The Summer of Me & You

by Rae Hachton

  He lingered there. I'd never been hugged like that. His was full of passion, intensity. My body ached for him and I almost began to plea for him to leave before I did something incredibly stupid and pulled him back to my room.

  Go Kaleb. Leave. Please. I secretly begged in my mind.

  “Can barely find the strength to do only this. Wish I could kiss you tonight, Kayleigh, but I'm not strong enough,” he whispered.

  “If you did, it'd be okay. I wouldn't let it go any further. We'd stop at kissing.”

  “No,” he let out a staggered breath, “—we wouldn't. I know better.”

  I thought he wasn't going to leave. He clinged to me, his breathing heavy. I wanted and needed something to happen that would pull him away and back down those stairs. I needed him to leave.

  My prayers were answered when the phone rang. The moment between us dissolved and I was able to think clearly again.

  He pulled away from our embrace.

  “I need to answer that,” I said.

  “Bye, Kayleigh.” Kaleb plummeted down the stairs and out the front door. I watched him leave. The phone had rang five times. As soon as he shut the door, I bolted back to my room with exasperated breath and picked up the receiver.

  “Hello?”

  “What in the hell are you still doing home?! You're supposed to be making out with him right now, getting your slut on in the backseat of his car.”

  “Gunner?” I said.

  “He just left your house.”

  Who was he, the neighborhood watch and report?

  “I know you live across the street, but that doesn't give you permission to monitor everything that goes on over here. Besides, if you'd really wanted something to happen between Kaleb and me, you wouldn't have called while we were hovering at the top of the freakin' stairs, awkwardly trying to decide if he was going to stay the night or not. So...”

  “Oh my God! Did I really interrupt a moment? I thought he was picking you up. I just wanted to remind him about how to operate the film machine.”

  “The what?”

  “Hey, I'm coming over. I gotta tell you something anyway.”

  When Gunner arrived, he told me all about his date with Ben. I'd never seen him so enthused about anything in the entire time I'd known him. The fact that his secret romance was with one of our ex-teacher's added to the allure.

  He told me about the date that Kaleb had arranged. The rain would've made it impossible to have the date Kaleb had planned anyway. And with the heat that'd surged between us tonight, we didn't need to be trapped inside the backseat of a car together during a thunderstorm. After Gunner left, Kaleb called me on my cellphone. “Sorry about tonight. I'm going to make the date up to you. I promise.”

  “I'm gonna hold you to that,” I said.

  When we got off the phone with each other, my mom texted me.

  How was your date with Kaleb tonight?

  It was great, I lied. We had a blast!

  Great, she replied. Invite him over for dinner tomorrow night.

  I groaned. What was she trying to do, embarrass me?

  But hey, at least I'd get to see him again, sooner than I thought.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  His Eyes

  *

  When I told Kaleb that my mother wanted him to come over for dinner he was terrified.

  “Oh my God, I can't believe you want to subject me to mommie dearest.” I laughed at his expression. “I've avoided that woman for two and a half years, and now you want me to break the record?”

  “If I recall, you broke your own record when you asked her face to face if you could date me, and when you showed up on my doorstep.”

  “Yeah, shit. You're right.”

  “Come suffer with me. She's making tofu everything for dinner.”

  “Nuh-uh. I'm not eating dinner at your house. Fuck that. I'll stop by for a few minutes and then we're bolting and going out for Chinese.”

  Kaleb wore an ironed white dress shirt and a tie. Couldn't believe it. “Why are you dressed like your going to a Sunday service?”

  “Because. I obviously need to make a great impression on your mom. Duh.”

  “Just be yourself,” I told him, reaching over and loosening the tie.

  “Doesn't matter. She's not gonna like me either way.” The tie hung around his neck in a loop, and he rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt back, tucking them neatly. Hot I thought. I loved this look on him. Classy but with an edge. We promenaded down the sidewalk and up the driveway.

  “I'm gonna tell her I'm allergic to tofu,” he told me. “Can't believe she puts that synthetic shit in her body, or forces you to either. Gross.”

  “It's supposed to be healthy or something.”

  He shuddered. “No, thanks.”

  Mom's car wasn't in the driveway. “She's not home yet,” I told him.

  “Good, maybe we can dip out of here. I say give her ten more minutes, then we bounce.”

  The garage was open so I stepped inside and grabbed the basketball laying there, dribbled it on the pavement. “Bounce this,” I told him, passing the ball.

  He caught it, spinning it around. “You into sports?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Aren't you?”

  “Nah. Not for real.” He dribbled the ball back and forth between both hands. “Thought nerds weren't into sports either.”

  “Um, that's called a stereotype. You're allowed to like more than one thing, and you're allowed to participate in something outside of your “category.” I wrapped air-quotes around that word to let him know how silly I thought it was to catalog people.

  He shrugged and took a shot at the hoop, and rung it on the first try.

  “Not bad. See?”

  It swooped through the hoop, swoosh and I caught it after it bounced back up off the driveway court. In my peripheral I saw Gunner headed up the drive. Without looking in his direction, and keeping my eyes on Kaleb, I tossed the ball to him.

  “That's right,” Kaleb said. “Weren't you on the volleyball team at school? And you're the geeky freshman who tried out for cheer squad. The one that Ashley kept complaining about.”

  “Yep. We won every volleyball game but one this past year.”

  “Wowza. That explains things.” Kaleb submerged his hands in his pockets.

  Gunner held the ball under his arm, his hip jutted out. He stood there like he didn't want to interrupt. Not sure Kaleb even noticed he was there. His eyes were affixed on me.

  “What things?” I asked.

  “Seth,” he said and I quickly put the pieces together. “He's the classical jock. Explains why you'd want to go out with him. You're attracted to that sort of thing.”

  “As opposed to what? Being attracted to you instead?”

  “Maybe, something like that.” He shuffled his feet.

  “I think people are allowed to like more than one type of person, too, especially since they weren't really into the first one to begin with.”

  “You saying that you don't like Seth?”

  “Maybe,” I smiled. “Something like that.”

  Kaleb hitched his chin, tried to keep his expression cool and detached, but his eyes gave it away. They seemed to consume me. Whenever he looked at me, the world around us disappeared, and his gaze isolated us in our own space of existence. I never wanted to break away when he was staring at me like that.

  “Um, hello?” Gunner waved his free hand across the air to get our attention. “I'm over here.”

  “Hey Gunner,” Kaleb said, not turning away from me, but the moment had already faded. The air was still charged though.

  “Ugh,” Gunner sulked. “Just make out already.”

  At that time, my mother's minivan rolled down the street. We dispersed, stepping off the driveway and into the grass so she could pull in.

  “Hi, Mrs. Jamison,” Gunner said when she opened the car door.

  “Hey, Gunner.” She stepped out of the car and reached back inside to grab some paper bags. I caught t
he logo on the side and almost wanted to jump up and down because that meant we weren't eating tofu tonight. “I didn't have time to cook so I picked up some Thai.”

  “Now we're talkin'. That woman read my mind,” Kaleb whispered to me.

  “You staying for dinner, Gunner?” she asked him. “There's enough for five.” He'd stepped over to help her carrying in the food. She passed him a bag. Noticing, Kaleb awkwardly offered his help but she said, “No, I've got it. Thanks.” She glanced at his hands and he unconsciously rubbed them on his jeans.

  “Five?” I asked her. “Who else is coming over for dinner?”

  She struggled with unlocking the door and I told her, “Door's already unlocked mom.” She dropped the key back in her pocket and pushed the door open. “Seriously, though. Who else?”

  She walked in and I followed her to the dining room. She sat the bags down on the table, reaching in to remove the food. She ignored me, so I clamped my hand down on the bag so she couldn't pull out any more containers of food. “Who else?”

  “Seth. I invited him,” she finally said.

  “Of course you invited him! I didn't!”

  Kaleb gulped, his demeanor shifting to disappointment. He held his left elbow in the palm of his right hand, his knuckles bent and pressed above his upper lip.

  “I thought it would be nice to have a friendly dinner.”

  “No, you didn't. There's nothing nice about inviting Seth. You did this on purpose.”

  “Kayleigh,” she reached into the other bag. “What are you so worried about? If you don't like Seth, it shouldn't hurt anything. Unless you still have feelings for him and don't want Kaleb to know.”

  Kaleb's eyes shifted over to mine, silently asking for a confirmation on that statement.

  I sighed. “I don't like Seth,” I told her, my eyes flitted to his.

  Gunner was just then shutting and locking the front door. She glanced up when he entered the room. “Well then there's nothing to worry about. Now please go into the kitchen and get the plates and silverware.”

  I twisted away from her, heading into the kitchen.

  “Go ahead and sit down, Kaleb,” she said.

  Err! I cursed her under my breath.

  She knew this would upset Kaleb.

  I carried the plates, spoons, and forks into the room and sat them down on the table.

  The doorbell rang.

  “It's Seth.” My mom stood from the table. “I'll go let him in.”

  Yeah, I thought to myself. You're the only one who wants him here.

  I didn't know why my mother liked Seth so much. He was the son of one of her friends and she'd been trying to set us up since last year. It'd been her idea for me to attend prom with him. Hadn't anyone told her that you can't force your daughter to date or kiss someone she doesn't like?

  Soon she'd try to arrange my marriage.

  I pulled out the dining chair and sat down next to Kaleb. Gunner sat across from us.

  “If he sits down next to me I'll rub his leg. It'll freak him out and send him running home,” he smirked.

  I grinned. “Gunner to the rescue.”

  “I can't really say anything. I don't know him.” Kaleb hadn't been here even fifteen minutes yet and already he was aggravated. I could hear it in his voice.

  “Puh-leeze. I know you don't like him. I can see it all over your face. And he's totally after Kayleigh.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “Besides, it's not like Kayleigh and I are dating. She's not my girlfriend so she can like or go out with whoever she wants.” He slid his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text.

  “Who did you just text?” I asked, worried.

  “No one.” His answer was clipped quick and short. That definitely meant he'd texted someone. But he was right. It wasn't my business.

  “So if Seth asks her out, you'll be okay with it?” Gunner stared at him. “You should know—I have a bullshit radar. It's stronger than my gaydar and it's flashing red all over that lie.”

  Kaleb didn't have a response. Must've been because Seth stepped in to the room like he lived here and sat down on the other side of me.

  “Hi, Kayleigh.” He leaned over. Too close.

  Kaleb squirmed in his seat. I knew I needed to do something to separate myself from Seth for the rest of the evening before Kaleb flew up out of the chair and tackled him. The only thing that held him back was the fact that this was my mother's house. Had we been anywhere else, Kaleb would've already attacked him by now.

  I didn't like the idea of being sandwiched between the guy I didn't like and the guy I did. I waited for a minute to pass before I pulled the classic trick.

  “May I be excused for a moment?”

  I didn't wait for permission, I stood up and disappeared in to the kitchen and arbitrarily made it appear like I was searching for something. I pulled open the refrigerator door and grabbed the cherry soda and brought it back in to the room. Instead of sitting down in the spot I'd just vacated, I walked over and poured Gunner a glass of soda, then sat next to him instead, leaving a gap in between Seth and Kaleb.

  Talk about tension. It was heavy in the room.

  Mom passed around the dinner trays so everyone could fill their plates. “Let's eat now,” she said.

  “Yes. Let's.”

  We'd all filled our plates and were eating when mom decided to dive into the deep end. The conversation she launched wasn't appropriate. She swirled her drink around in her glass.

  “Who's your father, Kaleb?”

  He nearly spit out his food, choking.

  “Mother!”

  “Be quiet, Kayleigh. Let Kaleb answer me.”

  He looked horrified, and embarrassed. “I don't know. I never met him.”

  “Yeah, but didn't your mom ever tell you his name, at least?”

  “No.”

  “That's strange. You have his eyes.”

  “Whose eyes?” Kaleb's face scrunched.

  “I think I dated your father back in high school,” she said.

  Kaleb nervously shuffled the food around on his plate. Being in my mom's presence made him severely uncomfortable, but having to eat dinner with Seth in the same room really tossed him over the edge. He kept fidgeting and I was worried he'd knock over his drink and it'd splash across her rug.

  Underneath the table, unseen to anyone else, I extended my leg and pressed my foot lightly atop his to keep him from shaking. He kept his eyes hidden underneath his lashes to avoid her glare as she interrogated him.

  Seth had a grin on his face the entire time. Internally, I seethed. I'd been unaware she'd invited Seth over for dinner at the same timed she invited Kaleb. I didn't know what her intentions were but I had a good idea.

  With Kaleb and Seth there was no comparison. It was Kaleb all the way. I would make her accept that one way or the other.

  “I never knew my father so I have no way of knowing anything about that.” Kaleb laid his spoon down. “If you don't mind, I'd rather not discuss this.”

  “I'm sorry. Didn't know it was still a sore subject for you.”

  Gunner gave her an evil glare, undetected by her of course. He burned holes into her head.

  “How could you not know that, mom?”

  “I just figured since his mom's cohabitating with that guy and all—”

  “Wait,” Seth smirked. “Your mom's not married?”

  Kaleb fumed.

  “So Rebekah really isn't your step-sister then? And you two live under the same roof?”

  Kaleb jerked around to face him. “What are you trying to get at here?”

  Seth held up his hands. “Whoa. Chillax. You hooked up with her so many times, bro. Everyone knows about that.”

  My mom's eyes widened as if she were in shock. Did they really think they were above everyone else?

  “And?” Gunner said. “While we're pulling out everyone's dirty little secrets, why don't you spill the details about how you had your tongue down my throat over Christmas break last year, S
eth”

  Kaleb sniggered.

  Seth's face turned red. “You had more down your throat that night than just my tongue.”

  Gunner shrugged. “You let me and you enjoyed it. Everyone knows I'm gay. I don't have anything to hide. But you seem like a closet case to me.” He pushed his plate away, standing. “By the way, Kayleigh's never going to be your cover up, so stop sucking her mother's ass and start sucking you know what instead.”

  My mother was flabbergasted. “Gunner! I'm going to call your mother!”

  “Go for it. It's not like she doesn't know. I'm a “flaming” homosexual.”

  “Well,” my mother moved her fork around the plate. “This dinner has turned out rather unexpected.”

  “See you guys, later,” he told me and Kaleb, walking toward the door to leave.

  Mom shifted the focus onto me next. “Kayleigh,” she said. “You should really start watching who you kiss. You could end up with any number of germs that cause diseases.”

  My cheeks heated. I just knew my face had to be about as red as the soda I was sipping. I spit it out, spraying it across the table, nearly choking. I'd never kissed Seth. Besides, she was the one inviting him around all the time.

  “Yeah, Kayleigh,” Seth said. “You should really be more careful about what you put in that mouth of yours.”

  I snapped. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You know what it means.” He stared up at me. He was just trying to piss Kaleb off. Make him think something had happened between us when it hadn't. Or was his remark about Kaleb? He thought Kaleb and I were sexually active. It took me a minute to decipher exactly what he'd meant. One time, he'd caught me licking a lollipop and he'd made an offhanded joke about how much skill I had and didn't even know it. I remembered how he'd suggested I give it a go with him. I slapped him that day, too.

  Seth had pissed me off. I picked up my cherry soda and splashed him in the face with it.

  “What the hell, Kayleigh?” His arms flew out to the sides as he peered down at the electric pink stains splattered across his white shirt.

  “Dinner's over. C'mon Kaleb,” I said, storming out of the room. He stood up and followed behind me. As soon as we were on the lawn, Kaleb got right to the question he'd been holding inside.