The Summer of Me & You (5 page)

“Why's it so important to you anyway?”

“You haven't had to witness the ongoing starry-eyed gazes you two have been giving each other since kindergarten. It's...
sickeningly
romantic to the point I want to choke you both. Okay, like I have to hustle, and be up and on all the time just to get guys to even glance at me.”
 

“Wow, didn't know you had it so rough.”

“I haven't had it rough, yet.”

I made a face. “Please tell me that wasn't a sex joke.”

He laughed. “You totally know it was.”

“Eww.”

“You so walked into that one.”

We made it to the dock and sat down the cooler. “Besides, it's not like Seth and I haven't kissed before.”

“Seth
kissed
you?”

“More like made out with me in the backseat of his car over winter break.”

“Thought he wasn't gay?”

“They call it what they want. Experimenting, boredom, open-minded, unsubscribed to labels.”

“Um, bisexual?” I added.

“Probably,” Gunner said. “He's in denial though.”

“Interesting. The things I never knew.”

Gunner changed the subject. “So did you sign up to take Mr. Macon's summer film class?”

“Yep,” I told him.

“How does your mom feel about you going to art school?”

“She thinks it's better than me staying in town and doing absolutely nothing.” The sun glinted off the lake. I slipped out of my sandals. Kayleigh sat, dangling her feet over the edge of the dock. I knelt down, pulling the suntan lotion out of my back pocket.

“Hey, can you rub this on my back. If you don't, I'm going to end up sunburned.”

“I suppose,” she said, standing.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Ashley was watching us. Kayleigh noticed and I paid attention to how she touched me to make Ashley mad. I found it amusing. She rubbed my shoulders and my lower back, taking her time. Her hands were so soft and felt so good. I tried my best not to get turned on in front of everyone.

“You're
so
hot,” Kayleigh said, causing my blood to swim too fast through my body.
 

“What?” I thought I didn't hear her right. I must've been hallucinating.

“I said, you're
so
hot.”
 

“Yeah?” I felt myself getting aroused.

“Absolutely smokin'. I think I need to cool you down.” And with a shove, she pushed me over into the lake and I landed with a splash. When I emerged, everyone was laughing at me, including her. But Ashley wasn't. She looked jealous.

I pointed at her. “I'm gonna pay you back for that.”

“You're gonna have to get me first,” she toyed, biting her lip and smirking. But her smirk didn't last long because Gunner shoved her into the lake too. Now
I
was laughing. She bobbed back up to the surface.
 

“
Err!
Gunner!”
 

I swam up behind her, but didn't get too close for reasons. “You're all mine now,” I said. She spun around in the water, squinted her eyes at me. I grinned. A sunflare illuminated Kayleigh. “Splish splash, Kayleigh's taking a bath.”

“Ha ha,” she said.

Kayleigh didn't see it, but Gunner held up both his thumbs, giving me props.
Someone brought over the portable music player and the mood suddenly shifted. Kayleigh exclaimed, “I love this song!” and she did a little dance in the water.

I flicked water on her and she smiled.

“Hey!” and she splashed me back. Game was on because we ended up having a water fight, laughing hysterically. Other people had jumped into the lake, joining us, but it was like she and I were in our own little world.  But I wondered how long that would last before she spun in the other direction again and went back to ignoring me.

A few people had started a fun game where teams of two people climb on each others shoulders and try to shove the other one into the water. Kayleigh and I decided to join in and I put her on my shoulders. A guy I didn't know had Ashley on his team, and Kayleigh and I went up against them. Kayleigh's arms were kinda small, so I gripped her knees to hold her in place. I wasn't going to let her fall over. I was glad we were on the same team. And we weren't going to lose. Ashley and Kayleigh extended their arms out to each other, and used their hands to push and shove each other as hard as they could.

“Go, Kayleigh! Shove!” I cheered her on.

After a while, the guy holding Ashley gave up. “This shit's hurting my back,” he said in an asshole kind of way.

“I'm not heavy!” Ashley said.

“You're a cow,” he told her, then dunked her over into the water anyway, then swam off.

“That's no fun,” Kayleigh said.

“Dude's an asshole.”

When Ashley emerged her mascara and eyeliner was running down her face like ink. That's when I noticed that Kayleigh didn't wear make up. Her beauty was natural. She just wore glasses. In fact, she was still wearing them while in the water.

“Hey,” I told her, as she climbed off my back, settling down into the water. “You should probably take those off, or you'll lose them in the lake.”

“I can't see without them,” she said. “And they're attached to my face with this band,” she pointed it out to me.

“Oh,” I said. “But I don't see how you can see anything with water beads all over them.”

“I'm gonna dry them off. I'm getting out,” she said, swimming over to the dock. The clouds had covered the sun.

“Why?”

“I think the food's done and I'm starved.”

“Damn,” I said, smelling the grilled burgers permeate the air. “Now that you mentioned it, me too. Right behind ya.”

I swam to the dock in a few strokes and hoisted myself up and out, water dripping off of me.

“You're right,” she said after she'd climbed out of the lake. She patted her knee. “It's waterproof.” I stuck my feet back in my sandals. I reached down into the cooler, grabbed two drinks and followed Kayleigh down the wooden plank over to the grilling area. I sat the drinks down on the picnic table, claiming us a spot.

The dude making burgers served us up a patty on our buns and we quickly stacked it. I wished there was  a piece of cheese I could've put on mine, but there wasn't. Oh well. I grabbed a bag of chips and sat down on the bench across from Kayleigh. She'd already dried her glasses on a napkin and had them back on her face.

There wasn't much time for talking because I began devouring my burger. I practically inhaled it and went back for seconds.

I was glad that we all were under the roof of the picnic area when it began to rain.

“I had a lot of fun today,” she said.

“Told ya. Today's a great day.”

She smiled. “Yeah, but it's almost over. And it's raining.”

“Doesn't mean it has to end. Wanna ride home? We can stop by my place first and watch a few movies.”

Before she could answer me, Ashley appeared, carrying her beach bag. “Kaleb, can I get a ride home? My ride just ditched me.”

Inside, I grumbled. There were at least two dozen other people here who could've given her a ride, but she just
had
to ask
me.
Ugh. I was just about to tell her I had afternoon plans already, but—
 

Kayleigh scooped up her plastic plate, stood up from the table. “No worries. I'll get a ride from Gunner. I brought my bike anyway, remember? He's the only one here with a bike mount on his van.”

“You sure?” I said.

“Mhm.” She tossed the plate in the trash. “Some other time.”

I downed the rest of my drink then said, “Let's go.”

She followed me to my car. I didn't bother opening the door for her, but she waited there like I was going to or something. “It's unlocked,” I said, opening the driver's side door and dipping in.
I reached into the back for my t-shirt, stuck my arms through and slipped it back over my head. Ashley opened the door and slide into the passenger's seat. She dug in her bag and found her sweater, pulling it on. I didn't know where her shorts had gone. She sat in my car wearing only her bikini bottoms. I cranked the ignition. “Put on your seat-belt.”

I flipped on the windshield wipers and carefully backed out. The rain had slacked a little bit, it was only a light drizzle now. Ashley lived on the other end of town so it would take me at least thirty minutes or an hour to get there and then back to my house.

“I'm glad I finally have you to myself,” she said.

“What are you talking about, Ash?”

She leaned across the seat. “I've missed you. Well, at least I've missed your hands.”

No frickin' way. She was a lunatic. “Ash, let me make something
ultra
clear to you. I don't like you. Not even a little bit. I'm just giving you a ride home.”
 

“Oh, I see. This is because of
Kayleigh
isn't it? She's the one you want.”
 

“Either way, I still wouldn't like you.”

“Well, I don't like you either. This can just be a sex thing.”

“How about no. Been there, done that. Got a little bit more than just a t-shirt.” I flipped on my music player, turning it all the way up. Didn't want to hear her speak anymore. I was super glad when I pulled into her driveway and let her out.

She said one last thing to me before heading into her house. “I'm having a party tomorrow night. You should stop by.”

No way.

As soon as I got home, I headed straight for my room to change my clothes. Mom was talking on the phone with Stephen.
“Kaleb,” she called to me, “Stephen wants to know if you're still going on the trip with the guys next weekend?”

“Yeah,” I said. I yanked off my swim shorts and put on a clean pair of jeans. I removed my t-shirt and put on a new one. I flipped off the light and walked back into the living room.

“What took you so long to get back from the lake?” mom asked. How'd she know what time I'd left?

“Ashley's “date” ditched her, so she asked me to take her home. Dang, I'm always the
lucky
one.”

“Hey, Kayleigh stopped by. Her little friend is cute. She said something about you two watching movies?”

“
Shit.
You're kidding, right?” Had Kayleigh really gotten Gunner to bring her by my house? She actually wanted to spend more time with me?
 

“Yeah. She's really sweet. We talked a while before she left. I tried calling you on your cell.”

Damn it
! I'd left it back in the junkyard earlier.
 

“She left? Left how?”

“On her bike.” I wondered if I could still catch her.

“How long ago did she leave?”

“It's been a while,” mom said. Yeah, because I hadn't seen her on the way in either. She should've just told me Gunner would bring her by after I took Ashley home. I plopped down on the couch.

“Here,” mom said, passing me a slip of paper.

“She left you her number.”

CHAPTER SIX

Glitter
*
Glow
*
Flicker
*
Gone
*
 

*
 

In the dark, the tiny lights glowed like stars against the black box sky. The Dreamer sat beside his Dreamest, each half of the other. He wore a gold elf's hat with tiny blue stars on it—his ears stuck out and he could hear everything taking place in his universe. At the end of the hat hung the golden star. He was in his blue pajamas that had golden stars and moon crescents on them. His Dreamest wore a silver hat with blue stars, and from the end hung the silver crescent moon. Her pajamas were silver with blue stars and half moons on them. And they sat beside each other and dreamed.

All they ever did was dream.

“Do we have to let out dreams go, Dreamer?”

“Never,” he told his Dreamest.

And they took each others hands and flew away into their sky of clouds.

I flipped on the light and the room filled with whines.

“Do you have to stop the story?” the kids asked me.

“Yes, until next time. There's always another dream, another story,” I smiled.

“When?!”

“I wanna hear it again!”