Bella and the Summer Fling

by Amy Sparling

  “Wait…” I say. “Who are we talking about here?”

  She laughs. The sound of her laughter brings me back to all the amazing days we’ve had together this summer. I can picture her, head thrown back, laughing up at the sky at something stupid I said. My heart aches for this girl. More than she’ll ever know.

  “I’m talking about you, dummy.”

  I swallow. “You want me to ask you out?”

  “Duh.”

  “What about that guy from the mall?”

  “He’s not you,” she says, and my heart instantly warms up. “So, Liam? You going to ask me out or what?”

  I grin. “Would you like to go out and do something fun with me tonight?”

  “Yes,” she says. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  I pick her up an hour later after I’ve showered and fixed my hair and assured myself that I look good, and not like someone who was sick all week. I feel good, so that makes me halfway there. The anticipation of seeing Bella again has the power to eradicate any sickness that’s still lingering in my body. She’s the bright spot on any gloomy day.

  There are only a few fun things to do in Roca Springs, and I’ve decided on an outdoorsy activity for our date today. This thing with Bella feels more important than some lame date to the movies. I want to do something gutsy and extreme with her. Like the sport of motocross, only different.

  “Are we going to the rock?” Bella says when I turn down the little road that leads to the state park on the outskirts of town.

  “Yep,” I say. “Is it that obvious?”

  She grins. “I’m excited. I haven’t been since I was thirteen and I was too chicken to walk to the top.”

  “Well, we’re going,” I say as I pull into a spot to park. “All the way to the top.”

  She sucks in air through her cheeks and claps her hands. “I’m excited!”

  The Rock was my mom’s idea when I told her I needed a date idea that wasn’t boring. It’s a large, mountain of sorts that looks like a large concrete dome. It’s round and smooth and not jagged like a real mountain. The attraction has been turned into a state park. Thousands of years of erosion has made the top surface smooth, and from a distance it looks like a big round rock. You can hike all the way up to the top and get a great view of the surrounding towns. I checked out the website for it, and once a month when it’s a full moon, people like to camp out on top of the rock. Unfortunately for us, tonight is not a full moon. But I’m hoping it’ll still be romantic. We still have a few hours of daylight left, which is good because I’m not sure I’d want to hike back down this huge rock with no light.

  Bella watches me lean over the back of my truck. I take out my backpack and pull it on my shoulders.

  “You came prepared,” she says.

  I grin. “Picnic dinner at the top of the rock. How’s that for romance?”

  She tucks her hair behind her ears. “I’m impressed.”

  There’s a little gravel trail through the parking lot that leads to the base of the rock. We follow the wooden signs that lead us there. Bella walks up to me and loops her arm through mine. “I missed you this week. Don’t ever get sick again.”

  “I will certainly try not to,” I say with a laugh. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve been that sick.”

  “Well, you’re better now,” Bella says, leaning her head against my arm while we walk. I breathe in the scent of her shampoo and I’m so glad to have her back with me. I can’t stand the thought of her spending the day with some other guy at the mall. She should be with me, even if it isn’t fair. Even if I’ll be leaving and this is just a fling. She should be with me.

  There’s a half mile walk on flat ground before we get to the base of the Roca Springs Rock. Signs warn us to be careful along the way, but the walk up to the top is still considered a level three hike, and since the levels go up to seven, I’d say it should be easy.

  “Are you scared?” Bella asks, giving me a flirty grin as she walks ahead of me on the trail. At the base of the rock is several smaller boulders that we have to step over as we make our way up the slow incline.

  “Never,” I say, flashing her a grin back.

  I try not to stare at her backside like some caveman, but it’s hard. She is rocking those spandex workout pants. I had warned her before we left today that she should wear good shoes and dress for a day outside. Now, I get to reap the benefits of her clothing choices. This girl is hot in every possible way.

  The trail narrows as we go through some trees and small, craggy surfaces, and then soon we are on the bottom of the large rock. It slopes gently upward, and it’s so high you can’t see the top from down here.

  I walk next to Bella until the surface gets steep enough that it gets harder to walk.

  “Why is this so hard?” Bella says, panting as she takes a long step upward.

  “Turn sideways,” I say, as I start walking diagonally up the surface instead of straight up.

  “This is about where I chickened out last time,” Bella says. She pauses and puts her hands on her hips and looks out at the view. It’s beautiful up here, but there’s still half of the rock to go. I want to see the top.

  “Do you want to stop now?” I ask.

  “Kind of…” she admits. Then she starts walking again. “But no.”

  “It plays tricks on you,” I say as we keep scaling the large, impossibly huge rock. It’s almost like we’re on another planet that’s crashed into earth and left a huge dome on the surface.

  “It’s such a gradual slope that if you fall you probably won’t even roll very far,” I say, continuing to walk at an angle. “But it looks scary.”

  “Very scary,” Bella says.

  I reach behind me and hold out my hand. She takes it. We walk like this, hand in hand, slightly sideways as we wind our way up the sloping surface of the rock. I can see the crest at the top, where it levels out, next to a sign that’s been driven into the rock.

  A few minutes later, we’re close enough to read what the sign says.

  You’ve reached the summit of Roca Springs Rock. Elevation: 1,825 feet

  I look back at Bella and squeeze her hand. “We did it.”

  She grins. “We made it to the top,” she says, biting on her lip. “We still have to walk back down.”

  “That might be scarier,” I agree. I turn to her and take out my phone. “Want to get a picture with the sign?”

  “Totally,” she says, grinning ear to ear.

  We pose in front of it and I snap a selfie of us. I look like a huge dork in the photo because I’m accidentally staring at her. As soon as I put my phone back in my pocket, Bella reaches for my hand again.

  “Don’t let go. This is scary.”

  A gentle warm breeze floats across the rock as we turn and look out at the world below us. It’s absolutely beautiful. Sloping land and towns as far as twenty miles away can be seen on the horizon. We’ve seen a few people walking on other parts of the rock, but right now we are the only people here. I hope it stays this way.

  I turn toward her and circle my hands around her waist. She presses her head to my chest and closes her eyes.

  “I wish summer flings lasted longer than the summer,” she says.

  “Me too,” I say, kissing the top of her head.

  9

  Bella

  It’s only when I close my eyes and hold onto Liam that I’m not scared. I can forget about the world around me, the terrifyingly long trip back down to solid ground, if I just breathe slowly and listen to the thump, thump, thump of Liam’s heartbeat underneath his T-shirt. It’s a soft cotton shirt, gray with a Fox head logo on the upper corner. And it smells like him. Or maybe that’s just him that I smell. All woodsy and clean, even though it’s hot outside and my forehead is beginning to sweat. He still smells amazing.

  He lets me hold onto him for a long time, but eventually I need to pull away. There’s only so long you can hug someone who isn’t your official boyfriend while you’re sta
nding at the top of a huge rock.

  I didn’t tell him the whole truth about this stupid rock. He knows I’m a little scared of it, but the truth is - I am terrified of it.

  I’m not a fan of heights, and I’m not a fan of trusting my own feet. Every step I took on the journey up here felt like a monumental task to force my body to keep its balance. I was so scared that I’d slip and fall and go tumbling down the rock, breaking every bone in my body along the way.

  Riding dirt bikes and soaring ninety feet through the air? No problem.

  But this rock? It’s terrifying. That’s why I never made it up here in all the times I’ve been here on field trips and weekend lunches with my friends. But for Liam, I’m willing to step outside of fear. He planned this date for us and for a few minutes in his truck today, I was about to tell him I didn’t want to do it.

  I step back, but still hold onto him as I turn and look around at the world below us. It’s absolutely beautiful. The sky is a crystal blue with only a few white, puffy clouds. I see my town, and the next town over. Behind us is mostly vast stretches of Texas hill country, with the occasional house or farm peppered throughout.

  “I’m so glad I came up here,” I say, as I stand in awe of the beauty around me.

  “Ready for lunch?” Liam asks. He slides off his backpack and kneels down as he unzips it. I stand here and watch him unfold a navy blue blanket onto the rock. Then, very carefully, I kneel down too, and sit on the blanket. My fear of heights lessens after I sit down. I feel safer on my butt. Less likely to fall.

  “Okay, don’t laugh but I did the best I could,” Liam says. He takes a lunch kit out of his backpack and lays out the lunch he made for us. There’s sandwiches, chips, strawberries, and cupcakes from the best bakery in town.

  “You made us lunch?” I say, giving him a coy smile. “That is really sweet.”

  “Sweet or lame?” he says, handing me a soda. “I mean, I guess I could have gotten takeout or something?”

  I shake my head. “No I like this. It’s better than takeout. You put effort into it.”

  “That’s my style,” he says, cracking a grin. “I’m full of effort.”

  I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, but just mentioning the word effort make me wonder why we can’t just put in the effort to make this thing work. We don’t have to be a fling – we could be something more… right? I don’t say anything though. I know it would be pointless to bring it up. At best, he’d just laugh me off, but at worst, he’d think I’m some stalker girl who can’t just be cool like I agreed to at the start of summer. I am not one of his obsessed fangirls. I can be cool.

  So instead of voicing my desires, I eat lunch next to Liam on the soft fleece blanket while we gaze out at scenery.

  Liam tells me about his week of being sick, and how his little brothers kept him entertained even though they couldn’t go in his room.

  “I missed you these last two days,” Liam says during a moment of silence.

  “Sorry,” I say, taking a bite of my sandwich. “My brother was here using my mom’s printer for his project. He’s been coming home a lot lately and I hate it.”

  “Well, that’s better than what I thought,” Liam says. “I thought you had grown tired of me…started dating that other guy.”

  “Never!” I say, putting a hand on my chest in a dramatic way. “You’re my favorite summer fling!”

  “Good,” he says with a grin. “You’re my favorite, too.”

  “How many summer flings do you currently have?” I ask playfully.

  He leans over and kisses my cheek. “Just you.”

  “How many did you have last summer?”

  He takes a bite of his sandwich and watches me. “None. You’re my first summer fling.”

  I don’t want to admit how happy that makes me. Relieved, even. I shrug one shoulder. “First time for everything.”

  “Oh yeah?” he says, nudging me with his elbow. “How many summer flings have you had?”

  “Just you.” I set my sandwich down in my lap on top of the plastic wrap it came in. “I haven’t dated much.”

  Liam’s eyes feel like they’re searching deep into my soul as he watches me. “Have you been in love before?”

  I shake my head. “You?”

  “Nah,” he says, looking at his food. “I’ve had a few girlfriends. Nothing serious. Motocross is my true love.”

  I know I should probably keep my distance, seal up my heart and not reveal any of my deepest thoughts. But Liam isn’t just some guy. He’s my best friend lately. We’ve shared a lot with each other, including our saliva. So I don’t hold back. “None of my past relationships were serious either. I’ve just had a series of guys who are into me for a week or two and then it’s over. You’ve actually stuck around longer than anyone else.”

  He smirks. “Guess I’m the smartest one.”

  I change the subject, because talking about boyfriends and dating just makes my heart hurt. I know Liam will never be what I want him to be, and I know I agreed to this summer fling. It was my idea after all. I can’t go getting sad about something that I wanted in the first place.

  After lunch is over, we pack up our trash back into Liam’s backpack and we hang out on the rock some more. It’s afternoon now, and the sun is behind us, lighting up Roca Springs in a beautiful summery glow. Liam lays down on the blanket and I follow his lead. I lay down next to him, then slide over and snuggle on his chest, while his arm wraps around my shoulders.

  It’s the most intimate we’ve ever been, lying here like this. If we were in a bed, I’d feel intimidated. Thrilled. Scared. But we’re out here in the wide open, laying on a massive rock that’s open to other tourists, even though we haven’t seen any in a while.

  It feels safe lying here with Liam. I don’t feel pressured. That’s why, after about half an hour of staring out at the town below, I lean up on my elbow and look at him.

  “What?” he says.

  I lean forward and kiss him. His lips are warm from the sun, and they send a jolt of heat straight through my body. I feel his hands in my hair, and then sliding down my back as I deepen the kiss, feeling like if I just kiss him a little bit longer I’ll be able to memorize every inch of him. Like I could find a way to keep him in my heart, forever and ever and then I can pull him out and relive these moments after he’s gone.

  Before I know it, I’m pulled on top of him, our bodies pressed close, our lips pressed closer.

  My whole body is heated, and desperate. I like him so much more than I can ever admit. And yet… he’s not mine. Not fully.

  He’s just here for the summer.

  I pull away and slide off him, giving us several inches of space on the blanket. Liam takes a quick breath and blinks. “Whoa,” he says, leaning up on his elbow. “I liked that.”

  “Summer will be over soon,” I say. “We have just a few weeks left. What will happen then?”

  I can feel them, the hot stinging tears of betrayal threatening to roll from my eyes. I try to hold them back because I cannot cry. Not here, not in front of the guy I’m pretending that I’m not totally falling for. Liam watches me with concern. He looks pained, and it’s probably a reflection of my own expression right now.

  “What are we going to do when summer is over?” I say, my voice coming out just above a whisper.

  He leans forward and cups my chin in his hand. “Sweetheart, don’t think like that. Let’s just stay in our bubble of happiness right now.”

  “But this bubble won’t last much longer,” I say.

  He shakes his head. “So why make it pop quicker than it needs to? You’re here. I’m here. Let’s not think about the future. Worrying about the end of summer will just make us hurt twice as much.”

  I swallow my pain and brush off the two stray tears that managed to fall down my cheek. I nod quickly. “You’re right. There’s still time.”

  “Come here,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he pulls me to him. I feel his lips pr
ess to the top of my head. “Don’t cry, Bella. I don’t ever want you to cry over me.”

  Then don’t leave, I think.

  But of course, I’m smart enough to keep my thoughts to myself

  10

  Liam

  On Monday morning I find myself in the Houston Intercontinental Airport. Phil was nice enough to drop me off on his way to work, even though it’s an hour out of the way for him. He’s a great guy. Seems like the longer I live with my mom and her new family, the more I regret staying away from them all these years. I could have been getting to know Phil and Matt and Dylan but instead I kept to myself in Houston and only cared about dirt bikes.

  Could I still have been a professional racer if I’d spent more time in Roca Springs? My life would have surely been different. I could have grown up here, gone to school here, raced at the local track every weekend.

  Maybe I would have met Bella years ago and our relationship would have been solid enough by now to survive what’s coming next: Team Loco.

  I got the call on Sunday night. Marcus told me I’d be flown into Cali in the morning to sign my Team Loco contracts for the next season and to get fitted for my bike and gear. It’s all happening so fast now and there’s still three weeks left of summer.

  At any other point in my life, I’d be ecstatic for the events of today, but right now I’m wishing it could all wait a bit longer. I’m not ready to leave Bella and this charming little Texas town behind. I still want Team Loco more than anything, because this is my career. I have the potential to make a ton of money in just a decade of racing and then I could always come back here and see if Bella is still around.

  Who am I kidding? She won’t be here in ten years. She’ll have been swept off her feet by some other charming guy, some guy who can provide her everything she needs here at home. Some guy who won’t leave her every week to go race in another state.