A Summer to Remember

by Jessica Gunhammer

  “No, not yet.”

  “Well, don’t forget, it’s your call. I have to get back to work. I’ll give you a call tonight.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you then. Bye.”

  Chapter 15

  Lily spent the rest of the afternoon at my house and didn’t leave until my parents came home. She always used to stay at our house for dinner or I would go to hers, but since she started dating Steven, they usually go out to eat or he goes to her house.

  I’ve always liked to help my mom cook dinner, even when I was a little girl I always wanted to help. That’s why I decided to go to school to get my Culinary Arts degree. I like to think I’m a pretty good cook and that it just comes naturally. I’ve never had anyone complain about my cooking, but I’ve only cooked for my family and Lily. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever even cooked for Jason.

  Wow, Jason hadn’t even called or texted me since I saw him yesterday at the mall. I thought for sure he would’ve been blowing up my phone after he found out I was going to dinner with Adrian. Weird. Maybe he finally decided to give up. That’d be nice.

  “So, how was your date with Adrian last night?” my mom asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “It was fun. I enjoyed it.” I grabbed a knife from one of the drawers and started chopping up some vegetables she had laid out on the counter.

  “That’s good. Are you guys going out again?” Mom grabbed another knife and started chopping up the grilled chicken.

  “Yeah. He works long days all week, so he’s usually exhausted by the time he gets off. We won’t be doing anything until Friday night.” I moved the carrots to the side and started chopping up the celery.

  “That will be nice. What are you guys going to do?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m supposed to decide on something.”

  “Does he work late Friday?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Well, why don’t you cook him a nice meal? You’re a great cook, and since he works late, he probably doesn’t get a home cooked meal very often. You can even have him come over here if you want. Your dad and I will be at Terry and Eric’s house most of the night. They’re having a party to celebrate Terry’s promotion and I’m pretty sure your brother will be at Josh’s house.”

  “That’s actually a great idea, Mom! Thanks!” We threw the chicken and vegetables into the pan of rice on the stove and we talked while she cooked the stir-fry.

  Dinner was rather quiet. I started to think about what it would be like to not have a family dinner. Ever since I was little, my parents always made a big deal out of making sure we ate dinner together at least a few nights a week. Even when we didn’t have much to talk about, it was still nice to spend time with them.

  After dinner I went up to my room and waited for Adrian to call. I decided to look up some recipes to help pass the time. I pulled my laptop from the nightstand and began browsing the web. I found a few things that looked good so I printed them out and put them in my purse. I’d have to stop by the grocery store later in the week to pick up the ingredients.

  When my phone finally rang I searched frantically through my blankets until I saw the glow from the screen. I answered it just before it went to voicemail.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey. What are you doing?” It was Adrian. I could tell how tired he was just by the tone of his voice.

  “Not much, just relaxing. How was work?”

  “Long and hot. I’m exhausted.”

  “Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. If it makes you feel any better, I finally thought of what I want to do on Friday.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “I want to cook you dinner.”

  “Oh really?” He perked up a little bit.

  “Yeah, I’ll cook and we can rent movies or something.”

  “That sounds great. You going to cook at your house or mine?”

  “Well, my parents and brother will be gone that night, so I can cook here if you want. Or we can go to your house, is anyone going to be home?”

  “I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. I have my own apartment.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, when I was in high school I got sick of living at my parents’ house with my brothers and sisters. None of them have much ambition and none of them wanted to go to college so they were still trying to figure out what they were going to do in life. And that’s a whole lot of people in such a cramped space. So I asked my dad if I could fix up the room above the garage. He said as long as I could find a place for all the stuff being stored up there, it was all mine. So Brian and I spent one summer fixing it up and I’ve been up here ever since.”

  “Your place it is, then.”

  “I’ll leave a key outside for you, in case you get here before I get home.”

  “Are you sure you want me in your house without you there?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be in his house without him there. It seemed too…personal.

  “Doesn’t make any difference to me. Might as well get used to it because you’ll be spending a lot of time over here the next couple months.” I smiled at the thought.

  “I think I’m going to let you go. You sound so tired.”

  “Thanks, babe. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  I’m not sure if it fully hit me yet what I was getting myself into. I was planning on spending my whole summer with this guy and making sure I gave him a summer to remember, but what happened after the summer? If I stayed here, which I planned on doing, would we even talk anymore? Would I only see him when he came back to visit for holidays? Or would I even see him then?

  I don’t think I’d ever had to face such a hard decision. On the other hand, what if, and that’s a big if, I actually decided to go to Florida? Lily was right. They probably do have some really great schools down there. There are also probably way more opportunities for me there, too. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t leave my family and Lily. I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. I could hardly even think about it without bursting into tears.

  Maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe I should just live in the moment and enjoy my time I had left with him. In just a couple months he’d be leaving and I’d have to deal with it then.

  Chapter 16

  The next couple of days seemed to drag on endlessly. I spent most of my time with Lily doing anything I could to help pass the time. I talked to Adrian off and on but he’d been really busy with work and by the time he got off, he was usually ready to go to bed.

  When Friday finally arrived, I woke up with a smile on my face. I felt like a little kid on Christmas. I couldn’t wait to see him! I felt bad he had to work long days so I just wanted to do something that would make him feel better.

  I went to the store and it took me a good hour to pick up everything I needed for dinner. It took twenty minutes alone just to find the right kind of wine to go with our dinner. I wasn’t a big drinker, but Lily and I got fake IDs our junior year in high school and I still used it on occasion.

  When I reached the address he gave me, I turned and drove down the driveway to the garage behind the house like he told me to. I wasn’t entirely comfortable going to his house without him, but I knew it would make him happy knowing I was attempting to make myself at home. His parents had an average sized house. I guess that would explain why he wanted to move out, it was a small space for so many people. He said he would leave the key under the lid of the small black grill at the top of the stairs. I opened the lid and there it was. I put the key into the lock and turned the knob. He said the light switch was on the left. I reached over to the wall, felt around for the switch, and flipped it on. I looked around the room and was a little surprised at what I saw.

  His place was kind of nice. I guess I was expecting it to look more like the frat houses we’d been to, with empty beer cans, ashtrays, and posters of naked women lining the walls. This didn’t have any of that. He didn’t have a lot, but the stuff he did have was nice. There was a small kitchen with
a sink and a full size stove and fridge to my left. It opened up into a living room with a small blue couch and a wooden coffee table. He had a large flat screen TV, his Xbox, and a good-sized movie collection in a black TV stand. Then there were two doorways, one led to a small bathroom and the other to a bedroom. I caught a glimpse of a digital clock in the bedroom and realized Adrian would be home soon.

  I went into the kitchen and started prepping everything to be cooked. It was rather quiet, so I turned on some music on my phone and started cooking. No more than fifteen minutes later Adrian walked in the door. He smiled the minute he saw me.

  “I could get used to this.” He came inside and closed the door behind him. He was covered in dirt from head to toe. “I’d come over there and give you a huge hug but I’m going to shower first.”

  “No problem, you have plenty of time.”

  “Great!” He headed for the bathroom.

  I concentrated on finishing up what I had left of dinner. I jumped when I felt two arms enclose my waist. I must have been too wrapped up in my cooking and music to realize he’d come out of the bathroom.

  “It smells delicious.” He sent goose bumps up my neck as he whispered in my ear.

  “It’ll be done in just a few minutes.” I turned around to face him and about lost my breath. I had to lean back against the counter to steady myself. The muscles I was always daydreaming about were right there, in my face. The only thing left to my imagination was the portion covered by the towel around his waist. I ran my hand down his chest to his perfectly chiseled abs.

  The timer on the oven started to beep obnoxiously.

  “You should probably put some clothes on. Dinner’s ready.” He smiled and walked into the bedroom. I stood there and watched like an idiot until the door was completely closed. Then I turned around to shut off the timer.

  He came back out with a pair of black basketball shorts on just as I was setting our two plates down on the coffee table. Luckily, I had just set them down or I probably would’ve dropped them all over the floor as he still had no shirt on.

  “Sorry I don’t have a table. I don’t have people coming over to feed me very often.” He plopped down on the couch and waited for me to join him.

  “Don’t worry about it. You can go ahead and start, you’re probably starving.” I grabbed the wine and two glasses out of the cabinet and took them to the couch.

  “This is absolutely delicious,” he said after chewing a bite of the steak.

  “Thank you.” I took a bite of mine. It was pretty good.

  “I don’t even remember the last time I had a home cooked meal. It was probably the last time I was at Brian’s house.”

  “Your parents don’t cook?”

  “Not unless you consider frozen pizzas cooking.” I felt bad for him. I guess I never knew what it would be like not to have a home-cooked meal a couple times a week. It was one of my favorite things about living at home. Even when I move out I’d still probably go to my parents’ for dinner a few times a week.

  “Well, sounds like I’ll have to cook for you more often. Maybe we can make this a weekly thing.”

  “You have no idea how awesome that would be. It doesn’t take long to get sick of eating ramen noodles, frozen meals, and fast food.”

  As we ate and watched some TV, I couldn’t help but steal a few glances his way to admire him every couple of minutes. Not just because he was shirtless and, well, gorgeous, but because I could tell he was truly enjoying the meal I made him.

  “So how was your day?” I asked as I took a sip of my wine. I did a good job, this wine went perfectly with the marinade I used on the steak.

  “Long and hot.” He grabbed the wine glass out of my hand and set both his and mine on the table. “It’s a lot better now that I’m here with you.” He put his hand on the side of my face and pulled me in for a kiss. It didn’t take long before we were in a full-blown make-out session.

  I decided to move in closer. I straddled his lap and kissed him while I let my hands explore his bare chest and arms. I kissed his lips, trailing them up his jaw line and down his neck. Before I could go any further, I felt his hands on my skin right below the hemline of my shirt. I sat back and he pulled my shirt over my head. I watched the look on his face as he admired what he saw.

  “Wrap your arms around my neck,” he whispered. I did as I was told. He grabbed my thighs, picked me up and headed to the bedroom. I started to get a little nervous. I’m not sure why, I obviously knew where all this was heading, but that ten second walk to the bedroom was actually giving me time to think this through. This wasn’t my first time, but it would be my first time with someone other than Jason.

  Adrian flopped me down on the bed and kissed my neck, chest, and trailed down to my belly button. Suddenly all the nervousness I had disappeared. I sat up and unsnapped my bra. He grabbed the straps off each shoulder and carefully slid them down my arms and tossed it to the side. I laid back and unbuttoned my jeans, he took his time sliding them down my legs. He took in every second of what was going on. When my jeans were off, he removed his own shorts. I was a little embarrassed, so I didn’t let my eyes leave his.

  He climbed on top of me, pulled off the last remaining item of clothing I had on, and tossed it to the side. He kissed down my neck and explored my chest and stomach with his lips and tongue. He took a minute to stop, opened up the nightstand drawer and pulled out a silver wrapper. While he was getting situated, I noticed how nicely the bed was made as I pulled down the comforter and climbed under. After a few seconds, he climbed under with me. He rested on his side as he rubbed his hands up and down my body. The anticipation was killing me. I grabbed his arm and pulled him on top of me.

  “Are you sure about this?” He looked me in the eyes as he brushed a piece of hair from my face. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and pulled his lips to mine.

  “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.”

  Chapter 17

  When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over and noticed I was alone in Adrian’s bed. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was still early. I looked around the room to find my clothes. His room was on the smaller side but I liked it, it felt comfortable. He had a queen-sized bed with a nightstand on each side and a dresser in the corner with a small TV on it. I saw my clothes folded nicely at the foot of the bed. I threw them on and walked into the living room but I still didn’t see Adrian. The bathroom door was open—he wasn’t in there, either. Then I noticed a note on the fridge.

  If you wake up before I’m back, I went to get breakfast.

  I left a clean towel for you in the bathroom.

  That was so sweet. I’d never had someone do that for me before. Well, I guess Jason would’ve been the only one who could’ve done anything like that for me, but of course he never had. I put the note back on the fridge and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

  By the time I got out, I could hear Adrian in the kitchen. I walked out with the towel tied around me.

  “Good morning, beautiful!” He turned around and smiled when he saw me. “You want me to grab you a pair of my basketball shorts and a t-shirt to wear?” He started walking towards the bedroom.

  “No, that’s okay. I’m sure my parents would love me strolling home in your clothes,” I said sarcastically.

  “Who says you’re going home?” He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me softly on the lips.

  “I actually have an overnight bag I keep in the trunk of my car just in case I end up staying at Lily’s or something. You think you can grab it for me?”

  “Of course.” He grabbed my keys off the counter and walked out the door.

  We spent the morning watching TV and enjoying each other’s company. When lunchtime rolled around, we decided we should probably get some food. So we went to the nearest burger place. Lily’s car was sitting in the parking lot. As much as I’d love to just go through the drive-thru and go back to Adrian’s, I knew she would kill
me if she knew we didn’t go in and say hi.

  “Lily’s here. That’s her car.” I pointed to the red convertible out my window. “We should probably go in because if she finds out we were here and we didn’t say hi, she’d freak.”

  Adrian laughed. “No problem.” He pulled into the nearest parking spot and we went inside. As soon as we walked in the door, I heard Lily’s squealing voice.

  “Ava!” She came running up to me and about choked me to death when she wrapped her arms around my neck. You’d think we hadn’t seen each other in years.

  “Hey, Lily.” She noticed Adrian walking in behind me. “Hey, Adrian.” She looked at me, then looked at him, then looked at me again and smiled. I didn’t know how this girl did it, but she knew things before you even wanted her to know. “Oh my God,” she mouthed to me. “Adrian, would you be a doll and get Ava the number two with no pickles? We have to talk. You know, girl stuff.”

  “Sure.” I gave Adrian an apologetic look but he just smiled and kissed me on the forehead. Lily pulled me into the booth closest to the door. I looked over in the direction Lily came running from and saw Steven and Jason sitting at a table. Jason, of course, was giving me dirty looks, but looked down when he saw I was looking in their direction, so I smiled and waved at Steven. He waved back.

  “Were you going to tell me that Jason was here?”

  “Oh screw Jason, who cares? I want all the details about you and Adrian!”

  “Keep it down. I don’t need the whole place knowing anything and right here isn’t really the place to talk about it.”

  “But I can’t wait. I need to know now.” Lily’s always been good at begging, but I wasn’t about to talk about anything that happened last night in a burger joint with my ex sitting five tables away. Wasn’t going to happen.