Summer by the Lake

by Kay Gordon

Forty-five minutes later, we made breakfast together in the Holcomb’s huge kitchen and didn’t stop talking once as we ate. There weren’t any specific topics we stuck to and we managed to talk about a little of everything.

  The conversation only stopped briefly in the shower when our mouths were otherwise occupied, but we picked it right back up as we got dressed and ready to go.

  “They were having sex in the chair?”

  I shuddered and dug around in my suitcase, which Drew had moved into his guest room the night before when he insisted that we weren’t sleeping apart. “Yup. Mom completely naked in Dad’s equally naked lap. The noises still haunt my dreams, Drew.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “I bet that was quite a scene when they realized you were there.”

  “Mom screamed, Dad yelled, and I ran back out to my car. We never spoke of it.”

  Drew burst into laughter and I couldn’t contain my own either, despite my disgust. I located the sweatshirt I’d been searching for and saw his hand reach out to grab something that had been underneath it.

  “This isn’t yours, you thief.” He held up his Dodgers cap and raised his eyebrows playfully, keeping it out of reach when I grabbed for it.

  It had been a last second decision the morning I left to bring it with me. Even at that moment, I still wasn’t sure what had possessed me to do it. I think the hat had just made me feel closer to him.

  “Finders keepers.”

  He chuckled and placed it on top of his head. “You didn’t find it, you stole it. I thought maybe you’d set it on fire.”

  “Nope. It’s been on my nightstand for the past three months, next to this.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the keychain, offering it to him. He had repaired the clasp on my necklace in the middle of the night, in between orgasms, and it was back around my neck where it belonged. “Thank you for letting me use this when I needed it.”

  “Of course.” He pocketed it and adjusted his hat. “You can have this back when you get me something to replace it with. I’ve been wearing a UCLA hat and it sucks.”

  I tilted my head as I examined him with a smile. “I think you’ll look really good in Sedona Red.”

  “Diamondbacks,” he replied with a groan as I pulled my sweatshirt over my head. “You’d really make me wear a hat from that mediocre team?”

  “Yup.” I placed a quick kiss on his lips and he just laughed as we walked out the door to May’s SUV.

  That light atmosphere followed us all of the way to the hospital and Howard’s room even felt less oppressive with the tension gone between the two of us. The man himself looked much better than he had the day before. He was smiling when we entered the room and his smile only increased when he noticed that our hands were entwined.

  May’s smile brightened as well and I could tell she wanted to comment on it. She managed to hold herself back, though, and just informed us that Keaton would be arriving soon. My parents, too.

  Mom had insisted that Thanksgiving be moved to the Holcomb household and she was already looking up the best recipe ideas for Howard. Apparently the words ‘tofurkey’ and ‘kale casserole’ had been thrown around and Howard wasn’t too pleased.

  “When do you think you’ll be released?” I asked as I took a seat on the foot of his bed. Drew stood next to me with his hand on my shoulder. Howard sighed and sat back against his reclined bed.

  “They said three or four days. Are you sure you kids can stay until Thanksgiving? I don’t want either of you in trouble with work or school.”

  “We’re sure,” Drew insisted while I nodded my agreement.

  “It’s a short week anyway. Everything is taken care of.”

  That was all it took to placate Howard and he let the subject drop. As a Cheshire-cat like grin filled his face, I knew we were about to broach a new subject. His wife, however, beat him to the inquisition.

  “You two worked it out, then? You’re together?”

  Drew squeezed my shoulder and smiled at May. “We did. Shay’s agreed to just remember that I’m usually right from here on out. I think that will give us smooth sailing relationship-wise.”

  Both Howard and May laughed but it was him who replied. “Sure, sure. Take it from me, son- You can hold onto that mantra for as long as you’d like but the secret to a healthy relationship is definitely the opposite. Take my marriage for example: May is always right even when she’s wrong.”

  “That’s right,” May agreed with a nod. “Better you learn that now.”

  We hung out in his room for more than three hours and only left when Howard was basically falling asleep mid-conversation. The look on May’s face said she wanted to kick us out but didn’t want to at the same time. Drew made that decision for her when he told her we needed to eat lunch before we picked up my parents from the airport.

  After quite a few hugs and promises that we’d be back later, the two of us left. We parked along the ocean and walked around downtown. The air was freezing and we both ended up buying coats from a local boutique. The owner was hilarious and loved teasing us the second she found out we were from the west coast.

  We found a nice little restaurant to eat at and visited the science center afterwards. They had a neat pirate exhibition that we both enjoyed exploring. Once we’d had our fill, we walked along the cold beach and soaked up each other’s company.

  When we picked up Mom and Dad from the airport, they both had hugged me immediately. Without pausing, Mom had done the same to Drew while Dad had offered him a friendly hand. They didn’t seem like strangers meeting for the first time but more like old friends who had been waiting for that moment.

  The next few days were a blur. Keaton arrived and I was happy to see how easy things were between all of us. We spent time at the lake doing absolutely nothing but spending time together and all of the other time at the hospital. Howard was released on Tuesday morning, four days after his heart attack, and we all celebrated his homecoming.

  The Holcomb household was bursting at the seams with everyone filling the bedrooms but it was perfection in every single way.

  Drew and I were inseparable, soaking in as much of each other as we could. I knew my Dad had originally been unhappy with the fact that I was sharing a room with him but he got over it fast. It probably helped that Drew was the idyllic guy for your daughter. Not only did he treat me perfectly but he went out of his way to make genuine conversation with other people around us.

  Thanksgiving was amazing. Besides the seven of us, the year-round employees of Camp Holcomb joined us, including Ted from the stables.

  The usual fixings had been on the table, including good old fashioned turkey, along with some healthy choices. May had basically tackled Howard when he’d attempted to load up on extra mac ‘n cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy. He grumbled but if the small twitch at the corners of his lips said anything, it was all done in good nature.

  The days flew by too fast. Mom and Dad went back home Friday and Drew and I both booked flights for Saturday. It took some searching but we finally found flights for each of us that had the same layover in Chicago.

  After hugging both May and Howard several times and promising to be back for the summer, Keaton took both of us to the airport early Saturday morning. He had been great the entire time we were there and he and Drew both seemed to get along really well. He updated us on how Christy was since he talked to her often, although the two of them weren’t in an exclusive relationship.

  “See you both next summer,” he told us as he dropped us off at the curb. I gave him a swift hug and stepped back.

  “Thanks, Keaton. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with your parents.”

  He and Drew exchanged their own goodbyes and then we headed inside, going straight through security with our carry-ons. We found our gate and settled into some seats off to the side, not saying much.

  The announcement that they were going to begin boarding sounded over the inte
rcom and I sighed. I would have preferred to sit in the airport with him for hours versus having to leave him eventually. I knew he felt the same way because he lifted his cap and ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair. The action reminded me of something and I grabbed my backpack so I could dig around in it.

  “I almost forgot,” I told him, finally locating the item I was after. “I asked Dad to pick me up something in Arizona right before they flew out and he brought it with him last weekend so I could give it to you.”

  Drew raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? Is it all of your stuff so you can just move to L.A. with me?”

  “Close but not quite.” I pulled my hand from the backpack and flourished dramatically. “Tada!”

  A laugh immediately fell from his lips and he reached out to take the maroon-colored hat from me. It had a red and black A on the front, a logo I knew he was familiar with since they were one of the Dodger’s hottest rivals.

  “A D-back’s hat. Awesome.” His voice was sarcastic but the look in his eyes was playful. He lifted his cap from his head and dropped it onto mine before replacing it with the new one. “How do I look?”

  I spun it backwards so it was in his usual style. “Perfect. It doesn’t bring out your eyes as much but that’s okay. You don’t need to be super sexy Drew when you’re three-hundred miles from me.”

  “Super sexy Drew,” he repeated with a roll of those gorgeous eyes. “I’m yours, babe. Never doubt that.” His face got serious all of the sudden. “This will work, Shaylee. I love you and that won’t ever change. We just need to make sure we communicate. If you’re ever feeling down or doubtful, you need to voice that. Just know that you can trust me. I will never do anything to hurt you.”

  “I know.” I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his. “It’s a two way street. You’re the only one I need. I want that future between us. I know these next six months are going to be hard but we can do it. We will do it.”

  He hugged me to his side tight and I couldn’t even care that the arm rest between us was digging into my side. “We will, Shay. We’ve got a bright future ahead of us and I won’t accept anything less.”

  Drew was right and I wouldn’t accept anything less, either.

  Epilogue

  Almost Nine Months Later

  “They totally cheated,” Thalia declared as we walked across the campus towards the amphitheater. “I swear, they travel all day long and there’s no penalty but I double-dribble one time and the world is ending.”

  I laughed and squeezed her shoulder gently. “Rise above, Thalia. We’re still ahead in Cabin Wars. If you guys keep up the good work, we’re looking at repeat champions.”

  That summer was bittersweet for the girls. I’d returned to Camp Holcomb seven weeks before and we were already on week six. Hannah had returned, too, and we’d both been assigned to Cabin Sixteen, working with the tenth grade girls. Not all of the teenagers we’d come to love the year before had returned but eight out of the ten wasn’t bad and the two new girls had fit into our little group perfectly.

  Jordan and Drew had returned as well. Jordan was a Cabin Eight counselor and our enemy again for the year. Drew, however, didn’t return as a camp counselor on college credit. He’d been hired on as the camp Psychologist and Family Counselor, a position that had been vacated the year before. He worked closely with the campers who were having a hard time adjusting and made sure their mental health was a priority during the summers they spent with us. He was putting that brand new master’s degree to use and I was incredibly proud of him. He loved it, too, and I was almost sure it would inspire him to apply for his doctorate next.

  Both of us had graduated just two months before. His ceremony had been the Friday before mine and I’d flown out to California to cheer for him from the crowd with those who loved him, too. He’d then driven back to Arizona with me, all of his possessions packed into a trailer that we towed behind his truck. We unpacked everything into the apartment I had shared with Briana for more than three years. My best friend had vacated the same place just weeks before that and was now living with her husband in his condo not too far from the apartment.

  Her wedding had been beautiful. While Briana and Marco had become husband and wife, I had stood by her side as her maid of honor. Drew and Hannah had both sat in the audience to show their support, too. The two of them had conquered their own obstacles to get where they were and I was so proud of them.

  Hannah and I had sent Bri off in style, though, giving her a bachelorette party that I had a three-day hangover from. It had been interrupted by Drew and Marco, who had become close friends, and a couple of Marco’s friends, but that had only made it better. Hannah had even found a guy to cozy up to for the night.

  She and Jordan discovered they couldn’t make it work with a thousand miles between them. They broke up shortly before spring break, a decision that was made mutually according to Hannah. Since we’d been back to Camp Holcomb, though, they had seemed to fall back into their old habits and were just as close as they had been the summer before.

  Having a long distance relationship for those six months hadn’t been easy for Drew and me either but we made it work. We spent a lot of weekends visiting one another and racked up plenty of minutes on our cell phones, talking every chance we got. I had spent quite a bit of time with his foster parents, who were genuinely good people, as well as both Kyle and Taylor. Taylor had apologized profusely for answering the door half-naked that day in August. When I asked her why she had answered the door without her clothes, she had just shrugged and told me that she was hungry and thought I was the pizza guy.

  My own parents absolutely adored Drew, as did the Gibson family. He had charmed them easily and they all accepted him into the fold without a second thought. My parents loved him already just based off of the kind of friend he was to my sister, but my father was the first to say that he approved of Drew for me. His approval wasn’t easy to earn, either.

  I was starting my own graduate degree as soon as we got back home. I decided to pursue an education degree because I knew I wanted to do something with children. I was still working at the elementary school and Drew had his own interview when we got back for a position within the school district as a guidance counselor.

  All of the pieces were falling into place.

  “I have an idea for a prank,” Jenny told me, her hand in mine as we walked down the bleacher to find our spot. “I want to run it by everyone when we get back to the cabin.”

  The girls had come armed with brand new pranks, most of which they’d brought their own supplies for. We had the jump on the boys so far but they had still managed a few pretty good ones. The most recent had been spiking our shampoos and dying all of our hair random colors. We didn’t realize what had happened until the seventh person was showering. Since my hair was already so dark, the red had barely shown in it but it had hit the blondes hard.

  It took Hannah almost a week to get the green tint out of hers. She was just a tiny bit pissed.

  “I can’t wait to hear it. I still think trying to swap out the shaving cream for whipped cream would be funny. Everything would be nice and sticky.”

  “Sounds kinky,” Nicole quipped, causing us all to laugh as we walked along the bleachers and took our seats. A few of our girls ran up to sign up for karaoke and I nodded when Hannah gave me a look. She stood and headed towards the sign-up, too.

  Howard gave his opening remarks and the list was randomized to see who would go first. Different names were called as people of all age stood under the spotlight. Some were actually really good and others went up there strictly for fun.

  Near the end, Hannah and I stood on the stage like we had exactly a year before, and belted out the words to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” like we were in some sort of sing-off, eliciting both laughs and cheers during our performance.

  Bowing dramatically, we stepped off the stage and I caught sight of my gorgeous boyfriend smilin
g from a side entrance to the amphitheater.

  With him not being a cabin counselor, I didn’t get to see him as much as I had the year before. It was hard because I had four weeks of spending every night with him before we came to Maine and I still wasn’t adjusted to sleeping without him again.

  We spent all of my days off together and he met me to run every single night. Our runs usually turned into leisurely strolls near the end just so we could talk and be together. He was at all of the camp events, though, and usually came to sit with our girls for a few meals throughout the week.

  I reached up to touch my necklace while grinning at him and he nodded in response, understanding my wordless gesture of love.

  Many songs later, Howard climbed to the stage, not a bit slower than he has been before his heart attack, and smiled broadly.

  “This is usually the moment when May and I get on the stage to serenade you all, but my beautiful wife is recovering from a cold and can’t sing.” People murmured sadly, and Howard nodded twice. “I know, I know. She’s okay, though, and I was able to find an even better performance for you. Let’s welcome one of our favorites, Drew Moore to the stage!”

  My eyes found the smiling man immediately as he jogged to where Howard was. He took the microphone instantly and glanced out to the audience, finally stopping on me. The sight of him made me grin and still took my breath away. In his blue t-shirt, khaki shorts, and the Diamondbacks hat he always wore, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.

  “This song is for the love of my life. My very own beauty queen.”

  I held my breath as the first few notes played and couldn’t help laughing.

  Another Maroon 5 song.

  “Moves Like Jagger” played and Drew did some fancy footwork before holding the microphone to his lips and singing the words perfectly. Every dance move he used last year made a reappearance and I found myself laughing while in complete awe that he was mine.

  He jumped off the stage and started to make his way through the crowd, still singing, and he held his hand out when he got to me. I hesitated slightly but his grin had me reaching up to clasp it with my own.