A Summer to Remember

by Jessica Gunhammer

  “I’m sorry but you’re going to have to wait.”

  “Fine,” she pouted. “Then I’m coming over tonight so you can tell me everything.”

  “Okay. Wait. I don’t know if I’ll be going home tonight.” Lily’s eyes lit up.

  “Would you be staying with him again?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t really ask but he hinted at it this morning. He works all week, so I’d like to spend as much time with him as possible.”

  “You totally should. Get in all you can, if you know what I mean.” She grinned and winked at me.

  “Lily!” I could feel my cheeks turning red. I looked around to make sure no one around us heard what we were talking about, of course they didn’t, or at least they were pretending like they didn’t. She knew how to embarrass me and she loved to do it.

  “Call me as soon as you get home, though!”

  “You know I will.” She got up and went back to her table. Adrian soon filled the empty seat in front of me.

  “I’m so sorry about that. She can be a little demanding sometimes.”

  “It’s okay. I like her. She seems like a good friend.” He handed me a burger and fries off the tray in front of him.

  “She really is.” I glanced over and waved as Lily, Steven, and Jason walked out the door. “So do you have any plans tonight?”

  “Well I thought we could order some food and watch that movie we never got to watch last night.” A smile crossed his face.

  “First off, we won’t be ordering food. I’ll be cooking you food.”

  “You don’t have to do that. You did that last night, and judging by the way it tasted, you must have spent a lot of time making it.”

  “I want to, though.” I put my hand on his. “I only get to see you on the weekends, and we only have a couple months left. I want to make sure we do things you’ll enjoy and remember.”

  “After last night, I can guarantee this will be a summer I’ll remember.” I felt my cheeks turning red again. I knew I’d remember this summer forever.

  Chapter 18

  I spent the remainder of the weekend at Adrian’s. We spent our days inside watching movies and playing video games and we cooked dinner together both Saturday and Sunday night. After dinner on Sunday, I decided it was time for me to go home.

  “Please stay,” he begged as I grabbed my makeup bag and toothbrush out of the bathroom.

  “You have to work early in the morning, or else you know I would.” I gave him a kiss as I walked into the bedroom.

  “But I want you to be here when I get off work tomorrow.”

  “Well I can come by when you get off.” I grabbed my clothes off the dresser and laid them on the bed to be folded.

  “No, I mean I want you to be here. Every day.”

  “I can come over every day, but usually you’re so tired.”

  “No, I don’t think you understand.” He sat down on the bed, grabbed my hands, and pulled me between his legs. “I want you to be here every day, all day. I want to wake up to you in the morning and go to sleep with you at night.”

  “You’re crazy.” I giggled nervously. I tried to pull my hands away but he gripped them a little tighter.

  “I am. I’m crazy about you. Will you move in with me?”

  I felt my heart jump into my throat. He had to be kidding me. This was the first weekend we’d spent alone, just the two of us. I couldn’t just go moving in with him, he was losing it.

  “I can’t just move in with you.” I tried not to sound overwhelmed.

  “Why not?” Disappointment spread across his face. He was serious.

  “Because you do realize we’ve only known each other for a couple weeks, right?” Was this normal? It was hard not to wonder if he’d done this before. He seemed so sure of himself.

  “Ava, just so you know, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “Like what?” I looked down at our hands. I swear sometimes it was like he could read my mind.

  “Like ask a girl to move in with me.” I felt a sense of relief flood through me. “But I can’t help myself. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. You’re amazing and I want to spend as much time with you as I can before…” I looked up at him. “Before I have to leave.”

  I could feel the rims of my eyes filling with tears. Just the thought of him leaving upset me and we’d grown so close in such a short amount of time. I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like after we’d spent a whole summer together. But moving in together? I didn’t even know what I was doing. He was going to have to leave when summer was over, but I was still choosing to fall for him when I knew I was going to end up getting hurt in the end.

  “Don’t be upset. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He pulled me in and hugged me.

  “I don’t want you to leave.” I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. I was consumed with so many different emotions, confusion being the major one.

  “I have to, Ava. Not many job opportunities just pop up like this. People work years to get a job like this.”

  “I know. It just sucks.” All of this sucked! But moving in with him? I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that! Or was I? I didn’t know anymore. I really needed to call Lily.

  “We’ll just take it day by day.” He brushed my hair away from my face. “So will you please move in with me?”

  “That’s a big step.” I pulled back and looked at him. “Give me the week to think about it and I’ll let you know by Friday. How does that sound?”

  “Not the answer I wanted, but it wasn’t a no, so I guess that’ll have to do. You’ll still come over every night though, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Okay, let me grab something real quick.” He hopped off the bed and ran out of the bedroom. I started folding my things and putting them in my bag. “Okay, close your eyes and turn around.” I did as I was told. “Now hold out your hand.” I held my hand out and giggled a little, from nervousness mostly. I felt him set something in my hand. “Okay, open your eyes.” I opened my eyes and there was a key sitting in the palm of my hand. Not just any key, but the house key that was in the grill Friday night when I came here.

  “What’s this for?” I asked, a little confused.

  “I want you to have it. In case you want to come over before I get off work or if you just want to hang out here during the day.”

  “Don’t you need it in case someone else needs to get in?”

  “Nope. It’s all yours. Please, just keep it.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug. “I think it’s time for me to head home. You have to work in the morning and I don’t want to keep you up.” I kissed him.

  “I wouldn’t mind.” He picked me up and threw me on the bed, then climbed on top of me and started kissing my neck.

  “Okay, maybe I can stay a little longer.”

  Chapter 19

  Being back in my own bed was bittersweet. The feeling of comfort was there but not having Adrian by my side made me a little bummed. I needed to talk to Lily and I knew she’d be calling me soon. I was surprised she hadn’t called me already, but I decided to beat her to the punch. I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

  “You ready to tell me the details yet?” Lily asked as soon as she picked up.

  “Wow. I don’t even get a hello anymore?”

  “Since you’ve been keeping everything to yourself these last few days, I don’t think you’re worthy of one anymore,” she joked. “What do you want to do today?”

  “Let’s go to the pool.”

  “Great! I’m about to strangle Steven. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

  As soon as I was out of bed and had my pool bag packed, Lily was outside my house honking, right on cue. I slid in the passenger seat of her car and we drove off. On our way there, she told me about a fight she and Steven got into over the weekend because she caught him checking out a waitress at the bar the other night, so they weren’t on sp
eaking terms today. Bickering like this isn’t unusual for them, but Steven checking out a waitress was. Lily had always been a little insecure, which threw me for a loop because she’s gorgeous. Guys were constantly throwing themselves at her feet and she had a kickass personality, but she just didn’t see it. I guess it was true, every girl has her own insecurities.

  When we got to the pool, we took turns searching for chairs while one of us held our usual spot up against the back fence. I was so anxious to tell Lily about what happened I could hardly contain myself. When she finally got back with her chair I couldn’t stand it anymore so I just blurted it out.

  “Adrian asked me to move in with him!” It had been eating me up inside all night and I needed to hear somebody else’s opinion on the situation.

  “He what?” Lily sat down on her chair and pulled her sunglasses down toward the tip of her nose. A few strands of hair fell out of her ponytail.

  “He asked me to move in with him.”

  “What did you tell him?” She didn’t seem as shocked as I thought she would be, which made me a little concerned.

  “I told him I had to think about it, but it’s a little soon.” I looked at her for reassurance. “Don’t you think?”

  “Well, kind of. I guess.” She shrugged and pushed her sunglasses back up on the bridge of her nose.

  “What do you mean, you guess? We’ve only known each other a few weeks and he’s already asking me to move in with him!” I expected a bigger reaction out of her, but she was being nonchalant. This wasn’t helping at all!

  “Yeah.” She took off her sheer cover up to reveal the red and white bikini underneath and laid back down on her chair. “But girls are getting married and pregnant after only knowing someone a few weeks these days.”

  “Don’t try and put me in that category!” I was a little offended. I took off my cover up and laid back on my chair.

  “I’m not, I’m just saying it could be worse. Wait. What would happen when he moves to Florida?” She looked over at me.

  “He’s still going and I’m not, if that’s what you’re asking.” We’d talked about this a hundred times. You’d think she’d get how serious I was about staying here.

  “Well, that’s more of a reason to try it out, then. You’re supposedly only spending this last summer with him before he leaves.”

  “What do you mean, supposedly?” I was starting to get a little irritated with her.

  “You really think you’re going to be able to spend all summer with him then fall hits and you’re just going to be like ‘okay bye, have a nice life.’” She laughed a little. “You know that’s not going to happen and you’re just being silly if you think it is.”

  “I know it’s not going to be like that, but something is going to have to change because I’m not going with him. It makes me sick just thinking about it.” I could feel my stomach turn. If I wanted to leave this town I would’ve applied for schools out of state. The thought of leaving never even crossed my mind because I knew I would miss my friends and family too much.

  “And how does it make you feel knowing that he’ll be leaving in just a few short months?” I couldn’t answer her because I knew if I did the tears I was holding back wouldn’t stay back. “That’s what I thought.”

  A few hours later we packed up our stuff and walked back out to the car in the summer heat. I had a lot to think about this week and I was glad I had Lily to talk to about it. I didn’t necessarily agree with what she had to say but it was still nice to get someone else’s opinion. We tossed our bags in the backseat. I climbed into the passenger seat and turned to put my seatbelt on.

  “Oh! I almost forgot, since you distracted me with the whole moving in thing. You slept with him, didn’t you?” It wasn’t something I wanted to discuss right now after everything else we talked about today, so I just looked out the side window. “I knew it.” She also knew I wasn’t ready to talk about it, so she didn’t push it. I felt sick to my stomach and emotionally exhausted from thinking about the whole thing.

  After Lily dropped me off, I went straight to the kitchen and made myself a turkey and cheese sandwich. I was as confused as ever. I had no idea what I was going to do. Deciding whether or not to move in with him and him moving away, I just felt so overwhelmed. I was just going to have to figure this out for myself and I couldn’t let Lily or anyone else’s opinions waiver my decision. After I finished eating I went up to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. Once I got dressed and got comfortable in bed, I heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in.” The door opened and my mom stepped inside.

  “Hey. I was just checking to see how your day was.” She came over and sat down on the bed beside me.

  “It was good, Lily and I just went to the pool for a bit.” I used my towel to help dry my hair.

  “That sounds like fun. How are things going with Adrian? I’m guessing since you spent the weekend there, the dinner you made went well?”

  “Yeah, he really loved it. His parents don’t really cook, so he hasn’t had a homemade meal in a while.”

  “Well, maybe you should have him come over here one night this week. We’d like to get to know him since it seems like you guys will be spending a lot of time together.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask him. He’s usually really tired after he gets off work, so I’m not sure if he’ll be up for it. If not, maybe we can do something on the weekend?”

  “Yeah, just let us know.” She patted me on the leg before she stood up and walked to the door. “I’m going to start dinner.”

  “All right, I’ll be down in a bit.” She walked out the door and closed it behind her.

  I’ve always been really close with both of my parents. My brother and I are also really close, which always seemed to surprise my friends who have siblings. It never occurred to me until now that if I did decide to move in with Adrian, I would have to tell my family. I didn’t think they’d be too supportive of it. I mean, I was only eighteen, almost nineteen, so technically, I could do whatever I want. But I wouldn’t want to ruin the relationship I have with them. I mean if I did move in with Adrian, it would only be for the summer.

  The more I thought about it, the more I was beginning to realize what my decision was going to be. If I was be going to his house every night anyway and I would most likely be staying at his house on the weekends, it might just be easier to leave my stuff there. I wouldn’t have to stay there every night, but at least the nights I’d want to stay there I wouldn’t have the hassle of hauling things back and forth. It wouldn’t be too far from my parents, either and we could still probably come here for dinner a couple times a week.

  I thought back to the night I met Adrian. The chemistry I felt with him was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Then the night at the restaurant when he told me he was leaving, I was so crushed I felt like I couldn’t even breathe. That same night I noticed when I was with Adrian, I was willing to leave my comfort zone without even realizing it. And I loved it! After being with Jason I needed this, I needed to learn that the safest route doesn’t always need to be the most traveled route, sometimes it was good to head down the path to the unknown. And now was the perfect opportunity.

  I was pretty sure my decision was made. I was going to move in with Adrian. Now the only thing left to do was figure out when I wanted to tell him and when and how I was going to tell my parents. I just wanted to make sure everything ran as smoothly as possible.

  Chapter 20

  After lying around at the pool all day and contemplating my decision to move in with Adrian, I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I only had a couple of hours to spare before Adrian would be getting off work and I promised him I’d be going over to his house every night this week. I jumped in the shower, threw on some sweats and a tank, and ran a comb through my hair. I wasn’t in much of a cooking mood so I decided I was just going to pick up pizza.

  I pulled into the driveway around the time I expected Adrian to be home. I didn’t see hi
s car, so I made my way up the stairs to the front door. I pulled my new key out and pushed it into the lock. I carefully walked to the coffee table and set the pizza and soda on the table. I spent enough time here over to weekend to be able to navigate around in the dark. As I turned back around to head to the light switch, it flipped on.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Adrian walked in with a smile on his face and closed the door behind him.

  “Hey!” I ran up and gave him a kiss on the lips. “I hope you don’t mind, I just picked up pizza.” I pointed to the box on the coffee table. “I’m a little exhausted and wasn’t in the mood for cooking dinner, or getting ready, for that matter.” I gestured toward my outfit.

  “Not a problem, and don’t worry, you always look beautiful.” He kissed me on the forehead. “I’m going to jump in the shower.” He headed toward the bathroom.

  I grabbed some glasses and plates and settled down on the couch, then picked up the remote and clicked on the TV to help settle my nerves. I was going to tell Adrian my decision tonight. Even though I knew he was going to be ecstatic, it still didn’t make it any easier. I was a little scared. I’d never done anything like this before. He walked out of the bathroom in just a pair of basketball shorts, which seemed to be his usual after-work attire, and joined me on the couch. I opened up the pizza box, put a few slices on a plate, and handed it to him.

  “So, have you thought anymore about moving in with me?” he asked as he took a bite.

  “Actually I have.” I put a slice on my plate and closed the box.

  “And?” I could see the concern in his eyes.

  “And I’m going to do it.”

  A grin spread across his face. “Babe! That’s great! I’m so happy!” He leaned in and kissed me, then pulled back and took in the expression on my face. “You don’t seem too excited about it.”