draw the line at kicking your ass so remember that!”
“All talk,” Jade teased. “You’re a teddy bear deep down.”
“Grizzly bear, maybe…but I’m no teddy bear.”
Summer braced herself as she placed her hand on the door, glancing down her body and satisfied that her tank top and shorts was appropriate for breakfast. The atmosphere couldn’t be good this morning—it was too silent. She’d overslept, the time almost ten-thirty, but she needed it. Prue had kept her awake most of the night before—no complaints from Summer—but she did need her sleep. Without it, she could be an unpredictable bitchy mess. Prue would learn that in time, but Summer would prefer to keep things good before that happened. The last thing she needed was to fly off the handle a month into their relationship. Has it really only been such a short amount of time? Summer felt as though she’d been doing this since forever. Waking up in Prue’s bed. Sharing breakfast in Prue’s kitchen. The annexe was there…but she was in here. Her belongings were next door, but Summer never wanted to step inside the room again. She would, of course. Nothing could be rushed with this. She would enjoy her days here, but once Jade had returned to the UK, Summer would spend her evenings in her own bed, alone. Who the hell am I trying to fool? Summer laughed, shaking her head.
She turned the handle, anxiety building in the pit of her stomach. She had two outcomes in her mind. Prue would ask her to leave with her disrespectful best friend, or Prue herself would be gone. She didn’t like the idea of either, but Jade had made a rod for her own back and Summer would have to deal with the backlash. She slowly moved further into the open-plan space, frowning when fresh coffee waited on the worktop, no signs of her girlfriend or best friend. Deciding that she would be better suited to deal with a situation if she was fuelled with coffee, Summer filled a cup and sweetened it.
She crept towards the patio doors, her eyes landing on Prue’s bikini-clad body on her usual lounger. What she hadn’t expected was to find Jade lying on another one. “Good morning.” Summer cleared her throat, her eyebrow raised as she looked Prue’s way. “Busy?”
“Not at all, beautiful.” Prue sat up, swinging her legs over the bed. “Breakfast?”
“No, I’m okay for now.” Summer yawned, taking a seat at the table. “You should have woken me earlier.”
“Couldn’t do it.” Prue shook her head, smiling. “You looked far too comfortable to wake up.”
“See!” Jade cut in. “I told you there was a heart in there somewhere.”
Prue rolled her eyes. “Pipe down.”
“So?” Summer’s eyes switched between Prue and Jade. “You two seem to be getting along brilliantly.”
“She apologised.” Prue nodded. “No more needed to be said.”
“Fair enough.”
Summer relaxed back, lifting her feet up onto a chair. She took her sunglasses from the table and slipped them over her eyes. Jade hadn’t even bothered to look up and acknowledge her existence—this mood was bizarre to say the least. Summer sipped her coffee, watching her best friend as she made herself more comfortable. She wasn’t sure what game Jade was playing, but something felt off. Something, after everything that had happened last night, seemed very strange.
“What time did you want to go out, Jade?”
Jade sat up on her elbows, her forehead creased. “Huh?”
“You asked me if we could go out for a few hours today…”
“Oh, yeah.” Jade shrugged. “I’m not bothered. We can just hang around the pool if you want.”
“You hate sunbathing.” Summer deadpanned.
“Call it the new me.” Jade grinned, gaining a smile from Prue. “Prue doesn’t mind, do you?”
“Do as you please.” Prue waved off Jade’s questioning. “I’m just quietly minding my own business.”
“Okay, well I’m going to shower…” Summer sighed, climbing to her feet. “Glad you both worked everything out.”
She took one look at Prue, a knowing look, and disappeared inside the annexe. As usual, Jade’s belongings were strewn over the entire space, her bra hanging off Summer’s expensive Nikon attached to the tripod. Deciding to avoid the mess she’d left, Summer headed straight for the shower,
turning the taps until it reached the perfect temperature. When she reappeared from the bathroom, Summer found Prue standing in front of her, the annexe door closed.
“Everything okay?” Prue asked.
“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because I haven’t even had the chance to kiss you this morning. You disappeared and I know something is going on.”
“Nothing is going on. Not anymore.”
“Okay, I don’t know what that means.” Prue approached Summer, taking her hand. “Have I done something to upset you?”
“No. Not at all.” Summer smiled faintly. “But I need to shower and clean this place up.”
“Wrong answer.”
“Prue…”
“Summer…”
“I’m going to go out for a few hours. Take the camera…play about with it down at the beach.”
“Sounds lovely.”
“Should be, yeah.” Summer nodded, lowering her eyes. “Then I’m coming back to sit down and get what I need ordered for the dark room I told you about.”
“You feel settled enough here to do that now?” Summer’s heart melted when Prue’s eyes warmed. Relief, that’s what they showed. “I mean, I wasn’t sure if you were giving it a while, or…?”
“Should I?”
“I don’t think you should.” Prue crept closer, drawing Summer’s body against her own. “Why wait?”
“It’s just a start… I want more than just a dark room in time.”
“You have plans?” Prue smiled. “I’d love to hear all about them.”
“I’d like a gallery down on the strip. Maybe the old town,” Summer said. “I don’t know how much property like that costs here, or if it would even do well, but it’s what I saw when was planning to leave the UK. Probably sounds a bit stupid, but it was what I wanted.”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all, Summer.” Prue gripped her chin gently. “It sounds great.”
“The dark room will be enough for now.”
“Slow and steady?” Prue arched an eyebrow.
“Slow and steady.”
Summer focused through her viewfinder, the waves crashing against the sand as the wind whipped around her. The gusts were welcome today, the heat unbearable when they dipped or disappeared momentarily. The walk down from the villa had been tiring, with Summer taking half an hour to stop at a coffee shop across the street, but now that she was in the right mindset—her tiredness no longer present—she’d spent over two hours capturing some beautiful images. She would work her way through them tonight after dinner, before settling down for a quiet, restful night.
Being down at the beach had given her time to think about earlier at the villa. She could have handled her anger towards Jade better—it wasn’t Prue’s fault—but it didn’t matter because her best friend was oblivious to the fact she was even mad at her. One way or another, Jade always came up smelling of roses. Regardless of how offensive she could sometimes be, it seemed to mean nothing once she’d apologised. Summer would usually worry that it was to be short-lived—Jade couldn’t help herself—but she was way past the point of caring. She had been since the airport episode yesterday. So, rather than making a scene…she left and chose to spend time with herself.
The clearing of a throat startled Summer. She turned around to find Prue standing behind her, holding milkshakes from the store down the road. “Hi.” Summer frowned. “How did you find me?”
“You told me last week that this was your favourite area of the beach.”
She was actually listening. Summer smiled. “Yeah. The rock formations are impressive.”
“I remember you telling me that, too.” Prue handed over a milkshake, taking a seat in the sand next to Summer’s camera bag. “I got you banana. You seem like a banana kinda girl.”
“You would be right.” Summer grinned, placing her camera on top of its bag. “What are you doing here?”
“You left a little suddenly earlier. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just needed some space from Jade.”
“Care to elaborate?” Prue asked, sipping her milkshake through the paper straw.
“The way she behaved last night…”
“I thought that had been dealt with?” Prue asked. “I mean, we’re all okay, no?”
“We are, yes. That doesn’t mean she can come into someone’s home and act like that. A simple apology isn’t good enough sometimes, Prue.”
“I just feel like it’s easier to nod and agree…accept the apology, and then everyone can move forward.”
“No, you’re right.” Summer looked out over the vast expanse of water in front of her. “I’m just being bitchy as usual.”
Prue shifted closer. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Hey.” Prue bumped Summer’s shoulder. “I’ll back you every time…so, if she’s said something else to you, I need to know.”
“She hasn’t.”
“You just feel like she gets off with things too lightly?” Prue understood Summer’s anger, but was it really worth dragging it out when Jade would be gone by the end of the week? Prue didn’t believe so. “That I gave in too soon?”
“You’re the one she insulted. How you deal with that is entirely up to you,” Summer said. “I’m just tired of the same old thing time and time again with her.”
“Okay, I get that,” Prue agreed. “You’ve been around her a lot longer than I have so I can understand why she’s pissed you off.”
“I just hate how she does it. Causes mayhem wherever she goes, but then comes out on top and suddenly everyone’s best friend.”
“Some people are just like that.” Prue sighed, pushing her feet further into the sand. “I believe her apology was genuine though, so I’m over whatever she had to say to me.”
“I guess I should be too.”
“You should.” Prue kissed Summer’s bare shoulder. “Because I don’t like seeing you like this.”
“I’m fine, honestly.”
“I know you are. Don’t ever come to this beach again without inviting me, though.” Prue rested her milkshake in the sand, leaning her head against Summer’s shoulder. “I want this to be our place that we come to together.”
“The beach has always been special to me.”
“Me too.” Prue sighed, content with the direction the rest of her day was taking. “Spent a lot of time at the beach when I was younger.”
“Calming, isn’t it…?”
“Very much so.” Prue took Summer’s milkshake from her, sitting it down next to her own. “Lie with me.” She pulled Summer down beside her, both making themselves comfortable as the sun beat down on their skin.
Summer’s mind flashed back to the night they met. “Did I ever thank you for sending me that bottle of wine?”
“I believe you did.” Prue smiled, shielding her eyes with one arm, the other tucked away under Summer and holding her closer. “And if you didn’t, I think by now… I know you’re thankful.”
“Always will be.” Summer turned on her side, snuggling into Prue’s chest. “Thanks for coming to find me today.”
“You think I’d leave you out here alone?” Prue kissed Summer’s forehead, her eyes closing.
“No, I don’t suppose you would.”
Silence settling over them, Summer gave herself a moment to calm down. Jade wasn’t here right now, just her and Prue comforting one another. That’s how she wanted it to be. Summer wanted this to always be the outcome of their days together. Prue. The beach. Nothing but the sound of crashing waves. What more could she possibly want in life when she had a strong woman by her side? Nothing was Summer’s answer. Absolutely nothing.
“Hey, Prue?” Summer tilted her head up. “You know the night you came to my room?”
“Which time?”
“The first time…when you invited me to the villa.”
“Yeah, what about it?” Prue asked.
“Did you come that night because y
ou knew Jade had left for the UK?” Summer narrowed her eyes. “Because you knew I’d be alone?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’d been there for two weeks. You knew I was there, but you waited until the day Jade was leaving…”
“Perhaps I wanted no interruptions.” Prue kissed Summer’s forehead. “Maybe I wanted you all to myself.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course I knew she was checking out,” Prue said, smirking. “I know everything.”
19
The temperature had skyrocketed this morning, increasing as Summer did laps in the pool. She wasn’t bothered, not in the slightest, but Jade appeared to be struggling. As much as she wanted her best friend to enjoy relaxing, Summer wouldn’t put her through unnecessary torture. She deserves it after her behaviour. Summer thought, still feeling agitated that Jade had got off so lightly. Jade had mentioned catching up with one of the bar staff from a local bar on the strip—Summer wasn’t sure it was such a good idea. She knew exactly what ‘catching up’ meant when it came to Jade and friends. If they had chemistry, one thing was bound to lead to another. Why are you worrying about her? She can do what she wants. Summer stopped at the pool wall, watching Jade for a moment as her thumbs tapped away on her phone.
“Busy?”
“Me? No.” Jade placed her phone down beside her. “Just checking the news.”
“I know you hate this. You always have.”
“I’m trying to be the supportive, less-alcoholic best friend.” Jade offered Summer a crooked smile. “You know…”
“Please, go and enjoy yourself elsewhere.” Summer shook her head, smiling. “You don’t want to be here.”
“You know I hate sunbathing. I don’t know how you and Prue do it.”
“Just enjoy it.” Summer shrugged, climbing from the pool. “Prue will be back in the next hour. Honestly, you should meet up with what’s-her-face.” If Summer was being honest with herself, she wanted to be alone. She wanted to relax without Jade ‘pretending’ to want to be here. It was easier all around if they spent time away from one another. She wasn’t sure Jade realised that, but it was what Summer felt would be best.
The Heat of Summer Page 19
