One Hot Summer

by Heidi McLaughlin

  He nodded but there was a wounded expression in his eyes. “Have a good night, Emersyn.”

  I exhaled slowly. “You too, Aiden.”

  Our gazes locked and, for a split second, I almost said to hell with it.

  Take me to your place.

  He would. He wanted to. I could see it in his eyes, in the confident way he moved, in the powerful barely contained energy that radiated off him.

  A night with him would be unforgettable. A first time I’d actually enjoy. Something about his masculine hands and the confident set of his chin and shoulders told me so. He knew his way around the female anatomy, no doubt. These were the types of moments Drew was always telling me I needed to seize.

  But I couldn’t. Not tonight.

  I needed to get home.

  I gave him a small, apologetic shrug and headed toward the ride, waving at strangers like an idiot, pretending I wasn’t completely full of shit.

  When I made it to where the line was forming, I turned back.

  I could tell him I was mistaken.

  I could say she looked like my friend, but I was wrong.

  I could ask him for a ride home.

  But I couldn’t do any of those things, because Aiden Singleton was already gone.

  I took one last lap around the carnival as they began to dismantle the rides and game booths. Thunder rumbled overhead, and I knew I was screwed.

  I had no clue where Camille was, a dead cell phone, and no ride home.

  Walking out past the RV parking lot, I didn’t see her 4Runner anywhere. But I did see several people walking in small groups down by the water’s edge. There were always parties along the river all weekend long as most of the houses were either vacation homes or rented by college kids.

  Rain began to fall, slow at first, but in heavy plopping drops, that were steadily increasing in speed. Walking briskly enough to look like a jogger, I made my way down to the residential area hoping someone at one of the parties would at least have a phone charger I could borrow.

  Never again, I thought to myself. I’d gone out like everyone had convinced me to in an attempt to have fun.

  Some fun this was.

  Drew had bailed last minute. Ethan had disappeared, scaring me to death. And I’d blown off a beautiful stranger for Camille, who’d obviously ditched me without a second thought.

  Me and my dead phone were about to get drenched in a downpour.

  I didn’t know what I was going to do but knew one thing for sure. I wouldn’t make this mistake again.

  4

  Aiden

  I could take a hint.

  I’d bet my left nut the random girl she pointed out wasn’t her friend. But Emersyn Tyler wasn’t interested.

  It happened.

  The fuck it did.

  Okay, so it had never happened before. Not to me. But here I was, coming through my front door alone.

  Music blared from the living room where Axel sat with a few dudes and the chick who’s name I couldn’t remember from the night before.

  “Here,” I said flatly, dropping his greasy burger bag in his lap.

  “It’s cold,” he whined. “And you’re alone.”

  “Way to go, Captain Obvious,” I muttered, ignoring the look of interest from the girl beside him.

  “What the hell took you so long?”

  I stopped before disappearing into my room. “You’re welcome for the food, Bro.”

  With that, I shut my door and tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong with Emersyn.

  She was attracted to me. Her eyes sparked with interest every time they’d met mine. So why had she blown me off?

  Maybe it was a stranger danger thing.

  Made sense. It was smart for her to be careful. She was insanely gorgeous and there’d been a string of rapes reported on campus a few years ago. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been at Southeastern, but maybe she’d heard about them.

  I didn’t want to leave my room and deal with the party rivaling the one from last night, but I needed a drink before I went insane. Raking my hands through my hair, I decided I wouldn’t spend all night dissecting our encounter.

  Monday after class, I’d talk to her. I’d get her number. I’d text and ask if she wanted to study for the art history final exam, maybe get some food from a restaurant not on wheels.

  I exited my room and entered the growing crowd in my kitchen.

  A guy they called Meat and some of my brother’s other work buddies were already talking the chick whose name I didn’t know into doing body shots. A few other girls had shown up and were dancing on the coffee table. Thankfully it was sturdy.

  I grabbed a beer from the fridge and took off in search of my brother. I wasn’t partying tonight. He needed to know now that I wasn’t cleaning up tomorrow.

  By the time I reached the living room, I had a shadow.

  “Ai-den, there you are,” a female voice sang.

  I turned and faced her—the girl whose name had completely escaped me. If I’d ever known it to begin with.

  “Yeah, hey.” You.

  I took a long drink.

  She had a nice body. A cute enough face too. Shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and wicked curves, which I had recently wrapped my hands around while fucking her from behind. But I didn’t do back to back hook-ups. It sent the wrong message.

  “Becca had to work tonight,” she pouted, poking her bottom lip out for added effect. “But you and I can still have some fun.”

  Well, this was awkward. I was going to have to talk to my brother about the guest lists for his get-togethers.

  “Maybe later,” I said, not wanting to blow her off and hurt her feelings. “Have you seen Axel around?”

  Before she could answer, the loud whooshing sound of a heavy downpour hit the roof.

  A crowd of people who’d been on the lawn came rushing into the house, my brother among them. I stepped over to tell him to chill on blasting the music outside because I was going to hang out in the camper tonight.

  But the minute I got to the door; I saw her.

  Emersyn Tyler, soaked head to toe.

  Her eyes widened when they met mine.

  “Aiden?”

  I ushered her inside. “Damn, girl. You’re soaked.”

  She nodded. “I was wrong. That wasn’t my friend. I couldn’t catch up to you but I heard music so I was hoping someone here would let me use their phone charger so I could call Camille.”

  I gestured for her to follow me toward the bathroom where I grabbed a towel from the linen closet. I started to dry her off myself but thought better of it and handed it over. “Yeah, uh, my phone charger is actually out in the camper but—”

  “Camper?”

  “Out back.” Watching her dry off made my mouth water. Her saturated shirt clung to her skin, making the outline of her bra visible. “My parents had a badass Airstream they used to travel around in. They, uh, passed away when I was younger but me and my brother kept it. I hang out in there a lot when things get kind of nuts in here.”

  She glanced around at the chaos. “I see.” Before I could speak again, she touched my arm. “I’m sorry about your parents.”

  There was so much genuine emotion in her voice, I couldn’t help but look her directly in the eyes.

  Everyone said the same things. I’m sorry for your loss. I hate to hear that. But I could tell by her tone and the way she was looking at me, she meant it. She understood. She knew saying it wouldn’t change anything, but she did anyway—while touching me and making eye contact.

  I swallowed hard and blinked. “Thanks. It was a long time ago.” Doing a sweep of the crowd, I looked for Axel so I could grab his phone charger for her. He’d vanished once again. “If we can find my brother, we can borrow his charger for a bit without having to swim to the camper.”

  We headed to the kitchen where there was still no Axel, but Becca’s friend made a beeline for us.

  Shit. Talk about crap timing.

  “Aide
n Singleton, are you attempting to ditch me?” Her tone was mock wounded. She smiled at Emersyn, almost flirtatiously. My stomach rolled and I felt a tinge of guilt for what I’d done last night. I should’ve at least gotten her name. She touched my shoulder and I took a step back. “Don’t be a party-pooper. She’s cute enough. We can all have some fun tonight.”

  Cute enough? Emersyn? She was fucking beautiful. Perfection personified.

  I expected to see complete disgust, shock, or horror on Emersyn’s face. What I actually saw looked more like amusement.

  “I’m Kenzie,” the girl told her. “And you are?”

  So that’s her name.

  I had a vague recollection of Becca introducing us. Kenzie Reid or Kenzie Keith or something like that.

  Emersyn glanced at me with raised brows. “Just looking for a phone charger actually. But you two have fun.”

  She moved to step away from me and I clasped her elbow without thinking.

  “Actually, this is my girlfriend, Emersyn.” I glanced at her with pleading eyes that I hoped said play along, please.

  Kenzie blanched and her expression soured. “That’s funny, you didn’t mention having a girlfriend last night.”

  “We were on a break,” Emersyn blurted out.

  I loved her already.

  “Yes, and now we’re working things out,” I offered apologetically. “If you’ll excuse us.”

  I tugged Emersyn toward my bedroom, away from the party.

  “Thank you for that,” I said once the door was closed behind me.

  “You’re welcome. Though I didn’t mean to interrupt your night or cock-block you or anything.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “You didn’t. I had forgotten her name until she said it just now.” That sounded bad out loud. “Guess that makes me a jerk, huh?”

  She shrugged. “Not my place to judge.”

  “I appreciate that. Most people would.”

  Her eyes met mine. “I’m not most people.”

  “I see that.” I’d seen it all summer long in class.

  Most everyone texted or checked social media on their cell during class. Emersyn made mosaic hearts out of straw wrapper pieces.

  “So, can I ask what your backup plan is if you can’t get ahold of your friend?”

  Obviously, the chick was fickle as fuck if she’d ditched her at the carnival. The odds of Emersyn getting a ride from her seemed slim to me.

  Her gaze darted around my room before meeting mine. “I don’t know. Her boyfriend, or maybe ex-boyfriend now, was there with some girl and they got into an argument. She said she’d be right back but then she was nowhere to be found and I had to meet up with my brother. Didn’t help that my phone was dead.”

  “Well, I know we just officially met and all, but I don’t mind driving you home.” I hoped that didn’t sound like I wanted her to leave. “Whenever you need to go, I mean. You’re welcome to stay and hang out a while. If you want.” Shit, now I was rambling. I didn’t usually have this much trouble talking to women, but this one threw me off. Not just because she was beautiful. There was something about her. Maybe it was the way she looked directly into my eyes, how closely she listened, or how honest everything out of her mouth seemed. There was no flirty girl pretense—no innuendos or games.

  “I just really need to charge my phone. No matter who takes me home, I need to let Camille know I’m okay and check in on my mom.”

  My brain alerted me to the new piece of information she’d dropped.

  “You have to check in on your mom? Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

  Her shoulders tensed. “She’s been sick…for a while now.” Her cheeks reddened. She’d obviously revealed more than she meant to.

  I moved to stand beside her. “Damn. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks.” Her voice was soft and raw, vulnerable in a way that appeared to surprise her.

  The air thickened between us and I could feel it. How easily this could turn into one of those nights where you told your entire life story—including your deepest, darkest secrets—to a complete stranger. Except that usually only happened with drunk people. We were sober and Emersyn looked ready to take flight and escape the intimacy of my bedroom.

  “Hey, look.” I reached for a curtain and pulled it aside to expose the window. “The rain’s letting up a bit. Want to make a break for it?”

  A noticeable gleam appeared in her eyes. “I’m already soaked. You feel like getting wet?”

  Fuck yeah, I did. And getting rained on was okay, too.

  I took her by the hand and led her out of the house, through the back door. It was still raining, but only a smattering of raindrops caught us on our way to the Airstream.

  Once we were safely inside, I closed the door and switched on the lights. Fortunately, I had left it unlocked.

  “Wow,” she breathed softly. “This really is bad ass.”

  After my parent’s passed, Axel and I continued updating the Airstream the same way they used to. New countertops here, a fancy antique fixture there. It was silly, but it felt like a part of them still existed in here.

  “Thanks. I spend a lot of time out here. Sometimes my brother and I need space from each other.” I moved over to the small booth and pulled my charger off the table. “Here,” I said, handing it to her. “You can plug it right there beside the toaster.”

  She did, connecting her dead phone to it as well. When she turned back to face me, we had our first official awkward as fuck moment.

  “So…” I began, tapping my fingers on the table and trying to think of PG ways to spend the time while her phone charged. “You an art history major at Southeastern?”

  Her smile was small but appreciative. “Just art.”

  I nodded, jerking my chin toward her hands. There were small smears of what looked like paint stains on them. “Paint? I should’ve figured.”

  She glanced at her hands, looking embarrassed. “It’s actually dye from some cloth and clay. I had a mixed-mediums assignment due yesterday.”

  “Cool. Could I see some of your work sometime?”

  She folded her bottom lip in while inhaling. “My final project will be in the student showcase after finals. I haven’t started on it yet. Trying to find inspiration, I guess.”

  “I’ll have to go by and check it out.”

  Silence stretched thick and suffocating between us.

  I wanted to do what I normally did in these types of situations. Lift her sexy ass up on the counter and spread her legs, getting myself in between them as quickly as possible.

  But this was different for multiple reasons.

  I didn’t bring women into the Airstream, much less fuck them in here. I also didn’t want to screw up and scare her off. It was a miracle she was here to begin with.

  She’d appeared like an apparition and I’d been half-stunned ever since.

  “You want a beer or a bottle of water or something?”

  “Water is good.”

  I retrieved one from the fridge for each of us, handing over hers before opening mine.

  “Sorry there’s no television out here. I mostly come out here to study and chill, minus the Netflix. Wi-Fi doesn’t extend well this far from the house anyway.”

  Her full lips drew my attention as she spoke. “I’m not really much of a TV person. Between school, work, and running my brother to and from practice and games, I’d never be able to keep up with anything.”

  “Hence the beauty of Netflix. You can binge watch an entire season of a show in one night.”

  She responded with a half-smile. “I’m usually too tired to miss out on precious sleep for anyone or anything. Binge-worthy shows included.”

  I hoped this meant she wasn’t currently dating someone.

  “So, no boyfriend going to stomp up in here in a jealous rage?”

  She gave me a small shake of her head. “Definitely not. I can’t remember the last time I had a boyfriend.” She took a sip of her water. “No, wait. That’
s not true. Tenth grade. Eddie Mayfield. He felt me up under the bleachers after a basketball game.” Her eyes widened as soon as the words were out. “I have no idea why I just told you that.”

  I laughed, letting the tension relax and exist peacefully between us. “Well, Eddie Mayfield’s loss.”

  She focused on her water. “My friend Drew is always telling me I need to take chances. Get out there and live a little. But look where that got me tonight.”

  Fuck it. I stepped forward, entering her personal space as if I owned it. I braced my hands on the countertop on either side of her.

  “I’m not complaining about where it got you tonight. Is it terrible that I’m happy you’re here?”

  I waited for her response without breathing.

  Her eyes flashed to mine and I saw it—lust, longing, wild, animalistic need that matched my own. Finally. I was starting to worry she was a robot sent here to destroy me.

  “It’s not terrible,” her delicate voice answered. “Is it terrible that I was jealous of Tenzie or Kenzie or whoever in there?”

  I shook my head, openly watching her mouth now. “Tell me why you were jealous.”

  She hesitated as if carefully wording her response in her mind. “She seemed to know you. Really well.”

  “She doesn’t. Not at all actually.” I let my thumb trace her lower lip. I wanted to suck it up in my mouth so badly. “You want to know me, Emersyn?”

  After a sharp intake of breath, she nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

  At that moment, I realized she was shivering. Her clothes were still soaked. I was inconsiderately lusting after her while she froze to death right in front of me.

  “God, here you are freezing solid and I’m so distracted by your perfect mouth hypothermia is about to set in. Hang on.” I stepped away, briefly, to turn on the small space heater. “You want a shirt or some dry clothes to put on?”

  “I’m okay,” she mumbled, suddenly shy again.

  “You are more than okay,” I teased. “But let me grab you something.”

  I stepped into the bedroom area and pulled open the bottom drawer where I kept extra sweats. Part of me wanted to keep a hand on her while I did in case, she considered bolting on me. But when I returned, there she stood, a vision of perfection I’d probably wake up believing I’d dreamed.