by C. J. Duggan
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Epilogue
An Endless Summer
C. J. Duggan
Dedicated to Lesley.
It started with a random act of kindness, and even after all this time you are always going above and beyond.
Thank you a million times over for being a part of this incredible journey with me.
Praise for
The Boys of Summer
Summer Lovin’
This book kept me up until the wee hours of the morning because I literally could not force myself to put it down – I just had to know what happened. Everything about The Boys of Summer absolutely blew me away.
Claire – Claire Reads
Best Contemporary Read of your Life
I cannot begin to describe the love I have for this book. The Boys of Summer is a story about self-discovery and first true love that will stay with you for a long time after you read it.
Hannah – A Girl in a Café
Fun, Flirty, Fantastic
All in all, if you're looking for a lovable and intense read, then this is for you. C.J Duggan has convinced me she belongs in the contemporary market and I cannot wait to read more from her.
Donna – Book Passion for Life
An Australian Gem
You won't regret buying this one; you'll totally fall in love with the story and all of the characters. C.J Duggan knows how to write a book you'll just be drawn into! I'm already waiting for the next one – impatiently, might I add! The Boys of Summer is an Australian gem!
Seirra – Dear, Restless Reader
Simply Perfect
Everything about The Boys of Summer was fantastic!!! C.J Duggan has written an amazing story and she was able to perfectly capture the Aussie summer, fun times with friends both new and old, and all the feelings of falling in love with the boy of your dreams. Bring on book two!!!
Tracey – YA Book Addict
Sweet, Intoxicating, Exciting
The Boys of Summer is a wonderful example of just how deliciously sexy, sweet and charming summer-fling books can be! A book that gives you goose bumps, makes you swoon over its incredibly handsome male cast, gets you hooked on the clever plot line and, ultimately, sends you out feeling all warm inside, satisfied and with a wide smile on your face.
Evie – Bookish
“If you want to know where your heart is, look at where your mind goes when it wanders.”
- Anon
Chapter One
Summer of ’96, Onslow.
“There he is!”
My best friend, Tammy Maskala, was deeply, madly, in love with Sean Murphy. Like, truly stalkerish type love.
Tammy and I had been friends forever. We turned sixteen on the same date, snuck out, hung out, and did everything together, but what Tammy wanted to do more than anything, or anyone, was Sean Murphy. We had spent an entire footy season freezing our butts off sitting in the football stands every home game to watch Sean ruck for the Onslow Tigers. I had personally been more enthralled with my bucket of chips than Aussie Rules, but every time Sean even so much as touched the ball, Tammy would elbow me, squealing in delight. I just got annoyed if it knocked a chip out of my hand.
Of course, Tammy was absolutely terrified of talking to Sean or engaging in any activity with him other than deep, longing sighs from a distance. That summer, Tammy said things were going to change and that was it. The only thing Tammy needed was a little helping hand from – yep, you guessed it – me.
“You know him,” Tammy pleaded with me
“I don’t know him.”
“You see him all the time.”
“He’s best friends with my cousin, Chris.”
“Exactly!” Tammy sighed in dismay. “You are so lucky!”
Many of my friends thought that growing up in a pub was the coolest thing ever. However, it wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed. More often than not, I was something that was underfoot, shooed out of the way from oncoming traffic, a.k.a. patrons. I was ushered from forbidden places, lectured for loitering on the stairs, or chastised for eavesdropping on “adult” conversations. I always felt in the way and come summertime, when the season picked up and the tourists flowed in, I was always in the way.
By a young age I had learnt to entertain myself and tried to stay out of everyone’s way. I remember on my thirteenth birthday, I had been given my first set of rollerblades, a brilliant ploy to keep me outdoors. I would race around and around the cemented verandah of the Onslow Hotel; it was like my very own roller rink. My rollerblades were presented to me with strict instructions, though: No rollerblading down Coronary Hill. I knew that. I mean, come on, did they think I had a death wish?
On the very day I got my rollerblades I had been gingerly rolling back and forth on the verandah, gaining my confidence, when Sean and his mates Toby, Ringer, and Stan, rocked up for their usual Friday night drinking session. Every Friday night, without fail, they came in after work for a parma, some pool, and so much beer they usually ended the night with an air guitar competition. I could always hear them from up in my room at three in the morning, arguing over the winner. I was not eavesdropping. Okay, so maybe a little. Anyway, they arrived all freshly showered and changed from their day’s work and I watched them swagger across the car park in a chorus of animated conversation and laughter. I skidded to a halt on my blades and grabbed onto a beam for balance, peering out from behind a verandah pole as they approached.
They skipped every second step up to the verandah before Ringer noticed me standing awkwardly, knock-kneed in my netball skirt and with knee and elbow pads on, clasping the pole.
“Look out, what do we have here?” Ringer announced, playfully pulling on one of my plaits as he passed.
“Looks like we have ourselves a roller-girl. Come on, show us what you got,” Sean teased.
“I’m not showing you,”
I said with a sneer. Truth be told, I was terrified of falling flat on my face. I couldn’t go more than five metres without wobbling, flailing, and crashing into a wall.
“Hey, Chook, is Chris behind the bar?” Toby asked.
I nodded. I was always nice to Toby. He was my favourite of all Chris’s friends.
“Sure you won’t show us a trick before we go in?” asked Stan as he turned towards the door.
“Well …” I lifted my chin. “I can do this …” I pushed myself off the pole and gathered enough momentum to work myself into a full three-sixty spin. It was going so well and was pretty impressive until my blade clipped a rough bit of concrete and I swayed sideways.
The boys’ reflex reaction was to flinch; they all raised their hands at me in an ‘easy’ motion. But it was fine. I caught myself. Their bodies all visibly sagged with relief when I didn’t face plant into the concrete. After successfully completing my Evel Knievel stunt, I smiled sweetly with my best ‘Oh yeah! Look what I just did!’ expression.
They all seemed rather impressed, except for Sean who stood leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed, his lips twitching as if fighting a smirk. I glowered at him.
“Bloody hell, you gotta do it faster than that, Chook.”
Sean reached out, took me by the hands and pulled me along the concrete.
“Sean, don’t!” I screamed.
He abruptly stopped me before breaking into a wicked smile. Then, he dragged me along some more in the opposite direction, his height and strength the only things preventing me from falling as he flung me around on my blades.
I screamed in terror, begging for him to stop as I barely missed knocking my shin against a giant terracotta pot plant. I just knew I was going to break a leg if he didn’t let go. All the boys watched on, laughing, as Sean finally slowed to a stop, grabbing my shoulders to steady me. I grabbed onto a verandah pole, my voice hoarse from screaming, my heart pounding out of my chest.
“Now that’s how you do it!” Sean laughed before following the others in the front door.
“You’re such a bloody child!” I yelled after him. He winked and disappeared through the bar door. It was a place I wasn’t allowed to go, so I glared at their backs furiously as their laughter was engulfed by the closing door swinging shut behind them.
I had never really had much to do with Chris’s friends when I was younger, except when they used to come and taunt me at the pub. When I started waitressing at sixteen, however, I saw them a bunch more.
I tried to convince Tammy to waitress as well, as it would be her best chance to talk to Sean, but she was way too shy. So instead, Tammy lived vicariously through me, asking after every single shift if I had run into him, or seen him at the hotel. She begged me to tell her everything. Waitressing also gave me privy information as to where ‘the Onslow Boys’ would be. I wasn’t sure why they were nicknamed that (I mean, there were other boys in Onslow), but it was something most girls called them so I figured I may as well, too.
“They’re heading to MacLean’s Beach after lock-in tonight.” I said with a sigh into the phone. It seemed like all Tammy and I ever talked about was where Sean was and what he was doing. Just for once, I wanted to have a conversation about something else.
“Oh. My. God!” Tammy said, squealing. “Amy, we have to go.”
I rolled my eyes. I was no stranger to sneaking out. I’d done so only last week to go down to a party by the lake when Dad said I couldn’t go, but the last thing I felt like doing was stalking the Onslow Boys. It sounded boring.
“I don’t know; they usually don’t finish up from the lock-in until after one in the morning.”
“Oh please, Amy, you have to come with me. I’m going to talk to him tonight. I’ll do it. I swear I will.”
I wanted to bang my head against the receiver and come down with some mysterious twenty-four-hour bug that rendered me housebound. But, like I did every other time, I caved.
“Okay, but you better do it!” I told her.
I would sneak out, sure, but if there was one boundary I would never dare cross, it was stealing booze from my dad’s pub. I knew Chris kept an up-to-date inventory down to the very last drop and messing with the stash wouldn’t be worth my life.
So that was Tammy’s area: I would agree to come and she would supply the booze. She’d raid her mum and dad’s stockpile from their garage, like she always did. Apparently, they never suspected a thing.
Come one-thirty a.m., after changing and waiting impatiently for the sound of the front bar room door to slam, I legged it for the back staircase. Tiptoeing carefully downwards, I winced at the sound of a creaking step underfoot. I froze, hoping not to be heard. But it was okay – Dad was long asleep; if George Michael wailing from the jukebox failed to stir his slumber, then nothing would. As meticulously planned via in-depth phone conversations, I met up with Tammy a little way off from MacLean’s. Giggling, we propped ourselves on top of a sand dune overlooking the sparkly, dark stretch of Lake Onslow.
“Wait here,” Tammy whispered. I’m not sure why she was speaking so quietly since we were on our own.
Tammy disappeared behind a bush and I heard the rustling of a plastic bag. Under the white glow of the full moon, she returned with something in her hand.
“Ta da!” Tammy produced a cask of peach wine and two plastic cups.
“Classy!” I mused.
“I call it Dutch courage,” Tammy said.
She squeezed on the tab, trickling a clear, fruity wine into her cup, then mine. We pressed them together in a mock clink, giggling “Cheers!”
“Here’s to me talking to Sean Murphy tonight,” Tammy said. She took a deep breath and skulled her wine.
I just shook my head and followed suit.
***
After a cask of wine and a shared six-pack of smuggled VB cans from her dad’s stash, we were feeling good and zigzagging our way towards MacLean’s Beach. Falling in the soft sand, we laughed hysterically over how uncoordinated we were. How we stumbled to the actual clearing of MacLean’s, I will never know, but we did. Then, we attempted to be suave and sophisticated and walk as straight as possible through the crowd, give or take losing it in hysterics every now and then. I made a mental note to avoid my cousin, Chris, but luckily through my blurry vision I couldn’t spot him.
“I don’t see Sean anywhere,” whined Tammy. She collapsed into the sand, her face crumpling with sorrow.
“Shhhh,” I said, as I waved her words away. “Be cool!”
“I am never going to get to talk to him, am I?” she asked, looking as if tears would start dribbling down her cheeks at any moment. “Never, never, never.”
I blocked out her incessant complaining and kicked into friend mode: I needed to find Sean. I squinted my eyes at the sea of bodies dotted around the beach.
I spotted Alex Keegan; he was friends with the Onslow Boys, surely he would know.
“Hey, Alex!” I called out, stumbling a path to him. He turned, surprise dawning on his face as he saw me.
“Past your curfew, isn’t it, Amy?” he asked as he looked me over.
Rather rich, I thought, coming from Alex who was only a year above me.
In a cocky move, I swiped his beer from his hand and took a long swig. I smacked my lips in appreciation.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Alex shifted uncomfortably, like so many of the boys did. Dad had threatened half of Onslow with very bad things if they so much as looked at me.
It was absolutely mortifying.
“Where’s Sean?” I asked with my best smile and then lifted the can to my lips again.
Alex frowned and snatched the beer back from me. “Who wants to know?”
I rolled my eyes, snapping quickly out of the sweet-girl act. “Just tell me!”
He eyed me sceptically, weighing up whether to tell me or not. After a long pause, Alex tilted his head to his left. I followed his gaze out onto the lake.
“He’s on
Stan’s boat with a few others.”
In the darkness, I could make out a distant light on the water.
Okay, that was not part of the plan. I didn’t want to be the one to break it to Tammy, but she was right. It seemed she wasn’t finally talking to Sean tonight. Ugh!
I coaxed Alex into giving me a few beers and he begrudgingly obliged. As we drank together, he noticeably relaxed, which was made obvious when his hand snaked out and settled around my waist.
My eyes flicked out towards Stan’s boat, much to the annoyance of my new BFF, Alex.
“Hey, what’s he got that I don’t got?” Alex pulled me into him; I could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke on his breath against my neck.
Gross.
I pulled away and smiled at him sweetly before leaning in to whisper in his ear.
“A boat.”
I walked backwards, away from Alex, beers in hand, and made my way back to Tammy who had passed out on the sand.
I knew what would wake her up: It was time to put this Sean matter to bed once and for all.
Dumping the beer stash next to Tammy’s corpse, I walked towards the edge of the water, peeling my top over my head and tossing it onto the shoreline. Cat calls sounded from behind me.
“Yeah, baby! Take it off!”
I flipped my middle finger at no one in particular as I flicked off my shoes and struggled to unbutton my denim cut-offs, shimmying out of them while trying not to fall over.
The warm water lapped at my toes and a thrill shot through me as the sensation tingled around my ankles, my calves, and then my thighs as I walked into the lake in just my bra and knickers. My feet sunk into the muddy bank, slowing me down as I made for the light of the boat and the distant laughter offshore. I was going to swim out to them and give them a piece of my mind – those anti-social pricks!
“Oops,” I giggled, losing my footing.
A breeze blew and gooseflesh rippled along my skin; all of a sudden the water didn’t feel so warm anymore. But I had to do it. Tammy needed to talk to Sean and she needed to do it tonight.
I heard distant calls from the shore as I dived into the lake. I resurfaced, gasping at the unexpected chill of the water. I pushed forward, breast stroking towards the light. I couldn’t tell if the noise of people talking and yelling was from behind or in front of me, but it wasn’t like it mattered; they weren’t talking to me. I could only kick into the oblivion. It wouldn’t take long to get to the boat. I was a good swimmer and Chris would soon be dragging me onboard giving me a lecture. Then I’d tell them all off for ditching the party and Sean would come to shore and meet Tammy, whom I was certain he didn’t even know existed. He would see how amazing she was and they’d fall in love and Tammy would finally leave me in peace. I would never have to hear the name Sean Murphy again.