The Summer I Fell (The Six Series)

by Loveday, Sonya

  I grabbed a dust rag and furniture polish, happy that I’d found a way to cope with the fact that no matter what, we had memories. Good memories. Happiness. Enough of it that, no matter where life took us, we’d always be able to recall all the fun we’d shared over the years.

  I could see Eli and Aiden out of the corner of my eye. I watched smiles slip across their faces, as their heads bobbed along with the music. Song by song, the mood lightened.

  Mark returned with enough junk food to last for days. I opened the door and let him in. As soon as the bags were on the table, he unloaded them. “I ran into Josh at the store. His mom wants him home for dinner tonight. He said he’d be back tomorrow.”

  Eli rolled the vacuum back in the closet and walked over to help us put away Mark’s junk food haul. “Dang, son. Got enough sugar there?”

  “You better eat up, Eli. I don’t think they sell honey buns in Haiti,” Mark said as he tossed one to him.

  “I got that all worked out. Don’t you worry about that.”

  “Oh yeah?” Mark chuckled.

  “My girl Riley will be my sugar connection,” Eli said, ripping open the cellophane wrapper and taking a huge bite.

  “Whose girl?” Ace said from the other side of the screen door as he passed by.

  Eli rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  Ace used the T-shirt he’d been wearing to wipe the sweat from his face as he continued on to the hose on the side of the house and sprayed the grass cuttings off his feet.

  I walked past Eli and got a cup down from the cupboard. “So let me get this straight. You expect me to send you boxes of junk food?”

  “Yep.” He smirked and shoved the rest of the honey bun in his mouth.

  I filled the glass with ice and ran it under the tap. “You’re lucky I like you, Eli. It’ll probably cost me an arm and a leg to ship you junk food.”

  “But think of the happiness it will bring the kids!”

  I smacked Eli in the shoulder when I walked past him. “That’s just a dirty trick. Now I have to do it.”

  When the screen door slammed behind me, I heard Eli’s smart-ass comeback. “See, plenty of ways to get a sugar momma. Ouch! Why’d you hit me?”

  “You’re an idiot,” Mark replied.

  They busted out laughing.

  ACE RINSED HIS SUNGLASSES, SLID them on top of his head as he turned the water off, and held the nozzle in to relieve the pressure. When the water slowed to a trickle, he held the hose over his head, then dropped it and ran his hand down his face to sluice it off. I walked up beside him and handed him the glass of ice water. He took it from me and leaned down to give me a quick kiss. “Thanks.”

  He drained it in three swallows as he looked over the yard. “It’s funny how you take it all for granted sometimes.”

  I shrugged, looking out over the freshly mowed yard and inhaling the sweet smell of cut grass. “It’ll always be here. The same way a piece of us will too.”

  Ace smiled as he bounced the ice in his glass and then tipped it back against his lips. He crunched his way through a piece of ice and then wiped his shirt across his forehead. “So I have a question for you…”

  My insides clenched as my nerves bounced inside of me like a super ball on concrete. What kind of question? He sounded very serious, and I had no idea where he was headed with his thoughts. “I might have an answer.”

  Ace smiled and turned his gaze out to the yard as he spoke. “My mom’s planning on driving to Georgia for my graduation. Will you come with her?”

  “And watch you graduate boot camp? Of course!” I took the glass from his hands, but he caught my wrist before I could take a step back.

  “Yeah?” His eyes crinkled at the corners.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  “Good. Now go get your bathing suit on and come swimming with me.” He gave me a heated look and let my wrist go.

  I walked back inside, dazed. Ace wanted me to be at his graduation. He wanted me to go with his mom. Giddiness rolled through me, and I almost bumped into Mark, not paying attention to where I walked. “Whoa, what ’cha doing, space cadet?” He laughed as he jumped back.

  “Me?”

  “No, the other Riley.”

  Eli walked over to stand beside Mark, waving his hand in my face. “Oh yeah. She has it bad.”

  My eyes darted between the two of them. “What?”

  They looked at each other and busted out laughing.

  “Where ya headed, Riley?” Mark asked.

  “To get my bathing suit on. What’s with all the questions?” I sidestepped them and went to change.

  Neither one of them lowered their voices as they spoke.

  “Ace is a lucky bastard,” Mark said.

  “I hope one day I can put that same kinda look in a girl’s eyes.” Eli sounded odd. They both did.

  I passed by Aiden’s door as he opened it, startling me. “Oh, sorry, Riles. Didn’t mean to scare ya.”

  He walked past me, heading for the kitchen. I continued on to Ace’s room as his voice carried down the hallway. “What’s up with Riley?”

  Mark and Eli cracked up. “Dude… that girl’s in love with a capital Ace,” Eli sputtered.

  “What the hell does that even mean?” I could hear the confusion in Aiden’s voice.

  “Never mind, bro. Just go with it,” Mark answered.

  “But I don’t understand. There’s no ‘ace’ in love...”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Eli all but sang.

  I closed the door and changed into my bathing suit on something close to autopilot. Could he be in love with me? There was no doubt about how I felt for him. He all but consumed me. I didn’t just love him—I worshiped him.

  Blindly, I grabbed the closest shirt to me, pulled it on, and made my way back to Ace.

  He was still standing where I’d left him, except he wasn’t alone. Aiden, Mark, and Eli all stood there waiting for me, too.

  “Well, are we swimming or what?” Aiden asked.

  Ace took my hand when I stepped up beside him. “You okay, Riley?” His question snapped me out of whatever it was that had me in its grips.

  I flashed him a quick smile and looked ahead as Aiden looked back over his shoulder at me. “I’m fine.”

  Aiden looked from me to Ace, and his hand came up to cover his mouth. His words were mumbled, yet still clear. “I totally get it now. Ace is in love with Riley. And Riley’s in love with Ace!”

  My hand clenched against Ace’s. He knew how I felt about him. He’d heard it straight from my mouth when I’d admitted it to Paige. But he’d never said anything in return, and I hoped that Aiden’s comment didn’t make him take a huge step back.

  I took another step and jerked to a stop. Ace’s feet were planted firmly as he tugged me against him. I put my hand on his chest to steady myself. Ace waited until the others were out of hearing distance before he spoke.

  “Riley?” His finger slipped under my chin, and he forced my head up to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re the fourth person to ask me that in less than ten minutes, and I’m not sure why.”

  “You have this look on your face. Like you’re here, but you’re not here.”

  I scrunched my face at him, not sure what he meant by that. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re off in your own little world. What’s up?”

  “I am?”

  “You should see your face,” he said, running his knuckles down my cheek.

  My eyes fluttered closed, and my breath caught on a soft gasp.

  “Hey! Lovebirds! Can you two stop mooning over each other for five minutes and go get the Jet Skis?” Mark shouted, waving his hands at us when we turned to look at him.

  “We’re busy. Get ’em yourself,” Ace said as he splayed his hand against my back and pulled me close. He leaned down, placing a kiss on my neck. My head tilted without me even thinking about it, and I held on to him tighter when my knees t
hreatened to buckle.

  “You two have it bad,” Mark said as he jogged past us.

  Ace’s laugh broke the line of kisses he trailed up to my chin. “Very, very bad.”

  “The worst.” I tipped my head back and pulled Ace down for a kiss.

  The sound of the four-wheeler approaching broke us apart.

  “Later, Riley. Later, I’m gonna show you just how bad.”

  I trembled. Not out of fear, but anticipation. It set off a current that zipped through me and made me ache. He hadn’t said he loved me, but he had showed me instead. Loving someone didn’t mean just saying the words. It was the feeling behind it. The knowing that you affected them just as much as they affected you.

  Hearing someone say I love you brought a sense of joy.

  Feeling someone tell you that they loved you? It was deep. Soul deep. It filled you with a sense of completeness and contentment. It was bliss and wonder. Raw and honest. It was everything and anything with no room for questions or second-guessing.

  And the sad part? I was setting myself up for heartbreak when Ace left. What if he realized that I was nothing more than a crush to him? What if he found someone new? Someone more like him? I bit down on the inside of my cheek hard enough that my eyes watered. I had to stop thinking like that. It wouldn’t do me any good. Things were brand new with Ace. I had to accept that in just a few days, he’d be gone, and we’d either be doing the long-distance relationship thing… or moving on with our own lives. My chest constricted with the thought. Losing Ace… no, I didn’t even want to think about it.

  I tugged on his hand, moving him towards the Hole. I’d enjoy every single second, until there were no more left.

  When we got down to the dock, Aiden and Mark were already out on the water, jumping each other’s wakes.

  Eli sat on the edge of the dock, laughing when Mark caught enough air that he lost his seat. The Jet Ski went one way, and he went the other. “My turn!” he shouted at Mark. He flipped him off, climbed back on, and took off across the water.

  “Jackass,” Eli said, watching him jump another wake. “I hope he falls off again.”

  “Ten buck says I can make a bigger splash than you,” Ace said as he ran up behind Eli and jumped off the edge.

  Eli shot to his feet. “Oh, you are so on!”

  Ace hit the water, and they didn’t stop until I declared a tie.

  Mark and Aiden cruised across the water, killed the engines, and drifted towards us.

  Eli hung off the ladder on the dock and when Mark got close enough, he tackled him off the Jet Ski. Eli’s head broke the water first. He climbed on the Jet Ski and took off, laughing at Mark when he sputtered to the surface.

  “I think he took guerrilla warfare classes or some shit. Jesus, he about broke my damn back,” Mark said as he pulled himself up the ladder.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have flipped him off?” I covered the laugh that escaped, but Mark heard me. I flew off the end of the dock and hit the water.

  Water went up my nose, and I came up coughing. Mark sailed over my head and hit the water with the biggest splash I’d ever seen. I swam over to the ladder, and Ace helped me back up on the dock. I didn’t give him a chance to freak out, as I held my hand up to silence him. “I changed my mind. Mark wins!”

  Ace took step back, confusion written all over his face. “Mark wins what?”

  “Yeah, what do I win?” Mark said as he hauled himself up the ladder.

  “That was the biggest splash I’ve ever seen. And you caught some pretty good air time too. So you win. Pay the man, Ace!”

  “Yeah, pay me, Ace… Wait, why is Ace paying me?” Mark said, shaking his head to get the water out of his ear.

  My smile died on my lips when I looked over at Ace. He was silent. Deadly silent. The muscle in his jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. Ace was seconds away from snapping, and I had no idea how to stop it from happening. Jared always talked him down when he got like that. But Jared wasn’t there. Mark noticed the same thing I did and took a few steps back. Ace’s hands fisted at his sides. They were so tight, his knuckles turned white.

  Aiden tied off the Jet Ski he’d been floating on and shot up the ladder. “Ace, think about it, man. He was only playing around.”

  Ace’s eyes snapped to Aiden, and he sneered. “He could have hurt her. She could have drowned.”

  “Riley? Ace, she’s a better swimmer than all six of us put together. You know that. Why don’t you and Riley head up to the cabin? The Jet Skis are almost out of fuel and I don’t know about you, but I could go for some food.”

  Ace’s eyes slipped closed for a second, and he took a deep breath. When he released his breath, his fists unclenched.

  I shot Aiden a quick nod of thanks and curled my pinkie around Ace’s. “I’m hungry, too.”

  Ace moved with me as I walked. I didn’t try to talk to him about what happened. I knew enough to let him cool down when he got that angry. By the time we’d made it to the cabin, he was more relaxed. His steps were more fluid, less marching, and I knew he’d be all right once we made it inside.

  He hated getting angry like that. It always left him in a bad mood when it happened. And eventually, he’d apologize. Mark had only been joking around when he pushed me off the dock. They’d all done it before, even Ace had.

  We worked at the counter side by side, making sandwiches and stacking them on a plate.

  “I’m sorry, Riley,” Ace said, breaking the silence.

  “For what?”

  “You know what for.”

  “Ace, how many times have I been thrown off that dock?”

  “Yeah, but this time it was different. This time…”

  I smiled up at him. “This time it pissed you off. I get it. But Mark wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt me.”

  “I know.” He paused as he reached for me. I leaned into him as he ran his hands down my bare shoulders. “You’re important to me, Riley. I wouldn’t just hurt someone for hurting you. I’d kill them.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think orange is a good color for you so…”

  Ace’s body shook when he laughed at me. “I can’t even have one serious conversation with you before the smart-ass comments come out of your mouth.”

  I batted my eyelashes at him. “Yes, and you love me regardless.”

  My hand shot to my mouth, and I gasped. Shit! I said it without even thinking about it. I couldn’t look away from Ace, but I wanted to. I wanted to take several large steps backwards and run down the hallway.

  Ace pulled my hand away from my mouth and brought my palm up to his lips. His eyes never broke contact with mine when he placed my hand against his face. “Riley, I love you so fucking much it hurts.”

  My knees gave and he lifted me up in his arms, holding me close as he stared into my eyes. Both of us were caught up in what he’d admitted. The screen door squeaked open, but neither of us turned to look at whoever it was that came in. Ace’s arms bunched around me, and then carried me down the hallway, never once looking away from me to watch where he was going.

  “There they go again,” I heard Aiden say as Ace caught his foot on the bedroom door, shoving it closed.

  He set me down on my feet and put my hands on his shoulders. I shivered with every lingering touch he placed on my skin. My bathing suit landed in a pile on the floor with Ace’s shorts. His chest heaved into mine as we fought to control our erratic breathing. His hand flexed against my hip, and he walked me backwards to the bed.

  As Ace stretched out beside me and leaned over to place a kiss on my waiting lips, his cell phone rang. I jumped. Ace ignored it and ran his fingers along the side of my face, down my neck, as if tracing every detail and absorbing it. His phone quieted, and then rang again. He huffed out an impatient sigh. “That has to be Jared.”

  He sat up, grabbed his phone off the nightstand, and shook his head as he put the phone up to his ear. “Your timing sucks, bro.”

  I pulled the covers down and
scooted over on the bed, giving Ace enough room to lie down beside me. When he settled in, I pulled the sheet up over the both of us and rolled over to lay my head on his chest as Jared’s voice vibrated through Ace’s phone.

  “The fuck, man? I’m sitting here twiddling my damn thumbs, and this is a bad time for you? Whatever.”

  Ace sighed and settled in for one of Jared’s long-winded conversations. “Did you just say twiddling?”

  “Yeah, fuckin’ twiddling. My ticket wasn’t at the counter, and now I have to wait another three hours to get on the next flight out. Can you believe that shit? So I called my band manager to find out what the damn deal was and get this, he says ‘it happens, buy the ticket and I’ll get the money back to you’. I already hate him. The fuck am I gonna do, Ace? I signed my name on the damn line, and now he’s being a douche.”

  Ace shifted to get more comfortable and ran his hands over my hair. When he got to the hairband, he tugged it free so he could run his fingers through it as he tried reasoning with Jared. “It was probably just a mix up. Don’t freak out yet. If the guy is a real dick, then tell him to shove his contract up his ass.”

  Jared’s laugh rattled through the speaker, and I knew Ace had somewhat talked him out of going into a full freak out.

  With Ace’s fingers running through my hair, and the low rumble of his voice as he talked to Jared, it made my eyes heavy. I closed them and just listened as the two of them talked. Jared needed someone to talk to as he sat alone, waiting for his flight. It occurred to me then that Jared wasn’t as independent as I’d thought. He needed us just as much as we needed him. It made me wonder how we’d all move forward, feeling so severed off from each other.

  The moment between Ace and I had cooled off, and it gave me time to think about what had happened in the kitchen. Ace loved me. I loved him. Where would that lead us when he left? Would he get through boot camp and then ask me to go wherever he went? Would he stay in the US or be shipped out to another country? Could I leave my dad behind? My dad was hardly ever around, but that was because of his job. We had a great relationship. I knew the only reason he worked so hard was because he wanted to support us the best way he knew how. Leaving him to go out of state wouldn’t be bad since he traveled all over and would find a way to see me on his hauls. But overseas? I’d only see him if he decided to take a vacation, or if I did. And really, wasn’t I getting ahead of myself? Sure, Ace said he loved me, but that didn’t mean he was committing himself to me.