by Shana Norris
Ashton chattered away, talking with her hands like she always did. A pang of envy tapped at my chest. She was so lucky, being able to follow her dreams without anything holding her back. She didn’t have to worry so much about tuition costs or anything.
“Hey, there’s Miguel,” Ashton said, breaking into my thoughts. I squinted into the sun. On the other side of the pool, in all of his tall basketball player glory, he toweled off his broad shoulders. I could tell right away that he might have gained two or four more abs in the year since I’d last seen him.
“Ashton! I forgot to tell you—he texted me!” I was surprised at the excitement in my voice. “Oh, no,” I said, groaning. “I totally ditched him on Facebook this morning. I got so distracted by Paisley. He’s going to think I’m a flake.”
“So you want to see him?” she asked.
“Yeah. Kind of. I mean, I guess so.”
“Oh, phew. ‘Cause I told him we’d be here. And maybe invited him to meet us,” Ashton said.
My head whipped toward her. “You what?”
“You need to have some fun this summer, Kate. Loosen up one last time before we go our separate ways.”
I looked Miguel over as he dried his nicely muscled body. My entire body flushed with heat as I thought about our conversations over text and Facebook. Had he been flirting with me? Or just being friendly? Miguel spotted me and I waved. My stomach turned a few cartwheels.
He waved back and started making his way toward us. He still looked the same as he always had. Long, brown legs and arms, a tightly chiseled chest with just a bit of dark hair sprouting up his stomach. Miguel was one of those boys people don’t believe exist—nice, funny, smart, sweet. It didn’t hurt that he’d always been one of the hottest guys at Asheville High. Even though I really never cared about stuff like that, it felt good to walk down the halls with his arm around me.
“Kate, hey, I was just going to look for you,” Miguel said, a little breathless. I stood up and he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground a little like he used to. The smell of coconut-scented sunblock filled my nose.
“Hey,” I said. “How long are you in town?”
“Just for a few weeks. My mom would have killed me if I didn’t come home for at least a little while.” He smiled and nodded to Ashton. “Hey, Ash. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” Ashton told him. She pulled down her sunglasses. “How’s college life?”
I sat back. Without missing a beat, Miguel sat down on the far end of the chair and casually placed one hand on the other side of my legs, so he was leaning over my feet. He grinned wide at the two of us. “It’s awesome. No parents at all telling me what to do. Parties all over campus. I don’t even think I’ll come back to Asheville once I graduate. There’s so much more to see and do out there in the rest of the world.”
I was surprised to hear him say that. Miguel hadn’t talked a lot about getting out of Asheville while we were dating. I always figured he’d come back once he was done with school. I guess I’d always imagined most of my classmates coming back home in the end.
“Really?” I asked him. “Don’t you miss home?”
Miguel shrugged. “Well, sure, I miss my family. And old friends. But there’s more to see than just these old mountains. I want to explore the rest of the world and meet lots of new people.” He grinned, his brown eyes shining as he looked at me. “And I do miss certain people more than others, of course.”
“Like your dog?” My throat went dry. Ashton looked at me like I had forgotten how to speak English.
“Well, she is pretty special,” Miguel admitted. He leaned toward me and said in that voice I knew so well, “But not as special as you. Even though you think Channing Tatum is better than me.”
“Um,” I said, coughing and adjusting my position in my chair. “Tell us about college life.”
“Give us all the secrets on what it’s really like,” Ashton said. I shot her a look of relief. That’s what best friends were for, to save you when you were making a fool of yourself around your exes.
Miguel launched into a story about some new friends he’d made at school and some crazy night they’d had during finals week.
Just over Miguel’s shoulder my gaze fell on a familiar spiky-haired guy near the diving board. Rory stood at the edge of the pool. And he was looking my way. He stood with a couple of other guys, all of them dressed in just their swim trunks. Rory was shorter than the others, his skin pale and freckled. He looked nothing at all like bronzed Miguel, who still talked on at the end of my chair.
He was definitely staring at me. My heart fluttered, and I was suddenly super conscious of Miguel’s arm slung over my legs. I lifted a couple of fingers and gave a small wave before turning my gaze back to Miguel.
“I’m telling you, my friend is insane. I can’t believe he even did that,” he said.
I laughed along with Miguel and Ashton, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rory step
onto the bright white diving board. He stood up tall, his arms locked at his sides, like he was an expert Olympic diver. He paused there for a moment, looked toward me, and then suddenly ran toward the front with three huge steps and launched himself into the air.
He hit the water in a huge belly flop, arms and legs stretched out to the sides like a starfish. The impact made a loud thwack when he hit the water. My hand flew to my mouth.
“I know, right?” Miguel said at my shock. “That guy’s so nuts.”
“What?” I said. “Oh, yeah. Right.”
Rory came up grinning and shaking water out of his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched him climb out of the pool. One of the guys Rory was with clapped him on the back as he joined them. Rory’s stomach had turned bright red, but he didn’t seem to be in pain or anything. He turned, looking across the pool at me again, and raised his hands in mock triumph.
“I can’t wait for college,” Ashton said, letting out a happy sigh. “I love Asheville and all, but I’m ready for some new adventures, too.”
“You’ll love it,” Miguel assured her. “And if you don’t, you can always call me to liven things up.”
“We’ll keep you on speed dial,” I promised. He put his hand on my knee, squeezing it gently before letting go. Little explosions went off in my stomach and then through the rest of my body. The same shivers I had felt during the eight months that we dated. What did that mean? I knew that Ashton and Hannah were both in love. I could see it in their eyes and in their faces, and even hear it in their words when they talked about their guys. What were all these things I was feeling for Miguel again?
I glanced back toward Rory. Across the pool, he and his friends headed off toward the pool entrance. He looked back over his shoulder once more, lifting a hand to wave at me before he disappeared.
“I should get going,” Miguel said. “I’m here with my cousins and we’re meeting some other family in a few minutes. But it was really great seeing you again, Kate. We should get together sometime. I was serious about Mona’s. Text me.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, smiling back at him. “That would be fun.” As a date? As friends? I wanted to ask for clarification, but I was also afraid that maybe it was all in my head.
Miguel nodded as he stood. “Hey, are you still doing the DJ thing?”
“Yep,” I said. “Mega Watts DJ Service.”
Miguel grinned, his brown eyes sparkling in the summer sun. “You want a job tonight? I’m having this party at my house and could use a music expert.”
“She’d love to do that!” Ashton volunteered for me. “Wouldn’t you, Kate?”
I nodded, even though I should have been preparing for my other gig. “I’m free tonight.”
“Great. You can come set up at about eight. You remember the address.” He gave me one last smile.
“Of course,” I said. I remembered everything—the familiar sound of my tires on his driveway, the crumbling vintage basketball posters hanging over his bed.
; “See you, ladies,” he said, bounding off to rejoin his group.
As I watched him go, it hit me: Ashton was right—I’d been devastated when he broke up with me, even though I knew it was for the best.
I thought I was over all of that, but now I didn’t know what I felt anymore.
Chapter 10
The bass from the speakers thrummed through my body, making me feel alive.
This party was exactly what I needed.
“Another soda?” Miguel was at my booth again, his hand on my shoulder. Whenever he disappeared into the pulsing crowd around us, he wasn’t gone more than a few minutes before he was back. I already had three plates of pretzels and chips and just as many drinks in front of me.
“No, thanks,” I shouted over the music thundering from my speakers. I held up a red plastic cup still almost full of Sierra Mist. “I’m good.”
But Miguel didn’t budge. “Anything you need, just let me know.”
“I’ll survive.” He’d always been like this. I grinned wide at him, unable to hold it back when I noticed the familiar way his dimples sunk into his cheeks. Familiar was good.
Miguel stepped back and nodded. “Okay. I’m going to see how everyone else is doing, but I won’t be far. If you need me, just yell.”
I laughed and pushed my hair behind my ears. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
The crowd in Miguel’s cavernous living room was almost as loud as the music. His parents had always been the “cool” parents, letting him have people over when they were out of town as long as everything was clean when they got back—though this was definitely the biggest party Miguel had ever thrown. Someone had pushed all the furniture to the edges of the room, but people were still sprawled over the long couches and tables that lined the walls.
A group of Miguel’s friends caught my eye and I waved. I hadn’t seen them since they’d left for college last summer—they looked about the same, but somehow also completely different. They stood in the center of the floor instead of the corners, gesturing to the younger kids to join them, dancing like they didn’t care what anyone thought of them.
How much would life change for me in the next year? For Ashton? For Hannah?
I watched Miguel as he high-fived and fist-bumped everyone at the party like they were old friends. Why hadn’t we tried a long-distance relationship?
I shook my head and queued up a new set of tracks. This night was not about adding another complication to my life. When I looked up a few minutes later, Rory was leaning on his elbows on the table, staring up at me with mock-innocent eyes.
Speaking of complications.
“How’d you get in?” I asked. It was a private party, so Rory wasn’t exactly invited. I was surprised at the panic that flooded through me as I shot a look around for Miguel.
Rory found a chair and pulled it over to the booth to sit next to me. “Just walked right in the front door. It’s easy to slip inside unnoticed once a party gets going.” He leaned forward. “Why? Are you going to turn me in?”
I laughed and mentally told myself to chill. “Only if you piss me off. Which you have a habit of doing, so …”
The music pulsed so loud that we had to sit close, our heads nearly touching. Rory’s leg brushed mine and stayed there.
“So are you here to apologize for the lecture you gave me the other night?” I asked, nudging him slightly with one shoulder.
“No,” Rory said, shaking his head resolutely. I couldn’t tell if he was being serious. “The belly flop was my apology.” He looked at me, his green eyes sparkling.
“I have to give your performance a ten,” I told him. “Excellent execution and splash.”
Rory gave a half bow in his seat. “Thank you.”
He looked over the buttons on my soundboard and at the sound program I had open on my laptop. “Show me how all of this works? Someone’s going to have to take your business over when you leave.”
Leave. The word was like a punch to the gut.
I launched into an explanation of how the system worked, my fingers jumping from knob to dial. Rory’s face lit up—he seemed genuinely interested in learning how to do it. He even changed a couple of songs, mixing bits from other songs into them.
“Nice,” I told him when he was done. I reached for my cup of soda and took a sip. “You’re hired.”
Rory sat back. “I’m more into performance than the backstage stuff like this. But I can see why you like it. Why are you giving it up?”
The smile evaporated from my face. “I’m not giving it up. I’m just … taking a break.” I scooted my chair away from him. “I thought we weren’t talking about this? Or do you want a repeat of the other night?” He grabbed my cup from me, raising his eyebrows over the rim as he sipped. An angry feeling pulled tight inside my chest, like it was about to snap. “What are you doing with your life that’s so great?”
“I don’t know,” Rory said.
“Well,” I said, thankful that we could talk about something other than me. “What school are you going to?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t really picked a school yet.”
My eyes flew open wide. “Really? Have you graduated?”
“Yes,” Rory said, rolling his eyes. “I just graduated this year.”
“But you haven’t picked a college?” I asked.
Rory fidgeted in his seat. “College isn’t really for me. My mom sent me here to spend the summer with my older brother. You know, so he could talk some sense into me. He’s a dentist and has his own practice and his own house. He and his wife even have a dog and cat to finish off their perfect little family of two kids.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “I know she really wants him to get me, you know—serious or whatever.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
Rory reached for my bowl of chips and popped one into his mouth, chewing for a moment before speaking. “I just like playing music. That’s what I want to do. Why do I need a degree for that?”
“A degree could help, you know, give you a direction,” I pointed out. His eyes fell to the ground. “You could teach!” I added quickly.
Rory laughed. “I’m not a teacher, Kate.”
We fell silent and turned to watch a group of girls start to spin in the middle of Miguel’s living room. Rory’s knee still pressed into mine.
“Do you have siblings? Or just a live-in cousin?” Rory asked.
“I have half-siblings who I don’t really know,” I told Rory after a moment. “My grandparents raised me, from the time I was born. Legally, they’re my parents.”
“What happened to your parents?” Rory asked.
I picked at the blue glittery nail polish on my thumbnail. “My mom is around. She comes over to visit and all, but she was eighteen when I was born and didn’t want to raise a child. My dad’s married now and has a new family in Charlotte.”
“So, is your family as nosy as mine is?” Rory asked, stretching his legs out under the table so there was space between us again.
“No. They’re good people and they’ve always done what they can to give me what I need.”
Rory smirked and playfully pushed at my shoulder. “You sound like a suck up. Your grandparents aren’t here, you know. You can tell the truth. Tell me how unfair they are. How they make you eat all your vegetables and clean your room.”
I laughed, one of those laughs where you can’t help but tilt your chin all the way up to the ceiling, even though it looks ridiculous. His knee found mine again. “They really are nice,” I said, enjoying the electric currents that sizzled up my skin. “I love them to death. I can’t imagine being raised by my mom or dad.”
“Trust me, being raised by a single mom isn’t the greatest situation in the world,” Rory said. “You’re lucky you had your grandparents around to take you in.”
“What about your dad?” I asked. “Is he around?”
Rory’s expression immediately tightened. He sat up in his chair and placed the bowl of chips bac
k on the table.
“I know the perfect song to play,” he said, leaning toward my laptop. “You’ve inspired me, Kate Watts.” He didn’t look at me as he fiddled with the controls on my soundboard.
“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt streamed through the speakers. A few girls shrieked and immediately started singing along.
Okay, I can take a hint, I thought.
“You doing okay over here?” Miguel stood just on the other side of the booth again. I jerked my leg away from Rory’s and bolted up.
“Yeah, just fine.” I squeaked.
Miguel’s gaze found Rory, who hadn’t moved, and he stuck out a hand. “Miguel,” he said stiffly.
“Rory,” Rory answered, though he ignored Miguel’s outstretched hand.
“Welcome to my party,” Miguel told him. Even over the music, I could hear the tight change in his voice. He dropped his hand and squared his shoulders.
Rory pushed his rolled up sleeves farther up his arms. “Kate invited me.”
What?
“Well,” I said quickly, “I mentioned I was DJing tonight.” I shrugged. “Rory’s new to Asheville. Wanted to show him the best party I could. I hope it’s okay.”
Miguel softened slightly, but his mouth was in a tight line. “It’s fine. Your friends can come to the party. You sure you’re okay over here? Need a drink or anything?”
“I’m good,” I assured him, returning his smile.
“Hey,” Rory said as he suddenly stood up from his seat. “Want to dance? Miguel, you got this, right?” He gestured to my equipment.
Instead of waiting for a response, Rory grabbed my hand and pulled me out from behind the booth. “Come on,” he encouraged as he continued to pull me toward the dance floor. I glanced back at Miguel, who still stood by my DJ booth with his mouth hanging open. Rory reached for my other hand and spun me around so that I stumbled into him. I fell into the warmth of his chest.
“Okay, Watts,” he said, holding me against his chest for a second before letting go. “Let me see your moves. Unless you’re scared.”