Summer Love (First Love Book 1) (8 page)

The next morning, Chad woke up to Marissa curling up next to him on the floor, putting her arm around him and kissing the back of his neck.

“I could get used to this,” he mumbled, moving his arm so he could hold her.

“I wish. I just came down here to tell you goodbye,” she told him sadly.

Chad sat up. “Already?”

Marissa nodded. “My stuff is already in the truck.” She put her arms around him and didn’t want to let go.

“It will be okay,” he told her.

A honk from outside told her it was time to go. “Goodbye,” she told him, turning to leave.

“I’ll see you soon,” he assured her.

Marissa spent the morning getting settled in the camper. After lunch, she told her grandparents she was going to the playground. She grabbed her bag and started walking.

The playground was on the opposite side of the campground. When she got there, she climbed to the top of the highest slide and pulled out her notebook.

She sat in the same spot, scribbling in her notebook and watching as cars drove by. As the sun began to set, she climbed down and walked back to the campsite. She was disappointed, but she didn’t really expect Chad to make the drive on the first day.

After dinner, she disappeared into the camper to read until she fell asleep.

The next few days went by. She would go to the playground after breakfast and stay until lunch. After lunch, she would go back. After dinner, she disappeared with her book.

On Wednesday, the fifth day that Marissa had been gone, she stayed by the campsite after breakfast. She had planned to stay after lunch as well, until she saw the dark blue Firebird drive by.

She grabbed her bag and ran the opposite way down the street. The car was parked next to the playground when she got there.

Marissa dropped her bag and sprinted toward Chad as he got out of the car. She threw her arms around him with such force, that they fell back onto the grass.

“I’ve missed you so much! I was afraid you were never going to show up,” she told him.

Chad leaned in and kissed her. “I was here this morning, but I couldn’t find you. Come with me.” He took her by the hand and led her toward the playground equipment. He ducked under a slide where he was completely hidden from view. Marissa noticed a folded piece of paper sticking out of a gap in the bottom of the slide. She pulled it out and unfolded it.

Marissa,

I hate that I haven’t been able to see you. I got a part time job, and I’ve been busy. I’m sorry I missed you today, but I’ll try again soon.

Chad

“Where are you working?” she asked, folding the note and putting it in her pocket.

“Lynn got me in at the store,” he told her. “And she offered to watch Anthony while I work.”

“That’s awesome!”

“I don’t have much time. I just got off work and decided to try driving through here again. I had to see you.”

“When will you be back?” she asked.

“Probably Friday or Saturday.” He pulled her into another kiss. “I have to go.”

Marissa leaned in and kissed him again, and she tried not to cry as he drove away.

Over the course of the next six weeks, Chad met her at the playground at least twice a week. Sometimes he was alone. Other times, he brought Anthony or Brayden.

“You’re coming back to the house this weekend,” Brayden told her as soon as he saw her one day in July.

“Really? Why?”

“Because I told Lynn that I wanted my little cousin around for my birthday,” he told her.

Marissa had lost track of the date. If Brayden’s birthday was so close, that meant it was the end of July. She would be going back home in less than a month.

“I’m off work all weekend, and Saturday is our two month anniversary,” Chad pointed out. “So Brayden needs to have a birthday party.”

Has it already been two months?
Marissa hadn’t seen Chad much in the last few weeks, so it didn’t seem like that had been together so long. They had missed chances to meet so much, it seemed like most of their conversations were notes tucked in to the slide.

“I have the whole weekend planned,” Chad told her. “But I won’t have a chance to come back this week.”

Marissa nodded. She could wait three days. “I have to head back soon. Grandma will probably come looking for me if I miss lunch,” she told them.

“I’ll see you in a few days,” Chad said as he kissed her.

“I can’t wait.” She said goodbye to her cousin and her boyfriend and headed back to the campsite.

She tried to hide her excitement that evening when her grandma told her she would be staying in town for the weekend.

The next few days drug on slowly. Marissa tried to stay busy, but she was too excited to think of anything other than the upcoming weekend. She couldn’t wait to see what Chad had planned.

Friday couldn’t come soon enough. Her aunt was supposed to pick her up in the afternoon. Marissa spent most of the morning making sure she looked perfect. She changed her clothes four times before she settled on her usual jean shorts and a hot pink halter top.

Shortly after lunch, Chad’s grey Camry parked in front of the campsite. Marissa had to resist the urge to run to Chad as he and Brayden stepped out of the car. Chad explained to her grandparents that Lynn had asked the boys to pick up Marissa as his introduced himself as Chris.

“You’re not the one with the kid are you?” her grandpa asked.

“No, sir, that would be my brother,” he lied.

“Good. I don’t want my granddaughter around someone like that.”

Marissa could tell Chad didn’t like having to lie about who he was, so she told her grandparents goodbye and ran out to the car.

“So why the lie?” Marissa asked, reaching for Chad’s cigarettes once they drove away.

“Everyone knows my reputation. Do you honestly think they would have let you leave with me? Everyone knows Chris is the good one.”

“Good point.” Marissa leaned back in her seat, smoking her cigarette. “So what’s the plan?” she asked.

“We are going to have a party tonight,” Brayden told her.

Marissa froze, wondering if that was such a good idea.

Chad noticed her reaction. “Relax. It’s a nice, normal, high school party. Dancing, hot tub, maybe a little beer. Chris is throwing it at our parents’ house, since they are out of town. He sure as hell will not allow any drugs, which is why we put him in charge.”

Marissa relaxed. “Where is Anthony?” she asked.

“Lynn and Frank took him in to Minnesota for the weekend,” Brayden explained.

“So they are letting me stay with you guys, alone, all weekend?”

Chad smiled. “I couldn’t believe we got so lucky either, but Brayden insisted on having you at his party tonight, and their trip was already planned. I guess they trust us.”

Marissa couldn’t believe it. She was able to spend to entire weekend with Chad. “So you told me what we’re doing tonight, but what about the rest of the weekend? I thought you had it all planned out.”

“I do,” Chad told her. “But, it’s a surprise.”

Chad pulled into the driveway of his old house. He opened Marissa’s door and held out his hand to her. She took it and walked into the house with him.

Chad led her into the basement. “This was my old room,” he explained. “And tonight, it will be out party room.

Marissa looked around. The room was huge. Near one wall was a pool table. The other side of the room housed expensive looking stereo equipment. They were standing in front of a hot tub. A large TV hung on the wall opposite the hot tub. “This is all yours?”

“There’s more.” Chad took her hand and pulled her through one of the two closed doors in the room. This room was mostly filled by a king sized bed, but there was still enough room for another large TV. “The other room was my bathroom.”

Many times, Marissa forgot Chad was rich. Standing in this basement made it obvious just how rich he was.

“Chad, need you up here,” a voice called down the stairs. “We have a problem.”

Chad and Marissa went upstairs and found Chris standing with one of the guys they played football with.

“What’s up?” Chad asked.

“Aaron seems to insist we can’t have a party without beer.”

Chad shrugged. “It really doesn’t make much of a party without it. Just take car keys at the door like we used to. Problem solved.”

Chris stopped his brother when he turned to walk away. “You going to be okay around it?” he asked.

“Beer was never a problem. I can have one or two and be fine. Keep drugs and hard liquor out of here though.” He turned back to Marissa.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” she asked.

“Honestly, if you tell me not to drink tonight, I won’t. Otherwise, I’m not driving anywhere. You can even have these to make sure.” He handed his girlfriend his keys.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” she told him. “If you think you can handle it and limit yourself, fine. If you can’t and you start to get drunk and stupid, I will probably walk to Lynn’s.”

He reached out for her. “I need to know I can control myself and not fall apart every time I’m around something that I used to have a problem with. No more than three tonight, I promise.”

“It might not be a bad idea,” Chris spoke up. “But no more than three. I have already proven I can kick your ass if you get out of control.”

“And I’ll help,” Brayden had walked in behind them.

“Okay, we’ll keep drinks in the kitchen. Chad, can you get music set up downstairs? Mel and Brayden are working on snacks. We have about an hour before people start showing up.” Chris disappeared out the front door to help carry in beer.

Marissa followed Chad back to the basement and watched as he hooked up speakers and various other electronics. When he finished, he started playing dance music.

“Not my favorite either,” Chad laughed when he saw the look on Marissa’s face. “But it will get the party started, and I will be able to play some real music later.” He started changing the volume as the doorbell rang. “Can you do me a favor and make sure my bedroom is locked?” he asked Marissa. “And don’t lose my keys, because I would like to get in there eventually.”

As Marissa locked the door, the room began to fill with people. Chad stopped messing with the electronics and joined her.

“And now we sit back and relax,” Chad told her. “Want a drink?”

She shook her head. He disappeared upstairs and returned with a beer and a couple of pops. He handed Marissa a pop and opened his beer and the other pop.

“Hot tub, dancing, pool? What do you want to do?” he asked.

Marissa shrugged. She had never really been to a party and was feeling overwhelmed.

Chad finished his pop and threw it away before grabbing Marissa’s hand. He led her upstairs, through the kitchen, and into the backyard. He sat on the edge of the swimming pool, kicking his shoes off before putting his feet in the water. As Marissa did the same, he held out his pack of cigarettes to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said as she took one and lit it. He took a drink of his beer. “Honestly, sometimes I forget our age difference. You have probably never been to a party like this.”

Marissa shook her head, not wanting to let him know that she had never been to a party that didn’t involve cake, presents, and parental supervision. Chad pulled her up onto his lap and put his arms around her.

“Your aunt says I should go to court and get emancipated from my parents. I still wouldn’t be able to touch my trust fund until I’m 18, but I have more than enough to get my own place.”

“Sounds like you are doing well.”

“Things have definitely turned around,” he told her. “Especially having you here with me right now. I hated not being able to see you as much as I wanted to this past month, but I really think we will be able to make this work when you go back home.”

“I hope so.” Marissa felt Chad stiffen. “What’s wrong?” she asked, moving off his lap.

Chad stood up as someone Marissa had never seen before walked out the back door.

He was slightly taller than Chad, but much skinnier. He had the same blue eyes and blonde hair. Just looking at him scared Marissa.

“I know I taught you to throw a better party than this, little brother.”

Chad moved Marissa behind him and squeezed her hand. “Go find Chris,” he whispered before addressing his brother. “Eric, what are you doing here?”

“No one inside your lame little party would smoke with me, and I know you wouldn’t turn it down. I brought some X for you too.”

Marissa stood in the doorway and turned back to Chad, not wanting to leave him alone. It wasn’t just a cigarette that his brother was handing him. Chad waved her on and she rushed into the house.

Chad threw the joint into the pool. “I don’t want that and you know it.”

Eric laughed. “Stop trying to fool yourself. You know you want it. Everything is missing from the cave, which means you are either using or selling, and I know you don’t need the money, since you have all of mine and Dravyn’s.”

“Eric, you need to leave,” Chris said, walking into the backyard with Brayden and Marissa. Chris moved to stand between Chad and Eric, while Brayden stayed back with Marissa.

“Oh, how sweet. I remember my twin always having my back, too. It’s your fault he’s gone,” Eric told Chad. “By the way, how does it feel to raise someone else’s kid? If Tamara wasn’t such a slut, I would still have Dravyn. And who was the girl you were out here with? I didn’t realize you liked them that young.”

“Shut up and leave, Eric,” Chris told him again. The dispute was starting to draw a crowd.

“I’ll leave as soon as I get the money for my stolen stash.”

Chris pulled a stack of money from his pocket. “Chad didn’t touch it. I got rid of it all, but here, take your money and leave,” he said, throwing the money at him.

Eric scrambled around picking up money. “This will get rid of me tonight, but I will be back,” he threatened. “No one steals from me.”

The uninvited guest turned and pushed his way through the crowd. As soon as he was gone, Marissa ran up to Chad, followed closely by Brayden. It wasn’t until she put her arms around her boyfriend that she noticed he was shaking.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

Chad shook his head, unable to find his voice.

“You didn’t smoke it did you?” Chris asked him.

Again, Chad shook his head. “He handed it to me. It was in my hand, and I wanted to,” he admitted. “I threw it in the pool.”

“Maybe I’m just young and stupid, but I know a lot of people that smoke back at home, but they don’t get like this,” Marissa said.

“Eric and Dravyn always laced with Angel Dust. One hit and you’re hooked, and the withdrawals are terrible,” Chris explained.

“I never knew that,” Chad said.

“Dravyn admitted a lot to me the night you and Eric went to get Anthony,” Chris explained. “Almost everything was laced with someone else.”

Marissa lit a cigarette and handed it to Chad. He was slowly starting to calm down.

“Do I even want to know what was in their X?” Chad asked.

“Nope,” Chris told him. “You are better off not knowing.”

The crowd that the argument attracted had all scattered. Melanie appeared in the yard, holding a beer.

“I’ve been looking for you all. What’s wrong?” she asked when she saw Chad.

Chris explained the party crasher to his sister.

“Oh, shit.” She held her beer out to Chad. “You need this more than I do.”

Chad reached for the can and finished its contents. “I’m okay,” he assured everyone. “Go back to the party.”

Melanie pulled Brayden back into the house, but Chris didn’t want to leave.

“He won’t come back tonight,” Chad assured his brother. “Marissa will come find you if I need you.”

Marissa nodded and Chris reluctantly moved back into the house.

The party was winding down. Chris wasn’t in the mood to party, so he started picking up empty beer cans.

Marissa refused to leave Chad’s side. She felt so helpless as he just stood, gazing into the pool. She didn’t know how long the stood there in silence.

Chad turned to her and held his hand out to her. “Can I have my keys?” he asked.

“No. You’ve been drinking,” she told him.

“I’m not going to drive,” he assured her. “Will you unlock my room for me?” he asked, realizing she wasn’t going to hand over the keys.

“That I can do,” she told him, taking his hand and walking through the house.

The party was over. Chris was sitting on the edge of the hot tub, watching TV. The music was off. Brayden and Melanie were nowhere in sight.

“Everything cool?” Chris asked as they walked by. “Everyone left after Eric’s scene. Might have been afraid of cops showing up.”

“I just want to go to bed,” Chad told his brother.

Marissa unlocked the bedroom and followed Chad in. He sat on the edge of the bed.

“This is not how the night was supposed to go,” he told her.

“What did you have planned?” she asked,

“Stay with me tonight?”

“No,” she told him.

“Do you remember the day you left Lynn’s?” he asked. “I was sleeping on the basement floor, and you curled up with me.” Marissa nodded. “I want to sleep with you in my arms. I know you’re not ready for anything to happen between us, and I told you, I’m fine with that. I just want to hold you.”

Marissa thought about it. He had never pressured her into anything and she was fairly certain that he never would. If anything, he was usually the one to pull away when they were making out.

“Was this part of your plan?” she asked.

“Asking you to stay was part of it. I wasn’t sure if you would, but I was prepared for it.” He handed her a bag. “I even have something for you to sleep in. The pajama pants are Mel’s, but they should fit you. And I have to admit, I want to see you wearing one of my shirts.”

“Okay.”

“What? Really?” Chad was honestly surprised she had agreed to it.

“Really. I’m going to go change.” She grabbed the bag and disappeared into the bathroom.

While she was changing, Chad quickly changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt. “Is this okay?” he asked when she returned. “I usually sleep in boxers, but I figured you might be a little uncomfortable.”

Marissa nodded. “It’s fine.”

Chad sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for her to sit with him. “Can I let you in on a secret?” he asked.

Marissa nodded, reaching for Chad’s cigarettes.

“I have never had a girl in here before,” he told her. He pointed to the walls, which Marissa noticed were plastered with drawings and sketches. “This is the only place I could ever completely be myself. I refused to let anyone in.”

“Then why let me in?”

“Because, I am falling in love with you,” he told her quietly. “And I’m falling fast,” he added when she didn’t say anything. “I can’t stop thinking about you. And you saved me tonight.”
More than just tonight
, he thought.

“How?” Marissa’s voice cracked.

“When you went to get Chris, you turned around before going inside,” he explained.

“I didn’t want to leave you alone with him,” Marissa admitted.

“Seeing you so worried is what gave me the strength to not smoke. He handed it to me. It was in my hand, and I wanted it. You have no idea how bad I wanted it. I looked up and saw you and was able to throw it into the pool.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Know what?”

“That you are falling in love with me,” she clarified,

Chad took a deep breath before he started to explain. “I thought I was in love before, with Tamara, but I was definitely wrong. That was nothing compared to how I feel about you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I can’t stand being away from you for too long at a time. I love being around you. You helped me with Anthony from the very beginning. You spent the first couple weeks of your summer vacation helping me with school work. Because of you, I will be graduating next year, on time. I might even have a chance at a wrestling scholarship. I can go on all night, but the biggest reason might sound lame. I just want to be a better person when I’m around you.”

Marissa was silent for a moment. “I’m falling in love with you, too,” she told him. “You don’t see me as just some kid. You don’t pressure me into anything. I can be myself around you. I can’t even explain how I feel. No words ever seem good enough. I can’t even write about you without it sounding stupid. Or the words on the page don’t come close to what I’m trying to describe.” She had attempted to write her feelings about him several times, but never was able to capture how she truly felt on paper. The words she needed just didn’t seem to exist.

“You have no idea how amazing you are,” Chad whispered to her, before leaning in to kiss her. Marissa wrapped her arms around him and leaned back on the bed, pulling him on top of her. He explored her body, over her clothes, with his hands. She tangled her fingers through his hair. She never wanted to let him go.

Too soon, Chad began to pull away. Marissa tried to hold him tighter, but he pulled her hands off of him. He stood up and began to pace.

“I’m sorry,” Marissa told him, breathlessly.

“No need to apologize,” he said, lighting a cigarette and handing her the pack.

Marissa sat up in the bed and straightened out Chad’s high school wrestling shirt that she was wearing. “I’m keeping this,” she informed him as she lit a cigarette of her own.

“It’s all yours,” he said, sitting next to her.

They smoked in silence as Marissa looked around at the drawings on the walls. She stood up and walked about to get a better look. “These are really good. Is this?”

“You, sitting on the boulder with your notebook. Yes. That was the first day I met you, and I didn’t want to forget a single detail,” he told her. “I must have sketched that picture a million times before it turned out decent,” he admitted.

“I want to show you something.” She fished a notebook from her bag. She spent a few moments flipping through pages before she walked back to him. She handed the book the Chad, pointing at the passage she wanted him to read.

Chad. 17? The most gorgeous guy I have ever seen. Medium height. Muscular. Pale. Longish blonde hair with blue tips. Haunted blue eyes. Adorable dimples. Scar on left cheek (what from?). Eyebrow pierced (I want mine done).

“I never wanted to forget either,” she explained. “But I could never get it right.”

“Do my eyes seriously look haunted?” he asked as he stared into her eyes.

“They did back then. Most days I would say they sparkle.”

“I think I like sparkling better.”

Marissa yawned. It was nearly 2 am. “So do I.”

“It’s been a long day,” he said. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Marissa nodded as she stood up and crawled into the huge bed. Chad switched off the light and turned the radio on quietly.

“Is this going to bother you?” he asked.

“Not a bit,” she assured him. “Silence would bother me more.”

“Me too,” he told her as he crawled into the bed. Chad stretched out on his back, and Marissa curled up next to him with her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Goodnight. And happy anniversary,” he whispered.

Marissa was already asleep.