Bella and the Summer Fling

by Amy Sparling

  “You should go with her,” Liam said.

  I frowned. “But you’re sick.”

  He grinned and ate some more chicken and dumplings. “That’s why you should go. You’ll just be bored here, and besides… you don’t want to be like Kylie.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She ditches you when she has a boyfriend. You’re a better friend than that.”

  “You’re right,” I said, feeling the slightest bit embarrassed. He was right. Very right. I’ve barely seen her all summer because I’ve been with Liam.

  I stood up and patted his leg from on top of his blanket. “You doing okay?”

  “I have my chicken and dumplings, so I’m perfect,” he said with a cocky grin. Even when he’s all feverish and looks like death, he’s still the cutest guy ever.

  “Call me if you need me,” I said.

  He grinned. “Don’t worry, I will.”

  I know I made the right choice in seeing Kylie today. She seems extra happy to hang out, and besides, Liam is just my fake summer fling. I shouldn’t spend all of my time with him. He’ll just think he’s extra special or something. He’s not. He’s just a guy. Just a fake summer fling.

  “I need a new boyfriend,” Kylie says as she drives around the mall parking lot, trying to find a closer spot to park. Kylie’s hair and makeup are done up to perfection today and she doesn’t want a long parking lot walk in the sun to melt her beauty.

  “I’m glad you’re officially over Trey, but do you want to dive back into a relationship again?” I say it because I need to. That’s the type of thing I always say. If I’m being honest though, I’d tell her yes! That boyfriends are great and being all stupidly mushy gushy around a guy who likes you back is the greatest feeling ever. But I can’t say any of that because she doesn’t know about Liam. Therefore I have to keep acting like my normal self and my normal self would warn her to take a breather from guys.

  If she saw that photo on social media that angered my brother, she didn’t say anything. The good news is that Kylie doesn’t follow much motocross stuff online, so she probably didn’t see it.

  I did, however, get several texts from Rachael and Jodi, inquiring about the photo. They believed me when I said it was just an “inside joke” that someone photographed at the wrong moment.

  My brother Brent, however, did not believe the same lie. He yelled at me for ten minutes over the phone and then lectured me for half an hour when I got back home. He tried to package his anger as just “looking out for me” but I know that deep down he just hates Liam. He doesn’t really care about me, or about not wanting me to get hurt. My brother’s reaction to this whole thing has been the one huge bummer to my otherwise amazing summer.

  Kylie finally finds a spot to park and we make our way to the mall. “I just hate being single,” she says. “I don’t need a relationship, relationship. I just need something fun. Something that makes me feel confident again.”

  I take in the sight of her, in beautiful makeup and a gray sundress that hugs her curves and is accented with some black strappy sandals.

  “You could have told me we were dressing to pick up guys,” I say, looking down at my pathetic outfit of jean shorts and a t-shirt.

  “You should always act like you’re dressing to pick up guys,” Kylie says.

  I roll my eyes. “You are pathetic. And boy crazy”

  She scoffs playfully, then turns her eyes on me and wiggles her eyebrows. “Guess it’s easy to stop caring about finding a boyfriend when you have Liam at your disposal.”

  “Huh?” I say, my heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

  She shrugs. “You hang out with that boy at the track every day and he’s the hottest thing ever. You really need to hook up with him.”

  I let out an internal sigh of relief. She doesn’t know about us. Good.

  And then I’m a little offended. “Since when am I a girl who just hooks up with guys?”

  She snorts out a laugh. “You know what I mean… I’m not calling you easy or anything. But he’s so cute and you’re always hanging out.”

  We walk into the Starbucks inside the mall because Kylie always wants her caffeine fix before a shopping trip.

  “We’re just friends,” I say. I hate how many times I’ve said that sentence. “We don’t hang out… we ride at the same track. Like friends.”

  “Oh yeah?” Kylie says. She gives me a flirty look. “Prove it.”

  “How am I supposed to prove that we’re just friends?” But before I’ve even finished my sentence, Kylie is turning her head toward the left side of the room and giving me eyes that says I should follow her gaze. There are two guys sitting next to each other, staring at the same laptop screen. Looks like they’re studying for school or something.

  I look back at Kylie. “You already found a guy you like?”

  “No,” she says softly as she grabs my arm. “I found two guys I like. One for me and one for you.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Which one do you want? They’re both gorgeous, but I have a feeling about the one in the red shirt.”

  “Red Shirt is all yours,” I say as we move forward in the coffee line. I glance over at them, not that I’m actually going to choose one to flirt with or anything—I just want to humor my best friend. “They’re both pretty cute,” I say. And they are, but they’ve got nothing on Liam.

  The guy in the red shirt has dark skin and short hair, and he looks like he works out. The other guy next to him has light brown hair that’s a little scruffy, and he’s fit but in an athlete way, not like someone who frequently hits the gym to bulk up. They’ve both chosen iced tea as their drink of choice and they’re talking softly to each other while they look at the computer.

  “They look busy,” I say. “They probably don’t want anyone bothering them.”

  “Guys always want to be bothered,” Kylie says. She orders our drinks, choosing the java chip frappuccino for both of us and then she insists on paying for mine since she has a gift card. Both of Kylie’s parents are teachers, and their house is filled with Starbucks gift cards since that’s what parents and students always give them for the holidays.

  “Let’s get our flirt on,” she says, winking at me as we take our drinks a few minutes later.

  I feel dumb, but I follow my best friend as she weaves through the other patrons and walks right up to the guys. “Mind if we join you?” she says. I admire her cool, confident demeanor. Of course, if I looked that awesome in her dress, I’d probably feel more confident, too.

  The guys look up, and the red shirt one smiles. “Of course.”

  We sit down and Kylie flashes me this “told you so” look while she sucks on her straw. “I’m Kylie,” she says, sliding her chair closer to Red Shirt. She’s staked her claim on him, and he doesn’t seem upset about it at all. “And this is my best friend, Bella.”

  “Hi there, Isabella,” the other guy—the one with a black shirt—says. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Anthony.”

  “Bella,” I say. “It’s just Bella.”

  He smiles, revealing slightly crooked bottom teeth and he leans back in his chair. “Cool. You can call me Tony.”

  “Her name is actually Bella,” Kylie says, not taking her flirty eyes off Red Shirt. I think he introduced himself but I wasn’t paying attention. “Her parents put Bella on her birth certificate.”

  “No way? That’s cool,” Tony says. He gives me a bashful grin, but I can tell he’s just doing it to be funny. “Sorry I called you the wrong name.”

  I smile. “It’s fine.”

  “So what are you boys working on?” Kylie says. She is definitely sucking on her straw in a way that’s supposed to catch a guy’s attention. I want to tell her we get it. She’s flirting. It’s obvious. The entire coffee shop is aware of it by now.

  “We’re working on an app,” Red Shirt says. “It’s almost ready, just getting a few bugs out.”

  “We’re gonna get rich off it,” Tony says.

  �
��What’s the app about?” I ask.

  Tony slides his chair a little closer. “I don’t want to bore you,” he says. His eyes drop down, giving me a once over before they meet my gaze again. “Tell me about yourself.”

  Before long, Tony and I have talked about every possible topic under the sun, while my best friend flirts her butt off with Ray, which I finally figure out is Red Shirt’s real name.

  I’m not having fun at first, but then the attention is actually kind of cool. Guys never really paid attention to me in high school, and it’s just harmless flirting, so who cares?

  Plus, I’m not laying it on thick. I’m just being myself. But beside me, Kylie has had her arm playfully resting on top of Ray’s arm for a while now.

  After our coffees are empty, Kylie suggests walking around the mall. She’s practically glued to Ray’s side and I’m surprised she hasn’t found a flirty way to slide her hand into his by now. Kylie really has a way with guys, and every time she’s set her sights on one, she ends up dating him. I wonder what she’d say if she knew that her best friend is currently in the middle of a fun fling with Liam Mosely. Too bad I’m not going to share that juicy secret.

  “Your friend really digs Ray,” Tony says while we walk a few feet behind them.

  I snort. “She came here hoping to find someone.”

  “What about you?” he asks. “Did you want to find someone?”

  I don’t know how to answer. If I tell him I have no interest in finding a boyfriend because I already have a summer fling all lined up, who knows how he’d react. I don’t want to lead him on, but I also just don’t know what to say. Tony is nice. He’s been a gentleman so far, which is more than I can say for a lot of guys who meet you and then try shoving their tongue down your throat thirty seconds later. But I don’t feel any exhilarating rush of excitement when I talk to Tony. His eyes don’t make my stomach hurt in a good way. Being near him doesn’t make my heart pound. When I look at him, I just see a regular guy.

  When I look at Liam—well, I see someone I want to be close to. I feel like I’m floating on air, and drowning in happiness. There’s a magnetic connection there, something I can’t hold back from, even though I know it doesn’t matter because Liam can never officially be mine. Maybe Tony could be mine… if I flirted with him more or gave him an opportunity to make a move.

  Would I want that if Liam wasn’t here this summer? Would I be excited about the possibility of dating Tony?

  “Oooh,” Ray says, walking up to a shoe store. “They finally got my kicks in stock.”

  “Uh oh,” Tony says, flashing me a smile. “He’s going to be a while.”

  My phone rings just as everyone is walking into the store. I check the screen and see Liam’s number. “I’ll be right in,” I tell them as I walk over to a nearby bench and sit down.

  “Hey,” I say, answering the call. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m a little better,” Liam says. “How’s best friend day going?”

  I sigh. “She found a guy after about three seconds. We’ve spent the entire time with them.”

  “Them?”

  “Yeah, Kylie’s new guy has his friend with him so we’re all just hanging out. I think Kylie thinks she’s doing me a favor by forcing me to hang out with some guy.”

  “Is it working?” he asks. And the weird thing is that I don’t hear any hint of jealousy in his voice.

  “I think he likes me,” I admit. “But I don’t care.”

  “Well if he’s a good guy, you should go for it.”

  My heart skips a beat. “You want me to date someone else?”

  “Eh,” he says. “I don’t get to stop you, Bella. I’m just the fling, remember?” He chuckles like it’s no big deal. “If you wanna date the guy, go for it.”

  I swallow, and the world seems to fade away all around me. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Liam isn’t jealous. He doesn’t care that he’s home sick and I’m spending time with a new guy. I really am just a fling to him.

  I guess I knew it all along, but it hurts to find out for sure.

  I take a deep breath. “I better get back to my friends.”

  8

  Liam

  There’s a light tap on my door and then a paper slides underneath the bottom crack. I get up and walk over to see the next installment of Liam’s Motocross Adventures, a hand-drawn comic book authored by my little stepbrothers. Since my mom banned them from seeing me this week so they wouldn’t get sick, they’ve taken it upon themselves to entertain me by making these comic books. They’re each about six pages long, drawn on computer paper that’s then been folded in half and stapled to look like a book. So far there’s been five “issues” of these mini-comic books, and they all star me, a famous dirt bike racer who goes on adventures. My character has defeated dinosaurs, dragons, Fortnite, and our mom’s broccoli soup that was struck by lightning and became sentient and tried to kill the whole family until I destroyed it by driving my dirt bike over the mutant broccoli.

  I didn’t realize little kids could be so creative. I’m going to keep these little handmade books forever.

  “Thanks, guys,” I call out through the closed door as I pick up issue number six. This one is called Liam Gets Sidekicks, and judging by the two kids drawn on the cover, they’ve inserted themselves into this story.

  “This is our favorite one!” Dylan says through the door.

  “Mom wants to know if you want some ice cream?” Matt says.

  “Yes please,” I call back through the door as I make my way back to my bed to read the new comic book.

  It’s Friday, and I feel better today than I have all week. My aches and pains are gone, and my fever has been gone for a full twenty-four hours. Now, the only thing that’s truly bothering me are thoughts of Bella.

  She went to the mall the other day and told me about this guy who was hitting on her. I knew this day would come, when some local guy would catch her eye and he could give her everything I can’t. A real relationship. I had hoped the day would come after I’d left Roca Springs, that way it wouldn’t hurt me too badly.

  But I didn’t get that lucky. I did what I had promised myself I would do – let her go without drama. I hate it. I hate every second of it, but what else am I supposed to do? This is a summer fling. I can’t just beg her to stay with me knowing I’ll be leaving after the summer. I can’t ask her to put aside her own life just because I’m selfish and want her all to myself.

  Maybe this dude at the mall is supposed to be her soul mate. I can’t stand in the way of that.

  She hasn’t told me anything else about him over the last two days, but it’s not like I asked. We’ve texted a little bit, but she hasn’t been by with any more chicken and dumplings. Not that I can blame her. She met a new guy. Why would she keep bringing food to her old summer fling?

  Jealousy rockets through me and I set the comic book down. I can’t attempt to read it when I’m feeling this awful.

  My mom walks in and brings me a bowl of ice cream. “What’s this?” she says, picking up the comic book.

  “The boys have been making them for me all week,” I say.

  She flips through it, her curiosity turning into a grin. “Aren’t they just the sweetest things?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “I’m really glad you found Phil.”

  Mom smiles one of her tight-lipped smiles. I think she tries really hard to make sure she doesn’t insult my father, but it doesn’t bother me. He wasn’t the best husband to her and he’s not the greatest dad, either. He thinks throwing money at stuff will make it perfect, but that doesn’t always work.

  “Dad sucks,” I say. “He only cares about work. Not you, not me. He wouldn’t have done anything while I was sick. He might have left me some money to order pizza or something, but that’s it. You’re a really great mom and I’m sorry I haven’t been around much.”

  Her smile wavers and the corners of her eyes crinkle. “Well, you’re here now,” she says, pressing the back o
f her hand to my forehead. “Your fever has been gone for over a day now. That’s great.”

  “Am I no longer a prisoner in my own room?” I ask with a grin.

  She laughs. “I suppose not. Just don’t breathe too close to the boys. You might still be contagious.”

  With my newfound freedom, I wander out to the garage and look at my bike. I haven’t ridden since last weekend. The last time I went this long without being on my bike was when I broke my arm three years ago. I was so sick for a few days this week that it didn’t bother me, but now that I’m feeling better, I’m dying to get back on my bike.

  It’s Friday, which means it’s race day, but I know I’m not ready to race right now. I’m still weak and tired and I’m not about to risk getting second place, or worse. If I’m not going to win, I’m not going to race. I have a reputation to uphold.

  The garage door bursts open and Matt says, “Your phone is ringing!”

  I head back inside to where I left my phone on the charger and see a missed call from Bella. Finally. I’ve missed her so much. I call her back.

  “How are you feeling?” she asks.

  “Better. No more fever or anything.”

  “That’s awesome,” she says. “Are you racing tonight?”

  “Nah, I don’t think I’m up to it. But if you’re racing, I’ll come cheer you on.”

  “I don’t feel like racing tonight,” she says. “I wanted to do something fun instead. Not that racing isn’t fun but… you know what I mean. Something a different kind of fun.”

  “Oh, okay.” My happiness wanes. I remember why we haven’t talked much in the last few days. “You must have a hot date tonight.”

  She’s silent for a beat. I guess I’m right. She’s calling to tell me about the new guy she’s dating.

  “Well, I’m trying to get a hot date,” she says. “But he hasn’t asked me yet.”

  “Maybe you should ask him.” I absolutely hate giving her dating advice. If I had it my way, she wouldn’t see anyone else but me.

  “I was hoping I could just hint about wanting to do something fun and maybe he’d ask me first,” she says. There’s a subtle playfulness in her voice.