Summer Fling

by Jill Sanders

  Aubrey shifted and then shrugged. “Both.”

  “Why not?” Scarlett asked. “He’s single, so are you.”

  “It’s not that…” She glanced around again. “It’s complicated.” She stopped folding the napkins, resting her hands on the bar top.

  “How so?” Scarlett asked.

  Suddenly, Aubrey turned towards her. “You and Levi. Is it serious?”

  Scarlett was about to tell her not to change the subject, but then realized Aubrey was trying to make a point.

  “Levi’s told me that he loves me,” she admitted. She hadn’t even told her sister that part yet.

  “He has?” Aubrey smiled and leaned closer. “And?”

  “And?” Scarlett frowned. “I can’t love him back.”

  Aubrey bit her bottom lip and then asked. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

  Scarlett thought about it. “I don’t think I’m capable.” She stopped folding the napkins as well and looked down at her hands. “I mean, with everything that my dad put us through… To protect myself, I locked up my heart and threw away the key.” She sighed. “I really do like Levi and even trust him more than I have any other man, but…”

  Aubrey sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” She picked up another napkin. “Can’t and won’t.” She sighed.

  “Hey.” Scarlett laid a hand over Aubrey’s. “I’m trying, though, and Levi is really patient with me. I’m sure Aiden is…” She didn’t know. After all, Aiden and she had mostly worked together before the camp had opened. It wasn’t as if she hung out with the man a lot. He was really a mystery to her. Sure, she liked him and thought he was smoking hot, as did every single woman that had a heartbeat, but she didn’t know him well.

  “He’s complicated and so am I,” Aubrey finished.

  “Talking?” Hannah stopped beside them and leaned in. “Is it important? Are you willing to share with the group?” She motioned around to the room. Both Aubrey and Scarlett looked horrified. “No?” Hannah said sweetly. “Then fold. We have less than an hour to finish this before party guests start arriving.”

  “Tyrant,” Aubrey said to Hannah’s back.

  Hannah glanced over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue towards Aubrey.

  “But you have a cute butt,” Aubrey said loudly, causing Hannah to laugh. “See.” Aubrey nudged Scarlett. “I told you she could laugh.” To which Hannah raised her finger and flipped them both off.

  Aubrey and Scarlett laughed and then finished folding the napkins in record time.

  Two hours later, Scarlett stepped into the dining hall and was amazing at how different everything looked. Somehow, with the millions of string lights hovering above everyone’s head, everything looked fancier.

  Scarlett was put on working the front desk. She was tasked with handing out everyone’s name tags and making sure all the guests signed in.

  She didn’t mind the job, since it allowed her to sit in the front and out of the loud music the band was playing inside. She knew that by the end of the night, anyone working inside would be almost deaf. It wasn’t that the cover band was bad, just one of the loudest they hired.

  But all of the guests seemed to like it, since it sounded like they were all having a ton of fun. As people trickled in, two women from the celebrating class helped her greet their fellow classmates. On several occasions, Scarlett was asked whose daughter she was. Someone had even mistaken her for a woman named Gabby. Or course, the guy had been really drunk when he’d stumbled in.

  She and the rest of her friends had worn their standard black dress suits, the same one that most of the waitresses and waiters wore on a nightly basis. During parties like this, they found it easier than trying to slip into a dress and heels and be mistaken for guests. After all, most of the attention should be on the reunion classmates and not the staff of the camp.

  “How’s it going out here?” Hannah asked almost an hour into the party.

  “Fine.” She smiled. “I think most of the guests have arrived. How’s it going in there?”

  “Good. We may need you on the bar with Levi.” She sighed and looked back into the room. “I’m seriously questioning if we purchased enough booze for tonight.”

  Scarlett laughed as she moved to stand next to Hannah. “Do you think our twentieth reunion will be anything like this?” she asked, looking through the doors. People were crowded onto the dance floor, bumping and grinding against one another.

  “God, I hope so.” Hannah smiled. “I mean, it’s funny.” She leaned closer. “Some of these people look young enough to be our age. While others…” She motioned to an overweight, bald man trying to flirt with one of their waitresses. “I’d better go help Kathy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “When you want, head over to the bar and lend a hand. I’m sure they can finish handing out name tags.” She motioned to the two women who were still sitting at the sign-up table.

  Scarlett had briefly talked with both women and found out that they had organized the entire party but didn’t plan on going inside to enjoy themselves at all.

  “We are what you would call the class nerds,” one of them had told her initially.

  “Everyone always made fun of us in school,” the other woman had said.

  “Then why throw the reunion party?” Scarlett had asked. “You two must have put a lot of effort into all this.”

  Both women were pretty, and everyone who came along seemed shocked that they had changed so much and said they would have never guessed who they were.

  The blond one whose name was Sue had been talking about her husband and kids not being able to make it down here for the party. Vickie, the brunette, was a little heavier set, but still very attractive and soft spoken.

  They both shrugged at her question. “If we didn’t do it, no one else would have,” Sue had answered.

  Scarlett had wondered who in her graduating class would organize her reunion. It wasn’t as if she’d known a bunch of kids she’d gone to school with. Scarlett and Zoey had been moved out of their private school the summer their dad had taken off on them. Zoey had graduated a year after that, leaving Scarlett to finish school without any close friends.

  “Will you two be okay out here? They need my help inside,” she asked after Hannah left.

  “Yes,” both answered at the same time. “We’ve got this. There’s only a few more on the list that haven’t arrived yet.”

  “When you’re done, come in and have some fun. I’ll be at the bar. First drink’s on the house.”

  “Thanks.” They both chuckled.

  Scarlett made her way across the crowded room, trying not to bump into people as she went. When she stepped behind the bar, she was thankful for the extra space.

  She hadn’t thought that the local school would have such a large class, even with all the spouses attending.

  “Hey.” She touched Levi’s back so he wouldn’t bump into her.

  He glanced over at her and smiled. “Thank god, the cavalry is here,” he said to Britt.

  Britt smiled and nodded. “Help yourself to a customer,” she joked and went back to work.

  For the next hour, Scarlett worked behind the bar, filling drink orders as quickly as she could. She didn’t know how to mix a lot of drinks, but most of the orders were for light beer or shots. The fancier drink orders she left for Levi, Liam, or Britt.

  “We need glasses,” Britt said to her when there was a slight lull in the lines. “Could you go help collect them and clean them?”

  “Sure thing, boss.” She saluted and grabbed a tray. Any excuse to move around instead of just standing in one place. She was tired of being stuck behind the bar and wanted to get out into the crowd for a few minutes.

  She was on her third run of picking up empty glasses when she bumped into the back of a tall man. After making sure the glasses on her tray didn’t tip over and hit the floor, she glanced up to apologize to the guy and froze.

  She was so shocked by the man’s appearance that she actually stuttere
d and dropped her entire tray, sending the three empty glasses on it hurtling towards the ground to shatter.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “You have to come here,” Scarlett tugged on Levi’s arm.

  He glanced over at her. “I can’t take a break—”

  “No.” She shook her head, sending her hair, which had been neatly tied back in a low bun, flying around her face. “Levi, now.” She glanced around. Her eyes were huge and instantly he worried something was wrong. She called out towards the end of the bar. “Liam, take over for Levi.”

  “I don’t think you two have time for a quickie,” Liam teased.

  Scarlett narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s important and, no, it’s not a quickie.” She almost growled it at the man.

  “Fine.” Liam chuckled and shrugged.

  “What’s going on, Sassy?” Levi asked as she tugged him towards the dance floor, his concern building the more she pulled on him. “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” She shook her head, then said with a sigh, “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just… that.” She motioned her hands towards the crowd dancing on the floor.

  “Hey, I’m game if you are. I mean, you know I love showing off my moves.” He brought her in close.

  “No.” She shoved on his chest. “Look closer.” She leaned in and took his face in her hands and pointed his eyes at a couple who were dancing slowly in the crowd.

  “So?” He shrugged and turned back to her. “I don’t get—”

  “Levi, looook.” She repeated the motion with his face. This time, instead of skimming over the couple, he actually looked at them.

  Two heart beats in, he was pretty sure his heart stopped all together. He felt his palms go clammy, and his breathing even stopped.

  “Levi?” Scarlett said, wrapping her arms around him. “That’s your dad,” she whispered.

  He swallowed and felt his heart kick in his chest as if it had just started up again.

  Everything that he’d planned on saying to the man when he’d finally found him fled his mind.

  “Levi?” She tugged on his arm. “Go talk to him.”

  “No.” He shook his head and took a step backwards, just as the song ended.

  “We’re going to take a fifteen-minute break,” the singer of the band said into the microphone. “Now’s a great time to take that smoke break,” he joked, and soft prerecorded music started playing over the speakers.

  Most of the people exited the dance floor, making their way towards the bar area to refresh their drinks, including the couple that he’d been watching.

  “They’re heading this way,” Scarlett said into his ear as her hand took his and forced him not to move. Not that he could have. He was pretty sure his shoes were nailed to the spot on the floor, since his legs and the rest of him were suddenly disconnected from his brain.

  Levi knew the moment the man noticed him. He was sure that the look that crossed his face was the same one that had been on Levi’s moments ago. At first, the guy’s eyes, which matched Levi’s perfectly, scanned over him. Then they bounced back to Levi’s face and held there. The man stopped walking and his chin dropped slightly. Then he moved towards them quickly.

  “Who are you?” the man said, anger filling his voice. Levi noticed a slight accent but couldn’t quite place it.

  “Michael?” The woman he’d been dancing with tugged on the man’s arm.

  “Michael?” Levi had regained his wits in that brief moment. “Do I get a last name for the man who abandoned me?” Levi asked, his tone filled with sarcasm.

  The man’s eyes narrowed even further as something close to pain filled them.

  “Not here.” The woman grabbed Michael’s hand and started tugging him towards the front door.

  “Levi?” Scarlett said softly, getting his attention. “I’ll come with…” She glanced around. “Elle, we need a few minutes,” she called out to her friend.

  Levi was too busy watching his father’s back to pay attention to anything else going on around him.

  “Come on.” Scarlett took his hand and pulled him towards the front door, following the couple. “Let’s hear what he has to say.” She squeezed his hand lightly.

  He didn’t speak. Even when the four of them stepped out into the darkened patio area, he remained quiet, unsure now of what he could say. It was as if, after spotting the man, his brain had seized up.

  “This way.” Scarlett motioned towards the pathway. “We can have a more private chat here.” They all followed her down the pathway to a small clearing where several benches were set up. There was a fire pit in the middle that, during colder nights, usually had a fire in it. Benches circled around the pit for guests to enjoy. Currently, they were the only ones in the area.

  “Who are you?” Scarlett asked, turning on the man.

  “We can ask the same,” the woman hissed back in a low tone. “Just who do you think you are, approaching us at this very public party? How did you even get in here anyway?” she asked Levi, her eyes burning into him as if he was putting them out in some way.

  Levi’s eyes moved back to his father’s. “Michael what?” he said, ignoring the woman.

  The man sighed. “Michael Stiles,” he answered after a moment. “This is my wife, Leslie.”

  “Did you go to school with my mother? Mary Grant?” Levi asked, trying to block out any emotion from his tone.

  “Mary?” Michael asked, looking as if he’d been punched in the gut, which confused the hell out of Levi.

  “I did.” The woman stepped forward and for the first time, Levi looked in her direction. Instantly, he recognized the woman.

  “You were my mother’s best friend. Leslie Cummings.” He felt his heart skip again, then his eyes nodded towards his father. “You knew… who my father was?”

  “Stop calling me that,” the man said, running his hands through his blond hair, a move so familiar and close to his own move that Levi’s stomach rolled.

  Really assessing him, Levi realized the man could have been his brother instead of his father. His hair was a little longer with the same curls that Levi often had when he grew his own hair out. Both men were clean shaven and were wearing dark suits for the party. If he hadn’t known better, Levi would have assumed he was looking into a mirror instead of at the man who had abandoned his mother and him.

  “Isn’t it very obvious that’s what you are?” Levi spat out. “All you have to do is look at us.” He motioned between them. “We’re almost fucking identical.” Levi’s voice raised slightly. He tried to take a few calming breaths when Scarlett’s hand gripped his arm. He turned back to Leslie. The woman looked the same as she had in all the photos she’d posed in with his mother. Her short dark hair was cut in a new style, and she was wearing a green dress that hugged her thin body. She was short, even with the black heels she was wearing. “Did you know?” he asked her.

  “I…” She turned her eyes towards Michael. “I left town.”

  “That’s not an answer,” he pointed out. “My mother had me when she was a sophomore in high school. You had to know about me.”

  They were both quiet as the man turned towards the woman and looked down at her.

  “We don’t have to explain anything to you,” Leslie said. “Mary’s gone. She killed herself.”

  “What?” Levi gasped and swore his head spun. “What?” he said again as his entire body jerked.

  He felt Scarlett’s hand jerk in his and then she was pulling him towards one of the benches and shoving him down in it.

  “What the hell?” Scarlett confronted the woman. “Why would you say something like that? Levi’s mother died of an—”

  “Overdose.” The woman smirked. “Seriously? Didn’t Mary Lynn ever tell you the real story?”

  “Did you know?” Levi said softly through the ringing in his head, his eyes returning to his father’s.

  “That Mary died?” He nodded slowly. “Leslie told me when she came to visit me that first time.”

&nb
sp; “You’re Norwegian?” Scarlett asked and suddenly Levi recognized the accent.

  “I’m from Copenhagen,” he answered.

  “That’s why I couldn’t find you.” Levi laid his head in his hands and closed his eyes. “All these years.” He sighed.

  “We live in Miami now,” Michael added.

  “Michael,” Leslie hissed, “we don’t owe him anything.”

  “No.” Michael sighed.

  “I don’t know how you got in here, since this is a private party. I’m going to make sure that both of you are thrown out of here.” Leslie grabbed Michael’s hand and jerked on it until he followed her back down the pathway.

  Scarlett sat next to him and took his hand in hers.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  “Why? You had no idea that the man was going to brush me off for a second time.” He sighed and leaned back in the chair, only realizing they’d sat in one of the big rocking benches that Liam had made when the thing started to sway.

  Scarlett wrapped her arms around him and held on. “I can’t believe…” He heard her sniffle. “Someone would do…” She sniffled again.

  “Hey.” He tugged on her chin until she looked up at him. The big tears sliding down her cheeks almost broke his heart. Here it was, his darkest hour. He’d finally confronted the man he’d dreamed of berating his entire life and instead of feeling sorry for himself, Scarlett was doing all the crying. “I’ve had twenty-four years to be pissed or cry over the loss of that man. I’ve wasted enough tears and anger already.” He smiled down at her as he wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “You shouldn’t waste any of yours. He’s not worth it. Besides, I had the best childhood I could have ever asked for.” He sighed. “My gran loved me enough for a dozen fathers and mothers.”

  She smiled as he wiped more tears from her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” She reached up and touched his face. “About your mother.”

  He sighed and rested his head back against the bench. “I can’t deny that part of me had wondered.”

  “You don’t have to go back in there,” she said after a moment.