Although she knew nothing of him, she could guess from his arrogant secretive smile that he felt he ruled the world, and nothing could stop him from getting what he wanted, not even her.
Now every day she would have to slink to her seat with kids snickering about her name. “Ok, the show is over. Get back to those papers,” the teacher said, with a slight glance over her glasses. “I wouldn’t laugh at Summer if I were you, she’s the only one who managed to get an A on her term paper, and I don’t give out A’s easily,” the teacher said with a wicked smile crossing her face and with her sharp nose turned upward.
Now I have something else to worry about, Summer thought. Students calling me a geek. She had completed the paper and pretended that she was editing it before she turned it in, but her thoughts had drifted back to the tall football jock.
I have loss my sense of perspective. Why am I thinking of him, she wondered. She turned to gaze out of the window, daydreaming.
His gorgeous body lingered in her mind, the memory of his blue eyes and dark blond hair striking her like a bolt of lightning. Never had a boy like him been interested in her before, which made him more suspect. What did he want with her? Suppose he showed up again, what would she do? Summer thought he was so handsome but he was also too confident. She saw the way girls gazed at her when he strode to her locker. Her thoughts of him trailed away because he was just too dangerous.
He could take away all her dreams in one night if she allowed him. Yet she also knew he could make one of her dreams come true.
But she would not be around long enough for him to even take interest in her. So that did it—no more of what’s-his-name.
“Jackson. Jackson,” she murmured. It had a nice ring to it. It was a strong name. In the mist of her daydreaming, someone tapped her on her shoulder. It was her new and only friend Tiffany.
“I saw you with Jackson,” Tiffany whispered, intermittently looking up to see if the teacher had noticed her talking to Summer. “I’ve never known him to be interested in brunettes.”
“He just asked my name,” Summer whispered.
“If he asked your name, you can be sure that he will ask you out.”
“I think you are blowing something innocent out of proportion,” Summer said, glancing at Tiffany.
“There is nothing innocent about Jackson.” Tiffany raised her eyebrows.
Summer smiled and a feeling of euphoria took over her body. The bell rang and she sent the paper to the teacher’s e-mail, then rushed for the door with Tiffany beside her.
Tiffany stopped outside of the classroom. “Summer, he has a reputation. I bet he has scored with all the pretty, rich, blond, and interested junior and senior girls,” Tiffany said.
“Does he have a girlfriend?” Summer questioned.
“No. I think they are his hook-up girls.”
“His what?”
“You know, the ones who are willing to be with him and his friends just so they can brag, and the ones who just want to say they slept with his gorgeous ass for a night.”
“Well, I don’t want to do either,” Summer stated, shoving her books into her locker and looking around.
“It’s not what you want, I hear. It’s what he wants and he always gets what he wants and right now he has his radar on you. He can sense a virgin a mile away like a homing pigeon knows where his home is,” Tiffany said, laughing as she opened her locker door, dropped in her books, and headed with Summer for the lunchroom. “You know we will have to pass the senior lockers. Are you prepared to walk the gauntlet now that he has singled you out as his next victim?”
“Is there another way we can get to the lunch room?” Summer asked, feeling a bit weak legged.
“We can go through those doors,” Tiffany said, pointing to the blue and silver double doors. “Then we can walk around through the courtyard and come in on the side doors, get our lunch and sit outside away from the crowds.”
“That sounds great,” Summer said, smiling, not wanting to run from Jackson but hoping he would look for her.
“But I want to warn you, he has spies everywhere.”
“What do you mean, spies? This sounds like a James Bond movie,” Summer said, looking at Tiffany and laughing.
“You may laugh, but Jackson always gets his girl and similarly, James Bond always gets his man.”
“This is ridiculous. Let’s get a sandwich and sit outside.”
The girls bought their lunch and as they headed out of the cafeteria, they saw Jackson standing in the parking lot filled with expensive cars. He was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful, rich girls. There were blondes, brunettes, red heads, and even some other colors of the rainbow. He immediately spotted Summer and the sea of girls opened, so he sauntered through, stretching his long legs in Summer’s direction.
“I’m leaving,” Tiffany said abruptly.
“Don’t leave me, Tiffany.” Summer raised her hand to hold on to Tiffany’s shirt, but Tiffany wrangled out of the hold and scampered across the lawn, like a thoroughbred racehorse, leaving Summer to deal with the devastatingly handsome, incorrigible Jackson Van Hughes.
Standing near an oak tree and trying to decide whether she should hide behind it, she watched him make his way to her side before she could move.
“You look like you were going somewhere,” he said. Now standing with legs crossed and gazing down on Summer. “I hope it wasn’t on my account.”
“No. I have to study for my test tomorrow. Don’t you study?”
“Never.” He moved closer, his muscular body and his smoldering eyes circling her like a cage, preventing her from running.
“Well, some people are not that smart,” she stammered.
“You appear to be very smart,” he said, facing Summer and planting his hand over her head on the tree trunk. “I would say you aren’t an average student.”
“I’m smart enough to know what you want,” Summer said with a hidden smile. Their eyes locked. Jackson had never had a girl speak her mind before. It was an unwritten law that if he was interested enough to talk to them, they would sleep with him without any unnecessary protest. Maybe she didn’t get the memo, or she wasn’t on Twitter or Facebook, which could be good, or bad for him.
Good if she was innocent and unaware of his prowess as a womanizing jock, but bad if he had to spend too much time with her trying to break her will.
Jackson’s eyes lowered on Summer’s face and when he raised one eyebrow, all her defenses crumbled. He reached for her small, oval face and held it in his large hands. She felt the warmth of his hands. It was not the kind of touch one feels from a guy who was cold, uncaring, aloof, but rather the touch of a guy who had a heart. He was warm, caring, needing. There was more going on with him, Summer thought. But she had never had experiences with guys like him before and she didn’t want to misread a handsome face.
She heard rumors about this amorous jock, but she wasn’t sure who it was. She never took gossip serious; besides, she never thought that he would talk to her.
How could one guy have so much in one package? That is why he had no competition from anyone his age on the west coast, maybe not in the world.
Summer fell into the spring of Jackson. She fell into his kiss when he planted one on her lips. She leaned into the seduction and heat of his kiss. His tongue released desire of the most erotic kind. Their bodies touched lightly and she felt the pulse of his manhood. They were caught up in the white heat, which surrounded their kiss, and nothing else mattered at that time.
Time stood still and the earth revolved around them. Summer moved into him, her fantasies and passions cocooned in his warm arms and seductive body. His tongue mingled with hers. The earth moved where she could feel it—or was it her that almost fainted from his embrace?
A sound jarred Jackson’s senses. His name was being chanted. Jackson…Jackson… and finally the zone that he was in at that moment with Summer was gone. He broke away from her lips, breathless, and said, “I’m having a party this wee
kend. Please be there.” And he trotted away. Before he reached his friends he turned and yelled, “Ask Tiffany about the party, she knows where it is.”
Summer stood mesmerized at the thought of seeing Jackson again. She was flattered at the thought of him inviting her, a new student, into his circle and to a senior party. But it was impossible to get away and go there.
When he invited her, it was a dare. He dared her to hang out and hookup with him. He dared her to resist his kiss and his charms. She wouldn’t take his dare. Nothing good could come from it, she rationalized.
Her next class was technology and Tiffany sat near her.
“Thanks,” Summer said. They were sitting close enough in the back of the class that they could talk without the teacher walking around peeping at them.
“You left me,” Summer said, disappointed.
“Aren’t you glad I did?” Tiffany whispered, excited. “He never kissed a girl in front of his teammates, let alone any other girls. You’re special. Everyone is saying it. They have never seen Jackson act like that.”
“Tiffany, Jackson invited me to his house for a party,” Summer said with reservation.
“Don’t get too excited because he does that with all the girls he is planning on… you know.” Tiffany gestured.
“You just said that I was special.” Summer mouth turned down, confused.
“Yes, you are as long as you don’t give it up,” Tiffany said.
“Well, I hope he knows that it will never happen because I won’t let him get in my pants. My parents will never let me go, anyway.”
“All of the girls he targets go to his house with the same idea. I’m a virgin and I’m staying that way. But the next day, there they are running behind him, hoping he calls or texts, which he never does.”
“He said to ask you about his party. Did you…?” Summer queried, praying that Tiffany hadn’t slept with him.
“No. I’m not his type, if you know what I mean. But one year I went to his party with my older sister. She’s a senior now. She was dating the quarterback who was then a friend of Jackson. He was a senior when Jackson was a junior. Jackson bought a house that year. He’s rich, you know. He has more money than his parents.”
Summer sat up, eyes opened wide, unable to believe Tiffany’s words.
“Rich? I know I don’t want to have anything to do with him,” Summer said, shaking her head.
“Well, since you have such control, why don’t you come with me to the party?” Tiffany’s eyes locked on Summer.
“How can you go? Will your parents let you go to a party like that?” Summer whispered with her eyes focused on Tiffany in disbelief.
“I can go with my big sister, she’s a senior and they are graduating in May. They’ll celebrate until graduation. They’ll party until they go off to college, especially that handsome hunk Jackson.
Just tell your parents that you want to go to a sleep over at my house. Nothing will happen to you, my sister will be there, and she’s friends with everyone,” Tiffany said, trying to make her case. “You will never get a chance like this again, maybe never in a lifetime.”
“I’ll let you know,” Summer said with a distracted glance.
“Saturday is the party, you have less than a week to decide.” Tiffany distracted her and her gaze wandered.
“Saturday is my birthday. I’ll be eighteen,” Summer confessed.
“What better way to celebrate. Please… say you’ll go, Summer.”
“I can’t promise anything. My father’s job is transferring and I have to help my mother pack.”
“But it’s your birthday. Your parents would want you to be happy, and you’re a good girl. You’re on the honor roll, you make A’s, and you have never been out on a date or had a drink, and you will be eighteen. You’re almost grown.” Tiffany gave Summer a litany of excuses for her to mull over. “Something is bound to work, just try it.”
“I’ve never lied to my parents,” she said honestly.
“Isn’t everything I said the truth?” Tiffany said with a satisfied smirk.
“Well, yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Chapter Two
“Lieutenant.” A pause. “ Lieutenant?” A sound escalated from the girl sitting in a chair near Jackson’s bed. The voice was like her touch—warm and tender. “You were mumbling about something and I was wondering whether you could remember your name?”
Jackson lay silent and raised his head, staring blankly outward. “Can I have some water please?” he asked.
The girl stood, reached for a water bottle on a tray, and brought it to him, placing the straw in his mouth. When he had enough, she helped him wipe his mouth.
Then he said, “My past is vague. I can’t remember much.”
“Don’t worry, Lieutenant, within a few days you will remember everything. Don’t bother yourself now, you need rest. The doctors will help you remember,” the girl said with a reassuring tone.
“I don’t know. And I’m not sure of anything,” Jackson said, holding his hand to his forehead, confused.
“I have to go now,” she said. “Do you need anything?”
Jackson turned in the direction of her voice.
“Where are you going?” He reached into the darkness for her hand.
“I’m a volunteer. I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll come every day until you’re better,” she said, touching his hand and giving him her palm. He took it and held it tight. It was a plea. It said don’t leave me. She patted his hand, saying it will be all right. She rose from the chair and walked to the door.
“What’s your name? I don’t know your name,” Jackson said, full of panic in his voice.
The girl paused in front of the door. She had only a few minutes to get to her job. The only thing she had was a part time job to pay her rent. She had taken out student loans to complete her degree at Rice University, and then if everything worked out, she would go on to Baylor.
She had dreamed of being a pediatrician for as long as she could remember. She informed her mother that no matter what, she would become a doctor; no matter how long it took and no matter what obstacles were in her way, she would persevere.
She had lost her mother and father to cancer and she wanted to give back to the hospital that had taken such good care of her father, who was a Vietnam veteran. He had been exposed to Agent Orange and died when she was a senior in high school. Her mother, who was stressed out over her father’s death and their lack of money, discovered too late she had breast cancer and kept it from her father. It was stage 4 and it had metastasized, settling into her lymph nodes and into her bones.
The girl gave up her scholarship and dropped her classes to take care of her mother. The surgeon and the oncologist suggested chemo treatment and an experimental drug that was recommended by the physicians at MD Anderson. The girl devoted long days and nights holding her mother’s hand and driving to and from the hospital. Her mother held on for two years before she eventually succumbed to the illness.
To keep herself going, the girl managed to work for some of the doctors in the capacity of maid and sometime nanny. They could call her and she would babysit for their children. This enabled her to cobble together enough money to pay for rent and food.
Navigating around Texas was difficult in an old car, though. She wasn’t too excited about the weather with the heat and one hundred degree temperatures, but the rents were cheap there at first. In Houston, she could even pay the tuition for college with babysitting. But becoming a doctor was still a long way off. First she had to finish her bachelor’s degree at Rice. Taking six hours a semester, it would take years to get a degree, even if she went during the summer.
Turning to the young man, she said, “My name is Summer. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Summer.”
She stopped again, hearing her name, “Will you be here when the doctors examine my eyes? I want to see your face.”
“I’ve been here for all of it,”
she said with a slight smile. “For the baths . . .” She saw the embarrassment in Jacksons face and didn’t continue. “If you ask me nicely, then maybe I’ll stay for the unveiling and the good news.” She turned and walked to his bed. Her fingers slid over his hand and she gave a warm smile. Then her quiet footsteps eased through the door, leaving Jackson alone and heartbroken.
Jackson whispered, “Please. Please come back.”
It felt great knowing that someone, anyone, waited for her return. Summer had first considered buying a dog but with school and work, the dog would be as lonely as she had been when her parents died. She didn’t want any living thing to experience the hell she had been through in the past three years.
***
Summer couldn’t wait until the next day. She arrived at nine am and hit the elevator button to the eighth floor. She rushed into the room as the doctors were entering.
“Who are you?” one of the interns inquired. “I don’t think you should be here if you’re not one of the family members.”
“She can stay here with me, she’s family,” Jackson stated, holding out his hand to Summer.
“But Lieutenant, we haven’t verified who you are. You don’t know your own name.” Summer gazed on, mouth ajar. It never occurred to her that the young soldier lying in the bed could have amnesia. She thought it was the coma, which had caused his lack of memory and assumed that when he rested, his memory would return.
“Just get on with it,” Jackson said, biting his nail. “I need to know whether I will see again. I will deal with the amnesia later.” The doctors removed the small circular bandages from Jackson’s eyes.
Summer stood, breathless. She had held the same intense feelings when she first met the man of her dreams years ago in high school, and she knew she wanted to marry him.
She had ended up in Houston because of her father’s job, which took her family all over the world. He worked for a salvage company and wherever there were vessels to overhaul, he traveled to the shipyards in different countries and the U.S. That’s why she was in San Francisco her junior year of high school, and that’s why she was in Houston, now. His last job brought him there. It was a good thing, too, because Houston had some of the best hospitals in the world.
Finding Summer Page 2
