The Summer Solstice ~ Enchanted

by K. K. Allen

  “Thank you.” I say with a teaser glimmer in my eye. I raise my cup in cheers. We tap cups then take a sip – our eyes never leaving each other.

  I can feel Iris and Ava staring at us and I know I can’t ignore them much longer. I turn towards Iris and smile. “Nice to see you again, Iris. You having a good time?”

  “I was,” she says evenly, loud enough all of us to hear. The girls burst into a fit of giggles. Maybe they’re both drinking.

  I simply nod my head and turn my attention back to Alec who seems to be staring at me, amused. He lifts his head towards the house in a private gesture, only meant for me.

  He leans in, his fragrance pleasing. “You want to take a walk? I’ll show you around.”

  He wants to spend time with me – even if it’s just a tour. Either way, I have a great feeling about tonight. “Yes, let’s go.”

  As we walk off, I take a quick glance in Iris and Ava’s direction to see them watching the departure of Alec and myself. “Are those two going to let up on me soon?” I ask Alec.

  Alec smiles and places a hand on my back, leaning in closer. He smells of salt and a hint of punch. “Probably not.” He whisks me away from the group, past the volleyball game, and up the stairs, to his oversized deck. We run into a few friends of his parents and Alec introduces me as Rose’s granddaughter, Katrina.

  I’m guessing that these people weren’t at my birthday, but I probably wouldn’t remember either way. As we make our way through the throng of guests, Alec points out features of his house; his bedroom, the game room, the theater room, his father’s den, the sitting room, the great room, the living room, his parents bedroom. The house reminds me of a smaller Summer Estates in the intricacy of the detail. The marble floors are similar in color and panel size. And the layout seems similar as well, from what I can see anyway. Mahogany wood furniture dominates the décor of the estate, which throws me off. Probably because the only thing I can compare it to is Rose’s house. The differences are glaring.

  We make our way through the entire house and then we’re downstairs at the kitchen. I almost expect him to take off to tend to other party guests. Surely, he can’t have me by his side all night. But to my satisfaction, he stays with me, leading me through the double French doors, opening to the outside patio.

  There is some sort of traffic jam as guests struggle to either enter or exit the house. To narrow our space in the doorway, Alec stands behind me and leads me slowly through the crowd. He places his hands on my waist and a shiver runs through me at the thrill of his touch.

  Once we are back outside on the patio, he doesn’t let go right away. I manage to contain my excitement.

  “See that?” He points out near the beach where a bunch of teens are lighting sparklers. “Wanna join ‘em?”

  The excitement in his voice is contagious and I follow him, certain that I would follow him anywhere. But to be fair, he’s not exactly giving me the opportunity to say no. He tugs my hand, leading me to a spot of the patio where fireworks are spread out on a folding table. He reaches for a handful of sparklers and a lighter and motions for me to follow him to the beach. Iris and Ava are there to intercept us. Of course.

  Alec is quick to include them, dropping my hand in the process. Disappointment washes over me. I can’t help but wonder if maybe he does have a thing for Iris. Why else would he drop my hand?

  He hands them a box of sparklers. “Let’s go over here,” he points to a group of kids on the beach who are waving their lit sticks around, laughing and making invisible shapes. To my discouragement, Ava and Iris follow us to the shore, quickly shoving past me in order to get closer to Alec.

  The sparklers light up in all different colors as they wave through the sky. Fire particles flying through the air and then vanishing into the night. It’s silly how much fun one can have waving around a little stick.

  Alec starts up a game of “guess the invisible word” and we’re forced to watch as we each spell out a word and then others have to guess what the word is.

  When it’s my turn I begin to spell the word “Summer” and as I’m concentrating on the words I barely notice I’ve made the words linger in the air longer than normal. I make the letters vanish from sight with a swish of my hand, but everyone saw the word and my turn is up. But no one seems to notice anything out of the ordinary.

  At this point, I’m done playing the game. I hold my sparkler to the side as Alec takes his turn. As I watch his masculine movements I pay close attention to the words. I look at him with amused eyes when he’s finished. “Beautiful?”

  Alec throws a quick look to his right where Iris and Ava have stepped away from us as they wave their sticks unenthusiastically. He motions with his head for me to follow him. “Where are we going?” I whisper. He motions for me to be quiet.

  Alec winks at me. “That was for you, by the way. You look beautiful tonight.”

  Luckily, the darkness disguises my blush. I don’t say a word to Alec as he throws a quick look over his shoulder, takes my sparkler from me, dunks it in the water bucket and to my surprise, interlaces his fingers in mine and pulls me down the beach in the other direction. As I notice how perfectly my hand fits inside his, I have to force myself to breathe correctly. It is so hard to be calm around him when he touches me like this. I like it, but I think I like it a little too much. As I peek at him out of the corner of my eye, I wonder if Alec could really like me. He is the sweet, charming, great looking, boy-next-door that all the girls seem to be crushing on. Why me?

  He leads me to a large group of teens our age now. “Hey guys” Alec greets them. There are two girls and two guys. I wonder if each pair is dating. “I want you to meet a new friend of mine. She just moved here from North Carolina. This is Kat.”

  The word friend leaves me disheartened but I’m distracted quickly by the group of teens who acknowledge me with friendly, outgoing smiles. “Welcome to Apollo Beach,” one says. “Nice to meet you,” says another. Alec introduces them all to me as Trisha, Natalie, Matt, and Brent.

  I smile at everyone but my eyes go back to Trisha. “Trisha. You work at the Island Grille.” I recognize her blue eyes, petite figure, and long, wavy, blonde hair.

  Trisha gives me a bubbly smile back. “Yeah I remember you. You were with Charlotte May.” I think this is the first time I’ve heard Charlotte’s last name. Charlotte May. That has a nice ring to it. I guess I never thought to ask.

  “Who is that guy you work with? The broody waiter?” His crappy mood still lingers in my mind.

  Trisha smirks. “That’s Johnny. He’s always like that. Hot – but way too many layers if you ask me. Who wants to date an onion?” Her eyes widen in recognition. “You’re the girl who punched him that night.”

  I throw my head back and laugh, mortified. “No! It was an accident. Oh – he was so mad.” Trisha is laughing now too.

  I briefly meet everyone in the circle and there’s some small talk, but I mostly chat with Trisha. She has a bubbly personality that makes others around her smile and laugh with ease. She is the first person I’ve met who is familiar with Spring Lake too, so I know already that we’ll have some things in common. Matt and Brent seem like easy-going guys too. They are friends with Alec through football and it seems to be the hot topic of conversation.

  Just as I’m starting to get comfortable with everyone Alec drags me away. “Sorry guys, I’m going to steal Kat.” He winks at the group. The guys begin to howl which makes me laugh.

  I wave at the group as Alec drags me down the beach and yells back at the group. “Sign us up for the next volleyball game.”

  To my surprise Alec doesn’t take me to meet anyone else. Instead, we find a spot on top of a sand dune farther back from the party, wrapped up in our own bubble of conversation once again.

  I find comfort in asking him more questions about Rose. I’m curious of other’s opinion of her and how the people of the town really view her. I don’t know why this matters to me but deep down I think of how we sha
re a birthday on the birth of the Solstice. Could Rose’s present life be my future?

  Alec shares with me what he knows. “I don’t think I know too much more than you. Your grandmother pretty much owns this town. She’s lived here her whole life and is in charge of two of the biggest committees. She’s helped the city through a lot of trouble over the years so the town respects her. There isn’t an important decision made around here without your grandmother’s involvement. She’s a very powerful lady.”

  “She’s helped the city through trouble?” I ask now. This information is new.

  Alec nods his head. “It’s funny, actually.” He tilts his head, a strange expression playing on his face. “And I never really thought about it until now. But we learn about the story of Apollo Beach in History class around here. Last year there was an entire two weeks of the curriculum dedicated to this town. Rose and George Summer were at the forefront of it all. It’s actually really fascinating. I think that alone makes your grandmother a celebrity in our small town. Back about a decade ago Rose and George stopped a lot of crime and violence. That was the time that your grandparents pushed for the community center and ultimately funded it.”

  This is news to me but interesting. I want to know more. “Do you still have your history book?” I can’t recall seeing anything like that in the Summer Library.

  He shakes his head. “We have to give them back but you can go to the school’s library and they’ll let you borrow one.”

  The next few moments are silent. The breeze moves gently between us as we stare out into the moonlit water. It’s a beautiful night. The Bay is calm. The stars are twinkling bright upon us. And soft, distant laughter coming from the party is a perfect soundtrack to the night.

  Without even thinking about it I twirl the sand in front of me with my mind. It’s such a subtle movement that Alec doesn’t notice. If he did, he’d just think it was the wind. A hint of a smile plays on my face and I make the wind stronger so it swirls a bit more, creating a small crater. The more I practice, the easier my powers become. It’s intoxicating.

  I watch the wind grow more powerful and become a miniature tornado before us. I see Alec react and my heart races, in panic. Oh no. And then I remember something my grandmother told me the night of our pizza party. The moment you begin to lose yourself in your magic hold your necklace tight. It will protect you. It will keep you from using your magic beyond your limits. I heed her warning and grab my necklace, holding it tight within my hands. I close my eyes and will the wind to calm. I don’t need to open my eyes to know that the mini tornado is back to sand on the beach.

  “That was strange.” Alec says beside me.

  I turn to look at him, hoping he doesn’t see through me and out me as a witch to all of his friends. “What’s that?”

  “You didn’t see that? A gust of wind created a small tornado right there.” His expression is one of fascination and he gets up to examine what was once my magical masterpiece. If Rose finds out about this she will be furious.

  I shrug. “I didn’t see anything.” I don’t know what else to say. I’ve never been the best liar. My mom would always tell me she could see right through me.

  Alec soon forgets about the sand creation and looks at me. “Do you mind if I ask how you’ve been – since your mom has passed? I’m sorry if that’s too personal.”

  I pat the spot next to me that he was once sitting in, trying to ease his discomfort. “It’s okay. Really.” I smile at him to reassure him.

  He sits beside me and I realize that it’s refreshing that someone asks the forbidden question. Most are afraid to ask in fear that I’ll burst into tears. There may have been a time when that would have happened, but I can talk about it now. She was the most important part of my life. I want to talk about her. And I want people to know how amazing she was.

  “It’s harder some days. It’s especially hard at night. For some reason that’s when I think about her the most. And I miss her a lot. It’s one of those things that I don’t think I’ll ever heal completely from. But Charlotte has been amazing. She’s helped me through a lot of sadness, without even knowing it, just by being there and being what I need without being overbearing. And Rose is warming up, slowly.” I smile softly at the thought of my controlling grandmother. “I guess all of these changes have put my mind to good use, rather than sitting in my room, sad. Moving to Apollo has been really good for me.”

  Alec’s warm smile appears on his face. I look up at him just as his arm snakes around my shoulders.

  In the short time I’ve known Alec, I’ve grown to be comfortable with him and I love how I feel in his presence. But the guilt of the lies I have to tell him at times are already beginning to weigh on me. I force the thoughts away, not wanting to ruin this moment.

  “Everyone seems so nice. You’ve been great. And your friends, I mean – most of them.” I have to catch myself. Iris and Ava have not exactly sought out my friendship.

  “That’s usually how people in small towns are.” Alec tells me. “Iris and Ava are the exception to the rule. They’ve never had competition before.”

  “Competition?” The word surprises me. I never thought of it that way. I’ve never been anyone’s competition before. But for what? I wonder.

  “They saw your picture in the paper.” As he answers me he stops and picks up a seashell that he’s spotted at his feet. He brushes it off gently. “They practically had seizures reading that article written about your birthday party.” There’s a twinkle in his eyes as he says this. As if he wants to get a rise out of the two girls who have treated me so poorly. “You wouldn’t believe how furious they were at me because I was there.” He hands me the seashell. I smile.

  I remember that photo in the paper of Rose and me. Alec was standing next to me, unaware that his picture was being taken.

  He tells me more. “In their eyes, you are a threat to the status they’ve earned. And their parents have strong opinions of how this town should be run. Iris’s father is a contractor, looking to make some big money here by creating a tourist town. He doesn’t have much support but he says he’s got big plans.”

  I let out an annoyed groan. “Great. And here I thought you were the reason they hated me.”

  He chuckles. “Well, that doesn’t help.” He waves a hand in front of his face, gesturing that it’s not big deal. “Don’t worry about it.”

  I wish I could be as sure of myself as Alec seemed to be but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is just the start for Iris and Ava.

  Alec isn’t thinking about Iris and Ava anymore. I know this because he’s inched closer to me and he begins to play with a strand of my hair that’s fallen down, hanging over my eye. He pulls something from my hair and I quickly recognize an ash from the fire. I meet his eyes and smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very polite,” he says softly as his hand leaves my hair, making its way to my neck, gently stroking it with his thumb. My heart is going crazy; its erratic beating consumes all space in my chest. As he brings his head closer to mine my heart is about to burst through my chest. I shut my eyes and completely give in to this new feeling of – I can’t even think.

  Everything is perfect. Fireworks are whizzing through the night, lighting up the sky like colored popcorn. Laughter fills space all around us. A crowd cheers in response to the end of the band’s last song. Alec’s eyes are searching mine now, as if asking me if he can kiss me. I close my eyes in response.

  As soon as his lips touch mine I taste a hint of salt. I’m thankful that we are sitting now because my knees turn to Jell-O. His lips move slowly but firmly as he presses his mouth on mine. A rush passes through me and I don’t know what to do next. But Alec’s hand is on my face, stroking my cheek as he kisses me again. I sink my lips into his.

  I’m disappointed as our lips part a few seconds later. Our faces part and I’m left with a tingle on my lips. I smile. I can tell he’s coming in for seconds when something smacks my left cheek, leaving a sting
as a burst of water cascades down around me. A blue rubber casing falls into my lap – a water balloon.

  It doesn’t take me two seconds to guess where the attack came from but I’m too shocked to move.

  I hear the penetrating giggles of Iris and Ava as they approach. Their annoying voices get louder.

  “I am so sorry, Kat. We were just playing around. We didn’t see you there!” Ava’s voice is high pitched and riddled with fake sympathy for my water balloon bath.

  I remain silent, anger bubbling inside me again. I grab my necklace, knowing that I can’t let my anger get out of control.

  I look over at Alec who seems just as shocked. The burst of the balloon’s residue dampened his shirt. He’s looking at me, assessing the damage. His eyes sweep briefly over my black romper. When his eyes turn towards Iris and Ava he’s furious.

  “It was just an accident,” Iris says this defensively though she’s still laughing.

  “You two are behaving like second graders,” he says, exasperated. “Maybe you both should leave.”

  I look between him and the girls and they look mortified by what Alec’s saying to them. Seriously, what is their deal? “Alec, c’mon, it was just an accident and we apologized.” Ava is begging in her whiny voice.

  “We’re not going anywhere.” Iris says firmly. She switches topics; suddenly to let us both know they are done discussing it. “We’re going to let off some fireworks. Wanna join us, Alec?”

  Her question pointed at Alec annoys me, but I choose to ignore it, and instead I stand up to straighten out my drenched outfit.

  I don’t even notice as Iris and Ava walk off but Alec does. “I’ll be right back. Those two need to go.”

  “I’m fine, really.” I say as I grab Alec’s wrist. I don’t want to be the cause for a scene.

  He sighs and looks at me now. “I’m sorry about them. Really.” He’s shaking his head now and I can tell he’s still shaken from what they just did.

  I smile at him. “Walk with me to the water?” I try to distract him and it seems to be working. I don’t want Iris and Ava to ruin our night.