Summer's Desire

by Olivia Lynde

  She starts digging in her side pockets and comes up with her Smartphone. A couple of quick taps, and next thing I know, I've got a digital picture shoved in my face: of Jessica—naked and spread-eagled. Then another tap—what the heck is that thing she's sliding into her... Then another picture, even more obscene, and I push Marcie's hand and her Smartphone away. I don't need that filth in my head where no soap can wash it away.

  But wait a minute... I flip from horrified disgust to rage in the blink of an eye. I push past Marcie and out the door, nearly crashing into Mrs. Roberts.

  "For God's sake, Summer, what's wrong?"

  I don't even pause in my mad dash, just throw over my shoulder: "So sorry, Mrs. Roberts, but I'm going to get sick."

  Seth has Homeroom today during first period, and that's where I head with forceful purpose. I pause before the door to the classroom and take a deep breath.

  Then I knock and, without waiting for an answer, enter.

  "...your graduation ro—"

  A smallish, bespectacled teacher stops mid-flow and turns to stare at me, perplexed.

  "Yes, Miss? Can I help you with any—"

  I tune her out as my eyes search for and quickly find Seth at the back of the classroom, sitting with a bunch of his friends. His eyes are on me, eyebrows raised in question. I glare at him and his lips quirk sardonically.

  I realize the room has filled with complete silence. Everyone's turned to stare at me, and the teacher seems to be waiting for an answer to a question I didn't even hear. Seth rises fluidly to his feet and comes to the front of the room. He gives the teacher his social, dazzling smile.

  "Summer is here for me, Mrs. Wilkins. Could you please excuse me for a moment?"

  Mrs. Wilkins blushes and adjusts her spectacles. "Mr. Lewis, this is highly irregular."

  He's reached my side now and takes hold of my hand. I immediately dig my nails into his flesh, but he doesn't even wince, just smiles wider at the teacher.

  "I'll be right back, Mrs. Wilkins."

  Without waiting for her answer, he turns around and tugs me toward the door. Some of the guys whistle behind us, and Carter hoots from the last row: "Trouble with the little lady already, Seth? Must not be keeping her sat—"

  The door slams shut behind us, leaving us all alone in an empty hallway. I instantly whirl on Seth, hackles raised. I try to pull my hand back too, but he doesn't let go, the smug behemoth, and there's no way I can win in a physical contest against him.

  "Why were you in possession of explicit pictures of Jessica?"

  "I wasn't," he retorts calmly.

  "Don't you dare deny—"

  "I was in possession of an explicit video of her. The pictures are, like I already told you, just screenshots."

  "Why would you have such a video?" I fire back, even more furious.

  Now he's starting to look confused. "It was insurance in case she tried to make more trouble for us. Sunny, why are you so angry?"

  Insurance? That cuts the ireful wind out of my sails as I struggle with a slippery memory. Insurance... Ah. The guy with the spiky hair and the tattoos.

  "The black flash drive?" I ask pensively.

  "Yes." He smiles with affection and something almost like pride, I think, at my remembering such a small thing.

  "Don't smile, you big lug!" I'm incensed all over again and try one more time to regain my imprisoned hand. Naturally, he doesn't allow it.

  A black, sardonic eyebrow goes way up. "You called me a big lug?"

  "Did you record that naked video of Jessica?"

  His eyes sharpen with interest and gain a new, wicked brilliance. "So that's what this is all about? You're jealous."

  I feel my skin starting to burn with a furious blush. "Don't be silly. Why would I be jealous?"

  "Why indeed."

  "Just because my boyfriend happens to have a recording of his ex-girlfriend in which she's naked as the day she was born and doing things to herself that would have our forefathers collectively roll in their graves in horror? When, moreover, she's obviously doing these things for a freaking audience? For an obviously male freaking audience?"

  His other hand snakes lightning-quick around my nape. Before I take a full breath, I have his delicious lips and his outrageous tongue doing sinful things to my mouth, and my toes are curling and I can't breathe at all. When he finally releases me, I have to draw in big gulps of air; and my traitorous body, liquefied with need, needs to lean into him to remain upright.

  His mouth moves to my ear, and in between indulging in tiny nibbles, he explains, "Jessica's audience was Josh. He recorded one of their sexcapades without telling her and bragged about it to the guys, the dumb fucker. After I found out about the letters, I asked a buddy who's good at that sort of thing to go and retrieve those files that Josh had crowed about keeping on his computer. There was zero risk involved because my buddy went in at a time when Josh's whole family was visiting him in the hospital." So after he'd tried to rape me, the awful scumbag.

  "That friend of yours is the guy who handed you the black flash drive?"

  "Yes." He brings his face closer to me, his gaze very blue and somber. "Jessica's not an ex-girlfriend, Sunny, I told you that. She was a quick lay and I would've had zero interest in doing a porn video of her, believe me. Besides, that's not my style. Does that ease your mind?"

  Yes, on all levels. "Yes, Seth. Thank you for explaining." I smile at him tentatively.

  His expression remains thoughtful, his eyes scrutinize me. "I don't think I've ever seen you this angry. Not even yesterday after you found out about my fighting."

  Yesterday I was upset and heartbroken, today I was fuming mad. I blush again, avert my gaze. "You matter to me too much. Far too much, I know. But—"

  Gentle fingers stroke up and down my cheek very gently. "Look at me, Sunny. I hate it when you don't."

  My eyes return to him, always glad at the opportunity to feast on his flawless, beloved face.

  He sighs, as if in relief. "Much better now. And Sunny—there's no such thing as 'too much' when it comes to us. Too much mutual interest, or awareness, or desire, or too much damn love—there's no such thing."

  "I love you beyond obsession," I murmur, terrified because it is too much.

  "I love you to insanity," he replies, utterly solemn. "That's who I am, and that is who we are. I don't have any qualms about admitting it, and I don't have any regrets. Do you?" And there's a note of anxious anticipation threading his beautiful voice. My answer is very important to him, I realize.

  But he's been truthful with me, and I can do no less with him. "I don't have any regrets about the way we are."

  His eyes and his face light up like a sun flare, and he gives me my gorgeous personal smile. My heart prances in joy. If admitting how much of a goner I am for him makes him this happy, I should do it more often. Then he's kissing me again, and my hands rise up and tunnel into his hair, and my body melts into the hard contours of his muscular frame.

  Suddenly we hear the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly, and we break apart. Then the footsteps turn the corner, and Mr. Reynard, the assistant principal, comes into view.

  "Mr. Lewis," he announces in a harried voice. "Just the person I was looking for. You're wanted in the principal's office."

  Seth's eyebrows draw together. "What for?"

  Mr. Reynard sighs. "The sooner you get there, the sooner you'll know. Come on now, Mr. Lewis, chop-chop." Then, turning to me with a frown: "Miss Morris, shouldn't you be in class?"

  Miss Morris?

  "I think I ate spoiled seafood yesterday, Mr. Reynard," I tell him in as pitiful a voice as I can manage—which must be a transparent effort indeed, given the amused glint in Seth's eyes. "I've felt ill all morning. In fact, I was just going to the Nurse's office to beg for some medicine. Since you're heading in the same direction, may I come with you?" This warrants a raised eyebrow from Seth.

  What? If he's wanted in the principal's office, today of all days, then he ca
n bet his perfectly-chiseled butt that I plan to be very close by to check what's going on. Luckily, the Nurse's office is reached via the main office, just the same as the principal's office.

  "Well then," says Mr. Reynard impatiently, "get going, children. None of us is getting any younger."

  He turns on his heels and heads back in the direction from which he came, and Seth and I follow him, holding hands. And the nearer we come to the principal's office, the more does my sense of unease increase.

  I don't know why Seth was summoned by Principal Adams... but I have a really bad feeling about it.

  Chapter 34

  After leading us to the main office, Mr. Reynard disappears again. Seth gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and walks into the principal's office. When he enters, I get a glimpse of the room through the open door—and oh merciful God, that's unmistakably Jessica I see in there. And Coach Bohlen.

  It's as if all the oxygen has suddenly been sucked out of the room and I can't seem to get enough of it into my lungs. My heart thuds dully, as if having to wade through morass to achieve each tiny, life-conserving beat.

  "Summer? Summer Moore, are you all right?"

  The world around me snaps back into focus, and I realize the on-duty secretary is looking at me oddly. Why does she remember my name—and correctly, unlike Mr. Reynard? The only time I saw her was when I came by to pick up my schedule on my first day at Rockford High.

  I take a deeper breath, and finally I get enough air to become functional again. "I'm fine, Ms. Elrond. I'm supposed to wait here in case Principal Adams needs me inside with the others."

  She reacts to my words with an uncertain frown but doesn't challenge me, and she doesn't stop me when I step closer to the principal's door. Now, I can hear muffled voices filtering from inside his office.

  "Now look here, young lady,"—that's Coach Bohlen, I think—"that's a very serious accusation you're making."

  "An accusation that, were it to be proven true," adds Principal Adams gravely, "could have weighty consequences for this young man's brilliant future."

  "I know what's at stake,"—Jessica's voice, like a cutting blade—"and I'm telling the truth. Seth's been doing underground fights and he's your student, Principal Adams, so it's your duty to do something about it. Like expelling him, for starters. And Coach Bohlen, you should notify everyone who's offered college scholarships to Seth. They should know they wanted to support a criminal. And the police—"

  "There's no need to involve the police," growls Coach Bohlen. "Lewis is a damn fine boy, the best football player I've ever had, and I'll be damned if—"

  "Now Mr. Bohlen, there's no need for colorful language. And Miss Anderson," adds the principal acerbically, "I'd appreciate it if you stopped telling me what my duty is."

  "Then if you know why aren't you doing it?!" she snaps.

  "Miss Anderson, don't take that tone of voice with me."

  "Well, I'm sick of this! I've been in here for the better part of an hour, and I've been telling you and telling you that this asshole is doing illegal fights. And all I've been hearing from you two is what a wonderful quarterback he is and how much he's done for his damn team and this damn school! Which I don't fucking care about!!"

  "Miss Anderson, what sort of language is that, coming from a young lady? Please contain yourself."—Principal Adams, sounding indignant.

  "Better yet, stop lying, Jessica," says Seth, who had been keeping silent until now (enjoying the show? I wonder). "Of course I don't do illegal fights."

  "Yes, you do, asshole!"

  "Where's your proof of that?" he asks evenly. "Or are your lying words all you've got?"

  "You asshole, you know where my fucking proof is! Your dirty whore broke into my house and stole it from me!"

  "Miss Anderson," says the principal, "if you don't stop using such foul words in my presence, I'm going to ask you to leave my office. And I'll need to have a conversation with your parents about this issue as well."

  "Jessica,"—Seth again, sounding perfectly calm—"just because your life's a real mess right now, doesn't mean you should take your anger out on innocent people."

  "Innocent?! You assh—"

  "I get it, how hard it must be for you, what with that porno of you and Josh showing up on Youtube—"

  "You bastard," she whispers, while the other men in the room seem to be clearing their throats awkwardly.

  "—and being the talk of the whole school. And your parents, who've gotten naked, slutty pictures of you in their mail, must be very disappointed and horrified. Not to mention what the board of admissions at your first choice college must be thinking now that they've also received those pictures of you. I hear that they're very keen on moral values at Notre Dame, so they'll probably have to withdraw your college acceptance."

  "You bastard..." And there's a trembling note in her voice now, the first time I've ever heard her sounding like this.

  "So I get it, that you're under a lot of stress," says Seth coolly. "But that doesn't mean you can come in here and start telling lies about me."

  "Miss Anderson,"—Principal Adams again, sounding embarrassed—"given your personal circumstances, we all understand why you might be... distraught. So we can be sympathetic—but only up to a point, and I'm warning you, you've already exhausted my patience. You need to see that your telling lies about one of our most exceptional student-athletes won't do anything to improve your own situation. Quite the opposite, in fact."

  "A damned fine boy he is, Lewis!" interjects Coach Bohlen. "Finest player I've ever seen!"

  "I haven't been lying," says Jessica, but there's no strength left in her voice.

  "Miss Anderson, of course you haven't been lying intentionally," replies Principal Adams in a placating tone. "I believe we can all agree on that if you wish. You were merely... mistaken, yes? Confused because of all the stress that you've been under."

  "A damn lousy mistake to make if you ask me," says Coach Bohlen grouchily. "Could've made serious trouble for our boy here."

  "But it's all settled now," interpolates Principal Adams. Then, in a very serious, even intimidating, tone: "Miss Anderson, do take care, however, not to be caught telling such appalling lies again. Or else you'll find yourself in worse trouble than you already are. Do you understand, Miss Anderson?"

  "Yes," she whispers, sounding utterly defeated.

  Then there's the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, and a few seconds later Jessica exists the office. She looks very pale, and there's a fine sheen of sweat covering her skin. She has her hands wrapped around her middle and seems to be shivering slightly. On seeing me, she turns to stone, and burning hate flares up in her gray eyes.

  But an instant later, the fire goes out. She passes me by without a word and walks out of the main office.

  "Really sorry, Lewis, that we had you come out here." That's Coach Bohlen's voice reaching me through the door, along with a sound as if he'd thumped Seth on the back. "Nasty business, that."

  "Very disagreeable girl indeed," says Principal Adams. "At least she saw sense in the end. I doubt she'll be slandering anyone again anytime soon. Still, I'll need to have a chat with her father. Tell him he should keep a better rein on his daughter."

  A long silence descends, heavy with undertones and meanings.

  Then Coach Bohlen breaks the quiet: "So, Michigan Wolverines, huh Lewis?"

  They get into an excited discussion about Seth's choice for his college team, and I tune them out as the last of the tension leaves me.

  I go to Ms. Elrond and give her a huge smile. "It seems that I won't be needed in the principal's office after all. I had better head back to class."

  Then I skip out of the main office, pretty much inhabiting cloud nine. Until I remember that Ms. Walker is arriving in town this afternoon.

  For me.

  * * *

  Seth's parked the car in front of the coffee shop where I'm set to meet Ms. Walker. He unfastens his seatbelt and turns to face me. His
right hand, having just released my left hand when he stopped the car, grips me again in an iron hold.

  "Stop being so anxious," I tell him, trying to sound confident. But I'm not confident myself, not really. Inside my belly, butterflies are doing so many somersaults that I'm feeling queasy—the bad kind of nervous butterflies, not the good, lusty ones I feel when my boy makes me hot.

  He glowers at me. "You want me to be calm when your social worker is sitting in that coffee shop waiting for you? Because you told her to come here and take you away? To fucking take you away from me?"

  I wince at the battering ram of his fury. "I didn't tell her I'd go with her, not in so many words."

  His beautiful blue eyes literally glow with his ire. "No, Sunny, you just told her she had to drop everything and come see you. And that you couldn't stay here anymore. Right, that makes everything so much better!"

  I wince again, at his sarcasm, and cover with my hand the angry pulse at his neck. I stroke him gently. "I'll explain everything to her. I'll explain about us and ask for her help."

  "What if she doesn't get it?" He tugs my hand down and lowers his forehead into the crook of my neck, and his arms go around me and envelop me in the steel and heat of his body. "Sunny, what if she wants to take you from here?"

  I hug him back as tightly as I can. "I won't go with her, Seth. Didn't I already promise you that I won't leave you, no matter what?"

  A restless silence envelops us both. I breathe him in, fill my lungs with his healthy, wonderful scent; and I feel his nose nuzzle into my neck.

  At length, I hear: "Sunny, school ends next week. If we have to, we'll leave Rockford then."

  "Seth, no! Didn't we already decide to stay here until the end of July? Until you'll have to join your college team for fall practice? Since we both have jobs here, we should earn as much money as we can until we leave."

  He lifts his head and his eyes are brimming with forceful determination. "If your meeting with Ms. Walker doesn't go well, we'll leave sooner. You'll come with me?"

  Oh God, please let the meeting with Ms. Walker go well! If I just run away with Seth, Ms. Walker will report my disappearance to the police for sure. She'll be worried, maybe she'll think I was kidnapped... I'll have to hide until I'm eighteen, and hiding wouldn't be easy when people like Jessica would be only too happy to point out that I can surely be found wherever Seth is. And Seth is dependent on his football scholarship. He'd be found so easily.