One Summer

by Teegan Loy

  “Show?”

  She gestured at Jamie and the two mover guys who’d all taken off their shirts. “Sun’s out. Guns out.”

  “Mrs. Jorgenson!”

  “What? I’ve had nothing to look at for the past few months but Sherman and his bitchy cat. He drags that poor thing around on a leash. Agnes tried to say hello the other day, and the cat hauled off and bapped her on the nose.”

  “What does a cat have to do with—”

  “You do know Sherman is 83 years old. He took his shirt off the other day and almost blinded me. And you could call me Carrie.”

  I huffed. I’d always called her Mrs. Jorgenson. She was a petite, spitfire lady with wavy gray hair and a stare that could scare even the toughest person, and Mrs. Benson was definitely not Barbie. She was a sweet, slightly round lady, with short gray hair who always had a smile on her face.

  “Is anyone else around?”

  “If you’re asking about Stef, she hasn’t shown up yet. Her folks are busy with their new grandkid, so I’m not sure when they’ll be able to get out here.”

  My mouth dropped open and I gasped. “Stef had a baby? I just talked to her.”

  “Not Stef, you idiot. Her brother. Chase’s wife had a baby boy.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “You worry me. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell on your ankle?”

  I was about to say something smart but she took off her hat and I lost my train of thought. Her normally salt-and-pepper hair was a vibrant blue.

  “Uh?”

  She chuckled. “Never mix several bottles of wine with Barbie and hair dye.”

  “I’ll remember that, but I think I like it.”

  “Barbie’s is purple.”

  She caught me up on all the lake gossip. Mrs. Benson had lost her husband a few months ago but decided she wasn’t going to sell her cabin. Apparently, Stef’s brother was now married and had a kid. The couple down the road was in the middle of a remodel and liked to shout a lot about paint colors and fabric swatches.

  “They watch those remodeling shows way too much.”

  “The cabin does need some work,” I said, casting a glance down the road.

  “She threw a paintbrush filled with gray paint at his head.”

  “Did she hit him?”

  “Nah. It was quite a disappointing fight. He gave up way too easily. I guess I can’t really blame him, she did flash him a boob. He picked up the brush and told her she was in charge of the colors and then they ran into the cabin for a little tumble.” She took a sip of lemonade. “And what’s new with you?”

  “Jesus, Mrs. Jorgenson. Nothing’s new with me. Well, I guess I graduated from college.”

  “Your folks are so proud of you. I’m proud of you. When I first met you, I thought you were shifty.”

  “I was a baby. How could I be shifty?”

  Agnes curled up under the chair and let out a contented snort.

  “You cried a lot until someone picked you up, and then you’d smile.” She snickered and changed the subject. “So now that you’re officially an adult, when are you planning on settling down?”

  “Settle down? Do people still do that?”

  “You better make a decision quickly or you’re going to spend your life alone and miserable, wondering why you never took the chance. You’ve got a great thing right in front of your nose.”

  I had no idea what she was babbling about. Thankfully I didn’t get the chance to ask her to expand because Jamie bounded up the path, waving frantically.

  “Thanks for watching him, Carrie,” Jamie said as he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I like your hair.”

  “Thank you.” She flashed a smile and fluffed a blue curl. “He wasn’t a problem. I’m open to babysitting whenever I’m needed.”

  “Maybe I should just leave you here,” Jamie said to me. “I need to go to town and get some groceries.”

  “Oh, shut up, both of you,” I grumbled. “I’m a full-grown man. I can take care of myself.”

  Of course, the moment I stood and tried to take a step, my leg buckled and I yelped. Jamie grabbed me and wrapped his arm around my waist before I toppled over. Mrs. Jorgenson snickered and asked Jamie to pick her up a loaf of bread and some eggs.

  On the way to the cabin, Mrs. Jorgenson called three times, adding more to her grocery list. Jamie finally told her to write everything down, and he’d pick it up in twenty minutes.

  “I’m sorry I can’t go with you to the store.” I wasn’t really sorry. I hated grocery shopping.

  Jamie shrugged and ruffled my hair before gathering up his phone and keys and leaving me to tend to my painful ankle.

  After filling a bag with ice, I ended up falling asleep on the sofa, dreaming about confessing my undying love for a guy with blond hair. For some reason, a large window separated us, and no matter how loud I yelled, the guy couldn’t hear me. I screamed until my throat ached and my lungs burned only to watch him leave with blowjob chick from the party.

  When the door slammed, I fell off the couch and howled as my ankle bumped the edge of the coffee table.

  “Jesus, Kellen. What’s going on with you?” Jamie asked.

  “Freaking weird dream.” I coughed and patted my arms and legs to make sure I was still in one piece.

  “After I put away these groceries, let’s go down to the bar and get something to eat. I don’t feel like cooking tonight. You can prop your leg up on a barstool.”

  “Okay.”

  A few drinks might help me relax and settle my odd thoughts.

  “Need help?” Jamie asked.

  I shook my head and hobbled to my bedroom to find something to wear. I fumbled around for a few minutes before collapsing on my bed to stare at the ceiling.

  Five minutes later, Jamie pounded on my door and demanded we leave.

  “You didn’t change.” Jamie stared at my dirty shirt and grimaced.

  “It’s not like I have anyone to impress,” I said.

  Jamie’s eyes widened and I sneered at him. He’d always been an impeccable dresser and never looked out of sorts. Even hungover and exhausted, he looked pulled together in a way I could never achieve. I was happy if everything matched. One time, I’d been so tired and stressed out during finals week of my sophomore year, I’d worn two different tennis shoes to class. Jamie still teased me about that incident.

  “Fine. Give me a second.” I slammed the door in Jamie’s face and changed shirts.

  The drive to the bar was quiet and I shifted in my seat several times, trying to get comfortable. Putting on a shoe had been a nightmare. I’d even tried taking out the laces from my tennis shoe until Jamie forced me to put on my ugly lake sandals. They made me feel like my grandpa Reger. He’d always worn ugly sandals with socks pulled halfway up his calves. At least they didn’t stop the blood flow to my injury.

  The number of cars in the parking lot surprised me. Usually there were four or five, but tonight I counted at least fifteen. Maybe everyone had the same idea as us and stopped by for a bite to eat.

  The second we stepped inside, I almost turned around. The guys who helped move our stuff were having a drink and the flirty one spotted Jamie immediately.

  It started out innocently enough, but when Simon bought Jamie a drink, I knew what was going to happen. Before they even finished their first beer, Simon had his hands in Jamie’s hair. It made me grind my teeth in frustration. I chalked it up to the rotten day I was having. I didn’t really want anyone to be happy at the moment.

  A few of the patrons peeked at them and whispered, but most just rolled their eyes. They knew Jamie. Everyone knew Jamie. And if he wanted to kiss a guy in a grimy, small-town bar, then that’s what he did.

  An hour later, I was sitting at the far end of the dingy bar, sipping warm beer and watching Jamie getting mauled by Simon. I grimaced and tried to be happy for Jamie. I’d never been upset about Jamie’s hookups before. If I was totally honest, some of the people he’d been with annoyed me, b
ut that was normal. You couldn’t like everyone. I grumbled and drank more beer, trying to drown my bad mood.

  “Oh, baby,” Simon said.

  A growl rose up in my throat, and before I could stop myself, I kicked Simon’s chair, moving him away from Jamie.

  “Oops,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I have to take a piss.”

  Jamie eyed me and raised a questioning eyebrow. I offered him a weak scowl and shuffled to the restroom.

  My reflection stared back, laughing in my face. I pushed my bangs away from my eyes. My hair was too long and stuck up in all the wrong places. I was surprised my mom hadn’t said something and whisked me off to the barber before graduation.

  The guy Jamie was devouring had short, neatly trimmed blond hair. Maybe Jamie liked guys with blond hair. The blowjob girl from the party had long, dark-blonde hair. Jamie’s hair was a lovely shade of blond with golden highlights that glowed in the sunlight. Mine was brown, and I wondered what I’d look like as a blond. Horrified at the thought, I quickly dried my hands. There was no way in hell I was going to dye my hair blond. I’d probably look like a washed-out vampire.

  “What is wrong with you?” I flipped my reflection off, because why should I care about Jamie and his never-ending line of flings?

  I threw the crumpled paper towel at the mirror.

  The door creaked open and an old guy with three strands of gray hair sticking up strolled into the bathroom. I moved my bangs to the side again and tried to get them to settle down.

  “Enjoy it while you have it,” the old man said. “I’ve got more hair growing out of my ears than on top of my head.”

  “Thanks, I’ll remember that.” I bolted as fast as my aching ankle could manage. Unfortunately, Simon was still hanging around.

  I crawled up on my barstool, downed my warm beer, and signaled for another. I glanced at Jamie and Simon and noticed they weren’t kissing anymore. Instead, Simon was fiddling with the cuff of Jamie’s sleeve, which I realized was my shirt. Jamie had a strange habit of wearing my clothes, even though he constantly made fun of my wardrobe. No wonder nothing I owned was ever clean. And now I’d have to burn that shirt because some jackass was fondling it.

  The bartender slid me another beer.

  “Hey, Kellen,” Jamie said. “Order me one too.”

  For some reason, my gaze was drawn to Jamie’s swollen red lips, and I wondered what it would be like to slide my mouth over them.

  “Fuck,” I grumbled as Jamie gave me an odd look. My face flamed, and I took a quick drink of my beer.

  All these weird thoughts were because of the added stress of graduation and the uncertainty of the future. I really did need to get laid.

  The bartender was still standing in front of me, so I placed another order. The guy actually had the balls to ask if I was buying a drink for Simon. I shook my head vehemently until Jamie said Simon needed one too. I caved and ordered another drink.

  To quell my anger, I concentrated on the graffiti carved into the dark wood of the bar. The most interesting ones were several poorly drawn stick vampires biting unsuspecting stick people and a picture of a penis with hairy balls. I traced the deeply cut lines and laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” someone asked me.

  I jerked my chin up and looked into the deep brown eyes of a very pretty brunette.

  “Hi, Kelley boy.”

  “Stef!” I ignored the hated nickname and wrapped her in a big bear hug. “I’ve missed you so much.” I pushed out an empty bar stool, and she climbed up.

  “Where’s Jamie?”

  I clenched my jaw and nodded toward him.

  She gave a low whistle. “Who’s that? They look hot together.”

  “He looks hot with everyone.”

  She raised her eyebrows and stared at me. “Did you finally figure it out? Is that brain of yours finally kicking in gear?”

  “What?”

  “So, I take it that’s a no then.”

  “Since I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, no. Now can we discuss your life?”

  She sighed and signaled for a beer. “I’ve been busy with school and working. Unlike you, I don’t get to spend the summer hanging out at the lake.”

  “Oh yeah, my mom said something about you moving to Chicago to work in the real world.”

  “I’m just an intern right now, but it got me into grad school and hopefully will help me land a job when I’m done with school so I can spend the next ten years paying off my student loans.”

  “I can’t believe you’re going to be a lawyer. You always said you were going to run away to Paris and design shoes.”

  “Some dreams never come true,” she said.

  “Don’t I know it.” I wasn’t sure why this conversation was suddenly bumming me out.

  “You okay?”

  “As okay as you.”

  I should’ve known she’d pick up on my mood. Stef and I’d been friends since we were toddling around the beach in Little Swimmer diapers. Her family owned the cabin next to mine. When we were eight years old, she’d told me she was going to marry me. I immediately started to cry and told her I was going to marry her older brother.

  She’d wiped my tears and decided that marrying Chase would be okay, but only if she could be in charge of the wedding. I readily agreed to it and she began writing everything down. Everyone had to carry red tulips at the ceremony because they were happy flowers. And of course, the ceremony had to be at the lake. We would all go barefoot. She still had the notebook we’d used to plan out the entire wedding. She was the sister I didn’t have, and I loved her to death. It really was too bad her brother turned out to be straight.

  “I know that look.” She glanced over my shoulder at Jamie, who waved at her.

  “No, you don’t,” I snapped. “There’s no fucking look.”

  She deflated and rolled her eyes. “Kell, you’ve been wearing that face ever since Jamie walked into your life.” She grabbed my hands and squeezed. “I’m going to tell you something that you might not be ready to hear, but it’s time. I seriously thought you’d have figured it out by now.”

  I tried to pull my hands away but she kept a tight hold. She took a deep breath and steeled her gaze. “How do you feel about Jamie?”

  I chewed on my bottom lip and glanced over my shoulder at him. He was laughing at something Simon said, and it made me want to toss my drink in Simon’s face.

  “Uh, he’s my best friend and roommate.”

  “How does him kissing that guy make you feel?” She dropped my hand and poked me in the cheek, turning my face toward Jamie.

  “Simon’s a jackass,” I snapped.

  “You don’t even know Simon. Keep looking.”

  At first there was nothing but a twinge in my gut, but that could be the multiple beers talking back. My stomach wasn’t thrilled with all the booze I’d been consuming lately. Over the last few years, I’d learned to pace myself, but with graduation, we’d been hitting it pretty hard. My body was not pleased with me.

  I tried to look away, but Stef forced me to keep watching. When Simon leaned forward and nuzzled Jamie’s neck, I squeezed Stef’s hand so hard she kicked me in the shin. I yelped and let my head fall to the bar, muttering a breathy “fuck” into my hands.

  “Do I need to say it?” she whispered.

  “Um, maybe.” I wasn’t exactly sure what this sick feeling meant.

  She patted my knee. “For a college graduate, you’re insanely stupid.”

  She hollered at the bartender and ordered a couple shots.

  “Stef, I can’t do shots tonight,” I said. “If you think I’m stupid now, just mix in some shots and my brain leaves the building.”

  “I need something before we really get into this, so don’t argue with me.” She gave me a sharp glare and I shrank back. “And then we’re going to talk about all your deep, dark secrets truthfully.”

  Her words scared the shit out of me, and I quickly downed a shot. After several
more drinks, the world around me started to blur.

  “You’re in love with him,” Stef said in a low voice. She repeated the words and I felt every single syllable cut into my skin, leaving deep gashes.

  “Who?”

  “Jamie.”

  “No . . .” My voice was ragged and barely loud enough to hear. I shook my head and tried to ridicule her, but her words were on repeat in my brain. My heart started pounding so hard I felt light-headed.

  “Didn’t you ever wonder why your relationships didn’t work?”

  “I didn’t want anything serious, so no, not really.”

  I glanced at Jamie again. Simon had his hands on Jamie’s thighs, and my skin prickled. I ran a hand over my arm, wondering what it would be like to have porcupine quills and be able to shoot them at the enemy. Simon would get one right between the eyes and one in his ball sack for good measure. Maybe several.

  Thinking such odd thoughts should have been a clue for me to quit drinking. Instead, I waved at the bartender and asked for another drink.

  “This is going to be a long summer.” I quickly swallowed the booze. As soon as I set the glass down, it was replaced with another and another, and suddenly I was very drunk and slightly angry with Stef for telling me this earth-shattering and life-changing news.

  “I shoulda married your brother.”

  “Don’t think his wife would appreciate that. And they just had a baby. I’m an auntie.” She grinned and shoved her phone in my face. We spent the next half hour looking at pictures of a bunch of smiling people and a red-faced baby that looked a little like an angry garden gnome.

  “Chase looks really happy. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he got married,” I said.

  “I forgot. He eloped, and then suddenly, his wife was really pregnant. The baby was born about a month later. Plus, you were in the middle of finals.”

  “Oh.”

  “At first, I thought Chase was a moron, but he’s so happy. Taking a chance paid off for him.”

  “You can’t honestly believe— I can’t love Jamie.”

  I scowled and did another shot.

  The last thing I remembered was whining about Jamie and sucking on an orange slice because all the limes were gone. The next moment I was waking up in my bed with Stef draped across my chest, her snores rumbling against my skin and her ponytail tickling my neck. I rolled over and displaced her. The movement sent stabbing pains throughout my entire nervous system. Stef pinched me and demanded I stop thrashing around.