Summer Hearts

by Chase Connor

  How much time passed, I wasn’t certain, but Dad and I sat there on my bed, Jumper eventually wandering in the room to join us. He jumped up in Dad’s lap—living up to his name—and we stroked him while we just sat in comfortable silence together. When Cheryl finally popped her head into my room tentatively, I had no idea how long we’d been sitting there.

  “Alex is out in the driveway.” She said, looking over at me, then her eyes went to Dad. “It’s time, guys.”

  “Okay,” Dad said.

  I gave Dad a squeeze and then stood and walked over to Cheryl. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Knowing that Dad had both Jumper and Cheryl to look after him while I was gone brought me so much comfort that I didn’t know how to thank her.

  “Keep him in line,” I said against her ear as we hugged.

  “It’s a big job.” She replied. “But I think I can manage.”

  We both laughed as Dad rolled his eyes at us, though he definitely wasn’t unamused.

  Together, the three of us gathered up my suitcases and lugged them down the stairs amidst a chorus of “thumps” and “clunks.” Jumper made himself scarce at the sound of the suitcases on the stairs. I hated that my last time seeing him before leaving for college was him scattering to the hills, but there was always Thanksgiving, Christmas, next summer. I could always cuddle with him whenever I came home to visit. And I planned to visit as often as I could, no matter what.

  Outside, we drug my suitcases across the porch and down the steps. The tailgate of the SUV was already lifted, and Alex was waiting, looking nervous to see me approach with Dad and Cheryl in tow. Over the last few weeks, Dad and Alex had settled into comfortable, silent regard for each other, but they were far from being friendly. So, when we approached, I just winked at Alex conspiratorially as Dad, Cheryl, and I lifted my suitcases into the back, adding them to the stack of others. Once all of the suitcases were in the SUV, Dad grabbed me roughly and pulled me into him. I couldn’t keep my eyes dry then. Together, we cried silently and hugged it out, knowing that it would be months before we saw each other in person again.

  “I love you, Cooper.” He said simply.

  “I love you, too, Dad.”

  “Go.” He slid his arms away from me. “Get in the car, or I won’t let you go. Call me tonight.”

  He cleared his throat and stepped away.

  “I will.” I nodded, doing my best to collect myself as well.

  “Be safe, sweetheart.” Cheryl reached out and patted my cheek. “Make us even prouder than we already are.”

  I gave her a wink.

  Before I knew what was going on, Dad had pulled Alex towards him. Immediately, I was on high alert, wondering if my boyfriend was about to be murdered in front of me. His entire body went stiff as a board as Dad pulled him in and wrapped him up in a hug. It wasn’t a great hug, and it was over quickly, but it was still a hug.

  “Be good to my son,” Dad said in a tone that was somewhere between a warning and a simple request as he let Alex go. “And yourself. Be safe.”

  “I will.” Alex managed to choke out.

  Dad reached up and popped him lightly on the cheek with a smile. It wasn’t a big smile, but it wasn’t forced. That was enough for me.

  “Go.” Dad waved us off and turned towards the house. “I’m going in the house so I don’t have to watch you leave.”

  With that, Dad walked up the driveway, up the steps, across the porch, and into the house. I smiled as I watched him walk away instead of feeling sad because all of my amazing memories with him and our house came flooding back to me. A vision of returning one day with grandkids in tow, screaming and hollering, wanting to see their grandfather filled me with joy. Life was just beginning for me, and there were millions of memories to make in the years to come. Regardless of what happened at UCLA, I’d always have Dad and our memories. That would make things a little easier on my hardest days.

  “I’ll go after him.” Cheryl reached up to pat my cheek once more. “You boys be safe. Call your parents tonight, too, Alex.”

  “I will.” He responded with a smile.

  “Thank you,” I said to her.

  “What for?” She cocked her head to the side.

  “For being good to my dad,” I said. “And making me feel not so bad about leaving. I’m glad he found you, Cheryl.”

  “I’m glad he found me, too.”

  Cheryl pulled me in for a quick hug, then she was pulling away and rushing towards the house again, her eyes looking a little shiny. Turning to Alex, he was smiling sheepishly, his cheeks pink.

  “Parents,” I said with a roll of my eyes, though there was no energy behind it.

  “Your Dad is a good guy.” He said. “And Cheryl is amazing.”

  I nodded.

  Exhaling heavily, I reached up to close the tailgate of the SUV.

  “Should we get the hell out of here before I think too much about it?” I suggested with a chuckle.

  “Let’s go, babe.” He winked at me.

  Alex walked around to the driver’s side of the SUV and hopped up, and I piled into the passenger seat. Before we fastened our seatbelts, but after the doors were closed, Alex reached over and placed a hand on the back of my neck. I leaned in as he pulled me close, and our lips met. Nothing like starting a road trip with a kiss from the person you were going to spend every season of your life with until the seasons ran out.

  I smiled wistfully at Alex as I pulled away and his hand lingered against the back of my neck.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “I love you, too.” He replied.

  Leaving home wasn’t feeling as bad as it had been.

  “Fucking gross.” A.J. groaned from the backseat.

  The sudden sound of his voice made Alex and I nearly jump through the windshield, which caused him to follow up his pronouncement with a laugh.

  “Aw,” Logan added. “You guys are so in looooooove.”

  “Fuck off.” Alex settled into his seat and reached for his seatbelt with a smile as I mimicked his actions. “Both of you.”

  “It’s sweet,” Logan said.

  “The hell it is,” A.J. grumbled.

  “I forgot all about them.” I mumbled to Alex. “It’s easy to forget they’re around when they’re so quiet. Usually, they don’t shut up.”

  Alex laughed at me.

  “Stuff it up your ass, Weissman,” A.J. said. “So, let’s go, guys. I’m ready to get to California!”

  Logan whooped.

  “It’s gonna take a couple of days, jackass.” Alex laughed as the SUV roared to life with the click of a button.

  “Well, the future starts now, man,” A.J. added as Alex eased the SUV backward down the driveway. “I’m ready.”

  “For someone without much of a plan,” I quipped, “you’re sure excited about it.”

  “Hey!” Logan corrected me. “Finding a job until you can get into culinary school in one of the most diverse cities in the country is a plan. And working as a waiter and surfing all you want during your gap year is a plan, too. Maybe we’re not as fancy as you guys, but we have a plan. I mean, kinda. Thanks to my dad funding it.”

  “And they just had to do it in the same city as us.” Alex rolled his eyes, though I knew he was glad to have our friends along for the ride.

  “Suck it, Alex,” A.J. said. “Turn on the Bluetooth for me.”

  “Up yours, A.J.” I laughed. “First song always goes to me.”

  “What?” He groaned. “Why is that a thing?”

  “Because I put up with this one,” I stated, reaching over to take Alex’s hand as he pulled away from my house.

  A grin formed on Alex’s face as he glanced over at me, then went back to focusing on the road. Logan and A.J. both laughed at my joke as I pulled my phone out of my pocket with my free hand and found the song I wanted to play first. Maybe the future is scary. Maybe you don’t always have a fully formed plan. Maybe the people you go on your journey with won’t be per
fect. But, damnit, at least you can all be losers together until you figure it all out. And at least you can have a good soundtrack for the experience.

  So, we drove away from my house, setting out for California, as I’ll Always Take You Back by Night Terrors of 1927 began to pour from the speakers.

  Summer was over. Life was beginning. We’d have many summers together in the future, but none like this one. Maybe our future summers would be harder, maybe they’d be easier. Together, we would have sorrow and joy, fights and agreements, happiness and sadness, successes and failure, hard times and good times, births and deaths. We’d see a lot of seasons as we grew older together. But no matter what season we found ourselves in, wherever we were in the world, our hearts would always find each other. That was one thing I knew for certain.

  The End.

  A Note from Chase:

  Sonnet 27 by Edna St. Vincent Millay is a beautiful work of poetry. Most of her work is in the public domain now so it is easily accessible and free online. If you are a lover of poetry, I highly recommend seeking her out. And may you all find someone to spend every season of every year with until the seasons run out.

  Tremendous Love & Thanks,

  Chase

  About the Author

  Chase Connor currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his dog, Rimbaud, and spends his free time writing M/M Romance, LGBTQ YA novellas/novels, LGBTQ Paranormal Romance, as well as general LGBTQ fiction, when he’s not busy being enthusiastic about laziness and waffles.

  Chase can be reached at

  chaseconnor@chaseconnor.com

  Or on Twitter @ChaseConnor7

  He can also be found on Chase Connor Books

  https://chaseconnor.com

  (New blog posts every Tuesday)

  He does his very best to respond to all DMs, emails, and Twitter comments from his reader friends and loves the interaction with them. Chase has several novellas/novels for sale on Amazon in ebook and paperback format.

  ***Chase Connor’s entire catalog can be read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited***