by Mindy Hayes
“I can’t believe this is where you guys come every year, and I’ve never been before.” Harper takes a deep breath, inhaling the sea breeze.
I don’t know why I’ve never invited Harper.
Well, yes I do.
Hatteras belongs to Brodee and me. It’s the only place where I get to have him all to myself, and our real lives can’t intervene. When Brodee invited Harper and Skylar, I was excited, but a little annoyed, and I know that’s selfish and immature. But Skylar, Harper, and I will have USC. We’re going to be spending every day together for the next however many years. After this summer, Brodee and I will go in different directions, and we’ll never have this again. Who knows where we’ll be a year from now. When we do come back to The Cape, it may not be the same, but I get that Brodee won’t have USC with them, so I don’t say anything.
“Yeah, relaxing, isn’t it?” I finally say.
“This summer is going to be perfection.” The wind whips her long hair around. She ties the strands back to tame them.
“When’s Skylar coming up?”
“He’ll be here next week. Tuesday probably. He had to take care of some stuff for his grandparents.”
I nod. “All right, all right. So we get some girl time before he gets here.”
“If you want to consider Brodee a girl for the next few days. Yes.”
I laugh. “I doubt he’ll mind.”
“Well, let’s get this party started!” Harper throws off her shirt, exposing her white bikini top, then runs down the boardwalk toward the waves. I copy her, my tank top and shorts joining hers on the deck.
We play in the ocean for a couple hours, bobbing up and down with the tide, basking in the summer sunlight. I can’t remember the last time I felt this carefree. Hatteras has that effect. Brodee eventually makes a splashing entrance. He flings his dark, wet hair to the side and smiles brightly at us.
“Ladies,” he greets. His toned, freckled shoulders speckled with water float above the waves. After a couple hours in the water, the three of us watch the sunset from the shore. The colors reflect onto the water as they tint the sky with orange and pink. I hear the bell ring in the distance. Brodee and I share a look and go running.
“What was that?” Harper asks, jogging closely behind us.
“The bell,” I tell her over my shoulder.
With Brodee and I spending the majority of our summers in the water, the bell is the only form of communication we have with the landers. The landers being our parents—they rarely go in the water. One time we didn’t listen to the bell. It was so quiet in the distance we pretended we couldn’t hear it. The surf was too good. We didn’t want to miss a single wave. I’ll never forget it. We got lectured for an hour about the hazards of the ocean and how they’d thought we drowned. We never missed the bell again.
“This time of night it can only mean one thing,” I say.
“Dinner,” Brodee answers with a hungry smile. “And I’m starving.”
Tatum’s salmon is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. When I saw her seasoning it this morning before they left, I wanted it to be dinner, not breakfast. I don’t know what she does to cook it, but it’s always perfect.
“Tate, this is incredible,” my mom says after her first bite. “I don’t know how you do it every time.”
“Well, thank you.” Tatum smiles. “There’s plenty, so eat up.”
“It’s just so flakey and…moist,” Harper says, eyeing me impishly from across the table.
I groan, knowing what she’s trying to pull. “Harper, you could have picked any other word.”
“But it is moist,” Brodee agrees. A sly grin turns the corner of his mouth. He sits at the head of the table, watching me cringe, and laughs. I throw a roll at him and he bats it away, sending it across the hardwood floor.
“Why do you keep saying moist?” Carter asks.
“Oh my gosh,” I gripe under my breath. “Say it one more time. I dare you.”
“Children,” Mom scolds, but she’s laughing too. “No more. Stop wasting food. Just eat the moist salmon already.”
“Mom,” I warn with a chuckle. “I have another roll, and it has your name written all over it.”
“I’ve got a palm, and it’s got your butt written all over it.” She gives me a sideways glance with a grin she’s suppressing. “But seriously, Tate,” Mom continues, “You have to tell me your secret. I’ve tried making it for Peyton at home, and it never measures up.”
“I’ll never tell.” Her laugh sounds like the Evil Queen from Snow White.
Nick takes Tatum’s hand on top of the kitchen table. “She won’t even tell me. Good luck getting it out of her, Liv.”
After we eat dinner, Brodee, Harper, and I relax on the rooftop lookout, lying back on beach recliners as night falls. Without the city lights, the stars are fully visible. The sky feels close enough that I can reach up and grab one.
“First person who sees a shooting star gets the last piece of chocolate mousse pie,” Brodee challenges.
“But one other person has to witness it,” I add. I know his games. Cheater.
“What, we can’t go off the honor code? You don’t trust Harper?” he teases.
“Psh. I don’t trust you. I saw you eyeing that last piece. And you’ll be lucky if you get to it before Carter does.”
“Well, my odds are better than yours,” he says. “Harper will share with me. Won’t you, Harp?”
“Speak for yourself,” she replies, scouring the skies. “If I win, that piece of pie is all mine.”
I laugh. That’s my Harper.
I win the pie. Harper backs me. But I share a bite with Brodee. Because I’m a nice person. Not because I have feelings for him. Stop judging me.
As we’re getting up to go inside, a bonfire blazing in the distance catches our attention. They’re here.
“What’s going on down there?” Harper jerks her head in the bonfire’s direction.
“It’s probably the Hatteras gang,” I say. Excitement pools in the pit of my stomach.
“As in the Hatteras gang. The one you’ve been talking about since you were fourteen?”
“That would be them,” I confirm. I was wondering when they’d pop up.
“Well, let’s go! I want to meet all the people you hang out with every summer without me. Especially Tyler,” she says his name in a singsong voice to tease me.
I look to Brodee. I have a feeling there will be a certain someone there he’ll want to avoid.
“Under one condition,” he says, holding up his index finger.
“What’s that?” Harper asks.
He eyes her, leaning over his armrest. “You’ve got to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
“Why?” we ask him at the same time.
“Do you really want to deal with Rylie?” he asks me. I don’t. “I don’t. If she thinks I’m with Harper, she’ll let it go. We won’t have to deal with her snide comments and smug grin.”
“Let what go?” Harper asks, looking between the two of us.
“You know we’ll deal with them anyway.” I sigh and explain to Harper, “Rylie and Brodee have had a thing going on the last few summers—kind of like Tyler and me.” Though Tyler and I actually really like each other. We aren’t just make-out buddies. “Last year she was convinced Brodee and I had something going on behind her back. Her jealousy became too much for Brodee, so he broke it off halfway through the summer.”
“If she thinks I’m with you, we can prove to her once and for all there’s nothing going on,” he explains to Harper.
Why does he care so much? “Are you really that repulsed by me that you can’t stand the thought of her thinking you might like me?”
“What?” Brodee frowns. “No. I just figured it’d make it easier for you and Tyler, right?” he tries to reason, but his eyes shift. A tell tale sign he’s lying, but I don’t know what about. “She’ll lay off, and he can be reassured there isn’t anything going on.”
�
�How gentlemanly of you.” I snort.
“Well, this should be fun.” Harper smiles and rubs her hands together before she drapes her arm over Brodee’s shoulder. “All-righty, stud, let’s get this show on the road.” She winks, and he laughs.
“You have to make this believable, Harp. If you joke about it, Rylie will catch on.”
Harper lifts her hands in the air. “Oh, I’ve got this. Don’t you worry your pretty little face.” She taps the tip of his nose. “I’m an impeccable actress. I’m pretty sure I walked the red carpet in another life.”
WE GRAB SOME light jackets and walk along the shoreline. As we draw closer, there are about twenty people dancing and hanging around the fire. That’s more than usual. Party music drifts up toward us. I don’t know how there hasn’t been some sort of noise complaint to shut them down.
“So, everyone comes here to hang out?”
“Just those who vacation here every summer, yeah. Most of the time it’s just a few of us. I’ve never seen this many people before.” I look over at her, walking between Brodee and me, holding his hand. It’s a strange sight to see and makes me…jealous? That can’t be right. “There’s not much to do at night so we chill and listen to music.”
“Peyton!” The male voice is familiar even if I haven’t heard it since last summer. I turn back to the Hatteras gang to see Tyler Hamilton jogging over in all his tall, muscular beauty. His T-shirt stretches across his fit chest, almost like he can’t fit into it anymore.
Has he gotten even bigger?
He flashes his pearly whites before sweeping me up in his arms and hugging me so tightly I can’t breathe. My feet don’t touch the ground.
“Tyler,” I giggle. I hate that I giggle, but he brings out that side of me. The silly, flirty, ditzy side I never knew existed until I was in his presence. I hate myself for it. He turns me into a breathless, giggling fool. It’s embarrassing.
“Dang, Peyton. You get more beautiful every year.” He sets me on the sand, looks me up and down, and smiles appreciatively. His subtle Southern drawl is just as charming as it’s always been.
“This is Tyler?” Harper half-whispers, half-gasps into my ear.
I discreetly shove her away and speak over her the best I can to disguise her innuendo. “Tyler, this is my friend, Harper. And you know Brodee.” I motion to them at my side.
“Yeah. Hey, man. Good to see ya.” Tyler holds out his hand and they do that hand slap/shake/fist bump thing that guys do.
Brodee smiles tightly. “What’s up.” It isn’t a question. It’s a greeting.
“It’s nice to meet you, Harper.” He holds his hand to her for a regular handshake, and she smiles with stars in her eyes. Yeah, he has that sort of effect on women.
“Did y’all just get into town?” Tyler asks.
“Early yesterday, yeah.” I nod and roll back on my heels. “Long drive.”
“How long do I get you this year?” He smiles down at me with his ever-changing hazel eyes. The last year has treated him well. I find myself being especially nervous around him after all this time. He seems…different.
“Until the beginning of August.”
“Almost three weeks longer than last year? Sweet!” He grabs my hand. “C’mon, let’s grab y’all some drinks.”
When we get closer to the fire, Tyler offers to go to the coolers and get me something. “Dr. Pepper, if they have it.”
“All right. Harper, can I get you something?” Tyler offers politely.
“Oh…umm—”
“I can get you something,” Brodee interjects, stepping forward, remembering his role as dutiful, fake boyfriend.
Tyler looks at Brodee, puzzled by his abruptness.
“Diet Coke, please,” she asks.
“Sure thing. If there isn’t any DP, Pete, you want a Coke?”
“Yes, please.”
“You got it.” Brodee nods.
After they’re out of earshot, Harper can’t hold back the interrogation any longer. “Ohmygoshheissofreakinghot. Peyton-Parker, why didn’t you tell me he was so hot? And why in the world have you toned that relationship down? He so does not seem like someone you just ‘hang out’ with a little bit every summer. That kid is smitten.”
I have a hard time hiding my smile. “He’s a player, Harp. Not smitten.”
“He’s smitten. I don’t care what you say. He may be playing the field while you’re gone, but you have his full attention now. He never took his eyes off you. And when he did, it was only to be polite, not because he wanted to.”
I have to laugh. “He’s a good distraction.” Ugh. Did I just say that out loud?
“Distraction? Girl. He is not a distraction. He’s the full show. Take this like the gift it is and enjoy! Have fun for goodness sake! It’s our last summer before real life begins.” The boys are walking back so she quiets down. “Live life, Peyton-Parker. You only get one shot, one life.”
AS THE NIGHT wears on, the four of us have circled the bonfire. Some people have tapered off to walk along the beach or headed home. About ten remain—the usuals. I’ve talked to most of them, and it never fails to feel like I’ve come home when seeing all of them again, like no time has passed at all.
Harper and Brodee are snuggled together, sitting on the sand with their knees pulled to their chests and a blanket wrapped around them, while Tyler sidles up next to me on some driftwood. It’s weird watching them like this. So unnatural. Skylar should be in Brodee’s place, flicking his lip ring and gazing affectionately at Harper. He’s going to get a kick out of this story though. Thankfully, he’s not the jealous type.
I keep peeking across the bonfire at Rylie who’s been giving Brodee the stink-eye all night. Looks like his plan is working. He hasn’t seemed to notice, or maybe he’s just ignoring her. I laugh to myself and look down at my soda can, the brown liquid pooling at the top of the lid. I bring it up to my lips and sip it away.
When I zone back into the conversation, Tyler’s talking about college plans. “I’ll be heading to USC in the fall.”
“For real?” I shift my body to him.
“Don’t tell me you are, too.”
“Yeah. I am.” I smile. “Harper and I are rooming together in the dorms.”
His arm drapes across my shoulder. “Well, look at that. This doesn’t have to end when summer does this time.” He says it teasingly, but it feels like anything but teasing.
My stomach curls into a tiny cluster of nerves, but I smile back coyly and say, “I guess not.”
Tyler pulls me closer, squeezing me once before relaxing. His arm stays, surrounding me in a cocoon of warmth. He’s like my own personal heater. When I look back to Harper and Brodee, Harper is biting her lip, holding in a squeal, no doubt. Brodee’s expression is unreadable. Then I think about it. Since he’s going to Duke, it can’t be easy for him to think about being away from everyone. I smile gently, and his features soften.
“Hey y’all!” Rylie plops beside Tyler in her short denim skirt and red halter-top. Isn’t she cold? “It’s good to see you two, but I don’t think we’ve met yet.” She reaches her hand out to Harper.
Harper rocks forward on the balls of her feet and takes it, smiling. “I’m Harper.”
“Rylie.” Her smile is so fake I’m surprised it doesn’t crack.
Even before last year, Rylie was so certain Brodee and me had a secret thing going on. Because how can you spend every day together on a summer vacation and not fool around? Easily. I could have told her that.
“‘Sup, Rylie,” Tyler says, scooting closer to me, giving her more room on the driftwood.
“I’m having a little get-together tomorrow night, and I was wondering if y’all wanted to come. It’ll just be the normal people, not all these randoms who were here tonight. I want to catch up with everyone!”
Again, I look to Brodee for confirmation. I’m not going to accept anything until I know he’s okay with it. Who knows if she has any ulterior motives? Clearly, she can see we still
don’t have anything going on since he’s cuddling with Harper. Or awkwardly huddling together, I suppose is a better term. They could at least pretend to like each other. Though, if they were too convincing, I might be a little worried.
“Sounds like fun!” Harper says before anyone else responds. I can’t tell if she’s being fake, too, or if she honestly wants to go. Brodee doesn’t dispute it, so I agree too. Maybe I’m misreading Rylie or overthinking it.
“You can count me in,” Tyler joins in.
“Great! Okay. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.” She flashes a sultry smile at Brodee and saunters away, her hips sashaying from side to side as she walks across the sand in her tall wedges. Who wears wedges at the beach?
“Well,” Harper laughs, “isn’t she a treat?”
Brodee and I share a look and bust up laughing.
“What did I see in her?” he mutters as he shakes his head and takes a swig of his Mountain Dew.
“Beats me,” I say.
“Yeah, man,” Tyler says, chuckling. “Rylie is a handful.”
“It was fun while it lasted,” Brodee replies, shrugging.
Tyler gives him a funny look, like he can’t believe he’s talking like that in front of Harper.
“Harper and Brodee aren’t really together,” I explain quietly. “He just wanted Rylie off his back. For obvious reasons.”
Tyler nods with understanding and laughs. “Smart move, man.”
“We won’t be able to keep it up for long. Skylar’s going to be here next week?” Brodee asks Harper.
“Yup!” She smiles dreamily as if they just started dating—not four years into the relationship. “Skylar’s my real boyfriend,” Harper explains.
“And my good friend,” Brodee interjects as if that explains everything.
Tyler looks at them like they’re crazy.
TYLER WALKS ME home, while Brodee and Harper follow slowly behind us, dragging their feet. Harper’s probably making Brodee give us space.
“It really is good to see you, Peyton,” Tyler says, sliding his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together. “I’m glad you’re here.”
