The Summer Before Forever

by Melissa Chambers

  “I’m with both of them. They’re sixteen.”

  The guys’ expressions drop. “Bullshit,” the one in the middle says.

  The one on the end who hasn’t talked yet nudges the one in the middle. “No, man. I think he’s right. I remember that one chick from that show. They went to her high school and shit.”

  The guy who blew her a kiss runs his gaze up and down her body, and I gather her in closer to me.

  The guy holds up two hands in surrender. The fact that I’m practically growling at him may have something to do with that.

  “My bad,” he says.

  They turn to walk away but do so slowly and turn back toward us a few times.

  I keep my glare focused on them just in case, while ushering her back to our table, my hand resting on the small of her back.

  She looks up at me with a little smile. “You know I’m seventeen in just a few weeks.”

  I give her a lazy shrug, and her smile widens.

  Jenna breaks away from two college girls she’s been talking with and throws her arms around Chloe, forcing me aside.

  She grabs Chloe’s shoulders. “You were incredible!”

  “Seriously?” Chloe asks. It’s clear Jenna’s approval means something to her.

  “Yes, I’m serious. Landon, tell her she was incredible.”

  Jenna is pulled away again by some adoring fan, and I gaze down at Chloe and pinch her hip. “You were incredible.”

  She looks up at me, and I catch her focusing on my dimple. I forget that thing’s there until I see a girl notice it.

  She drags her gaze to my eyes and looks at me like she wants me to kiss her. I really think she does. I want to. God, I want to. The moment couldn’t be more ideal, and the way she lights my chest up with her smile isn’t helping matters. I settle for pulling her to me and kissing her hair. It’s a brotherly move, but the last thing this girl feels like to me is family.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chloe

  We spend the rest of the evening with a steady stream of people approaching Jenna. I was Jenna’s best friend before the show, so I’ve been on this fame roller coaster with her since the beginning. I can say with a hundred percent certainty I’ve never seen the fans flock like this. But, I’ve never been out of Cliff Ridge with her either. Everyone there knew her pre-show, so to them she’s just Jenna, quasi-celebrity. To these people, she’s Jenna Quigley, Star of America’s Newest Sensation.

  Landon grows weary of Jenna’s local fame and finally forces her hand in leaving the place. I think she would have set up camp for the duration of the evening if we would have agreed to it.

  She’s got her face in her phone as we walk to the parking lot, and Landon has to push her along out of the way of a speeding car. Landon opens the door for us and pulls up the front seat. I go to step inside, and he holds his arm out in front of my chest. I look up at him, and he nods at Jenna. I put my hand on her back and lead her into the back seat. Shockingly, she goes without argument, zombielike. I look at Landon and shrug.

  I sit down in the front seat, and Landon closes the door behind us. He’s so polite. I’ve never even seen a guy open and close the car door for a girl, much less have I had it done for me.

  We pull out on Highway 98 and head home.

  “OHMYGOD! I’m trending!”

  I turn around to find Jenna’s face an absolute shower of elation.

  “Where?” I ask.

  She actually drags her gaze from her phone and meets mine. “iSpot Celebrity.”

  I can’t help but smile because that really is supercool.

  “What’s iSpot Celebrity?” Landon asks.

  Jenna punches the back of his seat. “You can’t be serious, lame ass.”

  She’s back on her phone, grinning like a crazy person and punching into it frantically.

  He looks at me. “Do you know?”

  “It’s a social media site kind of like Instagram. When you spot someone famous out somewhere, you can go on there and post pictures with them and talk about what they’re like in person, and the celebrities can comment if they want.”

  He looks in his rearview. “What do they say you’re like?”

  She beams. “Jenna Q. was a sweetheart. I want her as my best friend.” She closes her hand over her heart. “Aww.”

  I roll my eyes. “Careful what you wish for.”

  Landon laughs. Jenna doesn’t even seem to hear the joke. Landon puts on the blinker to pull into our resort.

  “What? We’re going home?” Jenna says. “No freaking way. Let’s go out. We’re like an hour before curfew.”

  He looks at me. I shrug. He turns off the blinker and pulls down a road that leads to the beach. He parks, and we’re back in front of the Longneck Eel.

  “So this is your place, huh?” I ask Landon.

  “I guess. It’s where we all gravitate to.”

  I get out of the car and let the queen out of the back. “Are your cute friends here?” She asks, pocketing her phone.

  “How am I supposed to know which of my friends are cute? I’m a dude.”

  Jenna gives Landon a shove. “Don’t be a homophobe.” She bounds off toward the beach. She has been infused with an insane amount of gusto that far surpasses anything I’ve ever witnessed from her firsthand…and that’s saying a lot.

  He points at her. “How do you put up with this?”

  I shake my head. “She’s Jenna. Take her or leave her.”

  “Leave her.”

  I shift my gaze up to him. “You know you love her.”

  “It’s so weird,” he says. “She grows on you, doesn’t she? Kinda like a fungus.”

  By the time we make it to the beach, Jenna has already made friends with a group of guys. Some girls eye the situation from a few feet away.

  “Do you know those guys?” I ask.

  “Nope, but apparently Jenna does.”

  Jenna gives a shout of laughter which has the girls looking pissed.

  “You want anything to drink?” Landon asks.

  “No, I’m good.”

  “I’m going to the bathroom,” he says.

  I nod as he walks away.

  A guy with some sort of tattoo down his right arm takes Jenna’s hand and gives her a twirl. She stumbles a little as he lets her go, and another guy catches her. On closer inspection of these guys, I don’t think they’re our age. They look early twenties. And these are no prep school boys. Their eyes are glazed and fuzzy red like burners.

  “Hey!” a girl with a black halter top yells.

  My blood goes cold. This girl is full of confidence, and she’s backed by three girlfriends. Something tells me there’s little these guys would rather see than a good catfight.

  Jenna either ignores her or doesn’t know she exists. She taps the chin of the guy who caught her and stands on her tiptoes to eye him flirtatiously.

  The girl stalks toward Jenna. “I’m talking to you, whore.”

  The pit of my stomach opens up, and I think I might lose my dinner. Holy shit. I can’t just stand here, I don’t care how freaked out I am by this situation or these guys. I have to help her.

  As I approach Jenna, she finally gives the girl her attention. “Excuse me?”

  The girl stands a foot away from us, invading our personal space. Jenna plants her feet, firm. She gauges what is now our situation, putting eyes on all four of the girls who are a united front before her. The guys who helped cause this mess chuckle and high-five each other.

  I glance around, praying for a police officer. Of course, I come up empty. I scour the bar area for Landon—nowhere. Even if I could get him to help, that might be a terrible idea. There are four guys over there and only one of him. If he gets involved, these guys might feel the need to impress their girls, or more likely, Jenna, and give him a beat
down. I’m confident Landon could take any one of these guys alone, and maybe even any two of them. But four would be hard for even the toughest of guys to swing.

  “You heard me.” The girl bobs her head as she talks and parks her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you go back to the red light district your ass crawled away from. I think I hear your pimp calling.”

  The girls at her sides chuckle, and one picks at Jenna’s shirt.

  I’ve never seen Jenna scared. I’ve never even seen her anything but a hundred percent at confident ease. But right now, as much as she tries to display cocky nonchalance, there’s no doubt in my mind she’s terrified.

  “Sorry,” Jenna says and takes a couple of steps away. Relief washes over me until she stops in her tracks. I practically run into her as she turns back toward them. “I didn’t know the skank convention was in town.”

  My heart lurches as one of the cronies gives Jenna a shove, and she stumbles to the ground. The girl takes a few steps toward her holding out a solo cup of God knows what.

  Channeling the last bit of adrenaline left from my karaoke rush, I propel myself between Jenna and the girl. I have a flashback of that girl earlier today thinking it was okay for her to sneak in front of me in line, and then of the night on the pontoon boat when I said no and was ignored.

  I clench both fists. “I’d think twice before doing that.” My words come out like one big long one.

  The girl drags her gaze up and down my frame. “What the hell are you gonna do about it?”

  “We’re gonna leave before this gets out of hand,” I say.

  The girls cackle and look at each other. I’m too afraid to look, but I feel Jenna at my side now.

  “You skerd?” the girl says, her fat painted-red lips forming a nasty pucker.

  Something inside me turns. I’m goddamned sick of being scared, and ignored, and voiceless—run over and handled like a bag of garbage to be tossed away.

  A jolt of bravery stiffens my spine, causing me to stand up straighter. “You know, my sensei made me promise to only put my black belt to use in self-defense, but I’m thinking he’d make an exception for someone like you.”

  She lifts two drawn-in eyebrows and knits them together like I’m crazy. But as much as she tries she can’t hide the inkling of uncertainty.

  “Bullshit,” she finally says.

  Well, crap. I was hoping the threat would do the trick. Still, I’ve come this far, and something tells me backing down would not only cause Jenna and me to get our asses whipped, but it’d be a step backward when I just took a huge step forward on that stage tonight. As mortifying as it was, something about having stood in front of that crowd tonight, watching those guys in front of me singing along, having a blast, was like a ray of sunshine fortifying my rained upon soul. Miracle Grow for my confidence.

  If I can overcome my fear of a roomful of people staring at me on stage, following up Jenna Quigley, I think I can handle a handful of skanks on the beach.

  I take a step back from her and bow. I rise slowly and place my hands together in prayer-mode in front of my chest. I bear into the girl’s eyes with my stare, standing steady and still as a statue. I widen my stance and hold two straight hands up in the air.

  I stand there for what seems like an eternity until the girl finally gives a harrumph and turns to the other girls. “This weirdo’s creeping me out. Let’s go, ladies.”

  The girls walk away while the guys vocalize their disappointment.

  I gather Jenna by the arm. “We’re leaving. Now.”

  When we turn around, I spot Landon coming toward us.

  “We’re leaving.” I motion him toward the car, and he falls into step with us.

  “What happened? Did those guys say something to you?”

  “Not the guys,” I say.

  Jenna manages to keep her mouth shut as we climb the stairs to the street. Nobody says a word as we rush toward the car and get in.

  I let out a massive breath as soon as Landon pulls out onto the street. I turn to make sure we weren’t followed.

  “What just happened?” Landon asks.

  I look at Jenna through the side view mirror, and she blinks. She pulls out her phone and looks at something on the screen. “Chloe just marked off number nine on the list.”

  I smile. I guess I did.

  “What list?” Landon asks.

  I sink down into my seat.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chloe

  It’s bizarre to me how heavy the world seems when you lie in bed staring at the ceiling. Bed should be a place of peace and tranquility, but for me it’s where the enormity of the day races around my head, and I process through it all.

  Jenna shifts onto her side, and I check to see if she’s awake. She’s sleeping like a baby. It’s amazing how she can turn off the excitement and fear of this bizarre evening and snooze like a toddler who has spent three hours at the bouncy gym.

  I give up on sleep and make my way downstairs. I round the corner for the living room and find my dad. I realize this is our first time to be alone since I got here.

  He spots me and sits up. “Hey, hun. Are you having trouble sleeping?”

  “Yeah. I was just going to get some water.” Little white lie, but it’s for both of our sakes. If I sit down with him it’s just going to be awkward for both of us.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” he asks as I head into the kitchen.

  I pull a glass out of the cabinet. “Yeah.”

  He turns the television off and joins me in the kitchen. He rubs his hand over his face. “So, how did it all go tonight? Did you sing?”

  “Mmm hmm. Good.” I take a long sip of the water I just fixed.

  “Good.”

  As we stand there in awkward silence, I try to unravel the mystery of why we’re the way we are. How is communication so natural for Jenna and her dad but so hard for me and him?

  “And everything else is good?” he asks.

  “Yep.”

  “Good.”

  More awkward silence.

  “All right. Well, I’ll see you in the morning,” he says.

  “Mmm hmm,” I say again, glass back to my lips.

  He heads up the stairs, and I relax.

  I go into the living room and start scrolling through the channel guide. I land on the biography channel where they’re running one on Eva Peron. I typically would never watch something like this, but I think of Landon and how this is probably what he would watch, and I give it a try.

  Twenty minutes later, not only am I wide-awake, but the biography is ending, and I’m looking forward to the one coming on next. Rosa Parks. Apparently it’s a strong woman marathon…safely in the middle of the night when I and approximately two other people around the U.S. are watching.

  Footsteps descend the staircase, and I cringe. I guess my dad thought it was safe to come back down here by now. Sorry ‘bout your luck, Dad.

  “Ah, man. Is this about to end?”

  I turn to find Landon. I sit up. “Yeah. Rosa Parks is up next.”

  “Cool.” He comes around and plops down on the other end of the couch. He could have chosen the recliner. But maybe that’s his spot. Or maybe I’m in his spot and that’s the next best spot.

  He picks up my glass of ice water from the coffee table and takes a drink. It’s so familiar, being here with him. We’ve only known each other for a few days, but it seems like a couple of years.

  We watch the first leg of Rosa until the commercials interrupt.

  “So, you want to tell me about this list?” he asks.

  My stomach gives a ripple. “Not really.”

  “You know Jenna’s going to spill the beans, so you may as well go ahead and tell me.”

  I take a deep breath. He’s going to find out eventually. It might as well come from me. �
��Jenna thinks I need to build confidence. She thinks by doing all the stuff on this list it’s going to bring me out of my shell or something.”

  “What’s all on the list?”

  I roll my eyes, my insides balling up. “Oh, just stuff like standing up for myself, sending back food at a restaurant, karaoke tonight was one, taking a self -defense class…”

  “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “I don’t know if I want it to. I’m comfortable in my shell.” I wrap my arms over my chest. “It’s warm and cozy in here.”

  He narrows his gaze at me. “You don’t seem shy to me.”

  I can’t stop myself from smiling at him. “I don’t know why I’m not shy around you. It’s weird.”

  He pokes me with his foot. “Good.”

  We grin at each other, and it might just be me, but I think a moment of significance passes between us.

  “What’s wrong with being shy anyway?” he asks.

  I pick up the remote and turn it in my hand. “I guess it’s good to be able to stand up for yourself.”

  “You stood up for Jenna tonight.”

  “When it’s someone else there’s not really a choice. But when it’s yourself, I guess you can choose the easy way out.”

  “Is this about what happened to you at home a few weeks ago?”

  I sit up straight. “You know about that?” My voice comes out louder and higher than I mean for it to.

  “My mom told me. I told her not to try to talk to you about it, but I’m guessing that’s what she tried to talk to you about this afternoon.”

  I close my eyes and hug my knees to my chest, humiliation washing over me.

  He moves closer to me on the couch and rests his warm hand on my back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  This is more than I’m prepared to deal with right now. The karaoke and the faux Kung Fu Panda mess earlier was enough drama for the evening. I drop my legs to the floor. “I’m going back to bed.”

  He clasps my forearm. “Please, stay. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  The sincere concern etched across his face is enough to have me sitting back down. I run the tips of my fingers over my forehead and then through my hair. “I don’t know what they think happened, but I’m fine.”