When Summer Ends

by Isabelle Rae

  As we walked into the foyer, he stopped and cursed under his breath. An angry looking bleached blonde girl in a tight and very short skirt was walking towards us, glaring at him. Hmm, what’s this about?

  “Sam Morris! You were supposed to call me three weeks ago. What happened? Were you too busy with a new slut?” she spat angrily. Her voice was a little screechy and made me wince at how loud she was. Her hateful glare turned to me so I stepped away from him quickly making his arm drop down off of my shoulder.

  Sam shrugged. “I lost your number.”

  “You lost my number? I stored it in your cell!” she countered, her nostrils flaring as her voice somehow got even higher pitched.

  “Oh, well in that case maybe I lost my cell,” Sam replied, laughing quietly.

  Holy monkey-butt, he really is a man-whore!

  She scowled at him. “You had no intention of calling me did you?”

  Sam shrugged, seeming unconcerned. “I told you beforehand that I wasn’t interested in anything. You were the one that said I’d call, not the other way around.”

  She stepped forward quickly and before I realised what was happening, her palm connected with the side of his face. A resounding crack drew the gaze of every single person in the foyer. I gasped. I’d never seen anyone do that in real life, only in the movies. It was actually pretty funny and a lot louder than I thought it would be. She turned to me and raised her hand again, going to hit me too. Oh hell no!

  “If you touch me I’m going to rip your cheap extensions out with my bare hands,” I warned.

  She scowled at me again and I could practically see her brain ticking over. Obviously she was weighing her options as to whether she wanted to take the risk of it or not. “Whatever, he’ll hurt you more than I can anyway,” she snapped, sneering at Sam again before storming out of the front door, dramatically flicking her hair over her shoulder. A couple of girls quickly ran out after her, already telling her what a hoe I was and what a waste of space Sam was.

  I looked at Sam with my mouth open in shock. He raised a hand and rubbed his face lightly, and I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes. He was laughing too as he continued to rub his face wincing.

  “You know what? That was almost worth getting slapped for. Cheered you up no end, huh?” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me when I finally calmed down.

  Sam took my hand, pulling me over to the ticket desk, buying two tickets for the next movie that was playing. He was right. That had definitely cheered me up… and so did the reddish tinge to the side of his face.

  “Are you okay, Sam?” I asked, trying not to laugh again.

  He nodded and rolled his eyes. “Thanks for your concern, though maybe it should have come before the hysterical laughter to actually mean something.”

  I choked back another laugh. “Yeah maybe you’re right. Who the heck was that girl anyway? Seriously, that’s the type of girl you pick up?” I turned my nose up. She wasn’t exactly a class act or anything. Her skin had a nasty orange tinge to it and her hair was bleached to the point of looking like it would snap in a strong wind.

  He shrugged. “Someone I met at a party,” he answered. “And no, that’s not usually my type, but it was slim pickings that night. I didn’t want to go home on my lonesome, that’s no fun.” He winked at me playfully, grinning.

  “You really are a slut,” I scolded. “I hope you use protection because seriously, she was… yuck.”

  “Jealous?” he asked, smirking at me.

  I nodded and stepped closer to him, putting my hand on the opposite side of his face to her slap mark. “Absolutely I’m jealous. My hand fits pretty good here; it’ll leave a nice print. I bet I slap harder than her.” I was overcome by another fit of giggles as I remembered the sound and the shocked expression on Sam’s face as her hand connected with his cheek.

  He laughed, and we went to get some popcorn and a drink before heading into the screen. The movie wasn’t very good, but I still managed to enjoy it. Sam and I were throwing popcorn at each other and behaving like kids, gaining us glares from the people around us. I was definitely glad that he made me come with him.

  After it finished we had a pizza before he dropped me home. It was nice. Relaxed, and actually quite fun. We didn’t talk about Will at all which I was grateful for. We talked about other stuff like his college and his family, just easy stuff.

  “So, maybe next week we can meet up again?” he suggested as we pulled up outside my house.

  I smiled. “Sure, if you want to.” Sam was actually an exceptionally nice guy, and I could definitely see us being great friends.

  “Okay, well maybe next time we could do something a little less public, there’s less chance of me getting slapped again then,” he said, grinning wickedly and making me laugh again.

  “Maybe if you stopped sleeping around and not calling girls back then you wouldn’t get slapped,” I countered as I hopped out of his car.

  “Nah, a slap now and again is totally worth it.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “Whatever, slut, call me then okay?” I laughed. He nodded in agreement so I shut the door, turning to go inside the house.

  He unrolled his window. “You know, that’s the first time I’ve ever agreed to call a girl and actually meant it,” he mused, laughing as I walked up the path to the door.

  I turned to look at him and smiled. “Well then I’m honoured,” I replied sarcastically. I waved and went inside. My parents were sitting on the sofa watching TV; I flopped down next to my mom.

  “Hey, honey, you have a nice time?” she asked, smiling.

  I shrugged. “Yeah it was good.”

  Her smile got broader. “That’s great, Chloe. It’s nice to see you smile again. You’ve been so down all week.”

  “Yeah I guess,” I muttered uncomfortably. I didn’t want to talk about Will, and she was going to bring it up I could tell. I stood up quickly. “I’m a little tired. I’m going to bed, night guys. Oh, Nick’s coming to pick me up in the morning and I’m going to his to study for the day,” I told them, changing the subject before she mentioned Will.

  “Okay, honey, see you tomorrow then.”

  I kissed both of my parents on the cheek before heading upstairs. I pulled on my nightshirt and slipped into bed. Turning my iPod on quietly, I decided to ignore Amy’s text’s that had been buzzing on my cell phone all night asking how I was getting on with the ‘hottie brother’. I’d talk to her tomorrow; I couldn’t deal with her tonight. She seemed desperate for me to hook up with someone. That was her answer to everything, when you break up, you move onto someone else to take the pain away, but it just didn’t work like that for me. I wish it did, that would be a lot easier.

  Chapter Ten

  A drip of something cold dropped onto my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, swiping at my face. Another drop landed on my forehead, then another on my nose. I gasped, suddenly having a thought that the roof was leaking or something. I sat up so fast that my head started to spin. Hysterical laughter came from my right making me jump and squeal from the shock. I turned to see Nick sitting on the edge of my bed, a glass of water in his hand.

  “Morning, sleeping beauty,” he chirped happily.

  I groaned as I slowly worked it out. “Did you put water on me?” I accused, wiping my face again.

  He laughed. “Don’t start being all dramatic, it was five drops of water.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here anyway? And how did you get in?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

  “We said ten, and your mom let me up,” he explained, nodding at my alarm clock. I blinked a couple of times then gasped as the red glowing numbers came into focus. 10:06.

  “Oh crap! I’m sorry,” I apologised, quickly climbing out of the bed and heading over to my drawers to get some clothes for the day.

  I glanced back to Nick to see he was looking anywhere but me and was sitting a little uncomfortably on my bed. I frowned, wondering what that was abo
ut, and then realised that I was only wearing one of his T-shirts that he’d left it at my house before we’d broken up. I quite often slept in it, but I guess it barely covered my butt.

  “Nick, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” I said, shaking my head and chuckling.

  “Yeah well it’s a little different now though. I mean, I’m not supposed to look now,” he countered, blushing slightly.

  I rolled my eyes and carried on grabbing some clothes. “Do I have time for a shower?” I asked, shooting him a puppy dog face complete with pouty lip.

  He sighed dramatically. “Yeah, whatever. I knew I should have just come at half past. There was me thinking you’d changed and would manage to be ready on time for once,” he teased. His gaze was firmly fixed on his nails as if they were the most important thing he’d ever seen in his life.

  “You never know, there’s a first time for everything.” I shrugged and headed into my bathroom for the quickest shower ever.

  Fifteen minutes later I was dressed and ready. I pulled my wet hair up into a messy twist and then we headed out. We chatted easily while he drove. Nick always had something to talk about, that was one of the things I loved about him. He pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket and grinned at me.

  I looked around, confused. “What are we doing here? I thought we were studying.”

  “We are, but you’re cooking. I want something good, so you can come and tell me what to buy.” He slid out of the car and headed around to my side, opening my door for me.

  I followed him into the supermarket and grabbed a shopping cart. “So what do you want to eat?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. How about chilli or something?” he suggested excitedly. I grinned and nodded. He always chose that, I should have known.

  I followed him up and down the aisles while he grabbed random things from the shelves: shampoo, deodorant, everyday stuff. I was totally bored. The next time he stopped I grinned and swung my leg up over the side of the cart, climbing in quickly. He used to do this all the time to me, push me around in the cart, racing down the aisles, well, until we’d get caught by the security staff that was.

  “You’re such a child,” he scolded, laughing.

  I nodded, grinning unashamedly. He smiled wickedly and pushed the cart forward making us hurtle down the aisle. Nick jumped on the back, both of us laughing hysterically. As we neared the end he got off and stopped us well before the end in case someone came round the corner. Safety first, as always with Nick.

  We got the rest of the supplies in a flash. Nick named what he wanted from each aisle, and I tried to grab it as we whizzed past it. Most of the time resulting in knocking things off of the shelves though. The whole time I was giggling like crazy.

  “Hey stop that!” someone shouted angrily.

  Nick immediately pulled the cart to a stop. “Oops, well that fun didn’t last long,” he mused, chuckling and shaking his head.

  I grinned and stood up in the cart as a security guard came walking up the aisle, glaring at us. “What on earth are you two doing? I’ve told you about this before,” he accused, pointing at the cart.

  Nick nodded, looking at him apologetically as he put one arm around the top of my thighs and the other around my back, lifting me out of the cart and setting me back on my feet. “I’m sorry, sir. Won’t happen again,” he said, looking extremely reproachful.

  The guy’s face softened. Nick had that kind of face that you just couldn’t get mad at. When he wanted to, he could look just like a little lost boy and you literally felt your anger melting away. It would be like beating a sick puppy or something. It had gotten him out of some arguments with me in the past. He was a damn good actor.

  “Okay, well don’t let me see you do it again,” the guy scolded, shaking his head disapprovingly.

  “Absolutely, you won’t, sir,” Nick promised, still doing the face.

  I bit my lip and tried to copy his expression. I obviously didn’t manage to pull it off though because the guy’s face hardened as he looked at me. “And you, Miss, don’t climb into the cart. It’s dangerous among other things, you could hurt yourself or someone else,” he chastised.

  Whoa, why am I getting all the blame? I really need to learn Nick’s face! “Yes, sir, I’m sorry,” I apologised. He nodded and walked off, looking extremely pleased with himself that he’d sorted out a problem.

  As soon as he rounded the corner Nick burst out laughing. “Every freaking time we come to the store you get us in trouble,” he accused, digging his finger into my ribs.

  I giggled and pushed him away. “You need to teach me that face, I swear it’s the best face in the world.” I shook my head, looking at him in awe.

  He laughed wickedly. “Oh no. That’s my trademark getting out of trouble face. Took me a long time to master.” He slipped his arm around my shoulders, leading us through the store again so we could finish getting the things he needed.

  Half an hour later we finally pulled into his drive. As we carried all of the groceries in I spotted his dad sitting at the counter eating his breakfast. His face lit up when he saw me. “Hey, Chloe, long time no see, sweetie.” He grinned happily.

  I hugged him in greeting. “Hey there, Trevor.” I loved Nick’s dad, he was a really nice guy. I didn’t get to see him that much though, only really at the weekends. He worked a lot because he was the only earner in their house.

  “Chloe’s cooking tonight,” Nick announced excitedly.

  A grin split Trevor’s face. “You always were a good girl.” He patted me on the head teasingly as he grabbed a can of soda and headed to the lounge.

  I rolled my eyes and boosted myself up onto the counter watching as Nick emptied the bags of groceries putting them away. He threw a pack of sugar into my lap. “Empty that into the sugar pot.”

  I snorted. “What am I your slave or something?” I joked, faking annoyance as I put it down on the counter and crossed my arms theatrically.

  I saw a smile twitch at the edge of his lips. “Do you want tutoring or not?” he blackmailed, raising on eyebrow cockily at me.

  I raised one eyebrow back. “Do you want chilli or not?” I countered.

  He laughed. “Chloe, I could buy chilli from down the road if you refuse to make it. If I refuse to tutor you, you’d have to go crawling to Erika.” He smirked at me confidently.

  Damn it, he’s right! I guess he wins this round. “Fine, but just so you know, I’ll be spitting in your food,” I joked.

  He laughed and shrugged. “Awesome, it always tastes best when you do that.”

  I laughed and tipped the sugar into the pot while he put away everything else. He grabbed two glasses and a carton of juice and nodded towards the hallway. I grabbed two apples from the bag he’d just bought and jumped down from the counter.

  As I made my way to his room I started feeling a little nervous. It was all right being back in his house again, but going into his bedroom would be a little weird for me. We spent a lot of time in there because his dad was hardly ever here. His bedroom held a lot of memories for both of us.

  I pretended I didn’t care as I walked into his room. Heat crept up on to my face as I looked at his double bed. Damn it, Chloe, stop blushing!

  “Want to do it on the bed or at the desk?” he asked, shrugging.

  I giggled. “Wherever is good for me from what I remember,” I joked, then immediately wished I hadn’t.

  He burst out laughing and shook his head. “That’s filth, Chloe, and I’m ashamed to say I dated you.” He turned his nose up making me laugh even more. “Come on let’s go for the bed so I don’t get a numb ass tutoring you.”

  I grinned and headed over to the bed, sitting cross-legged and munching on my apple as he pulled out his books, paper and pens. He settled himself down on his stomach, flicking through his text book.

  “So what is it that you have a problem with?” he asked, skimming through the pages.

  I shrugged. “Calculus.”

  He grinn
ed. “I know that, obviously, but what part of it?”

  “Nick, just the whole stupid thing. I just don’t get it.” I looked at him hopelessly. He sighed and gripped my hand pulling me down next to him; he took my apple out of my hand and threw it in the trash. “Hey, I wasn’t done with that!” I whined, pouting.

  “Chloe, if we need to go over the whole thing then we need to get started; otherwise we’re going to be here all night long,” he explained, pushing a pencil and stack of paper in my direction.

  Three and a half hours later and I had my forehead pressed against my arms. “I can’t do anymore! My eyes hurt, my hand hurts, and my brain hurts!” I whined.

  “Come on, you’re doing awesome. Just two left to go,” Nick prompted, elbowing me in the ribs for the hundredth time.

  “Please?” I begged, turning my head and looking at him giving him my puppy dog face.

  “You’ve really had enough?” He sighed, looking a little defeated.

  “Oh hell yeah, I can’t look at another equation without screaming,” I confirmed, nodding enthusiastically.

  He frowned but pushed himself up to sitting. “Fine then, let’s leave the last two. You can do them after dinner. We still need to go over the homework assignment; we’ve barely even covered what’s been happening in class all week.” He looked at me warningly so I let out a long groan of frustration.

  “Oh man, seriously? I thought we were nearly done.” I wanted to cry. It was actually making sense the way he was explaining it to me, but I just couldn’t cope with doing anymore. This was just too much all in one go.

  He smiled apologetically. “Nowhere near done. There’s a couple of hours left easily.”

  I sighed. “Thank you so much for doing this for me. You’ve wasted your whole Saturday to help me, and I really appreciate it.” I hugged him tightly. He really was adorable. I was lucky to have him as a friend. I was so glad that we seemed to be able to move back into the friend zone after dating; otherwise I would really miss him.