Summer Nights (17 page)

I wrapped my arms around him, kissing
his lips. “Thank you. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate
it.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I want you to use
the money you saved and buy another ticket out here.”

“That sounds good. It won’t be right
away though. I have to get the days approved from my job before I
can book them.”

“We’ll work it out,” he
clipped.

CRUZ

The drive to the airport went by too
quick. I wanted more time with her. I was already getting agitated
at the thought to letting her go; although I knew I had to. At the
very least I had to take care of Hector before it was safe for her
to come back.

I parked the car and escorted her
through the check in line. My chest kept tightening the closer we
go to the desk. I couldn’t get enough of her. What seemed like too
soon, she and Stella checked in and handed over their suitcases.
The woman handed them their boarding passes and we were headed to
security, which would be our goodbye point.

We stopped just before the ropes that
formed the line to the security check point. She faced me, tears
gathering in her eyes already. She bit her bottom lip as she tried
to stop the floodgates.

“Don’t cry,
mi amor
. We’ll see each
other again soon.” She nodded quick, short nods. I lifted her hand,
kissing the ring on her finger. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She sniffled, wiping
the tears with her free hand.

“Come here.” I hugged her to me; she
eagerly wrapped her arms around me. She felt good pressing against
me. It was as if God made her to fit in my arms. The curves of her
body slid perfectly into the plains of my body.

Holding her face in my hands, our lips
crashed together in a fit of bliss. I would miss her caress; the
softness of her lips as they molded to mine. I would miss the tiny
whimpers in the back of her throat as her body heated beneath my
touch. I was going to miss her scent wafting through the air each
day and her full figure cuddled up to me at night. I would miss
watching as she adjusted her glasses or folded items that had just
been used, when they should have been tossed in a hamper. The fact
was, I was going to miss everything about her.

SUMMER

His kiss was passionate and rough yet
soft and sensual, just like him. I pressed deeper into his embrace,
wanting to savor every last second I had with him, but regardless
of the length of time, it wouldn’t be enough. I swept my tongue
across his, tasting him one last time before pulling
back.

His eyes were glossy, but his jaw was
set fiercely. He wasn’t going to cry. Gently he wiped away my
tears.

“Summer, we’ve got to go, sweetie.”
Stella’s voice was soft. She knew how hard this was for
me.

I choked up, a new set of tears
gathering quickly. I hugged him once more, giving him an extra
squeeze. He captured my lips once more before pulling back. He
shoved his hands in his pockets, swallowing hard. “Call me when
you’re boarding and when you land.”

“Oh!” My eyes shot open. “I don’t even
have your phone number!”

He laughed. “I already programmed it
into your phone. I bumped Stella to speed dial number
two.”

“Huh!” she harrumphed. “I’ve got your
number, Cruz.”

“Keep her safe, Stel.”

She nodded, meeting his gaze. “I
will.”

He gave her a quick hug as I gave Ramon
a hug and said goodbye. My feet felt like they were navigating
through wet concrete as Stella and I made our way to the security
line. Cruz and Ramon waited, watching until were went beyond the
glass walls where the screening actually took place. Cruz blew me a
kiss as I looked back at him. I waved, trying to stave off a new
wave of tears. And with that, he was gone. He walked away and took
my heart with him.

“Damn, this is hard, Stel. It feels
like my chest is being split open, like I can’t breathe because
he’s not right beside me anymore.” Tears chased each other down my
cheeks.

She hugged me as she led us through the
line. She pried my purse from my grip and set it in the bin, giving
me time to pull myself together. I wasn’t thinking straight. I
could only think of him. We were silent all the way to our gate
until they started boarding the plane.

“I don’t think I can call him without
crying all over again,” I stated.

She patted my thigh. “Then send him a
text.”

I grabbed Big Bertha, having switched
purses while packing. Looking at my clothes though, I realized I
hadn’t changed since last night. “Why didn’t you tell me I was
wearing the same clothes from last night?”

“Because I am too.”

We looked at each other and laughed.
“This was some vacation,” I said.

“Yeah. It really was a Stella Summer.”
She smiled.

CRUZ

I was on pins and needles waiting for
her to call. I checked the clock again. It was nearly 9 PM. I
flipped through a few channels on the TV, not really watching. I
couldn’t focus on anything but her. I wouldn’t be able to calm down
until I knew she’d made it home safe.

I picked up the phone and dialed
Ramon.

“I haven’t heard anything yet,” he
stated the moment he answered. “I told you ten minutes ago I’d call
you if I did.”

“I don’t know how I’m gonna do
this.”

“The same way I will.”

“I thought you and Stella agreed it was
just a weekend fling?”

“Just because I agreed doesn’t mean I
wanted it to end. I know you and Summer are going to work things
out, but Stella wasn’t open to trying.”

“You never know,
amigo
. You’ll see her
again. By then, maybe she will have changed her mind. Women are
always fickle.”

“I hope so.”

My line beeped. “Gotta go.” I clicked
over, anxiety rushed over me again. “Hello?”

“Hey.” Her voice sounded angelic over
the phone. “We just landed. We’re about to go to baggage
claim.”

“Did you have a good
flight?”

“Yeah. I’m just tired, and I miss
you.”

“Won’t be the same tonight without me
in bed, huh?” I teased. I was already aching to have her back next
to me.

“Yeah, it won’t,” she conceded. I heard
the smile in her voice.

“Call me when you get home.”

“I will.”

“Love you.” Damn this long distance
stuff was hard. It’d only been a few hours and I was going stir
crazy.

“Love you too.”

I waited for her to hang up so I could
half listen to the TV as I anxiously waited for her to call
again.

Chapter 17

The first couple days were difficult to
get through. It was amazing how quickly your life could turn
around. A week ago today, I met Cruz for the first time. It seemed
like a lifetime ago. Everything had happened so fast, but I never
questioned the validity of it. Somehow we both just
knew.

“You up for a girls’ night, Summer?”
Stella asked, standing over my desk.

I looked at my ring. The longing for
him never dwindled, but I found it was easier to deal with when I
stayed busy. “Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Greasy pizza, cheap champagne and a
cheesy romantic-comedy at my place.”

“That works for me. Want me to grab the
Verdi on my way home?”

“Sounds good. I’ll order the pizza when
you get there.”

“Okay.”

I quickly finished up my satisfaction
survey reports for my team before leaving.

***

I arrived at Stella’s apartment a
little after seven. She was already in her pajamas cozied up on her
oversized, recliner sofa. Her place wasn’t messy, but it wasn’t
clean either. It straddled the fine line between having too much
clutter in some corners and being stylishly put together in
others.

I dropped my keys and cell phone on her
coffee table, immediately heading to the kitchen to put one bottle
in the fridge and then pour two glasses from the other.

“How was the rest of work?” she
called.

“Grueling. Customers aren’t as
satisfied with certain reps as they were a month ago.”

“All of us are hearing the same thing.
It’s because they changed the wording of a few questions on the
survey.”

“Yeah, but they won’t acknowledge that
it could be something on their end. It’s always on ours.” I passed
her a glass of champagne as I curled up on the other end of her
sofa. “Have you talked to Ramon lately?”

“Every day.”

“Are you ready to admit that I’m right,
yet?”

“No.” She stuck her nose up in the air
as she raised the glass to take a sip. “How are things going with
you and Mr. Cruz?” I felt my cheeks heat up. She raised a brow.
“That good, huh?”

“Better. God, Stel. I don’t know how I
even lived without him. He’s a part of my routine every day. I talk
to him before work, we usually Skype around this time for a while,
and we talk on the phone again before bed. I miss him like crazy,
but otherwise, I’m so happy with him.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you smile this
much in all the years I’ve known you. You deserve happiness. I’m
happy for you.” She set her glass down on the coffee table and
picked up her laptop. “Want anything in particular on your
pizza?”

“Nah. Surprise me.”

“Alright. No complaining
then.”

“Okay, no ham and pineapple. I don’t
know how anyone could eat that on pizza of all things.” I scrunched
my nose.

She rolled her eyes. “Different strokes
for different folks.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Have you talked to them at
all?”

I took a sip of my drink. “No.” My
voice was barely above a whisper.

“You still think it’s for the best,
right?” Her concern touched me.

“Definitely. Honestly, this whole
experience with Cruz has taught me a lot about love and protecting
the ones you hold dear. I would move heaven and earth to hunt down
anyone who hurt him; and, from what I’ve heard, the bond between a
mother and child is supposed to out-do that. Sadly, it’s just not
there for me and my mom. Some women just aren’t cut out to be
mothers; and unfortunately, I got stuck with one of
them.”

“So, you’re putting most of the blame
on her.”

“Yeah. Because I was relying on her to
protect me from my father. It was her job to get us out of there.
And at the very least, it was her job to clean up after him and
take his drunken punches when he didn’t want to listen. It wasn’t
supposed to be my job!”

“You’ve come a long way.”

I smiled. “I know.”

She refocused her attention to the
computer screen. “How about we keep things simple tonight and just
get an extra cheese pizza?”

“Sure.” I shrugged.

A minute later our order was complete.
She closed her laptop and set it aside. We were just about to flip
through Netflix to find a movie when my phone rang.

I stared at the phone, shock
reverberating through me at the caller ID. I debated whether to
answer it or not, but my mother never called me. I’d always been
the one to reach out to them. I knew immediately that something was
wrong, but I didn’t know if I wanted to face it right
now.

I looked at Stella, but she washed her
hands of trying to decide for me. Slowly, I lifted the phone to my
ear, deciding to take the call. “Hello?”

“I just thought you should know that
your father had a heart attack. All the stress you’ve put him under
with the police was too much for him.”

I sat silently, stunned by the news. I
was surprised, but felt no urge to rush to his side. In fact, I
felt nothing towards him or my mother at this point. Cruz had
helped me realize my value; he’d shown me what true love was like.
Finally I said, “I hope he recovers well.”

“Do you know how much your little stunt
is costing us in legal fees alone?” Her voice rose. I could almost
picture her face pinching as she stuck her nose up in the air,
which she tended to do when she was talking down to me. “Between
that and the new hospital bill your father has racked up, we’ll
probably lose the house, and it’s entirely your fault. Why couldn’t
you just leave well enough alone?” Her words were a slap in the
face and they stung.

“What is wrong with you?” I snapped. “I
know you didn’t want any children, but you had a choice. You chose
to keep me, yet you act as though I’ve been nothing but a burden
that ruined your life. I’m done, Mom. I’m done letting you blame me
for everything. Truth is, you’re too afraid to face the fact that
your husband’s a worthless drunk, you’re a crap mother, and your
life has gone to hell because you didn’t do anything about it
sooner. At one point, I felt sorry for you. But you brought this on
yourself. You also brought it on me, which wasn’t fair, but I’m
seriously done. Dad is your problem, not mine. And you’re never to
contact me again.” My hands were shaking as I hung up my phone.
Tears threatened my eyes. I’d done it. I’d finally done
it.